Our "made compulsory" yearly trip could finally commence with all the family members managing to get together towards the end of June. My strict...little bossy….foodie bro had definitely located a very different and worth seeing place, that was inherent even from the maps and the route we had to take. Beaches…… (That’s the best part)!
First half of our road trip was all exciting with music in high volume and laughter around! We were on NH 4 , but surprised not to find any good food outlet :-O. Deciding to be humble (no other option!), we munched something simple, at a village tea shop. Oh, what a right guess! There stood KAMAT, magnificently at about 5 min distance from there – stunning aroma, and obviously lot of options for breakfast. We stared at each other not knowing whom to blame and decided to continue the drive, estimated total duration was 10 hours. We were sure it would be fine with dad being an excellent driver known for itself plus two spare ones, bro & me.
The highway journey (though quicker) left me disappointed with no scenic beauty or anything interesting. Watching a few imported cars and counting the number of toll gates(too many man!!) was all that I could do. From this place called THADAS, with all happiness(mine:)) we diverted through state roads -SH 64 which directly would take us to Ankola. The most expected hilly roads, forest limits, water places and everything you wish is found in this route. The downpour along the greenery was a beautiful add-on for us then.
When we reached Ankola, the resort guys were nice enough to wait for us in the city. But gradually, it became a lackadaisical journey through a number of fields and gates and hills and muddy roads. I was in the verge of feeling dejected thinking that there can’t be any beach around a place like that. Bro teased me, “Perhaps we didn’t check properly in the map and moreover I just said Ankola, never said Ankola beach”(grr). Dad cheered me up saying that we could still drive down to GOA which was only 140 km from there (according to the sign boards)!
With a long face, I peeped outside the window to get awestruck by the scene of the breathtaking mighty ocean placed right in the middle of a huge stretch of hills. Literally rubbing my eyes, I tried to pay attention to the screeching sound of waves blowing high as dad and bro winked at me (“happy”??!). It was a high feeling for all as though we have travelled far away from India as we recollected a few series of programs on TLC and Discovery Travel channels. I always argue on the fact that our country does have a lot of (lot more than outside) beautiful places to see and experience – just that we don’t spend enough time on choosing the right destination and travel as much possible(and the scene proved how true was that).
The service team at “Honey beach” resort was one the best we had ever experienced. Be it the scrumptious food or warm service or assistance. The place was so isolated, leaving the employees with almost no connection with outside world and their families. That very fact made us go very friendly with them and hence the food/service was delivered with personal care. We were told that the panoramic beauty is much better during summer when the sea is blue and the beach space expands. Since it was June and monsoon time, we could see that the water had a green and brown tint, with the tides getting too high even in the day.
Okay, the funniest part was network. Neither does internet work there (huh...what a waste to have carried my laptop!) nor any mobile. BSNL was the only connection which seemed to work at some points. It’s good to lose connection and stay peaceful, at times…but definitely not without a plan. We didn’t expect to get lost amongst the hills though! We spent a while admiring the cottages being constructed on the hill and the artistic look of the steps etc – reminded us of movies like Bombay, Dil Chahta hai, Josh….I could say that the place gave a mixed look of Goa & Kerala.
When we got ready to walk up to the beach, the smart looking young boy at the reception (our guide later) came running towards me to suggest a peculiar place where I could use my mobile(relief!). But people, it’s fancier than any of you can imagine – I had to climb on a huge rock from where I would exactly appear like attempting for suicide. As I stood there (of course my eyes blinking wide and hair flying above like a ghost from the sea) the young man (who cares of he is smart or no, now!!) said
“ Ma’am..aah..aah yeah, stand right there and don’t move an inch and you can use the mobile” and he was gone the next minute. I stood there…not being sure whether to laugh or cry.
I recovered in a few seconds and managed to stand there in “Nataraja pose” (thanks to bharatanatyam that I have been learning) to make some urgent and important calls. Mom does know about me well and she though I am up to something crazy but dad freaked out looking at me standing alone there(oh god..hope she didn't push anyone down there :-O)! Anyway, we had a good laugh on the same, later. After dinner, we sat along the rocks down the resort to feel the water splashing on us when the waves got high every 2nd minute (like a huge phone shower).
A few crabs down the lane got scared by our footsteps and ran away. Not wanting to be attacked by them later, we decided to crash..sleep safe inside our cottage.
