Monday, November 10, 2008

Raigad- Trek

Technically raigad is not a trek but a easy climb. But for lack of better words...it will be called a trek.
Pradeep and me decided that we need to do sumthing over the weekend...Pradeep is a Phd scholar at iit and hence naturally busy with his duties and all. ...I am caught up with fewer things. But we decided we must do this. 
Plan banaya..consulted a few guys like vivek who had done it before. 

Booked an ST ticket for three to a base village called Pachad(the third one was for AD ..and the idiot ditched us last minute). Tickey 138 rupees each , bus is Borivali-Shandoshi ..leaves kurla at 11 ..in night. Me and pradeep hop in to local and get there by 1030..kill time. Bus arrives at 1130.
5 hrs ride to Pachad...and boy is it cold. 
en route at mahad we get down for a break and the bus rushes ahead..Pradeep is running behind it as our bags are still on it. I try to be cool but i am panickin. We run behind till we dont see the bus..gaya! 
thankfully around the corner the bus is filling in air ..I am impresed by the workshop they have at mahad. For a taluka level bus stop its awesome..basic repairs ..axle checks ..oil change ..etc. but amazing because despite the level of the village stop ..it appears sophisticated. We roam around and take a look at the workshop...I am impressed. Pradeep is pretty struck too...he enlightens me on the "wealth of Nations" by adam smith..and how such complexity can be found in such a basic place. I am doubly impressed..i gotta read that book. (I had read part of it in 10th ..but i guess with my huge expierance it wud make better sense now)...anyway within half an hour we are on our way to Pachad. We ask the conductor to wake us up..its actually cold and we just have our towels to wrap around our heads. The climb to pachad takes an eternity and we get down infront of a concrete structure in pachad....
We decide its too dark(i think its around 4)...We see come benches inside and rest our bums ...and then the rest of our bodies. Weird noises around. Anyway sleep is wat we need. We sleep peacefully and get up at around 530...! As light filters in we realise that our bedmates were bats ...(to tell u the truth i did not find them bad at all...pretty sociable creatures)
Wash and brush(with bottle water) ..tea at "Deshmukh Hotel"..and we are on way to Raigad.Its a 2Km climb (nice road) to the base where you have the option to either go by the ropeway or the climb path. We took the climb...
It was a well tread path..with proper steps(I think totalling around 1400 steps)..Anyway we were so early that we were before the "taak" and "lime juice" vendors. The climb was pretty nice and we took in a lot of pics.
Reached top at around 8...
Beautiful sight.

I will not bore you with sights of raigad.Its a  very well preserved fort. 
The best part was the Tak Mak Tok..basically a cliff where prisoners were thrown off to their death. Pradeep was pretty impressed by the name and kept on Tak takaoing..mak Makaoing the entire way. It was a great sight. I felt bad for the prisoners..

Anyway we ended up by using the ropeway to come down. Nice exp...

At the base as we came out a six seater was waiting for Mahad..We hopped in. 25 bucks each to MAHAD...It was a rough ride but I dont know why both of us felt real drowsy...and kept on nodding off. 
We reach MAHAD at around 1..look for a nice place for lunch. No such luck or no such hotel. So we opt for  a shady touristy hotel. 
The waiter is an angry old man. He growls at us ..We ask him to get the menu..he again growls. Walks off with a snigger..! Wat the f..! I am pissed off. Pradeep says we really have no option. We look around and see that the menu is actually written on the signboard itself.
We call Angry old man and ask him to get 6 chapatis ..and a dal. Again he growls and goes on serving the others . We are ready to move..
Then a young guy comes to take our order..We repeat the same. Ordering in a chaas each. Angry old man growls from far. We call him for some water and to clean the table..growl growl.
Another order for chicken handi follows..

15 mins later it arrives. Dal is sweety ..but ok . Chapatis are good.Chicken is struggling to be edible. And its gravy looks like it had an oil bath.We fish out chicken(fish out chicken ..ha ha )...And pradeep comments that how can some one screw up a chicken dish...? but hunger allows us to be generous. 

End of lunch ..its 145 rupees. I hand over 200 to the young boy. ..Angry old man returns with the change. Hands me the change (there is a 50 rupee note and a 5 rupee coin). He is longingly lookin at the change as he is handing over. Stands near us sumtime after handing it. Pradeep whispers .."he is lookin for a tip"...
I am really angry now. Tip for wat? the growl or refusing to serve water ..or not cleaning the table?...I smile and put all the money back into my wallet. I am sorry but i enjoy such instant karmas..i m not the "forget and forgive variety"...
Bus is ready for thane when we get back ....We hop in..
Same journey back..Stop at PEN for some sharbat and cucumbers ..and back in thaane by 6 (i think so..my watch had stopped on raigad itself )..Local to Kanjur marg..
But Pradeep isnt interested in goin back. He is buyin a suit. So we raid huma adlabs . I am really not looking the "suit" type with my cargoes and sweaty t-shirt and red eyes..neither is pradeep. But pradeep is convinced that the salesman will let him in..I kno him,I had come earlier...!
Anyway we go in. The guard wants to check our bags..We let him. Swaety towels and polythene bags with eatables greet him..he gives a disgusted look..
To cut a long story short ..We select a very nice suit (its 40% discount) and it fits pradeep like a glove. I really like the color..greay striped and looks more expensive than it really is. Good Choice.
I convince Pradeep that its a life changing decission and I need a treat. We head to food factory. 
I promise that I will pay for coffee later(cafe cofee day is full so the promise is carried forward)..
Took an auto back home and landed on my doorstep in one peice...
Nice and time bound trek. 

2 comments:

Yemula Pradeep said...

well everything is exactly reproduced. Except for the final discussion that we had sitting infront of food factory, near the entrance of ladies room.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed reading it.Seems to be a very interesting experience.