Long Day's Journey to Lavasa - Part 2

[An edited version of this article originally appeared in the Lavasa Blog.]

Up early and ready by 6 o’clock the next morning, we found ourselves one car short to take us around Lavasa. The photographers had left before us to catch the sunrise and, disappointed, we had to kill some time walking around before we could use the other car to head out to The Nature Trail and Ekaant, a resort 2 kms away up on the hills. It was my fault as I was responsible for taking care of the photographers and bloggers. But I must say that the bloggers were quick to adjust to the situation.

The Nature Trail was a walk in the woods through a narrow pathway up in the hills. We travelled part of the way, taking photographs and generally amusing ourselves, but returned to Ekaant to capture the beauty of Lavasa amidst the Sahyadri Hills at sunrise. Tea on the terrace soon followed and, if you ask me, the bloggers’ revelry came pretty close to the enactment of the mad tea party scene from ‘Alice In Wonderland’. It was good to see Lavasa bringing out this enjoyment in people.

We drove back down to the promenade for breakfast at the All American Diner – a mix of Indian and continental cuisines. The photographers joined us midway through breakfast and, after more waiting for what was next on the itinerary, during which the bloggers continued their revelry in high spirit, we drove to Bamboosa, a workshop and retail centre for bamboo products, located in another part of Lavasa.

Bamboo forests are nurtured in Lavasa and Lavasa Corporation employs local people and their skills to craft bamboo products such as artefacts and furniture. We bought a few pieces for keepsakes and thanked the artisans before leaving.

The sun was high above our heads and we decided to head back to the promenade. First off was a quick lunch. After last night’s happy dinner, we would have preferred another go at Chor Bizarre, but the restaurant hadn’t opened its doors by then. So, we strolled into the All American Diner and, after some hurried consultation with each other and the waiters, we were served a semi-American semi-continental spread. We dug right in with all the zest still left in us and, before we knew it, lunch was over.

We raced to our rooms, packed our bags and checked out of The Waterfront Shaw. The cars were waiting to take us back to Mumbai and we bade good-bye to each other in a rush, promising to keep in touch over the days and months. And so we did – over emails, tweets, Facebook updates and posts on our blogs.

My lady blogger friends, being far more prolific at creative writing than me, began posting their impressions of our journey to Lavasa not long after their return to their homes. I was the one who fell behind on his promise... but managed to put something together here. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it.

However, to get the best and the most from my long day’s journey to Lavasa during the Lavasa Women’s Drive, you must read the personal stories of my lady blogger friends who accompanied me there and made my journey such a celebrated one. You’ll find their stories here (Anu), here (Kiran), here (Monika), here (Nisha), here (Pushpa), here (Ramya), here (Sakshi), and here (Shakti). Happy reading!