Travelling From Pune to Mumbai? Just Rethink!

Pune to Mumbai and vice versa, i. e. the Mumbai Pune stretch is probably one of the most frequently traveled routes in the country. Out of our 3 popular ways of travel, viz., by road, rail or air, I am sure the third option is ruled with the remaining two under consideration. If you are curious why, just check the bottom of this page or towards the right side and check for the fares!!!

Of course, considering the mighty expense it might take, plus the time, I don't think there is any sense in this travel except for purposes of claiming on company expenses! Just imagine, you taking 30 to 45 minutes to reach Pune Airport at Vimannagar/Lohegaon, then after 30 minutes out at Mumbai domestic airport at Santacruz and then onwards travelling to your desired location in Mumbai traffic... That's a sheer waste of time and money! But, if you want a dent in your company expenses through claims, sure one might try that. And yeah, in the 18 minutes flying time that it takes, can one think of kidnapping flight in such a little time? Well, in our creative Bollywood industry, this happened in a flick named 'Yeh Dil Aashiqana' released in 2002! :D

Image Credit: www.amitkulkarni.info

Most travelers on this route use the bus very frequently. One has to pay Rs. 300 for the service and from your source station (Swargate, Kothrud, Pune Railway Station), it would take around an hour's time to get out of city. Depending on your destination station (Borivali, Dadar or Thane), it would take more than an hour's time through the city to reach your place. In case of peak traffic times, say evening, if you encounter traffic at any one of the places, it might take more than 4 to 5 hours to reach! I remember taking an exact 7 hours to reach from Aundh in Pune to reach Borivali. No matter how great, well engineered, air-conditioned your bus or cab/car is, it cannot fly in traffic jams.

The option of railways is not much thought over by people who have got addicted to travelling by buses, I was no exception some time back. But, it is one option that would save your time as well as money. If you have planned in advance, this one might be a better one for you. There are 6+ direct Pune - Mumbai (CST) trains through the day, with not much problems of availability. If nothing, you can book just a few minutes in advance and try your luck with negotiation with the TTE if nothing works! ;)

Beside these 6 trains, there are a total of 30+ (not aware of the exact figure) trains available which would have a different source/destination station but would travel through the places.

The 6 major ones start with 6 am in the morning and the last one out of them is at 6:40 pm.
Fastest? Intercity Express and Deccan Queen Express (the famous 80 year old).
Fares? 65 Rs. for Second Seating (80 with Tatkal), 250 Rs. for AC ( 315 in case of Tatkal).
Time? I find Indian Railways pretty much credible in this regards. Timely departures and arrivals are very common these days, rather it is unlikely to come across a late short distance train. The average delay is 2 minutes for trains of our concern, with one exception of 15 minutes.
Travelling Time? To reach from Pune to Dadar, the faster ones take 2 hours 45 minutes, to Thane, 2 hours 30 minutes! What makes sense? The ordinary ones take 15 minutes more than the faster ones. I find it a better deal than 5 hours and the loads of extra money.
Route? One reason why I praise them is because it goes by a very long route but still make it in shorter time. By road, it is 150 kilometers, but by train the distance is 192 kms as British masters who laid the tracks put it a long way via Kalyan and then Thane. This geography explanation might take another separate post. Plus, the route is very scenic, enjoyable if traveled in day's time. With the DC to AC conversion, the trains make it much faster now!
Booking? Our famous portals, Yatra and MakeMyTrip also book. But, they connect you to IRCTC's website, so it makes sense to directly book from IRCTC. To get local agents (who are much likely to have contacts at the station), you might try JustDial or Quikr.
Safety? Sure, travel by trains is much safer than by road on Mumbai Pune Expressway. I haven't heard of any major casualty of trains in this route from a long time. On the Expressway, one accident is reported in every two days, the unreported cases are not known, cases of robbery and landslide exist and travel by cab is often risky if many people are stuffed in. And I do not need to write on the rude behavior of goons of Neeta, MetroLink etc. Transport business is no doubt of those with enough street fighter connections!

The downside of train travel on this route is that it would drop you only at Pune, Dadar, Thane, Kalyan or CST. If you are someone within proximity of Pune's railway station, or are planning to catch a bus from Pune station, sure this is an option you ought to consider. As for those in Mumbai, changing trains on a station is quite a routine for many, I really find it lame who complain at changing platforms at Dadar to catch a local for western line.

In any case, I would recommend this travel for youngsters travelling alone. And interestingly, I see a flight costs around Rs. 5000 at a minimum if booked 10 days in advance! Compare that with the lowest fare option of Rs. 65 :P

Diwali! Want To Save On Travel By Air? Read On!

Please note that the author of this article is no less than a certified travel agent! You will find many interesting posts ahead related to travel using various modes. Read on, you might be benefited!! Even if it is written in context of one country, this would be interesting for readers across the globe. Even by just having a look at the corners of this blog, you would find something worth a try!

Diwali!!!! Okay, I am not here to bore you by writing some sentimental, religious or philosophical aspects of Diwali. Diwali has always been associated with the joy part, of shopping and lately, travel. Why 'lately'?Sure, shopping for Diwali has been an age old trend since markets and consumerism exist. Since, most families in the nation today have become nuclear, the society has become more individualist, more and more people have got to relocate to other places across the nation for academic or job purposes.

All this, for sure has made Diwali synonymous with travel to home town for many, especially those in our 20s and 30s. I miss this experience of travel as I am living with family, but looking at the excitement levels of others around fleeing back to their home towns, I am getting an innate urge to travel to some long distance. Wow, booking on websites, taking print outs, using online payment gateways, done this all before but excitement levels get high at this point of time.

So, what are your travel plans? whatever your itinerary, Diwali time is a great season for travel/transport operators, followed by a season for tourism operators in December/January. Whatever your itinerary, in India, there are 3 ways for you to travel: air, rail and road!

These names will take your care for travel in India by any mode

Travelling By Air?
I would write something specifically dedicated to passenger air travel industry some time later. No doubt, many people have started travelling by air, and going from one part of India to another, it's best to travel by air and save time. But, money? Well, read on, there are ways for you to save on!

Yatra, MakeMyTrip, Ezeego, TravelGuru, Cleartrip, TripAdvisor, Traveltime, etc. have turned out as good air travel agents online apart from the websites of all airliners like SpiceJet, Kingfisher Red, Indian Airlines, Air India, Indigo, GoAir and Jet Airways.

One name that would always be missing from the list of these well marketed websites is Ixigo. On Ixigo, you can do a search through all these sites listed above and get the best airfare deals. Of course, I need not tell you that booking one or two months in advance would save you a lot of money.

Whichever is the best option you find, the next thing is to check the airliner and visit the company website. You would see a minimum change of 100 INR in the fare listed at airliner's website. Small saving, right? But, you never know if that can fund your conveyance, a breakfast, lunch or dinner during the travel. In any case, the opportunity cost is not worth missing! :D

Finally, what about the revenues of our beloved websites like Yatra, MakeMyTrip, etc.? No doubt, I am one of their great fans as well, but read on. Their employee strength is not more than 500 all over the nation. Their offices, or website maintenance does not need humongous amount. They have wonderful contracts with travel and tourism companies, many a contracts with multinationals for their travel needs, you need not worry about them as real business in 21st century takes place in business-2-business also called as B2B. B2B is nothing but one business contracting to other business for their needs which involves good revenues generally than B2C, i. e. business-2-customer method.

So, I have presented both sides of the story, hope this benefits you and helps you in your future trips across the world! You are not hurting the economy, in case if you are really concerned!

And what are your thoughts on Diwali shopping? Sorry, for the red herring, but I am more than excited to write on this! Would stop now... :P

Who Is The Best Mobile Service Provider?

Who according to you is the best mobile service provider in India? By this, I mean those SIM card companies who give you access to towers to communicate, not the handset makers. At the pan India level, I am quite sure it would be Bharti Airtel because of its low costs.

Image from Free Download Blog

But, if you are looking for a SIM card in Maharashtra, there is almost an oligopoly existing with few key players: BSNL/MTNL (this would be referred to as BSNL henceforth), !dea (or Idea cellular), Airtel and Vodafone. Whatever the characteristics regarding these providers are given here is applicable all over India.

Airtel has been offering cheap service as everywhere with many free or concessional group calling in its ‘Friends’ pack. This has been quite popular among the teenagers, undergraduate students but I haven’t seen many young professionals using or endorsing Airtel. And as for the network coverage, I suppose Airtel vs. BSNL would be a very tough fight. That was one single reason enough for me to never have tried Airtel along with teenager users.

As for BSNL, if low cost is your priority with limited service, BSNL is for you! By limited service, I literally mean it. It is ensured that 1 out of 5 calls you make would not be reachable, and this is by far a very very conservative estimate. Same is applicable for incoming calls. This has been a favourite among those elderly ones, aged 45 and above. Their sense of support to the government comes in way of choosing the right service provider.

Vodafone is one service I’ve used for more than a year and it was pretty much satisfying. It never had any billing issues, service was quite good, call rates were not so hefty but network was at times turning into an Airtel network. Not all the time, only some of the times this did irk me. If you are impressed by the Chihuahua shown in the Vodafone ads, or the Zoo zoos, or wish to keep a ‘foreign company’s service’ in your pocket, this one is for you. Behind my purchase of Vodafone, the reason was the UK Company and its awesome ads. There is nothing around product that one would look for in the product while buying Vodafone as it is a decent enough brand. And yes, it is a trustworthy one.

Idea, I think it is THE best! It does stand out of the crowd on almost all factors (or parameters as you might like to call in). Its criticism was mostly on its high cost. I remember using it for Rs.2 per minute call rate. Now, things have changed and I am using this one at 30 paise/m with free CUG. Advertisements were never an issue with Idea as it is one of the oldest players. Now, Abhishek Bachchan endorsing the brand along with new themes on save paper or the language campaign, it is getting even better! And with its improved focus on Maharashtra region, it has its highest revenues coming from MH along with good CRM policies in place. And Idea has been the only player to give a seamless integrated network of Mumbai, Maharashtra and Goa without any roaming, this sure has ensured more revenues for them. In fact, the inclusion of Mumbai was a key reason why I bought this card. As for its network, I do not really have any words! ‘The number you have called is not reachable’ is something anyone calling you would not even hear. Long back, in 2005, I remember my cell in my trouser pockets, blanket wrapped all around me and a pillow on my thighs trying to read a book. Viola, no network problem when another Idea user, my friend called up! To add more, the best highway coverage is provided all across the nation by Idea. The very concept of coverage on highways as well as alongside railway tracks was started by Idea followed by others. And for a frequent traveller and a frequent long drive goer, this particular facility was a must for me. If you remember, the first company to give coverage along the whole of Mumbai – Pune Expressway was Idea!

So, the final verdict: Best coverage – Idea, best service – Idea, best charges – BSNL/Airtel, best ads – I need your comment on this as almost all of them are coming up with good ads.

And have you used Aircel/Uninor or any of the new entrants? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

What Do You Remember About 'How I Met Your Mother'?

What is it that you primarily remember whenever a reference to the sitcom, 'How I Met Your Mother' is made randonly in a conversation?

Sure, this is a highly subjective question and some people would be brimming with responses for this! But, in my case, I do not remember anything. Oh, sorry, only one thing. Don't get it wrong, this TV series is no doubt one of the best in history, but that is 'in general'. If one is to ask what is so particularly great about this series, it would be the Canadian beauty goddess, Cobie Smulders!

I am sure you agree with me! :P

I am jealous of her boyfriend, Taran Killam, as much as you might be! One stark fact that amazes me is her success at a very young age. She is only 28! Please comment if you know when did she start her career in 'How I Met Your Mother'. I guess 2005, but too lazy now to check. :( Another fact that amazes me is she is even a mother of one. Still, her beauty does not fade away despite the motherhood or the age.

Image from www.fanpop.com

Unfortunately, I have not managed to watch many movies recently. I better should. She hasn't really acted in many movies, most of her performances are in sitcoms. I do remember a title, 'A Long Weekend' where something is magnified in the poster. :) |You can find the magnified object there in the image below, I do not wish to write this explicitly. Need to buy this one soon, maybe from Amazon or Ebay. Please recommend me any good website where I can buy DVDs online, as I do not go by the illegal torrent download way.

Image from http://www.madoomovie.com/

Another one of her movie was 'Walking Tall' where this 5'8" beauty has acted and it was much before her fame. That's the one I would look for after I am done with 'A Long Weekend'!

And interestingly, how many seasons have you seen of 'How I Met Your Mother'?
I just cannot stop asking this as I have recently started seeing this one. Too late, I know! But I find it pretty addictive...

That was it, my first ever blog post dedicated to the goddess of beauty! :D