Vitamin Sea – Mandarmani Day One

Presenting our first feature from Tic Talk Toe’s travel diaries. A quick impromptu trip to Mandarmani, one of the recently discovered beaches in West Bengal left us refreshed over the weekend. It is known for being the longest and probably the only motorable/driveable beach in India.

We had very little preparation to begin with, and owing to the extended weekend holiday, we were left with very limited choices. This was our first trip with K.Lo. and Shawn. We started off on Friday morning, with Shawn behind the wheels. The 170 km journey took us a little more than 5 hours in all. On our way to Mandarmani, we also stopped by at Kolaghat and had breakfast at Express Food Plaza, Kolaghat. We also stopped by in between and had tender coconut water. The journey was very pleasant, and we ended up cracking jokes and listening to music, while Shawn drove us all the way to our vacation destination.

Once we reached our resort, we checked in and headed with growling tummies towards lunch, which we had pre ordered with the resort. My lunch consisted of simple Rice, Daal, Alu Bhaja, Alu Posto, Chatni, Papad and Roshogolla. My husband, who loves fish, ordered for a Bhetki Thaali. Mandarmani boats of several hotels that serve fresh fish cooked in an authentic home style. We then proceeded towards our respective rooms and freshened up.

When it was almost 4 in the evening, we decided to take a walk on the beach. The weather was quite pleasant, and we ended up clicking a few shots before the sunset.

My outfit of the day was a white linen skirt that I had picked up from Brand Factory. It was paired with a floral shirt from Zink London. A trip to the beach is never complete with hats and sunshades. I carried my only blue tinted sunglasses from Rayban. On my lips, I am wearing Colourpop’s Lippie Stix in the shade “I Heart This”.

After we got back from the beach, we settled down for some evening snacks followed by adda. No bong’s trip is ever complete without gaan bajna, telebhaja and adda. Shawn is blessed with a melodious voice, and it was such a treat hearing him unplugged, humming out melodious numbers. We also played cards till it was time for dinner. Dinner consisted of simple chapatti and chilly chicken/paneer that we had ordered from the resort itself. We retired out pretty soon because it had been a hectic day, and because we were so looking forward to Day 2 at Mandarmani.

How to reach Mandarmani

One can easily reach Mandarmani from Kolkata by train, bus or car. The nearest railway station is Digha, and there are trains that run daily in between Howrah and Digha. Trains from Howrah halt at the station. The other nearest railway station is at Contai, about 17 kms away. From Digha, you can rent a car and reach Mandarmani in less than 20 minutes. Mandarmani is well connected by roads. State run busses, as well as private busses ply regularly from Howrah, Esplanade and various other pockets of the city like Dumdum, Jadavpur, Garia.

Things to do in Mandarmani

1. Have fried fishes at the shacks by the beach
2. Boating (they charge you around 200 per head for a 10 minute ride)

Would you like to know about what fun we had at the beach that left us with tanned faces and an uplifted spirit? Stay tuned for my Day 2 post at Mandarmani.

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