16 July 2021 – Udaipur to Daman – 590 km - Day 14 of Spiti Valley Exploration

Breakfast was not part of the hotel tariff and hence, gave me the license to leave when it pleased me. Since the day’s drive was less than 600 km, I took it easy and started at 7 am. The NH48 from Udaipur was quite good and the ride was smooth. Within 120 km from Udaipur came the Rajasthan border at Ratanpur.

The Rajasthan border limit is prominent with a fort gate kind of structure. What struck me as I passed it is the prominently displayed “angrezi sharab ka dukan (Foreign Liquor Shop)” board hung near it. Udaipur and Abu Road are favourite overnight sojourns for Gujaratis who wished to party with liquor and without restrictions. Many risk carrying the prohibited liquid back to their State. Hence, there is heavy police and excise patrol on Gujarat border, where I was waved down and asked if I had liquor in the car. I replied in the affirmative, alarming the young official for a while, till I pointed to my belly and said that the liquor is in there. He was equal to the banter and said that he would let me go for now! 

Just a few km down the road I spotted a Honest restaurant and my yearning for fafda and jalebi spiked. Honest is a chain of restaurants across Gujarat that serve traditional as well as other cuisines. Over the years, I have found their food to be quite standard and the premises neat and clean. It was early in the day and they did not have many customers. I walked in and found that they had fresh dal vada and papdi that could be had with kadi. That was my breakfast, which was topped up with tea. Of course, when I ordered the tea I told them to go easy on the sugar, as normally the Gujju tea is sweeter than normal.

The State Highways are free in Gujarat for passenger vehicles (do not have to pay toll) and they are normally in fairly good condition. Of course, one does occasionally hit a bad patch. Short of Modassa I took a network of state highways to travel to Daman via Godhra and Halol, which I was told is a shorter route. The highways wended through villages and lovely green farming lands. When I bypassed Godhra my mind went back to the horrendous events of 2002. 

As I would be driving through to Daman, Hotel Darshan near Bharuch was recommended as a possible stopover for a quick bite. Apparently, the place is a hot favourite with locals on long drives. I plumped for a portion of poha and jalebi. The poha was soggy and a bit rubbery, evidence of it not being fresh. After a cup of tea I bought Bharuchi peanuts, which has been my favourite since the CONCOR days at the turn of the millennia. The stall had peanuts infused in coconut water, which the vendor told me would be slightly sweet. It indeed was heavenly. When I took the first few I was tempted to turn around and go back for more.

I reached Daman before 4 pm. I was booked to stay at the Purple Beds by VITS. The booking site had shown it as a beach fronted property. It was when I reached there that I knew that the Daman Government Circuit House had been converted as a hotel with 61 rooms run by VITS, part of the Kamat Group. The property had been taken over less than three weeks ago by the Group. All the rooms have views of the sea and the property abuts the Devka Beach. Despite the tall swaying coconut palms the views are truly superb. The room I was given was large with air conditioning, which is a must due to the highly sultry conditions that makes one sweat. One of the things I noticed was the poorly trained staff and I made that known to the management. A part of the building is also being modified to put up additional safety features.

After a cup of coffee in the room I set out to explore the city a bit. I got no help from the reception about the places I could visit in the short while I would be in Daman. Therefore, I relied heavily on the googled results. They did not disappoint me. Daman was Portuguese territory between 1539 and 1961. It is a Union Territory now along with Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Daman is divided into Moti Daman and Nani Daman by the Daman Ganga River that flows into the Arabian Sea. The Rajiv Gandhi Setu bridges the “small” and “big” Damans. The administrative offices, hospitals and the major fort built by the Portuguese are in Moti Daman. Most of the hotels are in Nani Daman area. I stepped out of the hotel and walked on to the Devka beach, which was overflowing with weekend local visitors. I didn’t see many with their masks on even though they were milling around. There was hardly any place one could walk around without stepping on toes or staring at faces. After a short time at the beach I took out the car to go to some of the recommended local sites. 

My first stop was the Nani Daman Fort or the Fort of St. Jerome. The opulent gateway to the Fort facing the Daman Ganga River has a huge statue of the patron saint and two magnificent human figurines. The fort is spread over an area of 12,250 sq mts. It has huge high stone walls, bastions and large gateways. The remnants of the fort is a favourite with selfie takers. From the ramparts one can get lovely views of the old jetty, the Ganeshji temple, lighthouse, Daman Ganga River and the Rajiv Gandhi Setu across the river. Within the premise is the Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Seas. It is famed for the panelling within the church. However, the church was closed and I could not get to pray inside it. Instead, the grotto of Our Lady outside the church gave me that opportunity.

While driving to Moti Daman I came across the municipal corporation football ground, where a large number of juniors were practicing and honing their skills. Almost diagonally across from the ground was a liquor outlet and I was drawn to it to buy a bottle of Old Monk rum. I was astounded by the low price of the dark rum. Once that craving was settled I drove to the St, Angustia Church, which is almost beside the Moti Daman Fort. As was to be expected the church was locked. The brilliant blue and white façade of the church is stunning. It is reputed to be the oldest church in Daman.

The Moti Daman Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1559 and the ramparts house a large number of cannons with inscriptions. The entire area is receiving a facelift with many beautification projects going on. Some of the heritage buildings are being renovated and modern facilities like walkways and public places are being set up. The Portuguese fort ruins is something that one can walk around and enjoy for over a day. Within the fort is the famous Church of Bom Jesus, the Chapel of Our Lady of Rosary and the Church of Our Lady of Remedies. The Daman Municipal Council Building is the oldest building inside the fort with the municipal council established in 1581. It is claimed to be the oldest municipal council in Asia. The present day Municipal Council functions from this superbly preserved 440 year old building.

One of the major tourist attractions within the fort is the lighthouse, which one can climb up to see lovely views of the sea, the Nani Daman Fort and the Daman Ganga River. It was closed due to the pandemic. It is said that it is worth watching the sunset from this location. I had much more to see and I tore myself away from there. The new jetty and the modern walkway are popular with locals, especially in the evenings.

The Administrator’s residence is undergoing massive renovation and its opulence can be gauged from the high walls that have been put up to keep prying eyes off. In the meantime, the Administrator has occupied the designated house of the Collector! While walking around the Bom Jesus Church I met Akbar, a uniformed constable on guard duty. He spied the Kerala registration car and came over to talk to me. Hailing from Lakshadweep, he said that he is on rotational duty in Daman. He gave me his number saying that I could call him up for assistance in Daman or Lakshadweep.

Back in the room I had a couple of pegs of rum and coke before going to the restaurant for dinner. While I was waiting for my biriyani dinner to be served I had a chat with some of the young staff of the hotel. Most of them were in their first job, totally raw and untrained. I was even annoyed at one of them for being so very disrespectful of me as a customer. While I suppose they understood that what I was only doing so in their interest, the Manager, D’Souza, understood the gravity of the situation and came over for a chat. He said that they anticipated water shortage overnight due to some pipeline work. He gave orders to the staff to keep a couple of buckets of water in my room for my morning ablutions. Besides, he also asked the chef to pack me a bread omelette breakfast as the kitchen would not be open at 7 am, when I intended to leave from the Hotel.