While on Travel....

I guess you have changed your plans said mom over the phone. I looked out, I could barely see the roads from home. It was pouring really hard. I told her I will try and talk Pari out of our plans to spend the weekend at Vikramgadh, our friend Hemant's farmstay called Hideout . Seriously, I would have chickened out, had I been the key decision maker on this occasion; but T's excitement and Pari's determination did not allow me to. After a quick breakfast, we attempted to travel light. The plans were to spend Saturday there, and drive back by Sunday afternoon. We packed in a few fruits and some biscuits just in case.... Once the drive began, we realised that the rains were not in any way deceptive. They were there to stay. I was grossly uncomfortable, as my mind kept moving back and forth the pages of the daily newsprint - roads caved in, tree falls, potholes galore....yada yada yada. And each time, I attempted to think aloud, Pari reminded me that I need ...

"And the rains have left the bustling city of Mumbai completely crippled,...Milan subway submerged, low lying areas like Lower Parel, King's circle, Kurla under few feet of water....western express highway affected too...." announced a news reporter. The time was 10.30 am in the morning and we had booked ourselves at The OBs in Khandala. Our trip included a weekend stay there. We hadn't checked out the place before but all that we had heard and read about it sounded quaint. After an unsuccessful attempt at beginning the journey at 2.00 pm in the afternoon, we settled down to give it one last shot at 4.45 pm. Lucky! that's what we turned out to be. A short pleasant journey of 1hr 45 mins on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, landed us directly at Khandala - thankfully with no traffic jams, water logging or breakdowns. We were greeted by the manager there - Sameer, who had been constantly following up with us since the time we had left Mumbai for Khandala.He reminded ...