Thursday, June 21, 2007

Pune..

Getting away from Bombay was what was uppermost in my mind when i planned my trip. Pune proved itself to be the most convenient destination as I had plenty of friends to meet and its just a 3 and a half hour bus journey...I was all excited..this being the first time i was traveling without parental accompaniment..

The trip started on a good note, considering my friend managed discounted fares on a morning bus to Pune...We traveled in comfort in a Raj Travels ,Volvo...Rather uneventful journey..(barring the fact that my normally sane friend complained "But the movie isint over!!!" for a movie as dumb as 'Hulchul', when we were about to disembark!)

My 2 days was basically characterized by good food and great company..2 wheeler seems to be the ONLY way to travel in pune..So with both my friend and her(considering i cant ride a bike!) 2 wheeler at my disposal began my tour.We started with the area she lives in..Boat Club area( as it houses the Royal Connaught Boat Club).. one of the poshest residential areas in pune.

First day was devoted to discovering eating joints...
We spent some time at a mall at East Square..Since we were being treated we had to consider pricing, distance et al..I figured the eating scene in Pune is waaay better than Bombay..
Its more economical, with as good if not slightly better variety and with acceptable quantity and quality. We decided on Malacca Spice in Koregaon Park area(thats near the Osho Ashram). One of the originally quaint places...South East Asian cuisine..Candle Light dining area...Paintings on sale...A portrait artist...the works...Good service and even better food..
We ended up with 5 dishes between the 6 of us, 3 being non-vegetarian and a bottle of Red Wine all for Rs.950..(not complaining at all!!)
And the bakeries just yum!! A quest for a birthday cake revealed this fact..Baker's Basket..Khayani's...Just Baked...the list never ends..

Next morning I spent in catching up with most of the people I know in Pune..And after lunch we headed for shopping(girls are allowed to indulge once in a way)..That covered Koregaon Park(for oshos of course), F.C road, Junglee Maharaj Road etc. My friend studies in COEP so i obviously got a guided tour of that as well( with special repeated mentions to the chimney of the only functional boiler!) and their Boat Club(where Raegatta is held every year)...I thought that BC was anice place to relax..and it amazing when its within ur college campus..

To kill some time before heading for Prabhat colony..we had a dekko at Shambhaji Garden, one of the famous albeit less visited places in pune...I like the view of the Mulla Muttha river you get from all the sites along its banks(including BC and Shambhaji Park).

We then headed for Hanuman Tekdi...which was the most brilliant thing I saw in Pune..Tekdi in marathi means hillock..this one ran along a hitherto stone quarry and offered a beautiful bird's eye view of Pune. A place for people to walk..for lovers to romance...children to play...friends to hang out and loners to revel...We had to leave just before dark because apparantly the place is infested with muggers after dark.

I had dinner with one of my aunt's friends and 2 of my own at the Pizza Hut at Deccan. She then took me back to her house at Swaar Gate via Chavni(or Camp area) and M.G.Road..
I had to unforunately leave for Bombay the next morning but with a happy heart because of a good to days and also that my mind was longing to be back in the pace of Bombay..
So my summarization of Pune is..
A nice city...Lots of greeney and natural beauty( with all the gadhs and tekdis)..
No consideration for traffic rules whatsoever...
A moderate pace of life..
The "City of Tekdi's" and "A Mini Metro"

7 comments:

Unknown said...

lol, u really had a lovely time there eh.. im dyin to get out of this city for a while.. need a change so desperately.. pune seems nice, ts a surprise i havent explored it yet.. anyway, ciaoo, tc

Sneha P said...

@ ankur: Ya dude...awesome time....pune will seem nicer if u have a puneite to show u around..i had that advantage..

Anonymous said...

Puneite..hmmm..i guess i will let that pass. I wont be that offended. In fact i might even make my peace with it. :)

bornfortheu.s.a said...

i had heard pune was a cool place from my frnds studying there...its high time i paid them a visit...

buddy said...

nice blog! good writing and the pics add a nice touch,somehow ur entire composition complements the rain...

Alok said...

man, pune is decent for only one thing, and tht is grass. M surprised u were thr and didn't visit Symbiosis, it's like the grass hot spot. M not a pune fan, primarily cause it's trying to ape Mumbai, also tell ne puneite (totally normal word btw)tht u r a bombayite then they declare a silent "we're bttr than u" war on you.

Sneha P said...

@alok: considering i had my friend i luckily didnt have to contend with any "we are better than u" vibes....
ya..i didnt visit symbi...but for the grass dude...not so hard to get that in bby either...lol...