My trip to GOA - Mandrem Beach - Dunes Resort....Thrilling and peace of mind experience.....27 hours journey (To & Fro) and travelled through both NH-17 (Navi Mumbai - Panvel - Mahad - Chiplun - Ratnagiri - Sawantwadi - Mandrem) & NH-4 (Mandrem - Sawantwadi - Amboli Ghat - Nippani - Kolhapur - Satara - Pune - Lonavala - Panvel - Navi Mumbai) highway.....Mendrem is located 70kms before Panji and one can get lost easily to find the exact location....Hugely populated westerners with almost no sign of Indian tourist....Beaches are neat and clean with all resort have in-house private beaches and restaurants with privacy for ease.... For couples it's everyday honeymoon and for loners it's a peace....Locals are very helpful and one can hire Mopeds, Bullets easily...Duned resort cottages are absolutely refreshing and feel at home experience...One can drink, dine on the Sofa placed outside the cottage OR else on the Seabench OR at the Restaurent...Interesting part is all street DOGS are so loving that you might feel they are your pets.....Absolutely there are more Animal lovers here...Even with high tide late in the night I enjoyed my Ciggy with food on the seabench with Sea almost floating my bench...Made many friends from the France, Bosnia, Russian, Denmark, Israel, Tunsia, Cambodia, Kazak and so on....Shared my personal life with them at ease and vice-versa. Dune Resort, Mandrem / Mendrem Beach is a place where I connected with my inner self amidst tranquil surroundings and found absolute privacy even while sitting among scores of other vacationers! That in itself was a delight! Also, I was treated with the kind of warmth which sometimes goes missing even in the most plush of hotels where you play through your nose and then wonder where all the hospitality went! At Dunes, they know when to leave you alone and when to engage- an absolute necessity for a holiday! I never once felt rushed or inconvenienced as everything was arranged with utmost ease and speed. They have hut rooms (or) bamboo tree house. It's a different kind of experience, the rooms are very clean and the food and drinks are very reasonable. So logicially, if you are staying in this hotel, you dont have to visit any hotel for food because cost wise, they are better and also quanity is also good. Even not a Swimmer I took the Surfing Board and swam with ease....It was a dangerous task but a calculated one. Once inside the sea you will not feel to come out from the cool water even in the hot afternoon... "Worst" for me, is a very strong word to use for a resort like Dunes where everything happens like clockwork. The warm smile that you get from the front desk person everytime you see him or even the cleaning people who ensure your huts are squeaky clean by the time you come from the beach in the afternoon, do not qualify for "worst" experience. On a personal level it was challenging task to drive from NH-17 which is the most deadliest ghat route (It has Semi-O curve and not U- Curve). However loved the entire konkan belt with school children waving at me every now & then (They walk around 8-15kms daily to school) for the Robotic Bike Gear I was wearing and thunderous booster sound of my bike. Even though it was a tough ride in NH-17 but the terrific beauty in the entire belt of Konkan make you feel in some western country. Crossing 100s of villages every 10-15 mins with amazing terrain doesn't make you feel bore even for a moment. People have shifted to NH-4 resulting in very less traffic and advantage for bikers in NH-17. NH-4 is the golden route for any fast rider and this region indulge in Sugarcane farming with the richest maharashtra farmers. However konkan is much more better than the satara-baramati belt in the scenic beauty. Total Time:- 27 Hrs.. Panvel to Mandrem - 13 hrs (NH-17) Mandrem To Panvel - 14 hrs (NH-4) Testing Skills:- National Highway-17 (Deadliest but India's best scenic view route) Watch for more space in this section only....About my travelling experience to this HEAVEN...

• published: 11 Nov 2014
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