"India Shining" ... Although the BJP lost an election on this slogan, it is true that a lot of Indians are buying a lot of new cars, and as it stands today, Mamata Bannerjee seems to be the only one standing in the way of the "One car per Indian" dream!
Shantanu's new Swift Diesel is the only thing that's made me change my mind about how to choose a car.
I used to thinks that a car should get you from point A to point B; nothing else. After last Sunday, I realise how much difference it makes to have a car that's fun to drive!
It's Sunday afternoon and we've got mileage to do. The car is now 2 days old and has clocked 380 kms; another 720 to get the engine run in up to first service! We leave my house at 2 PM and decide to go all the way up to DiveAgar. It's 180 kms away and going by past experience, a 4 hour drive at least ... ETA 6 PM. Even with the 3500 RPM running in period RPM cap, we are able to drive FAST ... and the Swift handles like a dream ... smiles all around :)
The coast close to Shrivardhan is a string of beautiful beaches starting from Dighi in the north and going up to to Harihareshwar in the south. Of these, DiveAgar is probably the longest. It's a 2 km stretch of beautiful sand and easy sea. The village is also known for the 'Golden Ganapati', a pilgrim attraction.
The first time I had come to DiveAgar, I spent an entire day on the beach with only one other car-full of visitors. Parkar's was the only place in the village offering accommodation along with some awesome gharguti (home cooked) food. It's a different picture now. Big resorts have sprung up, and almost every home offers food. The good part though is that the village still retains it's original charm, and the beach is big enough to accommodate the increased number of tourists without making it look too crowded.
We were pleasantly surprised by the roads and made our destination is just about 3 hours ... around 5:15 PM! What also helped us is that there is now a shortcut to get from Mhasla to DiveAgar without having to go through Shrivardhan. We did not intend to stay too long ... so all we had time for was a pleasant walk on the beach, some photographs, and enquiries as to the rates at Exotica resort (the rooms are basic, air conditioned, and the property itself is beautiful - at 2500 a day, slightly overpriced though), before we started the drive back home.
A couple more stops along the way for photographs and chai, a small detour through NH17 - Pali - Khoppoli (when the road is in better condition, this is a really scenic drive), and we were back home in time for dinner. 400 kms, 8 hours, and one nice beach ... a perfectly acceptable Sunday afternoon!
I'm leaving on my vacation today ... it's family time in Kerala followed by time with friends in Bangalore, and a camping trip in Kudremukh. More about this when I get back ...
