Left 7.15 am. Drove 430 kms to Phlox Hotel in Hubbali. Took us 8 hours. Stopped at Anand Khushi restaurant for breakfast and Hotel Shiva near Ranebennur for lunch. The food at Hotel Shiva was pretty good.
Evening. Drove to beautiful Unkal lake in the middle of town. HUGE. Terrific wind, even more than at the seashore (why?). Big waves. Looked clean and full of water. Came back and watched a panoramic sunset view from our window.
Impressed by the Bus Rapid Transit System in Hubbali-Dharwad. Wide central road for buses only, spacious covered bus stops and pedestrian overbridges at regular intervals, no violations of the bus lane. If they could do it here, why not in Bangalore?
Decided to skip the planned early morning walk up nearby Nrupatunga hill. Got ready, had a great buffet breakfast in the hotel. Before leaving Hubbali, visited the 12th century Chandramouleshwara temple built by the Chalukyas. A small gem tucked away in the middle of a village and hard to find.
Crossed over into Maharashtra. Not as successful in getting food we liked as yesterday. Just unlucky, or change in food tastes in this part of the country? Reached Kaas Woods Resort around 4 pm. Perched on a hillside above Satara, with a lovely view from the balcony and a bunch of lively young boys running the place. Drove to the Kaas plateau, South India's "valley of flowers". Though alas too early for the flowering season. Also descended to a beautiful serene lake nearby. I had to touch the water as usual.
Long early morning walk back along the road to the Kaas plateau. Little traffic, smooth road with generous sides, so no dust. Vistas on both sides. Not one, but multiple lakes down below.
Nearing Panvel, a bit of a diversion to Thane to link up with Kannan's Amma and Missy at Chonu's flat. First time I've been in a flat on the 22nd floor in India. Stunning views all sides. Returned with Missy to her home near Igatpuri. Or rather, twin homes belonging to her and Chonu. Greeted cordially by Anand and the 2 Rottweilers.
A long morning, first chatting with Missy over tea, exploring the houses and grounds. Very thoughtfully and comfortably done up. A late morning walk through the neighbourhood. Came back and had the luxury of a pre lunch snooze, followed by lunch and a post lunch siesta. Cumulative tiredness, I think.
June 18.
A horrible night. Diarrhoea and vomiting, like I haven't had in years. Mild fever. Slept through most of the day. Later in the day and into the night, Kannan also started feeling feverish, body ache and headache. With Missy having had similar symptoms to mine just two days earlier, looks like there is a stomach bug going around.
Feeling much better, though not back to usual energy levels. Took a slow morning walk within the colony.
In my view the monsoon has officially arrived here today. At least six bouts of steady rain throughout the day, interspersed with mild sunshine. Invigorating breeze. Phosphorescent green patches have sprouted all over as tiny sprouts of grass poke through the stony soil. Stupendously beautiful skies during our evening walk.
A drive with Anand to the Bhaoli dam nearby. Lowering skies and a blustery chilly wind at the top. Superb views. Although the monsoon rains have begun in earnest, the water level was relatively low and the waterfalls nearby have not made their appearance. Drove further up the road and were soon in the midst of swirling mists. A lot of the land belonging to local tribal people has been bought up by developers for resorts. What will be their fate a few years down the line? And in the midst of it all, a grand government school for tribal children! What is it like inside, I wonder. How do they teach? What does the future hold for these children?
June 21.
Now the rains have truly set in. The tip tip tip sound of water dripping was our wake up call. Mist enveloped the house and garden, obscuring all but the house next door. Went searching for Missy and Anand who had taken the dogs out, but couldn't make them out even 50 metres ahead of us. How the world seems to have changed in just the few days we have been here!
A lull in the rain mid morning made Kannan take a spur of the moment decision to go climb the top of a nearby hill. He left in such haste that he uncharacteristically didn't even take a drop of water to drink. He came back parched but pleased with having got to do some real climbing after all.
A quick shopping trip to Igatpuri market to stock up on supplies for our onward journey. A typical small town, reminding us a lot of Batlagundu. Same single main street, small provision and hardware stores, sweet shops, a busy side alley with vegetable vendors.
Evening walk with Missy to see Cuckoo's charming little flat at the other end of the colony. Great views. The evening sky on the way back was a revelation.
Our last day in this place. Anand left this morning for Dharwad via Pune. The dogs were upset, though showing it in different ways-- Sasha by not coming to the gate at all and Tiger by running up and down and trying to jump into the car.
Missy, Kannan and I set off on a drive for lunch at the Sula vineyards. On the way, a slight course correction when it was found out that we may not get more than pizza at the Sula restaurant. Instead, ate at Barbeque Nation at Nashik. On the way back stopped off to take a quick look at Missy's locked-up flat at the edge of Nashik. Stunning backdrop of the Pandavleni hill with the Buddhist caves dating back to the 1st century BCE visible from the bedroom window. What a sight to wake up to every morning! Kannan getting ideas of using it as a pad to explore the hills around here more thoroughly. Nashik seems a pleasant city, coming up fast but still not unmanageable The drive to and from there was very scenic, with hills all around, and the weather didn't play spoilsport.
Left Missy's place. Will miss the warmth of her hospitality, the lush surroundings, the 2 dogs, and the blissful rest.
Set off for our next stop en route to Badami. Kannan was right about avoiding the highway route and taking the route through the hills. Stunning views of the Kalsubai peak and mountain range. The peak is Maharashtra's highest. The waterfalls have finally emerged. Small tribal hamlets.
The part of Maharashtra after we descended from the hills looks both industrially and agriculturally prosperous. Lots of large factories. At the same time, work going on busily in the fields. Maybe it has something to do with the time of the year, with the rains just setting in. But, compared to Punjab or Haryana, only a few tractors; ploughing mostly with pairs of oxen with brightly coloured horns.
The second half of the ride was tiring and took longer than we thought. A traffic gridlock in one of the small towns set us back by half an hour. Exhausted when we reached Hotel Royal Inn, a hotel with not much to recommend it.
Another 8 hours on the road to Badami. Mostly along the national highway. The sky was the real star of the show today, and yesterday too. Maybe because of the flatness of the land in these parts, you have enormous vistas to the left and right. The sky looks like an inverted bowl studded with amazing cloud formations. Kannan was inspired to open the sun roof of the car.
Crossed the majestic Krishna river. Alamatti dam was not far. Rich agricultural land nearby. We were surprised that we passed Bijapur (now called Vijaypura) two hours before Badami. Could see the Gol Gumbaz in the distance. Had lunch in the town.
Reached the KSTDC hotel Mayura Chalukya. Found it to be very pleasant in the old fashioned way. Spacious room, lovely greenery outside the windows, creaky old wooden furniture. But internet bandwidth too low to open up any websites! And the solar powered water heater didn't yield even lukewarm water for a bath.
Continued Part 2
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