Beauty on the Beach-Bombay to Goa-Fiat Linea-PART-2-Feb'10

13th February, 2010

Did a 2nd trip to Goa in 1st week of Feb'10, the 1st trip was done in Aug'09. This one was suddenly decided & was not pre-planned.

Planned to leave early morning at 4.30 am but as usual got late due to kids & could leave only at 6:15 am. The route taken was Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Nipani-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Mapusa-Baga beach

Crossed Pune just after 8 am. It was breeze driving on ExpressWay and since we got late, I was driving at full throttle. Every time I take Linea on highways, its superb RIde & Handling, Stability, Braking, steering response & composure amazes me.

Took a break at Sriram snacks centre somewhere between Pune & Kolhapur. Amazing Vada Pav's & Misal Smile. It comes on left hand side & is some 150 kms before Kolhapur.

Pune to Kolhapur Road is also excellent & is 4 Lane road. Truck traffic was heavy this time & hence it took more time this time compared to Aug'09 trip.

In Aug'09, I had taken a right turn from Shankheswar-Gadhinglaj-Ajra-Amboli as I read that on the other route (right turn from Nipani) roads are bad. This time I took a right turn much before that i.e. just after Nipani. The landmark to take this right turn are 2 hotels - Kaveri & Satyavati. The road was Okish. Reached Amboli at around 2.30-3 pm & had lunch at JRD hotel. Only after crossing Amboli, when I saw Kamat's, I remembered that I should have taken Lunch there.

Amboli to Sawantwadi road is full of Ghat, Amboli being a hill-station. Just after Amboli, after a kind of checkpost, there is a small right turn going upwards. It takes you to Mahadevgadh Point. Its a lovely point with 3 sides of it surrounded by valley. We did not go there this time but am posting lovely pics of our Aug'09 trip. Just 4-5 kms after Amboli, you come across the waterfall. In Aug'09, there was a mela-like atmoshere there with huge crown of people under the waterfall & being tended by the roadside Vada Pav wallahs.

Mumbai to Goa:

Total Kms one way - 605 kms
FE with 100% AC ON - 14.5 kmpl (on MID)

Goa to Mumbai:

While coming back, took the scenic old NH-17 route. Though I had a vague idea, Called a forum friend to confirm the exact route. Its Baga-Mapusa-Sawantwadi-kudal-kankavali-rajapur-sangameshwar-chiplun-khed-poladpur-mahad-mangaon-kolad-vadkhal naka-pen-panvel. What a route !! Marvelous ! Beautiful ! The entire route is full of ghats & Scenic beauty (Konkan belt). It was extreme pleasure of manuevering Linea on such hairpin bends with precise & fast but surefooted drive. Mind-blowing. :clapping

Total kms covered return journey - 580 kms
FE with 100% AC ON - 14.4 kmpl (on MID)
Entire trip was covered in - 1380 kms (186 kms in Goa city)
FE (incl within city) - 13.5 kmpl (on MID)

 

Re: Beauty on the Beach-Bombay to Goa-Fiat Linea-PART-2-Feb'

1st week of Feb'10

On this trip, could not get more pics except of the car. May be because we carried the handy-cam.

While entering Goa, as we were late, I was in a hurry & wanted to hit the Baga beach during sunset. In the process, forgot about Goa RTO rules which I'm quite aware of now. On a bridge I overtook a car & was promptly asked by the RTO squad to halt. Had to pay a fine of Rs. 300/-. In Goa, on the bridge & at bends/ turns, you're not supposed to overtake. The white line in between the raod, whereever its paited continuously without any break, you're not supposed to overtake & GOa RTO is strict about rules. Reached Baga at 5.30 pm & headed to the beach straightaway after checking in. The hotel is Colonia Santa Maria BEach Resort. Its right on the beach & I specifically asked for a sea-facing room. I had stayed there eerlier & liked its ambiance & proximity to the sea. Unfortunately I do not have any pics of it.

This is where the beach-side road from our hotel leads to on the beach. There is a good shack Bosco's where I enjoyed sunbath in Dec'09 & this time also we hit it on a Sunday. More about it later.

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Now on cuisine in Goa. THe day we reached Goa, we took dinner at Colonia Santa Maria (Called CSM) itself. Wifey was too tired to be taken to Rotlo n Otlo. As usual there was a Karoake singer, Boney & the ambience was very good. We were the only Indian family in full restaurant. Boney was humble enough to sing a Hindi song especially for us though it was none-too-popular & he could hardly pronounced hindi words. However, the gesture itself was quite a thing. My daughter requested for a song from 3 Idiots which he expressed inability as he did not have the karoake CD of it.Chinese food was very good

Being Gujarati & having stayed out of home (in hostels, bachelors accomodations etc) for a long time since young age of 14, I always long for simple Gujarati food/ thali when away. There is just a place near to CSM - Rotlo n Otlo. I had been there earlier also. Its just bang opposit to where the exit road from CSM meets the calangute-baga road. The food is delicious. Gujju thali is available, Gujju Khichdi n Kadhi, Rotli-shak (Roti-subji) & other items also available.

If you're on business tour and are in the main panjim commecial area of 18th June road, then Hotel Fidalgo is the best bet for food. It serves one of the best Gujju Thali's. It has 6 diiferent restaurant in its food court:

Bhojan - Serves Gujarati Thali

Legacy of Bombay - for everything bambaiya - pav bhaji, chat, south indian almost everything

Delhi Darbar - Punjabi cuisine

Chillie & Spice - Continental (with a music band- Elvis&Angela is good, Phillipinno band Crazy nuts is also very good)

Goan treat - Goan cuisine

Aunty Maria - 24 hours coffee shop with Bakery items & snacks

Exactly opposit to Hotel Fidalgo is something called Gujarat Lodge (Since 1935) - Excellent Gujarati food - homely, light to stomach & less spicey.

Food on Beach shacks is generally pathetic. I usually used to go to St. Anthony's shack on Baga beach for dinner. But its more for sitting in front of having sips of drinks rather than dinner. The popular resaurants on the beach are Britto's @ Baga & Souza Lobo @ Calangute beach.

Too many words, time for pics now

 

Re: Beauty on the Beach-Bombay to Goa-Fiat Linea-PART-2-Feb'

Kids on the Royal Cruise - Mandvi River, Panjim

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Baga Beach

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There are many more pics but I would not post it here... :mrgreen:

 

Re: Beauty on the Beach-Bombay to Goa-Fiat Linea-PART-2-Feb'

While coming back, took the scenic old NH-17 route. Though I had a vague idea, Called a forum friend (Thank You FastLove) to confirm the exact route. Its Baga-Mapusa-Sawantwadi-kudal-kankavali-rajapur-sangameshwar-chiplun-khed-poladpur-mahad-mangaon-kolad-vadkhal naka-pen-panvel. What a route !! Marvelous ! Beautiful ! The entire route is full of ghats & Scenic beauty (Konkan belt). It was extreme pleasure of manuevering Linea on such hairpin bends with precise & fast but surefooted drive. Mind-blowing.

Total kms covered return journey - 580 kms

FE with 100% AC ON - 14.4 kmpl (on MID)

Entire trip was covered in - 1380 kms (186 kms in Goa city)

FE (incl within city) - 13.5 kmpl (on MID)

Had snacks at neelam's countryside - excellent resort located on NH-17 after Sawantwadi

[attachment=5:16ys4e3w]2010-01-24-041.jpg[/attachment:16ys4e3w]

The return journey was extremely tiresome. I was the lone driver, the the entire road is full of bends, curvs, ghats & traffic. On top of that wifey went very travel-sick because of ghats & bends. There were lots of stoppages & it took 14 hours to reach back. But the scenic beauty of the route has enabled me to enjoy every moment of it.

The route is Driver's Delight. If you wanna enjoy the drive, this is THE route.

Some pics of the beauty on return journey are here

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