Aamby Valley

Lonavala is such an exciting place now. All because of Aamby Valley. It is such a beautiful place. The ride to Aamby Valley was ghatwala, so was feeling a little giddy. But once you reach there, you know, it was way ahead worth it.

You drive in the gates as if you are entering a kingdom and feel so privileged because at any given time there are well-to-do hopefuls wanting to get in there but are not allowed as their name does not appear in the list of the gatekeepers.

Pa mentioned his name and the security guard checked whether there were only 4 persons in the car and let us in. As soon as we entered, the iron railing door closed and the guard asked us to follow the open jeep-like sexy thing. We followed gleefully and with eyes wide open.

The eyes were wide open and gawking for most part of the trip. Wow, the place is so beautiful. The way they have maintained it is absolutely amazing. Once in, you have everything for your entertainment, relaxation right from beach volleyball to reading in a well-stocked library.

The food is amazing, service prompt and helpful. The rooms were spanking clean and the bathroom was amazing. They had jacuzziiiiiiiii.......

In that 10,000 square feet of area, you have a beach area called lagoon, a fisherman's wharf, a 18-holes golf course, 3 swimming pools, 3 restaurants serving yummy food, gymnasium, club, lawn tennis, carrom, conference rooms, seminar rooms, auditorium, you name it and you have it.

2 days are just not enough. Even if you plan to stay indoors, you feel like royalty. We reached and my folks got ready to go see the place and when they knocked on my room door, i had nicely fallen asleep. :)

They woke me up forcibly at lunch hour which was at 1500 hours. Had a sumptuous meal and set out to check out the place. A sales manager showed us the entire model of the place. They had built villas and chalets Spanish and Victorian style of 1 acre and so on. The lowest range of holiday home costs a whopping Rs. 1.40 Crore.

The sheer luxury that you experience there makes you work hard and be able to afford it. There weren't too many visitors maybe because it was Diwali. But the place was fabulously lit up in the evenings.

There is this huge bridge there that acts as itself between the west and east side of the area. That bridge is absolutely stunning. Resembling the one that is in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam shown in the climax. Another highlight is the humongous Bharat Maa statue in the beginning. Absolutely astounding and gorgeous. Maa Tujhe Salaam!

We played golf, first time ever. There another family of 4 (Mother, father & 2 daughters) were trying their hand at it, just like us. We were smiling and laughing at each other's bloopers and supposed good shots :)The next day i was in the shower for almost an hour and a half, as if i hadn't taken bath since a week and ain't gonna for another week. :)

It was a lot of fun. This was the first time just the 4 of us had gone out but had good fun. If we had company, we would have taken up more activities. Nonetheless, good fun and a list of choicest adjectives for the visit.

Hoping to go there again and this time to actually buy a nice holiday home there. Amen!