Shootout at Murud - Travel

I finally got a chance I was craving for last 2 weeks. To take my new Canon S5 IS on a location. I went to Murud on Friday, April 18, 2008 with my colleague and friend Muneera and her son Aquib. This place is near Alibag. A peaceful village on the West cost of India South of Mumbai. It has not-much-crowded, beautiful sea front, clean roads, reasonable lodging and dining options. Most exciting thing is, you can reach there by Catamaran from Mumbai, though not directly.

The Ferry services from Gateway-of-India, Mumbai will take you to Mandwa Port in 50-55 mins. The tickets are ranging from Rs.65/- for simple ferry service to Rs.110/- for A.C. Catamaran. This ticket includes the bus fare from Mandwa Port to Alibag. This bus journey will take appox. 20-30 min. After you reach Alibaug, there are number of options like autos, State transport buses or 6-seater autos. Murud is another 30 Km. from Alibaug. By bus it will take another one and half hour. It’s a picturesque bus ride. The road goes along side the sea in many areas with beautiful scenery. This area is also rich in coconut and beattlenut cultivation. So both sides of the road are lined with tall beattlenut tree planted in front of small houses. Even in this April Sun we never felt hot, thanks to this lush greenery.

We took the first ferry at 6.15am from Gateway-of–India and reached first to Mandwa jetty/port and then by bus to Alibaug by 8.15am. The ferry ride was quite eventful as we were able to see huge ships anchored, fishermen collecting the catch from their nets and also the high tech speed boats of the rich and famous of Mumbai parked near the cost. For a photographer in me, it was the ideal time, Sunrise. I did not let my camera to rest at all and got quite interesting shots (posted in Shootout At Murud-Photos).

After having a quick breakfast at Alibaug, we sat in a 6-seater auto as the State transport buses did not have any empty seats. These 6-seater autos are really cheap in fares but they don’t go all the way, so you have to break the journey. We change the auto twice till we reached Murud, our final destination, by 10.15am. The State transport buse fares are Rs. 40/- from Alibaug to Murud and they take you in an hour. So to avoid the disappointment of not having a seat to go to Murud, one can book the tickets in Advance from Mumbai as well.

After reaching Murud, we checked in a budget hotel ‘Sahil Lodge’ as it was recommended to us. There are number of other motels available from Rs.500-2000 per day. After spending some time roaming on the beach front we decided to eat our lunch in a restaurant “Patil Khanawal” offering a fixed menu or Thali (Rice Plate) system. As this was a long weekend due to many offices being closed from Friday through Sunday, the restaurant was quite crowded and this hampered the service. The food was OK. We liked the Bhakaris or Rotis made of rice flour very much. And the vegetarian Rice Plate had my favourite sweet dish ‘Gulab Jamuns’ which I relished. Veg Thali is for Rs.40/- and Fish or Chicken or Motton Thali is for Rs.80/-

After lunch, we arranged for a 3-seater auto to take us to show around Murud. The main attraction here is the Janjira fort which is 9 centuries old fort, built by an African Muslim King, in the sea. It’s a huge fort having area of 22 acres. You have to go there by sail boat. The entry fee for the Fort is Rs.110/- per person, which includes the boat fare also. The sail boat journey was quite an experience for us. I sat in a sail boat for the first time. We had around 25 other passenger with us in the boat. Yes it was quite a big boat. It was fun watching the operators maneuvering the sails as per changes in the wind direction. The boat operators work also as guides and show you around the fort. There are number of canons, watch towers, 2 huge water lakes, an old Temple and a Mosque inside this fort. From highest point you can see the entire 22 acres fort as well as big area around it.

After coming back from the Janjira fort in the same Sail boat, we were taken to see the old Mosque and a Temple of Dattatreya. This is an open Mosque which is an Idgah-where Id prayers are offered. Both these places of worships are on top of separate hills, from where you can view Murud and the beautiful beaches encircling it

After completing this little sight seeing tour we went to the beach. There we stayed even after sunset enjoying Ice-golas, crushed iced squeezed around a stick, sprinkled with orange or any other drink of your choice. There is nothing better you can do to beat the heat. We get all the junk food like Batata wada, Bhajis, Dabeli as well as Chinese food along the beach front. But we were glad to see that despite number of carts selling such food items, there was cleanliness around and the beach was super clean with pollution free water. This beach is regarded as a very safe beach for swimmers with gradual slops. We did not carry our swimming gear and hence did not venture in the water. Though, we did promise ourselves that we would soon return to Murud, equipped with our swimming costumes.

At the sunset, I again got an opportunity to click numerous shots in the pleasing light. I tried to do justice to the beautiful surroundings.

After a satisfying dinner at the restaurant ‘Anand Vatika’ we retired early to sleep. It was a very long day for us as we got up by 4am. Murud is so clean that apart from few areas you will not encounter mosquitoes at night and can peacefully sleep leaving the windows open.

Next day on Saturday, April 19, 2008, we caught a bus from Murud at 6.15am to Alibaug. From Alibaug we bought a Ticket of PNP Catamaran. We reached Mandwa Port by 9am and from there it took us another 40 minutes to reach Gateway-of –India. We had to hurry as we had to reach our office by 10.15am. after dropping Aquib on his way to home.