IT'S SHOWTIME...

It's my time to Shine, Slay, and Show Off... Like we say in Theatre - IT'S SHOWTIME... A bit late but I'm glad I accepted things before getting vanished into the thin air in this lifetime. The fear of not being able to live a life where I'm true to myself has crippled my senses for the longest time, and the worst part is - I never acknowledged it and myself, for the majority of my life. The onus of being a 'Gooooodd Girl' for my family has weighed too heavy on my chest for the longest time, but honestly, I never cared about being the good girl but more about the people I would hurt if I become the best version of who I'm.

It won't be wrong to say that I have a tiny bit of regret but my promise to myself is to shift the focus from the past and live one day at a time and the rest of my life on my terms. Good, bad, ugly - I want to own it, flaunt it, and never shy away from it. No camouflage, no pretense, no being good - just the raw, naked version of myself. And as I realize, it might have a cost attached to it. I feel vulnerable, volatile, and insecure but I'm still up for it.

I always thought it was my job to fix everything - relationships, situations, my family, and the list goes on. Today, when I sit back and wonder, I feel it was never meant to be my job. I'm not here to fix anything, and I can't fix anything for anyone. Noooo, I can't. I'm practicing saying 'NOOO' as that's another area where I majorly need to work upon. 

Let me accept - I'm No superwoman. I'm tired, worn out, restless, and hurt... but I still have a fire burning within. The desire to do so much more, be much more, over the top, and slay everything like a Queen. Never to look back, never to be tamed down, allow no one to take my shine away, no damn person or situation can have that power on me now... Nothing...   

 

Triund Trek - My first but definitely not the last

On Day 2 of my Dharamshala trip, I woke up and had the plan to go to Dal Lake with a solo traveller and a couple who had become my friends the night before. However, my heart was pulling me towards something I hadn't done before - trekking. It was an intuitive trip and I had promised to listen to my heart alone, so I quickly got ready and went to the Zostel reception to enquire. As luck had it, there was a guy who had booked a tour guide for Triund Trek the same day, and the reception guy suggested I join him. I had no qualms and immediately agreed to it. What followed next is something that will remain tucked in my heart forever. 

The trek began from Dharamkot with the three of us as a team - Ravinder (from Zostel), Nischal (our guide), and I - an overconfident girl who didn't bother to fetch any information about the trek before signing up for it. Ravinder turned out to be a regular trekker, and I knew the poor fellow will have to bear with an amateur trekker's tantrums on the way, however, I didn't fathom the magnitude of it. The three of us began the journey, and within the first two hours, I had no second thoughts that I had taken the most disastrous decision of my life. I felt out of breath every two minutes and seriously started contemplating going back. However, in either case, I had to trek, hence, I decided to rather go up, trusting my lungs won't give up on me midway. 

The two boys turned out to be my saviour, and I thank heaven I had them with me throughout. Post knowing that a first-time trekker is accompanying him on the trek, Ravinder, the sweetest guy I came across in the whole trip, had already stocked up enough chocolates, cookies, and water. With his previous experiences, he just knew I would need it on the way to make it through but won't carry it. He was bang on. The two boys kept it light and funny, making me the butt of a joke throughout (our joke will remain personal though 😏), held my hands tight, and literally, left no stone unturned to pull me through one of the most difficult tasks I had undertaken in my whole life. Within just a few hours, we three had become a unit... That is the beauty of human life - sometimes, you know people for years, and yet they appear strangers, on the other, you just form heart-to-heart bonds with people within no time. And I only trust my heart. It never misleads me. 

In between all the huffing and puffing, and my lungs fighting with me every two minutes threatening to give up, we halted at a few beautiful spots offering breathtaking views. Strangely, every time, we just lit one cigarette that the three of us shared. So, the bottom line is, "Sutta se pyaar badta hai".

Finally, after almost 4.5 hours, we reached Triund Peak, way before sunset. According to the boys, our timing was not bad at all, looking at how it started (Courtesy - the pro trekker who was accompanying them). Now, the most crucial question is - Was it worth all the pain I had made my lungs and legs endure?). YES, YESS, and a big YEEEESSSSSSS...

Looking straight into the eyes of the snowclad Dhauladhar ranges made it all worth it. And, this is where my words are going to fail me. The joy of being on top made me thoughtless and feather-light from within. A Zen-like state we all strive to achieve most of our lives, maybe this is exactly what it feels like. The next hour was dedicated to the sunset. As it was a solar eclipse, the Sun somehow felt even more special. Again, I felt the same thoughtlessness looking at the marvel of nature. 

As the Sun set, and the cold breeze took command, I quickly got inside my tent to put on all the extra layers I was carrying. the breeze made it a bit tough and I borrowed a jacket from the guy, who was our host and cook on the top. In the meanwhile, Nischal and one other guy went down to the forest to collect logs for the campfire. Next to join us as a special guest for the evening was our bottle of Rum - and this fellow was love at first sight for all of us. Campfire, chakhna (snacks), some good music, star gazing, and two amazing friends. What in life can be better? Maybe, more such nights on mountain tops.

By 10 pm, we finished our dinner and were inside our tents. Nischal, my cutest buddy and bro made sure I was warm enough with two sleeping bags and a blanket. The tent was pretty comfortable, however, sleep eluded me throughout the night, and thoughts eroded my mind. 

Post an event-free night, I was out of the tent by 6 am to soak in the cold air and witness Mr. Sun peep from behind the mountains. Filling our bellies with a bowl of soupy Maggi and a cup of tea, we were set to trek down the hills. 

This time around, my legs felt lifeless, and started quivering. Again, my knight without any shining armour, Nischal, held my hand tight, and said, "Main hoon na, aap kyun tension le rahe ho." He was right - with him and Ravinder around, there was nothing to worry about. We reached the base within three hours of trekking and had bread, egg omelet, and tea at Shiva Cafe, a popular spot amongst tourists. I was amazed, proud, and ecstatic that I had pulled it through.

I reached my Zostel room by 1.30 pm, got freshen up, packed my bag as I was leaving the same evening for home, and rested for a while. By 4 pm, I was up in the Zostel Cafe to grab lunch and pack something to eat at night during the bus journey. Ravinder, who also had to leave for Delhi the same evening, was in the cafe, too. We took the same cab for Dharamshala from where our buses would depart. 

Again, knowing the condition of my legs, this awesome guy pulled my luggage to the bus stand, saying, " Apko khich liya too yeh too aapka luggage hi hai." After chatting for some time, we bid adieu to each other with the promise to catch up soon in Dehradun, my temporary abode on Earth.

My bus arrived 2 hours later than the scheduled time but the rest of the ride was comfortable and I reached Dehradun by 7.30 am. My real knight again not in shining armour - my husband - was there to pick me up. Post a trip, people go back home, and I just go back to this man, I call my home. The only one who keeps me sane amidst all the insanity of the world, silently... 

  

    

 

  

Left a piece of my heart in the mountains...

The heart doesn't know any calculations, it's always the mind. So, keeping the mind and its logic aside, I decided to follow my heart and it took me 5 minutes to book my Zostel dorm in Dharamshala. Never travelled solo, never stayed in a dorm, and never planned a trip so quickly... but that's how it is when you just flow with no holds barred. It was an overnight journey from Dehradun and I was in a place I knew no one and no one knew me. During check-in, I realised I have to share the dorm with 5 boys. Little apprehensive, I asked for a single room. However, post my interaction with a fellow solo traveller in the Zostel cafe, I decided to check into the dorm and I thank heaven for that. 

So, the same fellow solo traveller, who was checking out the same evening, offered to show the town around on foot. A doctor by profession, the guy talked about his profession as a urologist in such a candid manner, I couldn't help but laugh throughout. Never thought medical talks about life and death can also be humorous. In the meanwhile, he ended up sharing everything about his life, and love life (yeah! a fucked up one), and asked for my opinion (It's another thing that my relationship ideas are seemingly weird and don't really work in the conventional world), it was nice to know a stranger with no strings attached. I also ended up sharing a bit about my life, and we both cracked up a couple of times. 

We spent the whole day together and went to the Dalai Lama temple, the local market, Bhagsu Waterfall, a local monastery, a pub, and a café. It was nice to just walk the whole day as completely the opposite is what I do in routine. In between all the regular touristy things I did, I met a South Korean woman in the café who was travelling with her 8-year-old daughter. I just walked up to her
and the conversation that followed for the next 30 minutes was liberating. There was a lot in common between us, as women and mothers.

I came back to the Zostel by 6 pm and said bye to the doctor and wished him luck for his future adventures. As it was Diwali, and I was far away from home (Strangely, I didn't miss the mundane Diwali celebrations a bit), I gulped down a can of beer, scribbled something in the notepad, and by 7 pm, I was up in the open-roof Zostel Café surrounded by strangers wishing Happy Diwali to one another. At this point, I wanted to hug a few people who mean the world to me but I was in a different world, far away.

Sitting under the starlit sky, watching the lights in the far-off mountains with some fireworks on and off, there was a sense of calm within and my heart felt full. While I was enjoying the space, another solo traveller joined in and conversation flowed. Honestly, I was really not in the mood to talk to another stranger, so I spoke to him for some time and excused myself as quickly as I could. The overnight journey and whole day walk compelled me to call it a day as I felt exhausted. 

The next morning, I woke up and yet again, chose to follow my intuitions. And where it led me will remain etched in my heart forever. 

To be contd...     

  

The calm after a storm...

The lost vagabond has come back after a long time... and hopefully, this time around, I'll be able to continue the journey I had started a long time back. This particular blog, too, is also about a journey, an inner one - the calm after a storm. What I want to write about today is something I've craved for a long time and today, when I feel the calm within, even that craving seems blurred. How important it is to be 'emotionally available' for your partner in the journey of life that surely throws us off the road without any warning. Being 'emotionally available' for your partner is 'extremely vital' or should I say the most crucial part of a relationship. While falling into the trap of mundane life, it takes effort to nurture a relationship. And most of the time, when the craving for quality time, companionship, love, conversations, flirtatious glare, and lustful touch is loop-sided, the suffering of the one who is craving for all of these and more, eats up the person bit by bit, every day, every moment. 

The one mistake many of us do once in a committed relationship is taking it for granted and pausing every attempt to nurture the once most special part of one's life. It's like when we plant a sapling, we water it, give it fodder, take utmost care of it, and one fine day when it grows into a lush green tree, we stop paying any heed to it, as we assume that it doesn't require anything and can sustain on its own. And one fine day, there is a storm and before we realise, the tree gets uprooted, without a warning. A human being, no matter at what stage of his/her life, requires every bit of nurturing and love in abundance. Or else, one day it's bound to wither, without a warning.

So, today, as I've resumed the journey of self-love post a long hiatus, I promise to give myself all the nurturing I always sought outside. Today, I say sorry to myself whom I've ignored for the longest time. Let me tell you, "I love you". Thank you for bearing with me all this while when I was unavailable for you... you are the best and you should know it... Let's begin... all over again... the journey of a vagabond.

A trip to Shantiniketan

A trip to Shantiniketan

Shaniniketan University Campus. Pic Credit: Shazia Khan

Taking time out from my action-packed monotonous routine, I decided to take a quick trip to Shantiniketan, West Bengal to attend one of my best friends' wedding reception. As it was at the final hour that I decided to join my pack of friends, I hurriedly dumped things in my bag and left home in an hour's time after making up my mind. I managed to reach the railway station quite on time. I felt the first surge of excitement the moment I saw my friends standing at the platform. The Bollywood style entry of a friend's girlfriend in a saree, that too minus any luggage, took all of us by surprise. She was coming straight from her office as she had cooked up some last minute emergency story to join us on the trip. And, I was thinking it's me who had done a cool thing by deciding to come on the trip at the eleventh hour. Anyways...

The train journey was a fun riot. In between all the laughter, incessant chatter and gyan sessions, I would peep outside to take a glimpse of the landscape of never-ending farming lands, villages and wonder about the life of people living out there. Is it easy or tough? Is it better than mine? What if I was a part of them and so on. Even during my childhood days, the most thrilling part of any vacation would be the train journey (Not that we used to go on too many). I still remember how the excitement would give me sleepless nights and I would start packing my bag a week in advance. And now packing bag takes only 30 minutes.

Listening to ghost stories and not paying much heed to the nasty comments of a grumpy insomniac passenger who was enjoying our conversation but pretending to get disturbed at the same time, we got down at Durgapur Station. The summers in this part of the state is hot and humid, so we quickly hired a cab for Shantiniketan, which was 52 kms away. The drive turned out to be dreamlike. Beautiful mud huts, ponds full of lotus and water lilies, tress on both sides of the road, women cycling with their face covered with sarees to protect them from the heat, CPM and Trinamool posters at every nook and corner, a person selling herbs on a cycle rickshaw and claiming to cure deadly diseases on mic and roadside vendor selling Salman Khan t-shirt for Rs 50. Poultry farming seemed a profitable profession out here as we spotted many poultry farms on the way, which looked surprisingly clean from the distance.

As we reached Shantiniken, the number of shops increased, many of which were shut as it was afternoon and afternoon nap is a must for every Bong bondhu (Bengali friend).

A nice guest house inside the Shantiniketan University Campus was booked for us. The campus area is a different world all together. The student crowd is nothing like what we see in Delhi Campus. Here the whole notion of 'coolness' lies in simplicity. Being in the campus and thinking that it is here where Rabindranath Tagore lived and wrote his poems and novels made me feel proud of my identity as a Bong. Like the name suggests, the place is a peaceful retreat. All I could hear once I reached the guest house and crashed on the bed, was the sound of birds' chirping. A perfect place to unwind and escape from the city life.
Next started the food frenzy. The rest of the time we were in the land of Rabindranath Tagore, all we did was we ate like 'henglas' (hoggers). Bengal is famous for its food and sweets; and for that extra love with which the food is served - "kichui too khao ni, aar ektu nao" (You have eaten nothing, you have to take more). The more the love, the more you are forced to eat extra till the time you lie down on your plate and say no for it.
The food was scrumptious. Starting from Beguni, Bengali style fried rice with dry fruits, misthi doi, macher ghonto, kosha mangsho, fish and no prizes for guessing - the pride of Bengal - 'Rosogolla'.

After hogging on food, we shifted our focus on the bride and the groom. I somehow enjoy the entry bit in a 'shaadi ka ghar' (Home where the wedding is taking place). Those who know you come screaming, give you a tight hug, welcome you with open arms and those who don't, scan you from top to bottom and inquire about you from others right in front of you.

After meeting everyone, we all went to meet the bride, who was too shy to deal with so many gazing eyeballs at one time. We wrapped up the meeting in 15 minutes and left for the guest house.

The shortcut to the guest house was through the garden of someone's home and they were more than happy to allow us to use their personal space. The garden had a small mango tree, guava tree, many other flowering plants and, a dog.


The evening reception was a simple affair, minus any 'show-sha baazi'. One of my friends got the bride ready and I happily took the role of her assistant. I somehow managed to sneak out in between to have 'phuchkas' and they were heaven. After phuchkas, we quickly came back, got ready and left for the reception. There was again food all around us. We left for our guest house quite late.
What followed next was usual non-stop chatter, which continued till late night. Next morning, I
along with two of my friends left at around 6.30 to catch a Kolkata local from Bolpur. From Kolkata, I had to catch a flight to Delhi, the other one had planned to stay back in Kolkata for another couple of days with her relatives and the third one had to leave for Bangalore on an official trip. We got in a local train for Kolkata from Bolpur station. While waiting for the local at Bolpur station, I had kullarh chai, chips and bargained with a vendor selling handmade bags. Though getting onto the packed local turned out be a task, we somehow managed to reach our reserved seats after pushing the crowd. At that moment I could not thank my friend enough for booking the local tickets a day in advance without even telling us.

I loved the train journey as one vendor after the other kept getting into the train from every station and we kept munching the next three hours. Lojins (local toffees), juice, jhal-moori, tea, daab, aloo chaat, paan, deem sheddo (boiled eggs) and what not. It kept all three of us busy and entertained.
We reached Howrah station bang on scheduled time and booked the pre-paid taxi from outside the station after standing in a serpentine queue for 20 minutes. After bidding adieu to my friend who was staying back in Kolkata, two of us left for the airport.


On my way to the airport, I stopped at one sweetshop to buy kilos of sweets for my family, and grabbed two mishti-doi for us. The old-world charm of Kolkata captivated me completely as I could not keep my eyes off from the roads, the buildings and even its people. I wished to stay back in the city for a few days.

Within an hour, we reached Kolkata Airport, and what I saw next left me pleasantly shocked. A world-class swanky huge airport. So when did this happen? The memory of the old, dilapidated Kolkata International Airport was too deeply eched in my memory. Admiring the pioneering move of the state govt., I could not stop missing the old beauty, don't know why.

After checking in on time, both of us grabbed hot coffee and sandwich and left for our respective flights as coincidently they were at the interval of only 10 minutes. One thought that really disturbed me while I was sitting at the airport was the promise I had made to my badi maa, who really wanted to come to Kolkata once. But I could not keep my promise and now can't do that ever. With her thought I said bye to the city, where I have never stayed but is still so much mine.

Come back soon...

What I’m feeling today is strange. Why I’m feeling so I don’t know, and I can’t explain it to anyone. Today I feel stabbing pain deep within. Today no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop myself from breaking down in front of others which is making me feel stupid. When people around me are asking me what’s wrong, I’m just smiling and telling them ‘kuch nahi bas aise hi’. How can anyone understand the sense of void and loss I’m feeling?

Rituparno Ghosh, the man who made me fall in love with Bengali cinema, is no more. Rituparno Ghosh, whose cinema unknowingly changed my whole perspective towards love, relationships, emotions and undisputedly broadened my limited outlook towards sexuality and in the process made me a better human being, is dead. Today, in grief when I pondered, I realised I owe this man a lot, a lot that I never realised when he was alive. The news of his demise left me in a state of denial for a long time and somehow it has still not sink in.

I might again sound stupid but I knew you personally Rituparno. I knew you through your movies, I knew your heart, so many times I lived the characters of your movies, felt the tenderness, the mystification and love – wasn’t that a glimpse of you? Wasn’t there some part of you in those characters? So I knew you personally. I can moan your death like the way we moan the departure of people we know and love.  

Yesterday, I broke down several times. While reading about you, while seeing you lying peacefully on your death bed, I deeply wished I could do something to make you talk again, to make you again go back to directing movies. The movies which have been an integral part of my youth days and helped me to shape up my thoughts and ideas. I never knew I loved you so deeply Rituparno and I never ever thought I will miss you so much. I so much want to see more of you, what you have left is incomplete. The uneasiness I feel today is like somebody has abruptly stopped the movie which was so beautiful that it was turning out to be my favourite and now there is no one in the world who can tell me its climax.

I always had this beautiful dream that what if one day miraculously I get a call from somewhere asking me to act in your movie. Maybe just a two minute thing and that would be the opportunity for which I could keep everything at stake, shed any inhibition and simply act. Now, as you are not there, my most beautiful dream has also vaporised. Now, there will be no Rituparno movie I’ll go running to get the passes for. No more ‘Chitrangada’, no more ‘Memories in March’, no more ‘Dahan’. You left a void in my life that is never going to be filled. Today all I pray is that you quickly take rebirth and come back again, again make cinema and again create more hope for a better world.

 A wild vacation…

The excitement of exploring the wilds of India never ceases to die down with me. The more I explore, the more I fall in love with it and the more I crave for it. So it is no coincidence that every year my first vacation is some wildlife sanctuary and it has been this way for the past three consecutive years. 
   After exploring the jungles of Corbett, Bandhavgarh and Panna, this year I decided to head to Gir Forest reserve of Gujarat. While planning I realised that it would take me almost 27 hours to reach Gir Forest Reserve from Delhi, i.e. 24 hours of train journey to Rajkot and three hours of road journey from Rajkot to Sasan. Little taken aback, I researched about the forest, read about it, googled the pictures and I was sure I’ve to be in the forest of Gir.

   The train journey was long but superb fun. After watching movies, gathering valuable information from the locals sitting by our side in the same coach and relishing delicious rabri (Indian sweet made from milk) at Abu station of Rajasthan, I got down at Rajkot. The first thing that struck me and almost left me sulking after getting down at the station and going through a security check, is knowing that ‘Gujarat is a dry state’, yes no booze. The first thought that crossed my mind after knowing this was that ‘I’d not done my research well.’

Still, the thought of wildlife and jungle was enough to keep my spirits high and I decided to take a local bus to Sasan. Having gathered enough information about local buses, I was quite confident that it’s not going to be a bad idea. I took an auto from Rajkot station for the local bus stand, from there boarded a non-stop bus to Junagadh and from Junagadh boarded another bus to Sasan. As I was dead tired by the time I checked into the hotel at 2 in the afternoon, I decided to rest for the latter half of day in my hotel and enjoy jungle from there. Yes, the hotel was inside the jungle and the first animal I spotted that evening was a jackal from my hotel lawn. It’s a struggle to find non-veg. food in this part of the town. So please check whether or not your hotel serves non-veg. food if you can’t do without it. Mine was a vegetarian hotel and I’d already started missing chicken on day one of my trip.

All geared up for the safari, I got up at 4’0 clock in the morning the next day and the taxi that would take me to the tatkal ticket counter arrived at 4.30 am. There are three safaris to the forest in a day – 7.00 am to 9.30 am, 9.30 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 6.30 pm. Thirty vehicles are allowed inside the park at a time and in that 10 to 15 are booked a month in advance. Reaching early in the morning is mandatory if you want the permit to enter the park. What time one should leave in the morning to stand in the queue depends on the rush of tourists or whether it’s a weekend. The safaris are diverted on different routes starting from one to eight. You cannot choose your route as that is randomly given at the ticket counter. The morning and evening safaris are good if you want to spot the king of Gir forest – the lions and other wildlife like leopard, deer, antelopes, wild boar, crocodile and so on. Gir forest is a paradise for bird lovers as a wide variety of it can be spotted here.

My effort to get up early in the morning paid off when I got the permit for morning safari – my first safari in Gir. While getting into the safari jeep a surge of joy, excitement and nostalgia hit me. The thrill of entering the forest lying undisturbed the whole night, seeing animals in the wild, tracking down the King and the whole feel of the jungle…. Ahhh!!! That’s my heaven on earth. I took back-to-back three safaris on day one and finally my luck favoured me in the third trip when I spotted a lioness sitting relaxed by roadside. Just one glimpse of the beauty in the wild and your day is made.

Coming back to the hotel after taking series of safari, I got a very useful tip from a guy in our hotel. So the tip was before heading for a safari, I must privately ask the guide to do whatever he can to spot me a lion and in return ‘tumhare chai pani ka kharcha main dekh lungi’. So ‘chai pani’ theory works even in forests. There are other ‘jugaads’ also that you can look for if you fail to spot a lion in the wilds. One needs to figure out these ‘jugaads’ on his own.

I took two more safaris the next day and again spotted a lioness, this time quite close and while she was on a move. In the time gap between my morning and evening safari I decided to go to Deolia, which is nine kilometres away from where I was staying. In Deolia, a small part of the forest is fenced where you can spot guaranteed lions in a bus ride that lasts for 45 minutes. This is particularly made for those who fail to spot lions in a safari.

Next day before checking out from the hotel I decided to go for another morning safari and hearing this, my hotel guy could not help mention that he’d never seen someone taking six safaris plus Deolia trip in just two-and-a-half days. So in short he indirectly called me psycho and I loved it.

Spotting two lions the next morning while they were on move growling, I contently headed to my next luxury destination – Diu. The two-hour drive from Sasan to Diu is a treat. Clean, green, zero-potholed roads and cool breeze – the whole stretch was beautiful with small-scale jaggery making units in every small intervals. I asked my cab driver to stop at one such unit as I wanted to have fresh sugarcane juice. He didn’t quite like the idea but I still went ahead. Seeing them make jaggery was a bonus.

Enjoying rest of the road journey, I reached Diu. The landscape of Diu reminded me of Goa. The next best thing about Diu was that it’s not a dry place and there is non-veg. food in abundance. There is nothing else I could have asked for. After indulging in sinful lunch, I headed for Nagoa beach which was just 50 meter walk from my amazing resort.

The daylight just slipped into the dark, and I could not keep track of the hours I spent walking on the sand and playing in the waves. The water sport is another attraction of the beaches of Diu. The sight of people doing parasailing was enough for me and within next few minutes I was soaring high in the sky, enjoying the breathtaking view of the sea from a height and soaking in the cool breeze. This again reminded me of Goa.

After spending few relaxing hours at the beachside, I headed for my resort. The whole ambience of the place was awesome. Bonfire, classic rock music, open sky, food, carom board, unlimited booze and thankfully no smoke as the whole resort is ‘No Smoking Zone’. Enjoying the whole feel of the place, finally I slipped into my bed quite late in the night.

My dream vacation finally came to an end and it was my last morning in Diu. Without wasting any time, I left for the beach after a light breakfast. I soaked in the morning sun, did Jet Ski and played in the waves. Came back, got freshen up and decided to just walk down the quiet beautiful lanes of Diu as I  still had two hours left. Finally, at one’o clock, I bid adieu to Diu and boarded the taxi for Rajkot. Once again I was feeling if the vacation could just go on and not end. Another beautiful journey, and lots of memories to take back home!

How to Reach:

By Air

The nearest airport is Keshod, at a distance of 90 km from Sasan Gir; the other airport is Rajkot at a distance of 140 kms.

By Train

Sasan Gir has a railway station of its own, with train connections to a number of other cities and towns in Gujarat and its neighbouring states. The towns of Junagadh, Veraval and Delwada have daily trains to Sasan Gir, from where the park is only about a km away.

By Road

Fairly good roads link the park to the rest of the country. Junagadh itself is only about 60 km from Gir, and there are frequent buses connecting the town to the park.

Where to Stay

Gir Forest Reserve

Best Budget Options

·         Sinh Sadan Forest Lodge

·         Gir Birding Lodge

·         Gir Jungle Lodge

·         Hotel Green Park

Best Luxury Options

·         Club Mahindra Safari Resort

·         The Gateway Hotel

·         Lion Safari Camp

·         Firn Gir Forest Resort

Diu

·         Radhika Beach resort

·         Azzaro Resort and Spa

·         Hoka Resort