Badlapur - Neral - Matheran - Neral

In the train to Badlapur, I was telling Rahul about the Maha GSB group and the fun that we have, but he did not have the slightest idea of what was awaiting him at Badlapur. The whole team going to Matheran, was waiting for us. We had a slow dinner before we went to Nanda’s home. Kedar declared that no one would sleep as we need to catch the 6:30 local to Neral…neither was anyone interested in sleeping. After that…till 6:30, what we did for continuous 6 hours can be summarized as pure laughter. We laughed on anything, everything and even nothing…we were just laughing. Ajinkya’s monoact performance was the highlight of those 6 hours.

On Saturday morning, we reached Neral duly at 7:00 am, only to know that the first train to Matheran starts at 8:50. While we were waiting for the train, Shalmali and Nanda managed to take a good nap and Shruti and Shooter had a long walk.

The wait definitely was worth it. The 2 hour journey in the toy train was a wonderful one. We all crammed up into one compartment of the toy train…and Kedar started wondering how would the weight be balanced?
Anyways the toy train moved and our journey to Matheran continued. On the way we discovered some new talents. Though none of the cell phones were catching range, Shalmali managed to give a running commentary to her mom. Rahul was the only one who managed to have a nice sleep thru all jerks and movements of the train. And a very unique talent came from Shruti, the pincher! I know I am going to get a few pinches for this, but on the way to Matheran, Kedar was at the receiving end. Other than talent discoveries, we also had a splendid view of the valley.
We were all first timers at Matheran and knew nothing about it. We had our bookings at the MTDC resort and that is all we knew. Finally when we reached Matheran, we were informed that the MTDC resort (where we had our bookings done) was one station prior to Matheran. So we decided to walk down the tracks and we trekked for about 2 kms.
By the time we reached, we were completely drained out. We managed to have lunch and then we were snoring to glory till the evening. Evening was pleasant and we decided to spend the time near the rooms as we wanted to build-up energy for the next day.

I have never been up so early on a Sunday morning. I and Kedar woke up at 4:00 AM and then we walked to the Panorama point and the Sunrise point. The breeze, the view and the sunrise were just too mesmerizing. Getting up at 4:00 AM had actually paid off. We were waiting for the sunrise from about 5:30. The changing light and the blowing breeze made the wait peaceful. Then the sun peeked out of the mountains like a small kid peeking over a fence. Gradually the brightness began to spread and within a couple of minutes darkness had run away.
Surprise was awaiting us when we returned. Avinash (my cousin from Pune) had joined in with Gaurav. As we were chatting outside the rooms, a monkey approached our room and I casually commented “Don’t worry, shooter is inside”. That very moment, the monkey screamed and took to his heels…shooter was definitely inside! We then trekked to Gorbet point while the girls visited the Panorama point. Returning from Gorbet point, we took the route closed due to landslides…and that was an adventurous trek.We took the 1:40 train back to Neral and the trip to Matheran went into the memory lane. Matheran is a place to see. Cool and mainly unpolluted as no vehicles are allowed. Loose red soil all around, so prefer wearing trekking clothes that don’t soil easily. Taking no credits away from Matheran from making this trek a memorable experience, it was the team that ensured that all enjoyed to the max and made the weekend unforgettable.Thanks to all those who made this a grand success! Those who feel you missed this one need not worry…we are coming with more. If you have any suggestions for the upcoming treks, do keep writing to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com