AN AMAZING TRIP TO MALVAN

Hey guys! Here’s the very first post about my family trip to Malvan.

I love beaches. I mean, who wouldn’t love going to the beach! For me, a t-shirt, shorts, barefoot on the beach and I’m happy.

Also, I love collecting seashells. Lots of them.

I remember my childhood days when my brother Chintamani and I always complained to mom for not taking us anywhere except Alibaug, or some nearby places like Lonavala every year on some weekend for just 2 days!

It was because firstly we don’t have a native place (that really sucks!), and secondly, being a working mother, she took leaves during our exams so there was no chance for her to get leaves for a vacation. We were too small to understand this. We have never been on a long vacation since.

Anyways, I was craving for a vacation since a long time as I was bored and frustrated with my ordinary life and desperately needed a break. I’ve never been on a solo trip before, though would love to. Many trips with friends were planned, but it never ever materialized. For example, the cancelled Goa trip. I’m sure many of you would relate to this. Now, as I’m writing this post, my weekend trip has just got cancelled! Sad right? I know! Anyways, after many years of planning and later on canceling the plans, our Malvan trip was finalized with a lot of help from my friend who had been there on her honeymoon.

It was 7th of April 2018. Our bags were packed, beach clothes, shorts, sun block, summer essentials, everything. Our train was scheduled for midnight- 12:30 am on 8th April, and I was relieved that this trip was finally happening.

ABOUT MALVAN:

Malvan is a town in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, which is famous for its beautiful crystal clear stunning beaches and delicious malvani cuisine (especially seafood and solkadi) and the King of fruits- Mango.

It’s also famous for the Sindhudurg Fort and has become recently popular for snorkeling, scuba diving and dolphin spotting.

AND THE JOURNEY STARTED…

We boarded Konkan Kanya Express train from Panvel, Navi Mumbai at 12:30 am and reached Kudal at around 8:30 am.

HOW TO REACH

BY AIR: The nearest airport to Malvan is Dabolim in Goa. A new airport has come up in Malvan which is Sindhudurg Chipi Airport. It is located 27 km from the Mumbai – Goa highway and 12 km from Malvan close to the sea shore. However, it is not yet operational.

BY RAIL: Malvan does not have a railhead of its own. The nearest one is Kudal Railway Station.

BY ROAD: You can take buses to Malvan from major cities of Mumbai (533.3 km via AH47) and Pune (390.5km via AH47 and Kunkeshwar-Talewadi Road). Malvan is well connected through road and you will get buses from all major cities and towns including Panaji (111 km), Nandgaon (61 km), Vagade (45 km), Amboli (100 km) and Kudal (25 km).

We took a State Transport bus to reach Malvan Depot from Kudal as the auto-rickshaw drivers were charging Rs. 600 for 4 people which included luggage charges! What the hell! Whereas, a bus ticket was for Rs. 30 only. How cheap!

The homestay which we had booked was in Kacheri Road which is near to Chivla beach. Kacheri basically means Post Office, so there’s s a Post Office in the area and hence the name.

Here in Malvan, you will come across many homestays, resorts and lodges as many local villagers rent their houses to tourists. So, you have lots of options to stay. My dad had booked ours through a common friend. After breakfast, we headed for a walk around the narrow streets.

WALKING THROUGH THE NATURE

It was a peaceful morning. There was greenery everywhere. The warm April sun was shining brightly.

The blossom was out and first flowers of the season were opening, colorful flowers in every direction.

The cool breeze on a warm summer day is like nature’s hug. It was such a pleasant feeling. Away from the hectic and chaotic city life, I was a relaxed and happy soul.

EXPLORING THE PLACE

We also visited Jay Ganesh Temple which is situated nearby. It’s a very famous and well-maintained Ganpati temple which is built by the founder of famous Hindu calendar Kalnirnay. The temple is beautiful and you’ll definitely find peace there.

Just had a quick darshan, thanked God for such a wonderful place and started walking.

Suddenly, I happened to see a vast stretch of turquoise blue. I was so mesmerized by the view. It was noon at that time. We rushed to get a closer glimpse of the turquoise sea which looked like a million sparkling diamonds. It was Chivla Beach.

The beach was on another side and we were near the rocky seashore. There’s a garden- Rock Garden which is well maintained and has colorful flowering trees. During sundown, they light up the area with colorful LED lights, which looks very beautiful. So, if you wanna relax in the evening, this is the place.

The rocky seashore is beyond the garden boundary. Hence, the name- Rock Garden. As we went closer to the shore, the smell of the sea, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, the salty air soothed my senses. The water was crystal clear, not at all polluted. I haven’t seen a clear sea for years! There are beaches in Mumbai too, but not this clean.

As it was afternoon, the heat became unbearable. I refused to return from the shore. The ocean was hypnotic. I was lost in the view and crashing sounds the waves made. I wanted to dive into the mighty waters but obviously couldn’t. So just sat there on the rocks staring at the ocean, inhaling the salty air, and the cold breeze touching my skin in scorching heat gave me some relief.

INDULGING IN DELICIOUS MALVANI CUISINE

It was time to go. I didn’t want to leave but had to as I started feeling hungry. Outside the garden, there are many eateries and juice stalls.

We had lemonade and left the place and started walking towards Atithi Bamboo, also called as Bamboo House which is nearby to Chivla beach. Bamboo House is a well-known restaurant in Malvan. If you are a seafood lover, this is one of the best options in Malvan. They have a wide variety of seafood. Also, the fish is fresh and cooked well. Their veg thali is also very delicious. This place is so popular that sometimes you have to wait for hours for a table as the place is always packed. But the food is worth the wait. I ordered a veg thali which was for Rs. 170 as I was not in a mood to eat non-veg (my bad!) and wanted something lighter on my stomach.

My family, however, ordered Surmai thali (King Mackerel) which was for Rs. 300. I tasted the fish fry from Chintu’s plate and damn! So delicious. Perfectly cooked with right amount of spices, just the way I like. And their solkadi is pure heaven. One thing I love about Malvani cuisine is the solkadi. It touches your Soul!

The restaurant is very simple, no major ambiance. That’s because their sole focus is on the food. Their thali ranges from Veg thali to the Fish thali, kolambi (prawns) fry, kalve (oysters), squid, tisre (clams), Pomfret, chicken curry, mutton sukka, etc. Also, it’s quite affordable.

Lunch was done. 2-3 glasses of solkadi gulped down the throat. We were full and satisfied with the food.

We again walked towards our homestay now. Too much of walking done. Some more to do after having a delicious lunch. We reached the house, tired and soaked in the summer heat. Time to take some rest.

VISITING THE ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL

Your Malvan trip is incomplete without visiting the Sindhudurg Fort. In the evening, we headed towards Malvan beach which was around 15 mins walking distance from our location. We took a shortcut actually. Everything here was at a walking distance from our homestay. The beach was clean. As I said before, Malvan has stunning beaches.

The Fort is situated in the middle of the sea, so you have to reach there by boat from Malvan Jetty. It would cost you around Rs. 100/- per person for one and a half hour (1 hr inside the Fort + 30 mins for the 2-way boat ride).

We have studied about Shivaji Maharaj and his bravery and all his Forts in History. He is the Pride of Maharashtra. The Sindhudurg Fort is of historical importance so its a must visit if you are in Malvan.

Once you reach the Fort, I suggest taking a guide as nothing has been clearly mentioned inside. We did not take one and were wandering on our own. Not knowing where to go and what to see.

There are 12 points inside the Fort, which will be shown by the guide. There’s a Shiv Temple, Kuldevi temple, three wells, a watchtower, a secret exit tunnel, hand and foot impression of the great  Shivaji Maharaj and some other small points.

During our childhood days, we used to sing a song, “Malvan panya madhe killa, Shivaji aat kasa shirla?” Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jay!! It’s a mystery how Shivaji would enter the Fort as he didn’t travel through the sea. There’s a secret exit tunnel at the Fort but no one knows where it heads to. When I was standing near the wall of the Fort looking at the sea, this song struck my mind.

We couldn’t see all the 12 points and don’t know how many points we came across as we were just wandering. Our time was up and we returned enjoying the beautiful sunset view from the sea.

I headed back to the resort injured. Being the clumsy person, I’m more likely to trip and fall and hurt myself. I had sprained my ankle. Getting in and out of the boat is a bit risky. One step missed and you’re in the water. While getting out of the boat after returning to Malvan Jetty, my foot twisted, like always, and ankle sprained. No, I din’t fall in the water, thank God. But I was in a lot of pain. Somehow, I managed to walk to our homestay and applied a pain relief. Ahh! Damn! My foot! I fall even when I’m wearing a shoe! Which happened in this case. I was not wearing heels, not wearing some sandals, I was wearing a shoe. A damn shoe. Anyways, we had a light dinner of solkadi with steamed rice and amazing prawns fry at the homestay. And the day ended with beautiful memories.

Hey, where are you going? Check out my next post on Devbagh.