The Verandah in the Forest – Matheran

Matheran that literally translates to “The forest overhead” is a small hill station 90 kms away from Mumbai and 120kms from Pune. Any person living in Mumbai or Pune for a certain number of years would certainly have visited Matheran at one point of time or other. By that measure Matheran surely wouldn’t count as a destination off the beaten track but despite the noisy crowd of day-trippers and the pesky ghodawallas, what I really like about Matheran is the fact that it is the only hill station in India (actually Asia) where private or public vehicles are not allowed. Continue reading “The Verandah in the Forest – Matheran”

Afonso Guest House (Panjim)

If you like to travel like a local; like I do; you will certainly agree that living in a home-stay is probably the best way to experience local lifestyle. Not only that, by striking up a conversation with the owner of the home-stay, one can often discover more about the place than a travel guide could offer.

After two days on the tourist infested beaches of North Goa, I was yearning to experience a more local side of Goa. A frantic search online led me to Afonso Guest House.

Continue reading “Afonso Guest House (Panjim)”