3 Aug 2008

Day trip to Tungareshwar

Last weekend it was raining like cats and dogs. So my family and I went for a day trip to enjoy the monsoon. We drove down to Tungareshwar. This place is near Vasai, on the Mumbai - Ahmedabad highway. We left at 7.00 in the morning. It would take us an hour and a half to reach there. It seemed like the Gods were really angry as it began to rain more and more. We couldn't see a thing! We actually thought of abandoning the whole idea of a picnic, thinking that we may get caught up in the floods while coming back to Mumbai. But we were too excited to turn back. Jo hoga, dekha jayegaa.
So we went on. There is forest in Tungareshwar, which has been recently declared as a sanctuary. There is a 3 km light trek upto the temple through this lush green forest. It was still pouring, so we had to walk with wind-cheaters and umbrellas all the way up. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of people picknicking on this rainy day. Unfortunately, I couldn't spot any birds because of the rain. We were chit-chatting and making merry on the way, as the trek was relatively easy. On the way, we crossed the river, which had knee- deep water. People were having fun bathing and swimming in the water. We were absolutely drenched and it didn't look like the rain was going to stop. We reached the temple in about an hour's time. There was some chanting in the name of Rama at the temple and we had to stand in the queue for a while. Soon we were famished. We stopped at a near-by stall for tea, vada- pav and sandwiches, while it was pouring outside. We were looking forward to go to the near-by waterfalls, when it started raining again. This time it was really bad. So we decided to skip the trek to the waterfalls and head back home. Going downhill was easy, and we reached down in no time. I was tempted to drive in this lovely weather, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it and although I am famous for my driving, this time I was complimented! Once we reached the city limits, I got into what my dad calls 'road rage' and he took the wheels. I was happy thinking we were smarter than the others since we came back in the afternoon, instead of the evening, when the whole of Mumbai would be returning from Khandala.
All in all, we had a great time and it was thoroughly refreshing!

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