Accompany Me On My Journeys

Go Karna: A spiritual town with four beautiful but not so easily accessible beaches. Om Beach is what you see in the picture above and it acquires its name as it is shaped like the "Uu"in ॐ; and can be reached via Namaste Cafe, although it is a slight trek.

We found a really tranquil little cafe called Rasta Cafe perched at the furthest end of Om Beach. We ordered our 35 rupee local chilled beers and watched the tides washed the shore till the sky was lit by a full moon and an odd hundred stars. It was just so peaceful. If you trekked on the hill up ahead you would reach Paradise beach. Kudle Beach was another beach close by but again you had to either trek to the beach or take boats. Unfortunately, since the rains had already arrived in the Karnatak region and the waters were rough, we couldn’t take boats to the other beaches. 

This happens to be the first post from my phone, for which I am using the blogger app. Working for a tech magazine has its advantages. But more importantly about today's post... weekend trips and one day get aways.

The whole point is to "get away" right? From the madness, the chaos, the mundane routine, the people in your face and space... if you live in Mumbai, or any such eclectic and crowded city you will understand why weekend trips are like the relief a passing cool breeze can give on a sizzling hot summer's day.

So the last weekend, we took off to Atgaon, next to Shahpur, which is on the way to Nasik from Mumbai. We stayed at this rustic, quaint place called The Hidden Village (site link). It's barely a two and a half hour drive if you leave early enough and is located inside the Atgaon Village.

Surrounded by nature and the wilderness, you can go trekking to the near by lake and take a dip. I believe there should be a waterfall if you happen to go there during the monsoons. There is a play side area for children and activities like pool, carrom, a foosball table for older children. All your meals, veg and non-veg are provided by the resort, they're like home-cooked meals, hence really yummy.

What I really liked was the swimming pond, which was in reality a humongous tank pumping in fresh water from a near by well. A super and refreshing concept, if you ask me. There was also an actual pond in the resort with gigantic toads, ducks, millions of tiny fish and snakes. I decided to spend some time sitting by the pond to catch up on my reading and I saw a turtle and the fish ripping a snake apart - definitely a scene out of national geographic. Another first. It was amazingly fascinating.

Other day trips to Gorai happen as often as we can help it. By we, I mean my husband and me. Only recently we discovered Aksa beach and I was surprised by how clean the beach was, compared to other beaches in the city. Other day trips this year have been to Delhi this year due to work, during which I manage to steel a few hours to enjoy yet another facet of the capital city.