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Lavasa trip, the Portofino of India – A visit to the picturesque lake town where tourists are the only ‘locals’
Recently, on a lazy weekend we went for a Lavasa trip from Mumbai. I (Tania) still remember gawking at the giant full-page newspaper advertisements of Lavasa city, a boutique city near Pune. I was a mere child in high school then. My father expressed interest in buying an apartment there but we were way poorer to afford anything so luxurious. Fast-forward a decade (almost) and I was standing on the soil of Lavasa. No, we didn’t get rich or anything. Unfortunately my life is no movie. I just happened to migrate to Mumbai and Lavasa is doable from the city. I never imagined I will say this but after visiting…
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Bari Village, Maharashtra: Experiencing the three ‘H’- Hut, Hospitality and Homestay
In 2016 the husband went on his life’s first trek. It was Kalsubai, the highest point in Maharashtra, India. When he showed me the humble photos clicked on his cellphone, the first thing I remember asking him was the name of the base village. “Bari village,” he replied. He went on a ‘pre-arranged group trek’ with a gang of around 40 trekkers. The downside of going on group tours is that you miss out on the one-to-one conversations with locals. Locals rarely approach a large group of travellers for casual chat without any self interest. Things are different when you are vulnerable. So on August 2017, me and the husband…
