VISIT TO PHALTAN – TURNING POINT OF MY LIFE

Have you heard about Phaltan? I can see the dilemma on your face 😉 don’t blame your poor general knowledge because I was in the same situation few months back before visiting Phaltan.

Ok, let me tell you the kind of a traveler I am.                                            

I am the person with wanderlust to travel international destinations like Singapore, Bali, Mauritius and I have visited many of them and if it comes to domestic ones; Goa, Kerala, Leh Ladakh will be on my travel bucket list.

You might be wondering when I am an international travel zealot, how I reached Phaltan, a small city in Maharashtra State?

It all started with browsing Facebook on one lazy Sunday and I found few college classmates of mine visiting Phaltan. They have posted few pictures of the place that were so beautiful and enticing that made me curious to visit the place.

I decided to give the place a go and contacted one of my best friends to join me on the trip.

And what can you expect from an avid traveler now?

If the destination is decided, we don’t waste a Nano second to delay our bookings.

Phaltan is around 200kms from Mumbai, so we booked a flight to Mumbai and after that, we took a taxi to reach Phaltan.

But, where did you stay? If this is your next question, let me answer it first. We stayed in Jakson Inns, an extravaganza Green Platinum rated hotel that is situated near the highway, just 6-hours’ drive from Mumbai.

We reached the hotel around 7 pm and the first word that I uttered after stepping in the hotel gate was “WOW”.

Actually, one doesn’t expect such a lavish property in the middle of far away village and the kind of ambiance the hotel features was beyond words. 

A 6-acre property surrounded by lush green plantation away from the hustle bustle of metro life. Plus, the hotel includes all the amenities one can expect from luxurious stay.

Swimming pool, gym, spa, and salon – everything at your service.

I was overwhelmed by the way they welcome their guest; tikka and sugar cane juice was fantastic. 

After check-in, we had lip smacking dinner in their restaurant “Green Bean” and after a long tiring journey, we preferred to take a beauty sleep.

Next Day in Phaltan

I haven’t told you yet that I am a big foodie.

So, when I woke up in the morning, the first thing that came to my mind was breakfast.

I thought that they will serve their authentic Maharashtrian breakfast but I was wrong, they served us a proper English breakfast with cereals, milk, donuts, fresh fruits, waffles.

And guess where this breakfast was served? On the river side. Fortunately, it was cloudy weather and we enjoyed every bite with the refreshing cold breeze.

After satisfying our souls with heavenly breakfast, we asked the travel desk executive to guide us about the place and famous sight-seeing spots.

I should not miss here; the officer was very professional and handsome 😉 he guided us thoroughly about the place and we decided to head to our first spot i.e. Rajwada Palace Phaltan.

Rajwada Palace

When we entered the place, my co-traveller whispered that she has seen the place earlier also. First, I laughed at her and then suddenly I also found the place familiar.

After a quick thought, we recognized that we have seen this place in Akshay Kumar's movie “Khatta Meetha” and what can you expect next, giggles and giggles around.

The mesmerizing beauty of the palace had made us fall for it. The gold frame portraits, chandeliers, wooden carvings have taken our hearts.

All-in-all, visiting Rajwada Palace was worth and we bid goodbye to the palace with a broad smile on our faces.

Dhumalwadi Waterfall

Waterfalls drive me crazy! I feel like dancing, singing and enjoying in waterfalls.

So, it’s almost next to impossible to miss the spot. It was around 25kms from Phaltan.

As I told you about weather that day was cloudy and suddenly it started raining and I felt that I got a cherry on the cake. Woohoo!

The magnificent beauty of the waterfalls had driven me the craziest. We enjoyed there for more than 2 hours. We ate the delicious food packed by our hotel staff.

Needless to stay, staying in Jakson Inn for a foodie like me is a blessing.

Frankly, I desired to spend the entire day at the falls but due to a shortage of time, we headed to our final and last destination i.e. windmills. 

Windmills  

                                                                      

Our next stop was Windmills. The officer has guided us to visit the place at the time of sunset.  

We reached there around 6 pm. The place was beautiful and fascinating. When the sun was about to set, the rays crossed those wind blades and the sight looked splendid.

The sky was orange and we were in the pink!

We stood under windmills and started our photo session. We enjoyed there to the fullest.

After visiting all the three magical sight-seeing spots, we came back to our hotel.

We were tired but happy. After having mouth-watering dinner at the hotel, we rolled down in our dreams.

                                                                                      

On next day, we check-out from the hotel.

The moment we checked out, the whole journey flashed in front of my eyes.

The visit to Phaltan has changed my thinking. I was the person who thinks that traveling internationally or to the posh domestic locations is only luxurious and can be soulful.

But I was wrong. I admitted it.

Sometimes, visiting offbeat places can give you the happiness and pleasure that renowned and crowded places fail to.  

                                                              

The hotel staff handed us the two Jakson Inn coffee mugs as souvenirs. We bid goodbye from hotel staff.

Like all awesome journeys, this also came to end but it was a big turning point in my life and I returned with a question “Why the hell I haven’t visited this place before?