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Travel Tales from India and Abroad

My Lastest Minute Holiday Ever

Posted on August 12, 2015November 6, 2016

It was the winter of 2014. The month was January and I was looking forward to an International FAM. It was a wellness FAM with lots of Spa thrown in. That was the time when I used to work full time in addition to blogging. My leaves were worth in gold, maybe diamonds!

And then it happened. Due to reasons beyond the control of anyone, the trip got cancelled. It got cancelled on a Thursday when I was supposed to travel on the Sunday. And I had one week of approved leaves and no trip in sight. I was desperately in need of a last minute holiday.

That evening I sat down on my laptop and started searching high and low for the lowest airfare within the country. For the next three hours I ignored anyone and everyone in my family. And that included my small daughter too. My husband would come in between to give his expert comments, “Why don’t you go to Madagascar?” On a whim I searched for it and the country has visa on arrival for Indians! However, I could not dare to spend the kind of money it would take to travel last minute to Madagascar. Also there is always a question of yellow fever vaccine when traveling to that corner of the world.

rann-kutch
The Great Rann of Kutch

I went on searching and the lowest I could find was a 12K INR return to Ahmedabad. I then decided to visit Rann of Kutch. The trouble was Bhuj is still 8 hours away from Ahmedabad. Luckily I got a train ticket in AC 2 tier that would take me Bhuj.

Tickets sorted, the hunt for a hotel was on. As it was a last minute holiday, I was seeing exorbitant prices. I was not even sure how good the hotels were! Then in a fit of anger I started looking for homestays. Luckily I found Devpur Homestay online. I wrote a mail to them and they responded. They were hesitant as they had guests coming in later. I cajoled and tricked them into giving me a room for two nights, the one that had the lowest rent!

devpur-homestay
The Devpur Homestay

Once I reached Devpur, my life became easy. The lady and the gentleman, the Jadejas, who run it were excellent hosts. They have a fabulous home! And they planned my entire Rann of Kutch itinerary. They arranged a taxi for me too.

mandvi-kutch
Mandvi Beach, Kutch, Gujarat

When I was off to my first destination, Mandvi, the taxi driver Mr. Siddique asked, “Did you know that the Jadejas belong to the royal family of Kutch?”

In the end my last minute vacation turned out to be a lot of fun. But I am in no hurry to plan another one last minute again!

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46 thoughts on “My Lastest Minute Holiday Ever”

  1. Archana Kapoor says:
    August 13, 2015 at 12:01 am

    wow!! that’s so cool… 🙂 I love home stays…
    Btw – when is Madagascar happening?

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 3:01 pm

      Let us see Archana, I need to win a jackpot for that!

      Reply
  2. Purba Chakraborty says:
    August 13, 2015 at 12:05 am

    The homestay looks elegant and the Rann of Kutch looks beautiful. A very nice post.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:59 pm

      Thank you Purba.

      Reply
  3. Prasad Np says:
    August 13, 2015 at 3:23 am

    Last minute holidays give some of the best memories… ( and great pics too )

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:58 pm

      Thank you Prasad though I don’t want too many.

      Reply
  4. Ravish Mani says:
    August 13, 2015 at 6:46 am

    Great captures, Mridula. I’m gonna steal all the pics for writing quotes. Hope you don’t mind. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:57 pm

      Not at all Ravish, all yours.

      Reply
  5. Somali K Chakrabarti says:
    August 13, 2015 at 8:26 am

    Rann of Kutch is a place to experience and so is Gir. Yes Jadeja’s belong to Kutch.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:56 pm

      Soali I am lucky to have visited both the Rann of Kutch and Gir.

      Reply
  6. Indrani says:
    August 13, 2015 at 8:26 am

    That is well planned in a jiffy. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:56 pm

      Forced to plan in a jiffy 😀

      Reply
  7. Kokila Gupta says:
    August 13, 2015 at 8:31 am

    It ‘looks’ like you made a wonderful decision ! Beautiful capture f the Mandavi beach and the Home-stay looks aesthetically pleasing . That they planned your travel itinerary tells they were genuine people too 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:55 pm

      Thank you so much Kokila. It was a fun trip where everything worked out in the end

      Reply
  8. Mahesh Semwal says:
    August 13, 2015 at 9:53 am

    some time unplanned / last minute journey comes out to be more enjoyable than planned one.
    As usual pics awesome.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:54 pm

      Thank you Mahesh. But last minute ones are a pain to plan with all the prices going up!

      Reply
  9. Sri Kri says:
    August 13, 2015 at 10:17 am

    A lovely pattern on the Mandvi Beach.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:50 pm

      It was a beautiful evening out there!

      Reply
  10. Ranjani says:
    August 13, 2015 at 11:14 am

    Beautifully captured..

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:43 pm

      Thank you Ranjani.

      Reply
  11. datta ghosh says:
    August 13, 2015 at 12:13 pm

    I, so very want to visit Rann as a traveller, the post inspired me to do so soon

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 2:41 pm

      I hope you go soon!

      Reply
  12. Debopam Banerjee says:
    August 13, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    Fascinating shots…… Will definitely want to be there someday…….

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 13, 2015 at 9:50 pm

      You will have a gala time photographing it!

      Reply
  13. rupam { xhobdo } says:
    August 14, 2015 at 7:49 am

    Awesome photos , Great post.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 14, 2015 at 10:32 am

      Thank you Rupam.

      Reply
  14. Swati's bassi says:
    August 14, 2015 at 11:09 am

    Since long I am planning to visit Gujrat but every time it got cancelled due to some or other reasons. Shall visit soon now.
    Your pics are great.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 14, 2015 at 12:11 pm

      You will enjoy the trip, I am sure, whenever it happens!

      Reply
  15. Bikram says:
    August 14, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    You know i regret saying NO to this trip years ago.. and now I am regretting more I so want to gooooooooooo

    Bikram’s

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 14, 2015 at 5:59 pm

      Do go, the place is surreal!

      Reply
  16. Kalpanaa says:
    August 15, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    Gorgeous photos. I loved Mandvi when I went there and that last beach photo was exactly how I remember it. Glad you managed to arrange a trip so fast.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 16, 2015 at 3:37 pm

      Thank you so much Kalpanaa.

      Reply
  17. Suman Saurabh says:
    August 17, 2015 at 8:39 am

    I must say this new theme of your blog is really very beautiful and seriously it has made your entire blog look very attractive. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      August 18, 2015 at 3:45 pm

      Thank you Suman.

      Reply
  18. Deepa Gopal Sunil says:
    August 17, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    The home stay looks extremely appealing! Great captures!

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      August 18, 2015 at 3:45 pm

      Thank you Deepa. Devpur Homestay is fabulous.

      Reply
  19. Lady Fi says:
    August 17, 2015 at 4:30 pm

    Lovely shots – and I really like the new look of your blog, especially the header.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      August 18, 2015 at 3:45 pm

      Thank you so much Lady Fi.

      Reply
  20. Sam says:
    August 17, 2015 at 6:06 pm

    A crisp article and very beautiful pictures indeed. The home stay looks interesting.

    On a separate note, the new theme of the website looks nice. 🙂

    http://thetalesofatraveler.com/2015/08/08/day-trip-from-bangalore-to-kotilingeshwara-temple/

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      August 18, 2015 at 3:46 pm

      Thank you Sam!

      Reply
  21. Shalini says:
    August 19, 2015 at 6:36 am

    The pictures look beautiful,…rather the rain of Kutch looks amazing in your pics. ????????????????

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      August 19, 2015 at 8:21 am

      Thank you Shalini, Rann of Kutch is mesmerizing for sure!

      Reply
  22. Rajiv says:
    August 31, 2015 at 6:12 pm

    Wow! That’s a beautiful homestay, actually looks like a palace!

    What was the rent like, of the cheapest room of course 😉

    Cheers,
    Rajiv

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      September 1, 2015 at 7:52 am

      It was surely less that 3K, just search, they do have a website.

      Reply
      1. Rajiv Verma says:
        September 1, 2015 at 8:03 am

        That’s a great price I would say, for such a beautiful place!

        Reply
  23. Prajakta says:
    September 9, 2016 at 10:18 pm

    Hi! Planning a 4 day trip in October. Solo female. From Pune… You recommend Kutch?? 🙂 I have been there as a kid and I cannot wait to see it again as an adult! Reading your posts make me want to book a trip. Suggest!

    Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 33 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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