Manoribel : A Rustic Resort

Well this blog is very special for me in many ways........One of the most important reason is I am writing about a particular hotel/resort first time on my blog and second is this is the only resort I have been to four times till now. As I am quite experimental about trying new things ..I rarely go to the same place again and again. But do not know what made me to visit this place four times till now, so thought why not to share information about this little hidden peaceful resort so close to Mumbai.

Manoribel is a quite and rustic resort situated on Manori Island and easily accessible from any part of Mumbai and depending upon your location in Mumbai you can reach this place in 1-2 hours.

Location on Google Map

Last fifteen minutes drive to this resort is very pleasant and you will feel as you are exploring some small village in any coastal area. Please ask the locals for direction or use google map. As you enter in this resort you will be be greeted by very polite hosts. Please note its not a four or five star resort its a rustic resort where you can find peace of mind. If you are visiting this resort fist time suggest you to go this resort's  website and chose the room/s based on your budget, requirements and location you want, where some rooms are sea facing while some are not.

Entry at Resort

Sea Facing Rooms

Resort is equipped with a basket ball court and a table tennis table and  also have a carom board near restaurant as well as big sit-out areas from where you can enjoy beautiful beach.  Many hammocks are installed here so just get into hammock and close your eyes to sink the feeling of peace.

Generally resort is not very crowed so access to everything is easy and need not to stand in queues. ( Its frustrating in famous and crowed resort)

Sit-Out Area

Sit-Out Area

They have their restaurant as well as you can order food in room too but I suggest to come to their restaurant and enjoy the cool breeze while sipping a cup of coffee or tea. During sunset having cup of coffee with your loved once is wonderful experience and their home made complementary coconut cake is cherry on the top. You can also enjoy sunset at beach as resort is situated on beach and can be directly accessed.

Entry for Beach

Sun Set at Beach

Morning at Manoribel

The evenings are golden here......while the mornings are bright and fresh. Recommend you to get up early in the morning for a stroll on the beach. Trust me it will surely refresh you for next few days.

I visited this place four times and personally feel monsoon doubles it's beauty but it is beautiful and peaceful through the year. So any weekend you can plan one or two nights stay here. And yes one of the most important quality of this resort is they do not have television in their room as they give more stress on family time.

So if you need a quick rejuvenating break from pollution and population do visit this resort.

Best time to visit : Any time

Ideal Time required to visit this resort: Two nights

Things to Carry : Books , Sunscreen Lotion , Your music collection .

If travelling with Kids : Baby food , Medicines and Sand Toys and other outdoor and indoor games.

Food : Try their sea food and remember to order in advance as order may take little time.

Things to buy : Give a try to delicious coconut cake. 

So go and DETOX your self ... Keep smiling and Happy Travelling 

Postcard from Switzerland

💗💗💗 No words can define it's beauty and no painting can be so beautiful......., its a visual treat for everyone..... a dream destination for everyone.........It's Switzerland :)

Gargoti – The mineral museum

I was on an official visit to Nashik and on someone’s recommendation I decided to visit this museum. Before visiting this museum, I was little sceptical about this place. But I was totally wrong , I witnessed an extraordinary museum which is not so popular. I am talking about Gargoti Mineral Museum situated in MIDC Malegaon, Sinnar, Nasik. Name of this museum derived from Marathi word “Gargoti” which means pebbles.You can easily reach here by car, make sure you use your Google Map.

I could not find the location very easily and had to go through some adventurous road to reach this place. From outside this museum looked like a small building but once I entered it surprised me. Wow…. that was amazing ……from all side it was full of coloured stones and those colours were so pretty and slowly I started believing the power of mother earth.

Beautiful Stone Collection

Collection

This museum is having collection of amazing crystals & stones from various part of world, which are arranged for public display with proper and detailed information from employees of the museum. As you step ahead amazing architecture skill of mother nature gets revealed so do visit this place.

I also recommend this place for kids as they can actually see the things which they read in their books. Even people interested is geology should visit this place.

So, if you are planning Nashik trip include this not so popular museum in your itinerary. Trust me you will not be disappointed.

Painting of Nature 

Beautiful Collection of Stone

Mars Rock

Shopping: Here you can also shop some souvenir and jewellery made of precious stones.

Tip: Water is available but keep some food items with you as this place is situated in MIDC area. You can eat in your car as eating anything inside museum is not allowed.

Entry Fees: 100/-

Time to reach: Approximately 1-hour form Nashik. Use your Google Map.

For More Information visit: http://gargoti.com/

Long Weekend : Virgin Beaches , Fort , Temple and More...............

2018 is full of long weekends so whats in your mind. Planning Goa again...........?
No guys not again ......Discover more peaceful places close to Mumbai and Pune......no no it is not Alibaug .....So which place I am taking about :)

Do plan your long weekends in Dapoli and explore Ade, Kelshi, Ladhgar , Harne and Anjarle to enjoy virgin beaches, historical fort, temples and many more........ Have the glimpse of these beautiful places and come back to my blog for detail itinerary :)

Night in Dapoli

View from Parshuram Point

Virgin Beaches 

A Day in Gwalior

Gwalior is my birth place and I will always remain connected with this small town by my heart. Just a half an hour back I decided to write about this small city and could not stop myself even a single minute to pen down my thoughts. As I love to help others to make their holiday plans perfect, I decided to plan a one-day itinerary for my lovely readers by this post.

Gwalior is situated approximately 320 Km from Delhi and very well connected by railways and roads. I have been told since childhood that Gwalior acquired its name because of one sage named Gaalav or Gwalipa. It’s a small town with lots of places to discover, you can start your journey with Surya Mandir which is situated in place called Morar and you can easily reach by private or public transportation in half an hour from city. This temple is built in the year 1988 by the famous industrialist G.D. Birla following the architectural pattern of sun temple of Konark Orissa, using red sand stone and pearl white marble. There is a very well-maintained garden surrounding this beautiful temple enhancing the beauty of this place.

Sun Temple

                                                                        

                                                                                     

After taking the blessing of lord Surya, you can proceed to next place connecting the history and music together known as “ Tansen Tomb”. It is said that Tansen was the greatest singer and musicians in the courts of Akbar in the medieval period. As he was student of Mohammad Ghaus he was buried next to his Guru’s Tomb. If you are visiting in around December, you may witness world famous annual Tansen Music festival here.

Tansen Tomb

Mohammad Ghaus Tomb

And the next is Jai Vilas Palace. It’s a 19th century palace established by Jayajirao Scindia in 1874. Half portion of this palace is reserved for royal family and half is opened for public. It is converted into a beautiful museum which can be accessed after paying minimal entry charges. During visiting this museum large, royal and beautiful artifact will surely astonish you. Do not forget so visit royal darbar and the small beautiful silver train.

                                                                      Jai Vilas Palace

                                                                             

Silver Train

Darbar Hall

Last but not the least now you can proceed for world famous Gwalior fort. You can reach this place after 20-30 minutes hike or by twisted roads. Though the fort is very big you can divide it in two main palaces, Gujari Mahal and Man Mandir. You can hire a guide here to know more about this ancient fort.

Gwalior Fort

                                                                                               

Beautiful, huge and marvelous infrastructure will surely take you in history and if you really want to feel your self in the history do not miss the light and sound program in the evening in mesmerizing voice of Amitabh Bachchan. Sun set from Sahastrabahu mandir and kada prasad from Gurudwara situated on fort will make your whole day more memorable.

Sahastrabahu Temple also known as Sasbahu Temple

And as the day will end this beautiful experience will turn into your memories and will be in your heart forever. If you have some more days, do visit main market known as Bada, Tighra Dam , Gwalior zoo and Jain temples. You can also visit some near by attraction such as Famous Orchha Temples and Jhansi Fort. When to visit: November to March (In December and January carry heavy woollens and you may face some disruption because of heavy fog) Avoid visiting in April to June.What to buy: Anything you like, But Gwalior Gajak is world famous.What to eat: As much as you can and depends on season, so earlier said Gajak (A product made of Jaggery and Sesame seeds), Petha (One more sweet dish) , Namkeen (Snacks made of pulse powder), Milk products, Samosas and Kachoris, Chaat… yummy yummy yummy….Hotel: Good to budget hotels are available.Special Tip: If visiting in January or February visit Gwalior Mela.So keep smilling and happy travelling........I would like to dedicate this post to my family and my lovely friends and our lovely Whatsapp group called “ Sahapathi” .. cheers guys : ) And I finished this post in one sitting 😊 I think this the result of connection with heart.

Beautiful Bali..........

Extraordinary Beaches , Luxury at it's best and warm Hospitality ............all will make your journey  Beautiful to this  Island ......... Coming soon ......Beautiful Bali :)

Also read :
Review of Transera Grand Kancana Villas ( Aldeoz Group Villa ), Bali

Teaching Kids by a Trip...

I started traveling with my kid when he was six months old and that time I never thought that a Trip can be such a multi-talented teacher. But in due course of time when my son started talking, I slowly realized that through a continuous dialogue I can be a link between this wonderful teacher and my kid. I started playing this role when he turned 2 years and then started involving him from pre-planning process. After deciding a place I always talk to him about that place and show the holiday destination on map to introduce the concept of geography in such an early stage. And next is mode of transportation, as he is very fond of airlines his first question is always which airline mom? After Discovering his interest one day I showed him some major airlines on computer and we also revise same whenever we are on airport. If railway is our mode of transport we always open a small railway time table to understand the railway system in India. Once we reach our destination two things always struck him first the time zone difference and language. And The Trip teacher starts teaching two new concepts one is our solar system to understand the time zone and culture to understand the mystery of languages through the parents' mouth. On our family holiday trips we always pick up some small local words and use these words after understanding the meaning of same from natives. Next element is food, trying out the new local foods, fruits and cuisines help our kid to know about agriculture pattern, weather and geographical conditions. Then it comes to tourist places which includes monuments, historical places, temples, bleaches or any men made miracles, as the type of places are varied learning is also wide...as visiting Ashok vatika in Srilanka helped me to tell him the story of Ramayana, a memorial monument in Bali helped me to tell him the story of wars and while visiting ruins of Hampi I could give him the glimpse of our rich history.

Ashok Vatika in Nuwara Elliya, SriLanka

Volcano in Bali

During a visit to a volcano in Bali I had to show him a video on volcano on google and was amazed to see how this experiential learning is doing wonderful job. Then one more talent of this teacher was yet to be reveled and that was a mathematician, yes ….. from money exchange to room numbers to counting floors to remembering the number plates of vehicle all were teaching him a lot. And last but not the least basic civic sense such as following traffic rules in various countries, following do and don’ts of various places as well as following the cleanliness. So this teacher is performing wonderfully and at the end of each Trip I feel satisfied for playing the role of an inter mediator.Slowly in passing years this teacher is becoming more and more knowledgeable and I am happy that I was able to understand the importance of this teacher few years back. But I need to remember only one thing that this teacher can perform only when at least one parent is involved in continuous dialogue with him and that too in a way he likes……..So be ready to be a link between this teacher and your kid/s. So keep smiling ……….Keep learning and Happy Travelling.

Also check how to pack bags when you are travelling with kids on :-What's in my Bag : Travelling with Kids

Post Card From Hampi

My recent trip to Hampi “A UNESCO World Heritage Site” amazed me so much that I literally started reading books about Indian history ,which I never liked in my school days.

Extraordinary infrastructure, amazing balancing rocks, calmness of Tungabhadra river and sweet -simple people will surely steel your heart once you will visit this place. So pack your bags and be ready to walk a lot to explore this wonderful ruins. Details  are coming in my upcoming post/s. Happy Travelling ……:)