It was regular weekend to
begin. We were at KDA hospital Andheri for a routine medical check up and
were free after 5 pm. There we decided to visit South Mumbai towards Gateway of
India where my wifey and me had evening boat sailing.
Onboard the boat
View from Boat - Gateway of India with Taj Palace
With Iconic Taj Palace
After boating we were deciding
on restaurant for dinner preferably non veg. There were deciding between 2
restaurants - Bademiya and New Martin's Hotel (A Goan cuisines restaurant.
However finally we zeroed down
on Bademiya as it was near by.(In the very next lane behind the Iconic Taj
palace opp Gateway)
Now Bademiya is a restaurant cum
eatery famous for its "Reshmi chicken kebab" and "Baida
Roti". One can find racks of skewers grilled on the red hot barbeques
spreading aroma till metres away. The eatery serves it's dishes till 3
Am.
Hence to begin with we place
order for 1 plate of each of them for starters. Additionally for main course we
decided to try "Bheja Masala fry".
It is famous eatery with
sitting arranged in a old building housing around 50 seats..Also there people
prefer eating standing near the barbeques.
I had visited the eatery 10
years before with my college gang and recollected those days in nostalgically.
The steward however served
Bheja Masala Fry with wheat Rumali roti earlier than the starters, which we kept aside awaiting starters.
Then in next 5 mins was starers served.
To begin with the green spicy
Reshmi kebab were show stopper of the day. They were soft and juicy.
Chicken Reshmi Kabab
Then the Baida Roti was also
awesome. Baida roti is Roti just a fatter version of Alu paratha stuffed with
minced chicken / mutton wrapped in thick egg stuffing coated with Roti. We had
ordered for mutton baida roti.
Baida Roti - Mutton
Both these starters are washed
down our gastric pipes with Thumps up.
Bheja Masala Fry
Rumali Roti
Then after finishing the
starters we diverted to the Bheja masala fry. It was spicy fried Bheja sauted
with cream based gravy garnished with coriander. The combination of Bheja
masala with Rumali roti seamed appropriate. It was however heavy for us after starters.
Summary: To sum up it was wonderful
evening spent in one of the iconic eatery in SoBo quenching our gastric juices
and satiating our food wanderlust.
Prologue:
There to free up our filled
bellies, we decided to stroll down the Colaba Causeway and ended spending
another hour shopping tops and accessories.
Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein the full bill was paid for & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.
Chanderi pinnacle near Badlapur was long on my list to
surmount, however could not complete due to hectic schedule. Also as I prefer
joining a reputed group (Vrangers) for such rock climbing and technical treks; as for them safety comes first along with time and discipline. The pinnacle trek is divided into 2 phases; one upto the cave and other from
cave to pinnacle summit. One can summit the pinnacle only in non rainy days as
in rainy season the rock climbing becomes risky and moreover there is strong
wind currents which makes it suicidal then. Most trekkers trek upto the cave.
So when the trek was organized and published by Vrangers and
i enrolled to it at the last day as usual due to my unpredictable work
schedule.
The trek:
It was cold winter weekend to begin when we 14 trekkers
including trek leads were to meet at Vangani Railway station on central railway
at 11:20 Pm on Saturday night.
Due to rush in train at wee hours one of my trek mates
missed to board the train and we all have to wait for him at station. Then from
the station we started in a Mahindra Maximo traveler and a Rick to accommodate
14 trekkers in all. After a 25 minutes drive consisting of partly smooth and
partly rough drive on muddy road we reached the Chinchvali village at 12:50 PM.
There after equipping ourselves with head lamps and torches,
we started on the trail towards Chanderi at around 1 Pm.
Night Trek in torch light
It was a chilly night to begin with wherein after a slight
ascend of around 20 minutes through dense jungle we reached a plateau. Our plan
was to reach caves at the bottom of the Chanderi pinnacle and rest there till
morning. Then further our climb on pinnacle in the morning.
The plateau stretches across towards the base of Chanderi
and takes around 1 hour of trek on well defined road to reach dried stream. Now
from this dried stream begins the actual ascend.
We took 2 short 5 mins breaks each on plateau. In one of the
breaks we had an introduction round. The group consisted of experienced
trekkers with most having done technical climbs except for one trekker.
Myself during one of the breaks
Short Break
It was a moony night with star clearly visible. It was deep
silence all around except for a intermittent noise of stone crusher in the
quarry below the nearby hill. From plateau we could see 2 towering pinnacles
before us; the wedge shaped 'Chanderi' and pencil tipped 'Mhaismaal'
separated by a valley.
The group was very quick against expected. After a
short descend parallel to stream we took a short break. There was one another
group who was also on the same trek. They were ahead on the trek and we could
see torches above in the valley ahead of us. After surpassing 2 small
waterfalls and steep ascend, we reached the dividing point in the valley known
as 'V-point' at around 3:20 AM. The route now forks out in two opposite
directions with one towards Chanderi and other towards 'Mhaismaal'. It is the
highest point in the valley where other trekking route to Chanderi from Panvel
meets at.
At V - Point
Short break @ V- Point
After short break at that point we started again. Most of us
wanted to reach in cave early and spread there as soon as possible to rest.
From here the steep incline begins. At some point the incline is around 80
degree with moderate rock climbing. We also encountered few rock cut
steps intermittently. After brisk climb for half an hour we reached the base of
pinnacle. From there moving on right for 5 mins on traverse is the cave. We
were delighted to see the cave far away for there awaited rest for us. We could
see bonfire lit in front of the cave by the other group members. We reached
cave by around 4:15 AM.
Bonfire @ Front of Cave
First glimpse of the cave
Myseld - Wrapped in the sleeping bag
There we laid out our sleeping bags and rested until 7:30
Am. Then after finishing the morning chores, we had breakfast of Maggi and
tea. We all were handed our gears (harness, carabiner with tape sling).
By the time we were ready it was about 8:30.
Breakfast made ready
As there was another group (Safar Sahyadri) for the climb,
the trek leads of both group coordinated the roping across the bolts. We
followed the group in the climb. We had left our sleeping bags and other
unessential stuffs in the cave itself and carried only water and energizers
with us.
Mhaismaal Pinnacle
Myself - looking at the panorama
From the cave, one has to traverse around the pinnacle
towards east. The traverse has a steep descend patch consisting of scree and
loose rocks. One has to be careful on these patches as they are highly exposed.
There we had our carabiner in place for safety across safety rope. The way to climb
up goes from South Eastern point along the pinnacle.
The traverse as seen from the cave
One of the traverse patch
The complete traverse route
First glimpse of rock structure to be climbed
Sudhir our trek lead was on forefront in the climb. Once the
ropes were lined, we started our climb on the rocky structure. The climb is
steep at first. There are many rock holds available which makes the climb
somewhat easier.
Rock Climbing with rope support
At one of the rock climbing patch
Trekmates awaiting their turn at one of the Rock patch
Short break
Mr Ramesh pointing the route through the scree
There are also traces of rock cut steps on the climb.
However the climb is vertical and highly exposed. We took a short break of 15
mins in one of the small rock cut cave like structures. Hence after steep
vertical climb on rocks and scree for 45 minutes we made it to the top.
One edge click
Moving towards highest point
The top is plain area with exposed laterals. On the northern
end is a Statue of Chattrapati Shivaji placed on a concrete structure. There
were rumours that this is bronze statue....so heavy....imagine how could people
have taken it up there ? With due to respect to Shivaji Maharaj, the statue is
of Plastic fibre and hence light weight. However it is coloured perfectly in
bronze; so anyone could fall for such a rumour that it is made of
bronze...until you tap it with your finger. So for once the rumours regarding
the statue being of bronze were false.
Myself ... pointing towards Mhaismaal
Grabbing the part of Universe
After a recharge break we spend almost an hour clicking
photos and videos of the panorama seen from the top. One could see Matheran,
Kalavantin -prabalgad, Irshalgad to south and Tahuli pinnacle along with Haji
Malang on the North.
Video from the top
Group pic
There after taking group photo along with Statue at around
11 Am, we started our descend back to the cave. Within 45 minutes we were able
to reach the southern point. There we filled our bottles in the water in the
rock cut tank. The water is very clear and potable. Within 15 more minutes we
made it to the cave at around 12:15 pm.
Potable water cistern - Water availability till March end
There we rested until the last member along with trek leads
reached the cave after dismantling the rope setup. We had a multi cuisine lunch
around 1:00. After lunch we decided to rest for an hour and start the further
descend at 2:30 pm. The aim was to avoid the heat wave in the afternoon.
Lunch at Cave
There after packing all our stuffs, we started the descend
around 2:45 pm. The descend was steep along with scree on few patches. After
traversing the 2 small waterfalls and following the white arrow marks we
reached the plateau.
Chanderi Pinnacle - North face
The group's speed was consistently maintained as there was man to man marking for slowest member. One of the trek lead was placed with slowest member. We remember one liner being said by Sambhavi jokingly....
"Mazya gudhgyat motha gap padla aahe..." (There is a big gap created in my knee….)
As she was been continuously being dragged by trek lead to keep walking.
A short break in the dried river stream
In one of the breaks along the plateau, when we looked
towards Chanderi, the top of pinnacle It appeared so robust and distant from
there. So much so that we could hardly believe that we have traversed such a
distance along with the height.
A glimpse of Chanderi from Plateau
Then after long tiring trek along the
plateau and few short breaks, we reached our base village (Chinchvali) at around
5:30 pm.
The quarry
What a bloom- Nature's canvas
A dusty village
Waiting for trekmates
Village school
There at the base village our transporters were waiting for us. After boarding
hurriedly in the vehicles, we started towards Vangani railway station to catch
5:50 train to CST; only to missed it. Then after boarding a 6:20 pm train we
all parted our ways to our home sweet homes.
Prologue: To sum up it was a memorable
climb on one the toughest Pinnacles of Sahyadri with one of the best and
craziest trekkers along leaving us with memories to cherish all our lives.
Few points of advice to
trekkers planning for this trek:
1) It is difficult grade rock
climbing trek with tough endurance....so beginners strictly avoid such trek
(Rock climbing and trekking are 2 different things altogether).
2) It is advisable to carry at
least 3 liters of water. Alternatively there is a potable water tank available
across the traverse with water availability till end March.
3) There is cave that can accommodate maximum of 50 trekkers for night stay. Carry a sleeping bag if
possible....
4) The rock patch and the traverse
patch to the top are tough and risky; many trekkers have lost their lives
attempting without rock climbing safety equipment's. Hence do not try it without
proper guide and climbing equipment's.
About Vrangers:
Founded in February 2009,
Vrangers is one of the reputed and fastest growing trekking community with adventure sports. Geared with experienced lead climbers, mentors they arrange for various
forms of adventure sports. With their rock climbing gears and equipment's, they place utmost importance on safety. Another important attribute of Vrangers is time discipline i.e. timely start of trek and finish which is important for weekend trekkers.
Address:The Capital Building,
02, G Block Rd, G Block BKC, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051 (Click for Google map Coordinates)
Gastronomers: Irish Pereira
Damages: INR
Ambience: 4 /5
Food: 4 / 5
Service: 4 /5
Epilogue:It was a hectic week It was pleasant and cold
friday morning to begin with and I had an early morning engagement with one of
our customer's in Bandra Kurla complex Mumbai. Having a quick breakfast at restaurant
'Soda bottle opener wala' on my list since long. Now SodaBottleOpenerWala is
a one-stop destination for people who are in love with Parsi cuisine. We had been there for lunch
earlier during one of customer visits. Hence when I was done with the customer
and the 'Soda bottle opener wala' happened to be in the same lane.
In next moment I found myself sitting in almost empty
restaurant on a table near front glass facade. The prompt steward handed over
the wooden tablet menu with menus printed on both sides.
The Menu Tablet - Front
The Menu Tablet - Back
There looking at menu i was kind of taken back to looking a
expected menu missing and checked it again in the menu back and forth; however
could not find it. It was 'Mutton Kheema puff' which I was looking. Also
missing was 'Cheese Macroni with Bacon'. After inquiring with the steward i was
told that these menus dropped from the list along with few other menus lately.
So alternatively after screening the menu decided to settle
for Meaty Poro and Irani tea.
There setting i was screening the ambience.
The interiors
The interiors
The ambience was
of typical Irani cafe with palatable to modern taste. There was old hindi
classic music being played in background.
........Bijli ki rani....me hu aayi....hawa Hawaii ....
There my sight caught on a hand board written with
chalk as below.
In next few minutes the dish was tabled.
'Meaty Poro'
The 'Meaty Poro' in a first glimpse appeared to me as an oversized puffed omelette.
But on closer look it was stuffed with pork ham bits, bacon bits and fried
onion. It was accompanied with a buttered soft bun bread, sauced cereals and
potato piece topped with cheddar cheese. Omelette coupled crispy bacon bits is
always a foodie s delight.
Followed it was 'Irani Chai'. It was a advanced version of
tea both quality and quantity wise of tea we get at typical Irani cafes like
Merwan and Kyani in South Mumbai; however priced 10 times of the same. But at
location like BKC we don't only consider the food served but also the ambience
and convenience.
There after concluding the breakfast it was time for me to
make up to office at Andheri. I left the cafe with old hindi classic song
playing in background ....
....Aate jate, haste gaate....socha tha maine kahi baar....
Prologue: To sum up it was wonderful
moment spent pampering ones taste buds with typical Irani breakfast in one of
the plush locality of Mumbai.
Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein he has paid for the full bill & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.
