Hey many of us think of going on a leisure or relaxing or rejuvenating trip but finally we end up more tired and irritated by the journey. Me and my hubby thought of going on one such trip with our three old year kid and only white sand beaches were in our mind as we wanted our kid to have all the fun as we take our much required break..
Going through lot of commercial beach destinations we finally zeroed it down to Tarkarli. The less known village in western Indian state of Maharashtra caught our fancy mind as it fit into all our prerequisites of the perfect holiday and our first vacation as threesome. Tarkarli can be associated with calm clean blue water with long pristine white sand beaches and recently being known for its array of water sport activities.
As I like to travel by Indian railways the cheapest mode of travel as well as the comfortable one too if planned well in advance, we booked our tickets from Thane to Kudal Railway Station. As there are no direct trains to Tarkarli, one has to get down at kudal or sawantwadi and by a private vehicle or auto one can reach tarkarli. If you are comfortable travelling in bus then buses are available upto Tarkarli. The nearest airport is Goa almost 127 kms away. Without much ado we went by an express train in the morning and reached tarkarli @ …. It was a 8 hr journey but not a hassle.
Our guesthouse owner Mr. Ganesha was pretty helpful and had sent an auto to pick us up and after an hour’s drive we finally reached our clean nicely decked up Sagar Sparsh resort (made on the backside of his own house) and as the name suggests all the rooms were sea facing. As we kept our luggage in our ac room, we felt as if we stepped on the beach itself, as we could hear the majestic sea waves roaring as if calling out to us to come asap. My kid could not withhold his curiosity and insisted on hitting up the beach instantly but we persuaded him to have his breakfast first and then head to the tarkarli beach.
Poha our favourite breakfast with lots of fresh coconut sprinkled on top was served at the open seating arrangement in front of our rooms. Coconut water from the freshly collected coconut was a cool refreshment drink served to welcome us to malvan. My kid enjoyed his breakfast and the hammocks too. Almost for three hours we were at the beach looking at the clear water, splashing it on each other, playing ball, making sand castles and making drawings in the sand. We saw many of the fishes, crabs, shells coming to the shore and going back with the waves in a fraction of a second. It was so thrilling and fascinating for my kid to experience it all. Finally we were tired and hungry and returned to our resort, 0 kms from the beach.
We hired a bike for sightseeing. After having lunch, we headed towards Jay Ganesha Mandir built by the Salgaonkar family ,took lord bappa’s blessings and then visited the rock garden. With a minimal entry fee it has been beautifully maintained, good for clicking pics and the sea shore besides it gives it an extra advantage. One can view the vast extended coastline, sitting on the rocks and can see beautiful marine creatures very near to us in all forms. Next spot was Sangam point,half hour drive from our resort and as it was 5.30 in the evening, we were confident to witness the best view of sunset point. We booked for a reasonable package of 200 per person including a visit to the karli backwaters, tsunami island, Devbaug beach and sunset point. First of all we visited the devbaug beach and enjoyed water sports like banana ride, jet ski, etc. Our next spot was tsunami island, a small strip of land right in between the Karli river and Arabian sea. The scene was so enigmatic, the small island continually lashed with waves of karli river on one side and Arabian sea on the other side, mixing their water for a fraction of a second and retrieving back again. Moreover the sight of sea gulls sweeping up and down in search of their meal was awesome.
Last but not the least to end our day we were sitting in a lonely secluded boat only three of us with the Motorman as the boat danced to the tunes of the ocean. As we were getting closer to the sun, it seemed as if the ocean water was engulfing the sun into its lap. Suddenly the boat stopped exactly at the spot where karli backwaters met the Arabian sea, everything still, calm and serene, we could hear our heartbeats. Slowly the sun started setting and the whole surroundings started changing it’s colour with every passing moment.It seemed as if we were watching an artist giving life to colours. Slowly and steadily we were left to just darkness all around and so we decided to get back to the sea shore. This evening left us with unforgettable memories and a thrilling experience for our lifetime.
INDIA N SUJATA 