Dirty Feet and Monkeys
Trip Start
Apr 04, 2005
1
6
9
Trip End
Sep 10, 2007
Matheran, India
Friday, April 22, 2005
So we got up extra early, went to the train station (which is such an adventure) and tried to figure out how to get there. We met some girls goin the same way so we kinda watched for where they were going, strategically got a place to sit on the sweltering train and tried to relax. Apparently we werent the only ones. A woman sitting next to Janet fell asleep on her shoulder. And a woman sitting next to me could not stop talking to us. We finally got off and then jumped in a cab to the top of the hill. Cars are actually not allowed up there, so when we got out of the cab we had to either hike up to the town or take a horse. Joc and I were adamant about not riding on the poor horses so we walked. about 2 miles. in flip flops. on dirt roads. red dirt roads. Our feet looked like - just dirty. I dont know how else to explain. Badly planned, but that is what makes things so ridiculous (which is what I strive for). We sat around, had some Gujrati Thali for lunch. Something they werent as fond of and then headed for a hike. It was hot. and the monkeys are vicious. most of the hiking was followed or preceded by sitting drinking Limca or the sort. We were tired and after deciding to go home, we negotiated a good deal with the horse people and although I was against the horse thing, we decided that that was how the horsies get feed. So we giddied up (joc in a skirt, janet in pants that were cut very high) and then 15 minutes later, I giddied down. It hurt and I was a bit scared. I just imagined another rollerblading disaster.
Comments
Hi
I am surprized that you had nothing better to photograph other than monkeys and your feet. Actually April isn't a perfect time to visit Matheran
Matheran.... hmmm...
Hmmmm.. lets see.. about Matheran. Having explored India pretty well, I recently had the opportunity to explore Lonavala/ Khandala, and now Matheran, in the Maharashtra circuit. Someone had described Lonavala, in his blog, as a dirty little town with over-priced hotels. I fully agree with his opinion. And now lets talk about Matheran. I browsed over a hundred blogs, hotel websites and tour operator portals to gain an insight on Matheran. Yesterday, I reached home (Delhi) after a 5-day, 4-night stay in this place. Now here goes:
THE PLUS POINTS: Lots of wooded, shady areas, no vehicular pollution, and the hotel, I stayed in, Woodlands. I had no great expectations of Woodlands.. in fact the only reason I booked it was that I could not find ANY ADVERSE comments about it on the net. In fact the profile and pictures of itself, which the hotel had put up on the net, were not impressive at all. But on checking in, I was amazed as to how spacious it actually was, completely insulated from the filthy surroundings that is Matheran, and how well equipped. The food was homely, tasty, in generous portions and served with affection and dedication by the staff. I had heard that Matheran was plagued was monkeys. Well, a couple of stray dogs, affectionately called Julie and Raju by the staff, had made the resort their home. These friendly creatures had sanitised the placed so well that no monkey or its stupid brood could be seen in the vicinity. Julie, an affectionate tail-wagging creature was in her snarling, aggressive form, while giving a chase to a huge snake, in front of my eyes. The dogs would even accompany guests on their walks, so that they would be protected against vicious monkeys and other forms of 'nature', including lack of proper signages, which invariably caused visitors to get lost. God Bless the owners of Woodlands. I would request them to put up proper pictures of themselves on the net, though.
THE MINUS POINTS: As a tourist resort, Matheran has no proper approach. One can book a taxi from Mumbai, at horrendous costs, although it is only about 120 kms away. Otherwise, one can catch a suburban train on the central line, bound for Karjat, and get down at a shabby hellhole called Neral. From here, one can take a taxi upto Matheran or a 'toy train' Both the suburban trains bound for Karjat and the 'toy' train are not very frequent, so one invariably wastes a lot of time and energy in ACCESSING this god-forsaken place, called Matheran. On reaching, one is besieged by coolies, hotel touts, hand rickshaw pullers and horse owners, each one quoting double the approved rates.. to reach a hotel. One can take a horse, but then a coolie will also have to be hired separately to carry one's luggage. One look at the broken, filthy paths, littered with boulders, stones, red soil and covered with horse shit, made me hire a couple of rickshaws, which could accommodate me and my luggage. The rickshaw pullers face a terrible time, pulling the rickshaws over steep inclines, barefoot, over those idiotic, boulder-strewn paths. Lack of proper signages ensure the traveller, on his own, was likely to lose his way. And God help the tourist who reaches Matheran at night..
Matheran has a 'toy' train, which I explored. It appeared that the coaches and the engine were all recently manufactured, from the dates embossed / painted on them. Yet, it is touted to be 100 years old, included in the World Heritage List or something - I wouldn't care less. There are a dozen such toy trains operating all over the country. The station is close to a market, which has shops selling chikki, slippers and leather goods of dubious quality, snacks and other sundry items. The market place, like the rest of the town is dusty, filthy, with a broken pathway, and horses' droppings, resulting a permanent pungent odour clouding the place. The hotels along the main bazaar (road?) cannot be recommended, due to the incessant clomping of horses and all pervasive odour of horse droppings and urine, but maybe the hotels, way down in the wilderness, can offer peace and calm. But commuting from such isolated hotels to the 'market', the railway station or the taxi stand at 'Dasturi Point' is tiresome and very expensive.
I can only request the planners, municipal authorities or tourist department officials, who have a stake in Matheran, not to ensure that the area remains a shit hole under the garb of environment 'conservation'. The paths have to be levelled, with proper tarmac. The area needs proper signages and lighting arrangements. Other than some birds and destructive monkeys, Matheran has no 'wild life' to name of, so nothing will be 'disturbed' if the roads are developed. Battery operated vehicles can protect against vehicular pollution. Coolies doing backbreaking work over boulder-strewn paths is a shame and I wonder what foreigners think of it or write about it. I would say that it only proves that we are still savages at heart, without regard for human life or dignity. Lack of development and horseshit strewn all over, is not conservation. It is gross mismanagement and lack of vision. If the shortsighted stakeholders of Matheran want to see how forest areas can be developed, let them visit IIT Campus at Chennai (I would not say JNU Campus, New Delhi, lest I sound north-centric). Matheran is not a hill station. It's a woody area on a certain elevation and needs to be seriously developed, right from its approach to its facilities. Otherwise there are a hundred such woody areas in India, from Kerala and Karnataka to Jharkhand. And these places are much better than Matheran can ever hope to be.
Matheran Sept / Oct
Just post monsoons is the best time to visit Matheran when the wildflowers and butterflies are at their best, and more importantly, when the red dust is absent! We visited 4 times this year primarily to enjoy the mass blooming of karvy flowers [once every 4-5 years] which were in profusion on the Panorama side of Matheran.