Monday, June 29, 2020

Do Not Fear Air travel During COVID Pandemic

Do Not Fear Air travel During COVID Pandemic

Like several others, lockdown locked me up away from my husband in separate city.
He was in Mumbai and I was in Bhopal. It was more than three months of video calling but we hadn't met in person.

Exploring all possible means to travel to meet each other but not practical.

Trains started but on limited routes.. Flights started in limited numbers ...The enthusiasm to meet him was greeted by the risk of contracting the fearsome virus en route...

After Unlock-1 was announced , encouraged by my Dad and Bro , I decided to overcome my fear by taking all precautions.

I was still apprehensive about air travel amidst the daily dose of news claiming increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases. Why I was so scared was because of the fact that we stay with our parents at home and in any case I didnt want to be the carrier of disease to them for obvious reasons. This is the fear which is shared by many.

So this article is about how I overcame all those apprehensions.

Points to ponder before travel.

1. Collect information about the quarantine rules, entry rules to the destination state where you want to travel. This includes the number of days of quarantine, whether home quarantine or Institutional quarantine. If institutional quarantine, please note it is chargeable, so find out the same before hand to be ready with the payment reserve.

2. If you have to return back to the earlier city, then the above information is must to plan your return travel date.

In my case , Maharashtra govt guidelines at that time required Home quarantine for 14 days. So I could return only after 14 days unless I have a return ticket booked for a prior date at the time of booking of onward journey ticket.

3. A special mention here about the particular residential society rules of your destination city . See there are societies in Mumbai which do not allow the traveler from other cities enter their society complex.
Hence a permission or discussion with them beforehand would save you any hassles later . In my case too my husband spoke to his society office bearer, and as I am a family member , so there was no issue, only I had to comply with the home quarantine guidelines of the Govt of Maharashtra.

4. All the above points taken care of .. now its time to book my tickets. Do read all the airline instructions after booking your tickets .

I booked through Air India..

The mandatory instructions other than the normal instructions are - (these may change at different times so do read the latest instructions)

Wear face mask
Download Arogya Setu App in your mobile and update your health status .Keep the app active.
Limit your luggage. ie check in luggage 1 in number weight up to 20 kg. and cabin luggage limited to one hand bag max weight up to 8 kg.
Print boarding Pass, On your check in Luggage , paste details - PNR, Flight no,. Name
No eatables including water would be served during flight travel.

5. For extra precautions, I kept with me extra face masks, face shield, cotton summer coat/apron, cotton gloves ( I cant bear latex gloves for long hours ). I was already taking lot of fruits, salads, tulsi and other herbs wala kaadha daily to improve the immunity.

6. Keep a pen handy as you need to fill up few forms as soon you enter the airport. Your I-card and printed Boarding pass must be kept handy too. Alternatively, you can show E-boarding Pass in your mobile. I had taken a print out with me.

So now the travel begins ..

After taking care of all above points I was ready to begin my journey

7. As soon I reached the airport, the passengers were required to fill a health declaration form stating details of the current health condition , your and your family members' travel history.

8. Then the luggage and handbags were sanitized by Airport staff. There were markings for keeping social distance while standing in queue waiting your turn.

9. The security staff was standing behind the glass shield , to whom I showed my ID proof and Boarding pass printout.

10. As soon I entered, there were a couple of airport staffs sitting , who checked my body temperature and here I submitted the health information form..

11. Its time to put my luggage on the scanning belt. It was scanned and then I moved to the check in window . Here the luggage was taken care of in usual manner .

12. The security check , hand baggage scanning was done in usual manner. The electronic items like mobile, power bank , laptop , belts had to be kept separately in the tray.

13. All the airport staff, security personnel were wearing full safety gear and I must say, they all were very polite and helpful. The senior citizens, pregnant ladies, ladies carrying infants were all being taken care of adequately.

14. At the time of boarding of the flight, another health declaration form was required to be filled up and submitted . ( These two forms were given to me at the check in window where I had deposited my luggage)

15. As I had booked a middle seat, I was given a safety kit which included head gear, wrap around apron, shoes cover.

16. The window and aisle seat passengers were given face shields.

17. Now we entered the flight which was totally sanitized, the cabin crew and airlines staff were all wearing PPE kits, and were very professional with good etiquette.

18 Before landing , in flight announcement, passengers were instructed to dispose off the safety kit at the BIO HAZARD BINS ONLY kept the exit of the Airport.

19. After reaching the destination Airport the Airport Officials will put the Quarantine Stamp and till Which date you have to be Home Quarantine as per the State Quarantine Guidelines

Once reached, I disposed off all the safety kit including face shield, mask, apron, gloves into the bio hazard bin. Sanitized my hands and wore the new mask I had kept in extra with me.

So finally the sight of my husband gave me a broad smile, and so much of happiness that there was no fear , only love around .. :)

DO not fear Flight travel and Keep travelling with all the Precautions and guidelines released by Government, Airlines and Airport Authorities.

Happy Travelling and Stay Safe, Stay Healthy.

...................................................
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Saputara The Kashmir of West India

Saputara The Kashmir of West India

India is beautiful country. Every part of India is surrounded by lot of amazing places which are the most beautiful places on the earth. We have Kashmir in North, Kerala in South, Bengal in East and we have Western ghats in West. like Kashmir there is no other place on the earth and it is to be considered the heaven on earth which is 1000 Percent.

Like the other beautiful places I visited one very beautiful and scenic place on the Gujarat and Maharashtra Border. Here people knows this place as a "Saputatra- Kashmir of West India".
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I was planning to visit this place since 2 years since i got to know abou tthis place but dint get time. But few weeks back i thought to visit and in 2020 Jan before the Covid, Visited that place on 11th Jan for 2 days and here is the itinerary and places to explore in Saputara whcih i am sharing in this blog.

Where is Saputara . Its on the Border of Gujrat and Maharashtra and is a hill Station.

How to Reach (From Mumbai)

By Road

Two ways to Reach Saputara.

1. You can take the Nasik highway and the distance form Mumbai to saputara via this roas is 245-250 KM. this is slight shortest route but the road after Nasik on Saputara Road is not good and it takes more time to reach due to that.

2. you can take the Surat highway and the distance it little more from this side. It is approx 300 Km. Road is very good if you go from the Vapi side as the Gujarat hight way is very good highway.

BY Rail

The Nearest Rail Station is Bilimora and Wagahai. You can catch a train and reach at these stations. from these stations Saputara is approximately 50 Km. To reach Saputara from Rail station, You can hire a Taxi.

By Flight

The Nearest Airport is Surt which is Approx 120 Km from Saputara or Mumbai which is 250 Km.
You can hire a Taxi from the Airport and can reach to Saputara.

So I Opted for By road option and my Friends were also with me for this trip.this was 5-6 Hours Drive and we started around 6 Am in the morning. It was not much planned one so we dint book the hotel and just spoke to one hotel and enquire about the tarrif and after reaching there only we booked the hotel.

but if anyone of you are not so much adventurous then should not do this as this is the most favorite destination for all the Gujarat & Maharashtra people and in season time it is tough to get the Hotel rooms.

We started on time and roads are really good if you are going from Gujarat Side. while we were about to reach Daman, we thought lets go Daman for some time and then will proceed for the Saputara. (You Can check my Daman Article for the detailed information about the place). this is another part of the Unplanned Travel and adventure. So we reached Daman. Daman is famous for its Beaches and also for the Booze. As this is the Adjoining state of Gujarat where all the Gujarat people comes for the weekends and to enjoy the Booze as Gujarat is a dry State. We spent 2 Hours there and then started Again for Saputara.

After taking a Right turn from the Vapi the Villages started and after some time the Saputara Hills Started. The Weather was not that Cold as we thought of. The Right time to go to Saputara is in Monsoon and In Winter which are july-August (Monsoon) and Dec-January (Winter) We went in January but this cold was nothing. May be we dint feel that much cold as we are all from Delhi-North India and i amsure your guys are aware about the chilling weather of North India. But people were really enjoying the Winter as they are not used to this much of winter even in Maharashtra.

Where to stay in Saputara

So Finaly We reached to Saputara around 2 pm and it was time to hunt a Hotel. We had spoken to one of the hotel so we dint waste time and went there directly and took it for 2 Nights. it costed us 5k/ room for 2 Nights.

Room was good and spacious but the Facilities were not that great as that hotel was so strict in the giving the Hot water for bath, had no Restaurant and other stuffs which were negligible as we wanted to just relax and chillax.

We took bath and went out for lunch.

What to have in Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner in Saputara.

So saputara is in Gujrat and you wont find much of the Non Veg Options there.there are some veg restaurants like havmore or Sugar n Spice. you can try the road side stalls on the main road where you can get maggi, omlete, gujrati style some dishes, vada pav, dabeli and lot more things. also you can do some shopping of candies and other stuff from there.

If you want to try the Non-Veg, the try it in your hotel. Many of the hotels doesn't serve the Non-Veg. For Nov veg you can go to the Gujarat-Maharashtra border where there is a restaurant which is quit famous for Non Veg and Drinks. There only you will get the Wine shop as Gujarat is Dry state so you wont get the liquor in Saputara.

You can have Lunch & Dinner there also.

What to Explore in Saputara.

there are some places which are good and you can explore them

Sunset point is the main attraction in Saputara where you can reach by car , By walk and also you can experience the Cable car also in Saputara to reach from one hill to another hiLL
Artist Village - is a village or palce where you will find the paintings, craft and pottery work done by artist and you can buy the stuff from there.
Honey Bee Center - is the place which i found most interesting as in this place you can get a tour of 15-20 mins in which you will get to know how the honey bee make their hive and how they extract the honey from these hives. you will find many hives there which are being taken care by this organization. you can buy fresh and pure honey and some more things from here.
Saputara Lake - the place where most of the people you will find walking in the evening and time till late night. the lighting reflections on the water is amazing and in winters this place is more beautiful
Nageshwar Mahadev Temple - A Temple of Lord Shiva. I dint visit here but you can visit when you go there. Heard alot about this place.
Shopping of crafts and Clothing - This place is famous for its craft, wood craft items. you can buy some good things for your home decorations and also for kitchen essenstials. IN Clothings you have to take care there are many shops which are good but very expensive than usual rates. If you have Good Knowledge of textiles, Bed sheets and clothing, then only buy from here
Saputara Tribal Museum - Its a museum where the history of Saputara and Dang art also.

and Many more places

Two days are enough to explore Saputara.

Check out some Pics

One the way to Sunset point

Honey Bee Center

Saputara Lake

all these places are in close proximity in Saputara and you can cover these places in 2 days max and can plac it for weekends. This is a decent weekend getaway near Mumbai & Gujarat.

Please checkout my Vlog on Saputara and also do comment here in the blog or on youtube for any more information about this place.