16-18 March , 2016
This year Dad completed 75 yrs. So we, that's me and my husband decided to whisk Dad away into the hills for a few days.
My husband always wanted to go back to Matheran and so did my Dad. While this was my first trip up the hills of Matheran. Yes first ever in my life. Sometimes we travel so far and miss out on the places so close to home.
We booked our stay at 'The Verandah in the forrest' and looked forward to a few days of solitude and how.
We took a taxi to Dadar Central station as we planned to travel by the local train to Neral, which is the nearest railway station to Matheran. We were a little impatient and jumped into a Kalyan train. We were travelling in the opposite direction to peak traffic so got place to sit immediately on boarding. The regular commuters advised us to get off at Dombivili and catch the next train which would stop at Neral enroute to Khopoli. That last patch was a difficult journey for us as we are not even used to local commuting and this was far flung suburbian commuting. However as soon as we got off the train at Neral, climbed down the railway bridge and stepped out on the left of Neral station we were happy to spot the Toy train for Matheran beckoning us.
While we awaited we enjoyed idli chutney, a lovely vada pao and tea from the vendors just outside the station. We were excited about the journey as we recollected the essay on the adventurous trip to Matheran in our Marathi textbook from school. Inspite of it nothing prepared me for this absolutely thrilling journey.
The toy train chugged along slowly through the foothills. It being summer the land looked parched and trees all bare. The terrain was roasted brown but I was imagining what it would look like in the monsoon. As we were getting used to the train snaking up the hills, the route had us wrenching our stomachs as the train would bend sharply around the steep cliffs. The drops in the valleys had us gasping at the sheer rugged beauty of this region. We noted that there was dense forest at the hilltops living up to the name Mathe/ Head-Ran/forest.
