The Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway is chock full of interesting little coastal towns. One such is Bordi very near the Gujarat town of Umbergaon. There is a sandy beach stretch with a few resorts with the town situated a little way off. The beach itself is not that interesting. During low tides the sea is far off and we would have to walk 10 minutes in mud, over scores of sea shells to get to dip our feet in the salty liquid. It is a small gulf into the land, on both the sides one can see long land masses into the ocean. Typical of the western coast of India there are tall trees of Saru and Coconut giving a some what picturesque appearance to the breezy beach.
While the beach by itself is fairly mediocre devoid of any other attractions, what really appeals to a urban traveller are the chikoo, lichee groves and a slow relaxed lifestyle! There is a Shiv panipuriwala which serves pure veg chinese, chaat and Havmor ice-creams. The quantities for a meagre amount is great though food can be a little spicy. This little chaat joint gives the feel of a cozy dhaaba. Good breeze from the beach side keeps this eatery cool, while the experience of sitting out in the open alongside a road is truly novel.
Hotels
Places to stay include MTDC resort and Anand resort opposite each other and bang outside the beach. MTDC has non-AC rooms and AC tents both in the range of 1200 INR to 1500 INR. It serves both veg and non-veg cuisine. Kitchens are mixed so for vegetarian people Anand resort would be a more appealing stay place. The rates are lower with around 1300 INR for AC and 950 INR for non-AC rooms. What truly makes the Anand resort rock is the chikoo grove. They have placed a few swings, play area for kids and swimming pool. During the hot May summer the grove is quite cool and one can spend a pleasant afternoon on one of the swings or cafe sipping on sweet lime soda while browsing a book or surfing the net on your laptop.
People & Culture
The local people here are quite laidback, very different from the hectic work centric people in the cities. They may come across as lackadaisical but all in all get the work done after being told a couple of times. Since this town is just couple of kms from Gujarat, there is a good mix of gujarati and maharashtrian people. While the high spicy food preparations point towards Maharashtrian influence, the Gujarati thalis prepared by them are delicious and just like home for a Gujju!
Travel & Transport
This town is around 4 hours from Mumbai and Surat. You can go via cars along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. From Mumbai make your way to Dahanu which is a small city and from there Bordi is about 10km. From Surat head for Umbergaon which is well known, Bordi is 2km from the Umbergaon market. Train can be taken to Dahanu or Umbergaon after which some local transport like auto rickshaw or bus may be availed of.
All in all a good place to take a break from hectic city lifestyle and relax in the groves!
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