Wanderlust Tales : Brudar-sista solo road trip to Lavasa
Come Monsoons and the real taste of the season can be had if you visit any of the hilly areas in Pune.
A surprise visit by my brudar - the brat to Pune, made me plan an instantaneous trip to the city of Lavasa.
My last trip was also an impromptu one - almost 2 years back. 😁
You would feel like stopping every 5 minutes and snapping a picture. It is just so picturesque.
As you ascend your way up the hills - the beauty is just mesmerizing - especially the profound greenery!
Lavasa is a modern-day hill station and based on the Italian town of Portofino. With a well-developed infrastructure having a lot of hotels, resorts, restaurants, educational institutes, malls, residential property - it is the best short trip one can pursue from Pune, at a distance of about 80kms or so. It is located on the Western Ghats.
It is steadily and slowly an emerging city - we noticed there is still a lot of work is going on Lavasa - but sure it will forever remain a tourist haven. 💕
There is an entry fee of Rs.500/- for four-wheelers for entering the city and parking the vehicle. They give few coupons against it - not very useful though.
Through your way up here - all you need to do is sit by the window, play your favorite number and gaze at the lush greenery, the clouds along your side, the soft drizzles and the chirping of the birds.
I would suggest starting early to enjoy before the place starts getting crowded - indeed serene!! 💚👽
We hired our ride for the day from Zoom car and it had its story to tell.
Started as early as 6:30-ish in the morning, to avoid the crunching traffic and drive in peace. Another agenda was to enjoy the sunrise. Unfortunately, the rains did not allow us to witness the sunrise - but I am not complaining. 😝
The roads were clear except the few BMTC buses running across. It took us about 3 hours or so to reach the Waterfront Shaw in Lavasa.
The delay was attributed to a flat tire on our way to Lavasa. Well, with so many stories of people cheating travelers in the city - by telling them of a flat tire and the puncture wala looting the car driver, by creating fake punctures - has literally created a scare in my mind.
Now the genius that my brother is - despite having driven a car for quite a number of years now, didn't even know to replace a tire. 😓 Zoom car provides with a spare tire - which made our life a tad bit easier.
So now the big task at hand was to replace the tire.
A casual conversation and my brudar Goutam, and he tells me - I will quickly watch a Youtube video and try replacing the tire. I was a big nooo for this - are you crazy?! Seeing a video and relying on that replacement - I am not driving ahead. That seemed totally insane given we had to drive an uphill.
We had made a stop near a housing society. Right amidst all the chaos, there was this gentleman who was entering his society on his scooter. I think he saw us bickering - it made him stop for a few seconds, and don't know what got onto him - he assessed and told us there is a puncture fixing guy ahead about half a km.
We said, we just need to replace the tire, fixing of the puncture can be done later - but we do not know how to. 😦 He didn't think twice - even before we could ask him anything else, he got to work to replace the tire. I was touched - he literally dirtied himself in the rain, getting the tire fixed up.
Wow...I couldn't have thanked him enough for helping us out at that moment - there is something about traveling solo, the first time without parents - does create a scare. Never, have such things happened when we travel with family and see the first solo trip we take and a puncture. Alas!!
This gentleman and the family in the car who warned us - just made me believe - irrespective of all the bad people out there in the world, there are people like these who help without thinking twice.
All is well that ends well!! 😇
A big lesson learned is when you drive, especially a long distance, a big must is always knowing how to change a flat tire plus having a spare tire in the trunk.
The roads at some point get really pathetic with a trillion potholes - a route that is so often sought by the tourists must be in a good condition and maintained. 😒
Pictures speak a thousand words as they say:
Once at the WaterShaw Front, we noticed that most of the shops, restaurants were closed - they start to open only by 9-ish or 9:30-ish in the morning.
During the time, we were here it was drizzling and windy - just perfect for a walk across the streets there - appeasing! 💚💙💜💛
The sharp bends:
A number of jhopdi wale shops selling corn, chai and some snacks.
Soon, after we reached Pune, we headed to the Phoenix Mall to ease our growling tummies. As we were heading back to Magarpatta, my brother who was driving suddenly noticed that the brakes were not functioning properly. Post that, we had to call the roadside assistance from Zoom car - it was a poor service I would say. It took about 2 and a half hours for them to have someone pick the keys and tow the car. So much for renting from Zoom car - a puncture and failed brakes!! 😕😔
Cheers to life!!
~Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!
P.S.All the above photos have been clicked by me. Personal photos on the blog yet again since this was our first brudar-sista solo trip.😍
A surprise visit by my brudar - the brat to Pune, made me plan an instantaneous trip to the city of Lavasa.
My last trip was also an impromptu one - almost 2 years back. 😁
LAVASA:
Lavasa is a planned city and looks breathtakingly amazing during the monsoons - the foggy mornings, the minimal visibility on the roads, the numerous waterfalls gazing out. Epic scene! 💗💙You would feel like stopping every 5 minutes and snapping a picture. It is just so picturesque.
As you ascend your way up the hills - the beauty is just mesmerizing - especially the profound greenery!
Lavasa is a modern-day hill station and based on the Italian town of Portofino. With a well-developed infrastructure having a lot of hotels, resorts, restaurants, educational institutes, malls, residential property - it is the best short trip one can pursue from Pune, at a distance of about 80kms or so. It is located on the Western Ghats.
It is steadily and slowly an emerging city - we noticed there is still a lot of work is going on Lavasa - but sure it will forever remain a tourist haven. 💕
HOW TO GET HERE:
Route - pretty much Google map is enough to guide your way to Lavasa!There is an entry fee of Rs.500/- for four-wheelers for entering the city and parking the vehicle. They give few coupons against it - not very useful though.
Through your way up here - all you need to do is sit by the window, play your favorite number and gaze at the lush greenery, the clouds along your side, the soft drizzles and the chirping of the birds.
I would suggest starting early to enjoy before the place starts getting crowded - indeed serene!! 💚👽
We hired our ride for the day from Zoom car and it had its story to tell.
Started as early as 6:30-ish in the morning, to avoid the crunching traffic and drive in peace. Another agenda was to enjoy the sunrise. Unfortunately, the rains did not allow us to witness the sunrise - but I am not complaining. 😝The roads were clear except the few BMTC buses running across. It took us about 3 hours or so to reach the Waterfront Shaw in Lavasa.
The delay was attributed to a flat tire on our way to Lavasa. Well, with so many stories of people cheating travelers in the city - by telling them of a flat tire and the puncture wala looting the car driver, by creating fake punctures - has literally created a scare in my mind.
DRIVING SAGA:
As we were zooming ahead, a car with family members in it, took the effort to overtake and intimate us about the puncture. The plentiful of posts on social media have made me quite wary - it did not lead me to believe them instantly. After the initial doubts and few minutes of scrutiny from our car itself, we finally stepped down and found the tire was actually punctured way beyond it can take and had heated up profusely. Genuine-ty wins! 😊Now the genius that my brother is - despite having driven a car for quite a number of years now, didn't even know to replace a tire. 😓 Zoom car provides with a spare tire - which made our life a tad bit easier.
So now the big task at hand was to replace the tire.
A casual conversation and my brudar Goutam, and he tells me - I will quickly watch a Youtube video and try replacing the tire. I was a big nooo for this - are you crazy?! Seeing a video and relying on that replacement - I am not driving ahead. That seemed totally insane given we had to drive an uphill.
I don't know if I could say I was lucky or should I say it was my day to make me believe there are good samaritans who are willing to help without expecting anything in return. 😊
We had made a stop near a housing society. Right amidst all the chaos, there was this gentleman who was entering his society on his scooter. I think he saw us bickering - it made him stop for a few seconds, and don't know what got onto him - he assessed and told us there is a puncture fixing guy ahead about half a km.
We said, we just need to replace the tire, fixing of the puncture can be done later - but we do not know how to. 😦 He didn't think twice - even before we could ask him anything else, he got to work to replace the tire. I was touched - he literally dirtied himself in the rain, getting the tire fixed up.
Wow...I couldn't have thanked him enough for helping us out at that moment - there is something about traveling solo, the first time without parents - does create a scare. Never, have such things happened when we travel with family and see the first solo trip we take and a puncture. Alas!!
This gentleman and the family in the car who warned us - just made me believe - irrespective of all the bad people out there in the world, there are people like these who help without thinking twice.
All is well that ends well!! 😇
A big lesson learned is when you drive, especially a long distance, a big must is always knowing how to change a flat tire plus having a spare tire in the trunk.
The roads at some point get really pathetic with a trillion potholes - a route that is so often sought by the tourists must be in a good condition and maintained. 😒
Pictures speak a thousand words as they say:
Once at the WaterShaw Front, we noticed that most of the shops, restaurants were closed - they start to open only by 9-ish or 9:30-ish in the morning.
During the time, we were here it was drizzling and windy - just perfect for a walk across the streets there - appeasing! 💚💙💜💛
After spending about 2 hours or so strolling, grabbing something to eat - we left for Pune.
The sharp bends:
A number of jhopdi wale shops selling corn, chai and some snacks.
Soon, after we reached Pune, we headed to the Phoenix Mall to ease our growling tummies. As we were heading back to Magarpatta, my brother who was driving suddenly noticed that the brakes were not functioning properly. Post that, we had to call the roadside assistance from Zoom car - it was a poor service I would say. It took about 2 and a half hours for them to have someone pick the keys and tow the car. So much for renting from Zoom car - a puncture and failed brakes!! 😕😔
Cheers to life!!
~Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!
P.S.All the above photos have been clicked by me. Personal photos on the blog yet again since this was our first brudar-sista solo trip.😍
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