When I was researching for a trip
to Gir Sanctuary, Gujarat (yes, I do lot of googling for all my travel)– the
place “Diu” kept coming up everywhere. Then I read an interesting article in
Conde Nast Traveler about this former Portuguese Colony. But it wasn’t until I saw
an Incredible India advertisement featuring Diu that I decided I had to go
there. Our flight was reaching Ahmedabad at midnight and we had only 4 days on
hand. Ahmedabad to Diu would easily take up 11 hours by bus. Ahmedabad to Sasan
Gir (Gir Sanctuary) would also take around 11 hours by bus. It was too much of
travelling and we decided to drop Diu this time.
I should say it was totally an
impromptu trip to Diu, all thanks to our friend who works there. He suggested
slight alterations to my plan so that we could cover Diu also. And we were so
happy to have done so. True to its tagline, it is a very calm island. My rough plan after alteration looked like this.
Day 0 – Chennai to Ahmedabad by
flight
Day 1 – Ahmedabad to Rajkot by
train (5 – 6 hours). Rajkot to Sasan Gir (Gir Sanctuary) by bus (3 – 4 hours).
Afternoon Safari. Ahmedabad to
Amreli by bus (5 – 6 hours). Amreli to Diu by car (3 hours). Diu Local
sight-seeing in same car. Drop at Sasan Gir.
Day 2 – Gir. (Morning & Afternoon
Safari). Visit Devali National Park.
Day 3 – Gir (Morning &
Afternoon Safari). Leave for Ahmedabad
Day 4 – Ahmedabad Local sight
seeing
Day 5 – Ahmedabad to Chennai
flight
Let me keep this post related to
just Diu alone. I would write in detail about Ahmedabad and forest safari
experience in Gir very soon. Daman and Diu, as you may know, is one of the
seven union territories of India. (I have been to three so far :)). Let’s see if the
travel God is kind enough to let me visit another one this year. Fingers
crossed.
