Puneri Pavsala / Monsoons in Pune

Shopping @Dorabjees, Diy Facemask, healthy eating with Green Tokri

https://youtu.be/SLkVt-k4_Kw

Let me take you with me to the best and iconic departmental store in Pune..
https://www.dorabjees.com/
 Check out what I shop and also see my healthy food haul and a local brand Green Tokri
 http://greentokri.com/
 which is really awesome and healthy.
Also check my dinner prep, unwinding with a DIY face pack and some Beautiful Green Tea from the laps of Himalayas ..

Tour Camp with me - Must do thing in Camp, Pune - Iconic places and Budget options.

Explore camp with me, let me show you the old iconic structures and must visit places, delicious food and budget markets. Be it Shivaji market, Bakers Market , old structures, Marzorin - I have it all covered for you. A glimpse of Bohri ali and Christmas shopping too, take in the Christmas fervour in the olden style.

Hope you liked, subscribe to my YouTube channel to enjoy all the videos.

xoxo
Bhakti

Weekend trip to Rice Paradise

Weekends are meant to take a break from the ordinary, mundane and I just do exactly that. Dive in to the weekend with an enthusiasm of a child having fun in his first fun fair. I love doing things that bring peace and happiness to my heart, travelling and nature rank in the first few.

So here we were travelling with a bunch of friends to the rain soaked Rice paradise lying in the backyards of Pune. No more puzzles and for those who have already guessed - Yes Mulshi it is. This small beautiful town glows and basks in its beauty like a dazzling peacock dancing in the rain. Mesmerising one and all with its splendid grandeur and Natures beauty.

It was a triple celebration - Friends Birthday, Friendship day and a good old weekend - Jackpot don't you think.

What with a big over enthusiastic bunch we had, we booked a quaint rustic bungalow in Mulshi (there are many available for stay). Very basic dormitory type setting like camping together with gorgeous nature surrounding us. Home cooked, rustic hot food.

It was an amazing weekend what with such gorgeous set of people in beautiful surrounding, gurgling streams, rustic home cooked meals, non stop pitter patter of rain, getting drenched and hot smoking bbq all done by us - heavenly.

All Ready !!

Lets go .. Candid

pic credit - Ashish P

The journey itself is so beautiful.

such a rustic old property, Zahir and me completely fell in love.

It had a small pond pool, Victorian old age statues, a lovely guava garden. It even had its very own weather vane on the highest point of the roof.

No sooner than we reached and settled we were served hot poha and pakoras along with chai. I digged in hot Bhakari along with chutney. Once we were well fed we decided to explore the place and head out for a small hike in the Rain.

Rice fields everywhere, they are so pretty, swaying in the wind and dancing in the rain.

This guy though is the best thing of the entire package ;p

We found this stream gurgling along. It was so therapeutic to just let the water flow over your feet, the light drizzle of rain and the fresh fragrance of the rain washed mud, foliage and farms with scent of wild flowers and blue canopy of the sky  dotted with specs of clouds.

Enjoying like a child

Nature and its beauty. These wild flowers are so pretty and cheerful.

Pc - Ashish

P C - Ashish

Never to leave and always to behold and protect.

oh btw a small accident, one of our friend dropped his camera lens right in the stream. We all were so worried but Thank goodness nothing happened to it. Immediately cleaned it with a cloth and after going home kept it in a pot of rice grains to soak all the moisture off..

Credit - Ashish

On our way back to the cottage after a nice excursion.

Pic credit - Ashish

Credit - Preet C

courtesy - Ashish P

First glimpse of the cottage on returning from the hike..

so inviting ..

we jumped into preparing bbq and lighting a slow fire, so magical. We were served gavran chicken curry, bhakari, rice and some vegetables too.  

The food was so amazing, we digged in. danced the night away. Beautiful memories, that's what the journey is about.

this candid snap, I am in love with this..

Pic credit - Preet C

Magical nights like these - dancing in the moon light in the rain.

Life is all about living and not just being alive.

on that note hope you liked  the post, let me know ...

until we meet again

Stay Happy and Cheerful

xoxo

Bhakti

P.S - Some pictures belong to Preet. C and Ashish .P, I have already given the credits in case I have missed any.

Weekend Diaries- Lohagad in Rain

No sooner than the first drops of rain kiss the earth, the entire scene changes with this love affair.
This romance is abundant in and around Pune. No wonder with the first showers of rain people start flooding the monsoon getaways around the city which are resplendent and dancing in all its glory.
This weekend we decided to get enthralled with one such beauty.
Pune city is surrounded by lots of hills and forts and the best way to enjoy these attraction in all its grandeur is by trekking. There are number of trekking groups and camps available with whom you can go. However we decided to do this on our own with a bunch of friends, some of them being good trekkers and leading the way. Me and hubby being amateur with a slight asthma problem, we zeroed in on Lohagad which is a fort to be trekked with moderate difficulty.

Lohagad (the iron fort) one of the many Chatrapati Shivaji's forts (king) is situated close to Lonavla it being 1,033 m (3,389 ft) above sea level.
Train goes to Malavali station, where the fort is located within 10 mins walking distance. 
From Pune to Lohagad by car - 1 h 47 min (75.6 km) via Mumbai - Pune Expy
We started from Pune at 8 am and reached the fort by around 10 am with leisurely breaks. 
Car goes till the base of the fort from where you just have to climb the stairs, but we decided to leave our car at the base of the hill at the car park and trek the whole way up.

On our way to Lohagad 

Breakfast on our way, hot bhajias and vada Pav in rains. 
Do have breakfast as you will need the energy and carry some snacks with you to devour on top of the fort.
There are quite some thelas (stalls ) at the base of the fort as well as at the parking where the trek begins. I suggest carry some snacks from the highway and be careful with drinking water. The taste at these thelas at least on the weekend was not that great, and hubby as well as I had severe stomach infection after returning back.

Selfie in rain, rain God was with us. The weather was beautiful and prevailed the entire time. 

At the base, starting our trek❤️❤️

The entire way was dotted with gurgling waterfalls and mesmerising landscapes. 

The soothing sound of water flowing combined with chilled, crisp and fresh mountain air kept us motivated to keep going and exploring the beauty which just kept growing by bounds and leaps. 

Cheers💗💗 to some Color co ordinated snacks on the go. Complete sugar rush. 

You will get a few stalls selling bhutta (corn on the cob ) my favorite, we devoured some in the rain, relishing every bit of the experience.

Slow and steady does the trick 👫

Wonders of nature, creatures of the wild, he was so gorgeous. 

Finally atop ❤️ 
We took around 2.5 hours to climb the entire thing right from the base at an easy pace and we took approximately the same amount of time to descend.
So its a convenient day trip from Pune as well as Mumbai.
Do take a pair of extra clothes, we were drenched to our core, even after all the rain paraphernalia.
Locals give you a changing room for a decent amount.

Views from the top. There is a small temple on top of the fort, one well/pond and a tomb. The views are splendidly magnificent from anywhere you see. 

It was so windy on the top, that one couldn't keep steady. It was beautiful worth all the effort indeed. It was pouring heavily but that neither dithered us from our path nor the huge crowds of people who thronged the fort. 

We enjoyed our victory with some snacks, we had carried, as the strenuous climb left us ravenous (wish we had carried something more filling like sandwiches or rolls). 

Happiness on conquering it together. 

The whole gang ☺️

Until we meet again with a new journey 💚 

A small clip for you - 

xoxo

Bhakti 


other weekend diaries 

Sinhagad in Rain 
Drive in the Rain 
Merry in Mulshi 
A Small Hike with Big Happiness 
Adrenaline Unlimited @ Della Adventure