santanu
Well-Known Member
Preamble
Our last vacation was in September’2019 – a road trip to Mahabaleshwar. Since my daughter was appearing in Standard X Board Examination in March’20; no vacation was possible till that time anyway. After that, we were supposed to go to the US to my sister’s place. Ticket bookings, visas, etc. were done. But then, the ‘Corona’ arrived. Our plan got jeopardized like that of the rest of the world. The US trip got canceled and like others, we did start following the rule of ‘staying at home’ strictly. As days, weeks, months passed by, we started getting restive for a road trip. As a family, we typically do not go out for dining, watching movies, mall hopping, etc. for recharging our batteries. What we look forward to is road trips, once in every 3-4 months, of 2 days or 2 weeks depending upon the situation, to freshen up us. So, finally, we decided to take the plunge in the Christmas-New Year holiday of 20-21. We decided to go to Gujarat.
The reason for choosing Gujarat was twofold. Firstly, it would be a long drive after a gap of more than one year. Because of the lack of activity during Covid-19, the level of physical fitness was expected to be below the required level. So, we have to choose a destination which was not too far to keep the driving effort reasonable. Secondly, for the entire trip, we were looking for Club Mahindra accommodation. In my previous road trips, I extensively stayed at properties of GTDC, MTDC, RTDC, HPTDC, and in many budget hotels. But this was ‘Covid’ time.
Gujarat was meeting both the requirements of travel distance and accommodation. So, we decided for Gujarat.
The planned itinerary was as follows:
I will share the day to day account of the trip in the next posts.
Our last vacation was in September’2019 – a road trip to Mahabaleshwar. Since my daughter was appearing in Standard X Board Examination in March’20; no vacation was possible till that time anyway. After that, we were supposed to go to the US to my sister’s place. Ticket bookings, visas, etc. were done. But then, the ‘Corona’ arrived. Our plan got jeopardized like that of the rest of the world. The US trip got canceled and like others, we did start following the rule of ‘staying at home’ strictly. As days, weeks, months passed by, we started getting restive for a road trip. As a family, we typically do not go out for dining, watching movies, mall hopping, etc. for recharging our batteries. What we look forward to is road trips, once in every 3-4 months, of 2 days or 2 weeks depending upon the situation, to freshen up us. So, finally, we decided to take the plunge in the Christmas-New Year holiday of 20-21. We decided to go to Gujarat.
The reason for choosing Gujarat was twofold. Firstly, it would be a long drive after a gap of more than one year. Because of the lack of activity during Covid-19, the level of physical fitness was expected to be below the required level. So, we have to choose a destination which was not too far to keep the driving effort reasonable. Secondly, for the entire trip, we were looking for Club Mahindra accommodation. In my previous road trips, I extensively stayed at properties of GTDC, MTDC, RTDC, HPTDC, and in many budget hotels. But this was ‘Covid’ time.
Gujarat was meeting both the requirements of travel distance and accommodation. So, we decided for Gujarat.
The planned itinerary was as follows:
- Day 1 (25th December 2020; Friday): Mumbai to Ahmedabad with a detour to Champaner Pavagadh Archeological Park
- Day 2 (26th December 2020; Saturday): Day trip to Rani Ki Vav, Patan; Sahastra Ling Lake, Patan; Modhera Sun Temple; Bai Harir Vav (Stepwell), Ahmedabad; Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad and Siddi Sayeed ki Jali, Ahmedabad
- Day 3 (27th December 2020; Sunday): Ahmedabad to Gir with a detour to Khambalida Buddhist Caves
- Day 4 (28th December 2020; Monday): Afternoon Gir Safari
- Day 5 (29th December 2020; Tuesday): Day trip to Junagadh (Junagadh Rock Inscription of Ashoka, Baba Pyara Caves, Navgan Kuvo, Uparkot Fort, Uparkot Caves, Adi Kadi Vav, Khapra Kodiya Caves, Mahabat Maqbara Complex) and Somnath (Prabhas Patan Caves, Suraj Mandir, Sutrapada, Daityasudan Mandir, Somnath, Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple)
- Day 6 (30th December 2020; Wednesday): Morning Gir Safari and then to Diu
- Day 7 (31st December 2020; Thursday): Local sightseeing at Diu
- Day 8 (1st January 2020; Friday): Local sightseeing at Diu
- Day 9 (2nd January 2020; Saturday): Diu to Nadiad with a detour to Shana Dungar Buddhist Cave; Firangi Deval and Harappa port Town, Lothal
- Day 10 (3rd January 2020; Sunday): Nadiad to Mumbai with a detour to Galteshwar Mahadev Temple, Sarnal, and the Statue of Unity
Jami Masjid, Champaner
Rani ki Vav, Patan
Modhera Sun Temple - Rear Side View of the Gudhamandapa
The Kunda (Surya Kunda/Rama Kunda) of the Modhera Sun Temple
The King is engrossed in his lunch
Evening skyline of Diu
@Nagoa Beach, Diu
Sunrise @Ghogla Beach, Diu
Remnants of the Indus Valley Civilisation, Lothal
Sometimes you need to look into the rearview mirror to see the beauty of life
I will share the day to day account of the trip in the next posts.
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