Daman on a Long Weekend with Daman-o-holics
There always comes this time when you feel like breaking the shackles from your mundane life and do something which will, in some sense, help you relieve the tension and re-energize you. Me and my friends wanted to go someplace where we can relax to our fill and would not need to worry about worldly woes. We started brainstorming about places near Gujarat and ended up with Daman. The very next day bus tickets were bought and by the end of the night we were all set and ready for a trip.
How we reached Daman
Being an off season the crowd waiting with us was few, and as it happened, when our bus arrived, we were the only boarders. We cruised along the highway with nothing but pitch black darkness outside.
Sunset at Daman
A loud called for my destination by conductor woke me up with a start. We were dropped off at valsad, a town which is just next to Daman. They share a gigantic gate which serves as a so called border. After reaching Valsad there are many ways by which you can reach Daman. But the most preferred and easily available commute service is the rickshaws.
We checked in at our hotel. The room was cosy, just what we were looking for. After getting fresh and having a hearty breakfast at hotel restaurant, we, Daman-o-holics, (a little title we had given to ourselves) went out to explore the city.
Placed to visit at Daman
We headed for our first destination, Jampore beach. While en-route to the beach, we came across a fort. We took a small detour and decided to explore the fort, we which we later found out also served as the governing body of Daman. The outer walls were in ruins, obviously, inside, the buildings were antiquated to govt. building. We walked around the fort, took a long walk along the outer periphery of wall which also housed a lighthouse. It was afternoon by the time we had finished our walk, but thanks to the pleasant sea breeze we were not that tired and still had a bit of energy left in us. Finishing our detour we again resumed our journey to Jampore beach. Within a few minutes we were at our destination. This beach abodes many shacks and is also a favourite spot for families who wish to take a dip in the sea. At the beach there are many activities which you can indulge in like parasailing, horse riding, kite flying etc., and by the time we had reached, the beach was already crowded with people. Many of whom were already enjoying their weekend fun. We were looking for a quiet place to sit, and luckily the first shack we saw was empty and took sea facing seats. We ordered some beer, and with company some good soulful music settled down and waited for the detoxing to start. We sat there for about 2 hours and wrote down our thoughts that had been triggered thanks to the prodigious sea and its invigorating aura.
After visiting the beach we went back to the city, had lunch at a restaurant named Nana’s just near to our hotel, Gurukripa. After gormandizing to our fill we sluggishly carried our self to our room and slept like lions.
By the time we woke up from our not-decided-yet-a-long nap the sun was already on the verge of taking its routine dip into the sea at the far end of the horizon. We got up, took a minute or so to shake of any remnants of indolence and went to our next destination, Devka beach. Being a weekend the road was already bestirring with mob, families, and teenagers. It seemed like every one was out. We took a still stroll to the rickshaw stand, and again after arguing about the fare for about 5 minutes finally took off for Devka beach.
Experience the Beaches of Daman
Devka beach is the hotspot of Daman. All the high end resorts, good hotels, restaurants are located on Devka beach. As our driver drove through the narrow lanes of the old Daman, after some nerving moments of near miss thanks to the narrows lanes yet disquieting speed, we reached the outskirts of the city. The road leading to Devka beach is lined with consecution of coconut trees which are accompanied with huge billboards advertising hotels, bars, Restaurants etc.
Devka Beach – Daman
As soon as we reached Devka beach, it was close to getting dark, but hopefully we still had good amount of sunlight time with us and it was, as expected, crowded. We took a stroll through the market which surprisingly only had garment stalls selling t-shirts of every design, texture and colour known to man. Into the market we bought out ticket for the beach. Yes, you will need to purchase a ticket to enter the beach. The path leading to the beach is through a garden. Which was also houses a small amusement park for kids. Even for you, if the child inside you is still alive. Devka beach in particular is not a place people prefer for going into the sea as the sea floor is rocky and also a little dishevelled. Here in you can find many shacks which only offer alcohol unlike the shacks at Jampore beach which also have sea food and other delicacies. We spotted a small shack located at far end of the line of shacks. We ordered a few beers, and did nothing but relaxed. Daman is not a place for some adventurous activity. It is a place as I would say – a place where you come just to relax. By the time we slipped into a trance of deep relaxation and bliss, the sun, now playing hide-n-seek with the clouds was descending towards the sea. As it was going to be a moonless night, the water was already pulled back towards the sea leaving the rocky ocean floor exposed to the blue cloudy sky. Just like the water was being drawn to the deep ends of the sea we felt the pull as well. So, we couldn’t resist that call and decided to take a walk till the edge of the visible ocean floor. After hiking for almost a km and half we found ourselves face to face with the sea; nothing between us, just we and sea. We sat down at a rock and watched nature work on its masterpiece in form clouds and last remaining sunlight breaking through them. It was a magical feeling. That particular moment reminded me of lines said by the famous revolutionary fighter Ernesto che Guevara, ‘How is it possible to feel nostalgic for a world I have never been’. Though I had never been to that place, but, at that moment it felt exactly opposite. If you love calm and serene place, and also, enjoy company of solitude. This place is for you.
Would love to go back to Daman….Anytime
This trip was a much needed escape from the humdrum of routine life. And this trip’s magic worked to perfection. As we left for our hometown we couldn’t feel more at ease and left with some memorable moments and experience that we were going to cherish for a long time.
Signing off,
Daman-o-holics
This is guest post written by Bhoomin Chauhan . He is a travel addict and a writing enthusiast. Bhoomin has shared this wonderful account of his recent trip to Daman with us. We really love to publish guest posts from our readers who are travel enthusiasts.
