Mumbai-Lonavla-Pune - A Bus ride to Remember 12 Jul 09

Was in Mumbai between 11 July and 14 jul 09. I had the occasion to travel to pune by bus. Took the bus run by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation called "Shivneri" or called "Volvo bus" in the local parlour. The bus starts from the "Asiad bus depot" at Dadar and has stops at Chembur (Maitri Appartments) and Vashi.Now doing a bus between Mumbai and Pune was nothing new , but its the way i looked at things that caused me to write this blog. It was the morning of 12 Jul 09 , got up to a very cloudy and overcast sky at Mumbai. I had used some of my Self assuarnce techniques where i asked for the "Universe" for it not to rain till i complete my job at pune.and to fast foraward 3 days , it didnt till i was to leave mumbai on the 14th.
The drive was beautiful and at 225 INR , a 3 hour bus journey in the comforts of an air conditioned bus is a pleasure. There was intermittetant rains on that way. The most enchanting sight was the 40 minutes odd stretch just before and just after Lonavala (approx. 120 Km from Mumbai) . Lonavla is a wonderful town , Mumbai-Pune's very own personal hill station. Having stayed there for 4 years i had fallen in love with this place. Dream of owning a cottage in Lonavla so that i can have the best of the country and be in the hills , have the cake and eat it too.
I remember travelling this stretch numerous times right from 1991 till date and the journey always was enchanting. What was different was my outlook on this journey. Its different when you travel as a passenger or just as a driver of your car and ways different when you travel as a "Traveller". A traveller soaks in the environment and enjoys the journey , while a passenger just travels to a destination.
While i always loved to travel , I travelled this journey for the first time as a "Traveller" and just loved it. The sights of Khandala town peeping through the clouds as we climbed into Lonavla was mesmerising. There was a light drizzle , the road snakes through long well lit tunnels and its a wonderful sight to see the rain soaked mountains, lush green from the rains rising through the clouds. As you cross an underpass just before Lonavla , is a wonderful sight of 3 parallel waterfalls. The recent rains ensured a constant supply of water and it was a magnificient sight to see the water gushing down the hills.
The bus has one stop at a small motel. This place has great maharashtrian food like sabudana khichdi , sabudana vada , vada pao etc. and the tea is the strong maharashtrian tea. Its a place i would always look forward to. Post this brunch , i slowly drifted off to sleep , truely an occasion to remember.
The bus takes 3 hours from Chembur to Pune bus depor near the railways station and i cant wait to do this again , this time by car or a bike or a cycle or walk or may be just run!! who knows whats the next calling

So long till my next post. Thanks for all the encouragement im getting from friends on my blog

Regards

Pradeep Eledath