Oh Mon Diu!

The most unfortunate part of Diu is that it's appalingly hard to reach. Direct flights are available only from Mumbai. From Delhi it can take up to 2 days to reach Diu by flight. From Ahmedabad one only has the option of a Non A/C bus which takes roughly 11 hours to reach Diu. Not fun! Not fair. If anyone wants to develop this as a tourist spot someone needs to take a serious look at the connectivity. For a state that's 40 degrees all year round a non AC service is just bad business sense. Diu is called the 'Europe of Gujarat' but it's harder to reach than the real Europe. Our journey, which began with a 15 hour train ride from Delhi, took about 26 hours one way. So do the math, over 2 days to do Delhi-Diu-Delhi. With no light, poor ventilation and a thick velvet covering all 6 sides, the bus compartments were only slightly better than a coffin.i have travelled coach most of my life but travelling 'coffin class' was a whole new experience.

Now that that's out in the open as a fair warning for the world, here's the good part: Diu itself is surprisingly clean, blue and serene. The beaches arent crowded at all. The resorts are super affordable yet charming and chic. A family or group of friends can easily make birth here and spend a quiet time. But that's about it. The most popular activity here is reading a book while lying in a hammock. Diu is certainly beautiful but also a serious snoozefest. All one can do here is drink, eat and swim all usually within the resort itself. That's hardly worth a travelling time. If a swim in the wide, blue ocean is desired wait till the crowds thin before you strip down to your swimsuits because most people here are partial towards swimming in saris or rolled up jeans. so an actual bathing suit will certainly look out of place. My friend was convinced that my cotton sundress would inspire the locals into naming the beach after me.

Essentially Diu is pretty and clean. But it's not exciting or exceptional and most importantly, not worth the travel time. Unless one is coming in from Mumbai it's expensive and incovenient. Diu's union territory status really does it in. The roads have not been left at the Lord's mercy and no convenient connections have been developed. To put it simply, there are tons of better options in India which have superior beaches, activities, history and connectivity.

Early in the day we head out by auto to the main city for a city tour. On the way we passed a dolphin jumping about in the water. It was right next to our hotel but apparently they're more active early in the morning and we actually missed most of them. So, the POA for tomorrow is certainly waking up at the crack of dawn for an au naturel dolphin show. Our auto reached the Diu Fort, which is very pretty and has a lot of character. The lighthouse of the Fort was a great vantage point from where to see all of Diu easily. From there we could see cliffs that reminded me distininctly of Wales. Truly, India has it all. The Fort was the best part of Diu. The following trips to a church, a museum, a manmade waterfall were all extremely underwhelming. Definitely would not bother with them again. The other great part of Diu was clearly Jalandar Beach. In stark difference to Nagoa, Jalandar was quiet and very private. It was spotless and only 2 people were peacefully sunbathing there. Quite clearly we made a mistake by staying in Nagoa instead of Jalandar. But that's why i mention it; so that people who read this know better.

Another thing people should know is that people shouldnt come here during the peak season. During winters, beach towels carpet Nagoa's sandy beach. And around Diwali half of Gujarat invades Diu to mar its best trait - unadulterated serenity.