The Pune dairies - Day 4,5,6 - Vohuman Cafe

the best part about staying at Sassoon road was Vohuman Cafe. in fact i am pretty sure that its the best part of staying in Pune!

one reviewer on zomato goes to write " great place, great food, just dont try striking up a conversation with the grumpy old man at the counter".

Vohuman cafe, dont be surprised by the old school looks, the cracks and crevices on the floor and walls only reflects the fact that Vohuman Cafe has stood the test of time catering to the tastes of everyone belonging at every strata of society. that too at an affordable price!

the 4 days we stayed in Pune , we visited the place at least 8 times for breakfast and evening coffee.  we only missed breakfast the first morning as we didnt know the place was close by and took a horrible decision of visiting a 3 star hotel for breakfast buffet that cost us Rs 500/- per person.

The Pune Diaries - Day 6 - The Asian Box

The Asian Box is a another popular food joint situated (wherelse) at Koregaon park. i had gone for a hair cut and niki decided to spoil herself at the spa called Le Clinique. a quick post here

The Pune Dairies - Day 5 and 6 - Inkarnation Tattoo

Sidhanth Nigam - incredibly talented guy and one of the nicest , down to earth people i have ever met. another round of thanks goes to Colin of the 3 Hungry men and his sister Shereen for introducing me to him.

Inkarnation studio, situated on Senapati Bapat road, is a tiny room that has really loud extreme metal music playing in the background when Mr. Sid is working , either on sketches or tattooing people.

i always wanted to get an Iron Maiden tattoo, as its my all time fav band and probably the only reason why i am alive today and also probably the only reason i am a musician. (started listening to Maiden was i was 5 years old in 1985 and picked up playing the guitar when i was 8! is my all time fav story as well)

The Pune Dairies - Day 5 - Toons Cafe

Visit to Pune would be incomplete if u dont come to Toon's Cafe for a quick bite or to quench your thirst. i also learnt that its one of the few (or maybe the only) pubs that place classic rock and metal music. i thank the 3 Hungry men again for recommending.

MG road in Pune is a shoppers delight. we first picked up a few shirts for myself from Louis Philppe and Niki tried to purchase a few sarees from the boutique next to Toons. meanwhile i had already fixed my appointment with Sid, to get a tattoo. (next blog post).

The Pune dairies - Day 5 - Shaniwar Wada

From Wiki - Shaniwarwada (Marathi: शनिवार वाडा) is an 18th-century fort in the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India. Built in 1746,[1] it was the seat of the Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire until 1818 when the Peshwas lost control to the British East India Company, after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving structures are now maintained as a tourist site.

Following the rise of the Maratha Empire, the palace became the center of Indian politics in the 18th century

i am always fascinated with ruined buildings and visit to Shaniwar Wada was not something i had in mind earlier. at first i thought it was a restaurant serving vada on saturdays!.
rick to wada cost Rs 50/- from the lodge and entrance tickets was Rs 10/-

The Pune Dairies - Day 4 - Habibi

after visiting the tribal museum, both niki and I were hunggggryyyy!!! we took a rick to Koregaon park , and after spending time at a deserted mall, decided to try authentic Greek food at Euriska.

The Pune Dairies - Day 4 - Tribal Art Museum

nikki loves museums. we took a rick from Aga Khan palace to the tribal art museum for Rs 180/- and the entrance ticket was prices at Rs 20/-

we would have reached a lot earlier, but the address mentioned on google maps was completely wrong and we landed up in some other place at least 5 kms away from the intended destination. thanks to a couple of friends people, we were given the proper directions and reached the tribal museum around lunch time.

highlight was Warli forlk paintings at the museum. along with tribal jewellery, handrcrafts, weapons , masks, agri tools, etc.

The Pune Diaries - Day 4 - Aga Khan Palace

The Aga Khan Palace was built by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III in Pune, India. Built in 1892, it is one of the biggest landmarks in Indian history. The palace was an act of charity by the Sultan who wanted to help the poor in the neighbouring areas of Pune, who were drastically hit by famine.

Aga Khan Palace is a majestic building and is considered to be one of the greatest marvels of India. The palace is closely linked to the Indian freedom movement as it served as a prison for Mahatma Gandhi, his wife Kasturba Gandhi, his secretary Mahadev Desai and Sarojini Naidu. It is also the place where Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai died.  In 2003, Archeological Survey of India (ASI) declared the place as a monument of national importance.

the above content taken from wiki

the place is really worth visiting, mostly for the beautiful paintings inside the rooms and tons of artifacts and memorabilia from the Gandhian era.

The Pune Diaries - Day 3 - Arthur's Theme - Restaurant

our first night in Pune and we decided to spend it watching a movie at Inox which was only a couple of blocks away from where we stayed. the movie was gone girl and after picking up the tickets for the last show, we decided to have dinner at a fancy restaurant.
looked up this place on google and zomato and decided to come here coz of the excellent reviews for steak! i love beef and if i am travelling outslde Mangalore, i make sure i get my plate full of the red meat. took a rick and we reached Koregaon park in 20 mins.

we reached quite early and we were lucky to find a table for 2. in about half hour the place was full and people had to wait till the tables cleared.

The Matheran Diaries - Day 3 - Leaving Matheran + Chikki at Lonavla + Hello Pune

it was time to leave Matheran and head to Pune. woke up early as usual and after a quick breakfast, we took along with us a lady porter to accompany us with our bags and walk to Dasturi Naka where our designated cabbie Sameer Khan waiting to take us to Pune.