in a bid to stop feeling so city claustrophobic, (and to shut me up from raving about how much I miss NZ beaches in the summer) K and i did a little exploration trip over to Awas/Kihim beaches on the weekend just past.
They are only an hour away by slow boat, or as little as 15 minutes if you fork out for a speed boat, and the area is suprisingly country-ish for being so close to downtown Mumbai.
slowboat (there is actually land in the background.. mumbai smog is a killer at the moment)
hubby tries to find out the lowdown from these guys who are delivering gorgeous flowers to a private bungalow closeby…
snacks anyone?
I want this phone in my house:
After roaming around in a rickshaw, taking a stroll along the wide rocky beach of Awas (and encountering brown and white sheep, on the beach, in the heat, in India.. very, very strange), we continued on our way, winding around the massive bungalows belonging to the top industrialists and Bollywood stars of Bombay.
We came across this lovely little temple and the woman inside told us it’s story – the original idols are over 600years old and are believed to have risen up from the remains of two saints who attained samadhi on this spot – they basicly lay down and entered meditation and never got up (a very simplistic definition of samadhi) – and people have been worshipping here ever since.
The bells are hung by people who have a had a wish granted after praying at the temple.. and there are a lot of bells…
then we were off to check out Kihim beach, which turned out to be a popular spot, with snack carts-
and lots of coconut and palm sellers.. and while I am a HUGE coconut water fan, I’d never tried palm before. so, i can report : it looks like a lychee inside, doesnt taste very strong but it slightly sweet and has lots of water inside,so is quiterefreshing.. yum!
thats them at the front, coconuts at the back:
Kihim Beach was kind of busy with big groups of guys making use of low tide to play football on the sand
it was a nice day and had theblessed relief of having barefeet all day, nowhere particular to go, just the lovely task of exploring. We will definitly go back to see what’s further down the coast next month.
I suggest you also visit Kashid beach, with Murud & Janjira closeby, for pure white sand and less crowds. We stayed there for a weekend 3 years ago. You will also love Mandva Beach in Gujarat, where here is a luxury tent resort right on the Maharaja’s “private beach”. We walked for 3 hours and just met a stray dog and a few crabs!