After all the difficulties or struggles I faced, it was finally time to take my first solo trip (to Silvassa). It was the morning of 10th of June. I woke up at around 6 AM as I had a train at 7:15 AM. I was nervous and excited. I got ready. My brother dropped me at the station. The train (Deccan Queen) was on the platform. I had travelled by Deccan Queen many times before, so I was aware of the journey. The whistle blew and the train left the station. I watched the scene through the window thinking about what beholds in the further journey. Thinking about it, I fell asleep. I got up some half an hour before Dadar. The stations passed by, I then got up from my seat as Dadar approached closer, as I had to get down there.
I got down and not being used to the local trains of Mumbai, was obviously confused. Then after enquiring and taking the ticket, I boarded a train to Bandra. I being a Punekar was amused by the way people in Mumbai keep on rushing. I had been to railway stations before, I had even been in a local train before, but this was the first time I was alone and doing it all by myself. I heard the train lady say, 'next station Bandra'. I then stood near the door as I was aware of the struggle to get in and get off a local train in Mumbai. My luck I must say, Bandra wasn't much crowded and I got down easily. Again I had to obviously enquire about where to go and how to go to take my train to Vapi.
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| before boarding the train to Vapi |
After enquiring I got to know that I'll have to go to Bandra Terminus which I guess is 1-2kms from the station. I took a sharing rickshaw and reach the terminus. The terminus was the least crowded so it was easy to walk around. I then finally got into the train Paschim Express. My seat was reserved so I went directly to my seat. It was 11:35 AM, time for the train to depart, but it got late by 10 minutes. I then watched the stations and the dry patches that passed by. By around 2 PM I reached the Vapi station & yes I couldn't go further without enquiring. I was a bit hungry, so I had a paratha at a nearby hotel and asked them about how to reach Silvassa. The waiter then called an auto driver from the auto stand which was just opposite to the hotel. The driver said that he'll take ₹170 to drop me to Silvassa. I found that very pricey and asked him about the bus. He was kind enough and said the bus will charge ₹15-20 and he can drop me to the stand if I want. I agreed and he then dropped me to the Vapi Bus Stand.
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| Tribal Cultural Museum |
Silvassa is 18kms from Vapi. It took the bus almost an hour to reach Silvassa. The hotel that I had booked, Hotel Woodlands Inn was just opposite the Silvassa bus stand. I just had to cross the road. When I reached the hotel, there was some furniture work going on. It was a behind a small building. I had always stayed in 3* hotels before and this was more like a lodge. I had read all the good reviews about the hotel, but since I wasn't used to budget hotels, I was starting to regret my decision about a budget trip. I did all the check in procedure. Much to my surprise, the hotel was quite good from the inside. My room was nice and spacious and clean. The bathroom was a bit stained but was manageable. I freshened up and according to my itinerary went down to see the Tribal Museum. I asked at the reception where the museum and the Our Lady of Piety Church was. It was just 5 minutes away at the main cross road. I visited the museum. I saw all the tribe-related things there. I asked the lady at the enterance if I could meet the tribal people, she said there are some tribes in Dudhani village, you can meet them if you want. I then visited the church and then returned back to the hotel. I had my dinner and went straight to bed.
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| Our Lady Of Piety Church |
The next day I woke up at 3:30 AM. I did my morning routine and at around 4:45 AM left for the Swaminarayan Temple. The earlier day, the hotel travel desk told me that it takes around 15-20 minutes to reach the temple by foot. I started walking. It was still dark. There were people on the road, but since I was alone, there was a slight sense of fear at the back of my mind. After walking for about half an hour I reached near a board sign which read 'BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir'. There was a gate there, but it was locked. It took me almost 10-15 minutes to figure out the entrance to the temple. I went in. I spent almost 3 hours at the temple and then took a rickshaw back to the hotel. I had my breakfast and since there was nothing else to do, I decided to take a nap.
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| BAPS Swaminarayan Temple |
After waking up I had lunch and spent the afternoon watching TV. Then in the evening, I went to see the Vanganga Lake Garden. It was 6 kms from the hotel, so I had to take an auto. While going there I read a board that said 'Hirwa Van Garden', as this was on the way I decided to go there as well while returning from Vanganga L.ke Garden. After these two gardens I went to Nakshatra Garden which was just besides the Swaminarayan Temple. After visiting all three gardens I went back to the hotel. I wasn't much hungry, so I ate the puris that my mom had given while I watched television. I then went to sleep.
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| Vanganga Lake Garden Hirwa Van Garden Nakshatra Garden |
The next day I got up a bit late. I had my breakfast, I got ready, but I was feeling a bit too lazy. I guess because it was a Sunday. I then went back to my room. After relaxing for sometime I said to myself that I wasn't here to relax. I went down had my lunch and went to the Lion Safari at Vasona. I had to take 2 risckshaws that dropped me to Rakholi and Vasona respectively. I had to walk 2 kms to reach the Lion Safari & after these efforts taken all I got to see was two sleepy lions. I was so disappointed. Moreover, like a moron I even payed ₹100 to film the lions which was a complete waste of money. My main purpose of a solo trip was meeting the locals. So after the Lion Safari I had plans of going to Dudhani. Luckily, I got an auto which dropped me at the crossroad. There I was waiting for an auto to reach Dudhani, but no one was ready to go there. Then a lady who was waiting for a bus told me that no auto will go to Dudhani, she said that I will have to take a bus. She then guided me and we got into a bus which was completely crowded. Private buses run more than government buses here & they keep on taking people in due to the shortage of buses.
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| sleepy lion at Lion Safari |
After the crazy bus ride, I reached the Dudhani cross road. I got down, there were a few houses, but it didn't look like a village to me. So I asked a shopkeeper where Dudhani was. He told me that it was 2kms from that stop. He asked me where I was waiting, when I told him Silvassa, he said that there is a bus now that will go to Silvassa, after that there will be no transport to go back. I will either have to stay in the village then or take an auto which will charge me ₹300-400. But the experience of not getting an auto while coming said that I shouldn't trust that I will get an auto. The bus arrived and the shopkeeper said 'go this is the last bus'. I got in. I then asked the conductor about the buses. He said there are mostly private buses, they start running at 7 AM and run uptill 4:30 PM. He then asked me about my purpose of visit & then told me to come in the morning when the first bus departs. I then reached Silvassa, I went to the hotel had my dinner, watched TV & then went to sleep.
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| Madhuban Reservoir |
The next day was my last day in Silvassa. I had to go 40kms, then come back 40kms & then go 18kms to Vapi to take the train. So I woke up early. I got ready and went to the bus stand. As the clock was ticking I was thinking what if I miss the train, what if I can't reach in time. It then clicked me that there were many small villages on the way to Dudhani and there was also a lovely view point, so I thought instead of going to Dudhani, I'll get down at that village. That way the main purpose of my trip will be fulfilled without any worry. I got in the bus. It took me an hour to reach that village, it was Wagh Chauda & the lovely sight was of the Madhuban Reservoir.
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| Lekshi Bhai & Prabhu Bhai |
I met Prabhu Bhai & Lekshi Bhai the locals of Wagh Chauda. They told me about their lives and the problems they face because of the Madhuban Reservoir & how villages are set on the mountains. The main purpose of my trip was fulfilled. I then returned to Silvassa. I had already done the checkout procedure in the morning as I wasn't aware about when will I return & I obviously didn't want to pay extra charges. I then had my breakfast and left for Vapi.
I reached Vapi at 12:30 PM. The train Jhansi Bandra Express was at 2:30 PM. I had no option other than waiting. I wasted my two hours there, I could have taken a look around but there was nothing there. The train got delayed by 15 minutes and finally arrived at 2:45 PM. I reached Bandra Terminus at 5:30 PM, from there I took a sharing auto upto Bandra Station and then a local to Dadar. I then went to the Dadar ST stand. At almost 6:45 PM I got a bus to Pune. It was getting late so I did not ask and directly got in. The bus was not non-stop and took a halt at every stand. It reached Pune at 11:30 PM. My dad came to pick me and my first solo trip had come to an end.
The trip was quite good and I being a solo traveller I did not face any tough problems. Everything was smooth and I had an amazing experience on my first solo trip.
I have uploaded a video about my trip and what I did while I visited the different places in Silvassa. You can watch it here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2VtXU3rk3A & don't forget to hit that SUBSCRIBE button.
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