There is a place called Golden Swan Country Club which has been built on the Yeour hills in Thane. It was originally called Safari Woods and I have to admit that I preferred that name because it somehow seemed more appropriate given the location, surroundings and the environment! That name gave a very jungle like feel to the place, which was very apt. Overtime the management changed and hence the change in name as well. Its about an hours' drive from where we stay. And once there, you never feel that you are still at the outskirts of Mumbai city. You always get the feel like you are far away, on some hill station. 
You drive through a hilly area and a winding road and as soon as you do that you can feel the change in climate when you are on your way up. Its just greenery all the way from there. The club is situated bang in the middle of the Yeour village. They have a clubhouse and cottages where you can stay. We have almost always done a stayover because its only then that you can experience the place in all its glory! Like you have four seasons in a year, when you stay there you can actually feel the transition from morning to night in a mere span of 24 hours, as the scenario changes and each time and phase of the day has its own unique splendour. Mornings are beautiful, sometimes misty as well and you wake up to the sounds of birds chirping away, creating their own melody of sorts. Its a truly wonderful experience and the best part is you can sip your morning tea just outside the cottage and enjoy all of nature's artwork alongside. I have always dreamt of having a place where I can sit out in the midst of nature, surrounded by greenery and have my morning and evening chai! For now, this dream gets realised everytime I visit the country club.
The weather dictates how the day unfolds. If its pleasant then you can be outdoors but if its hot or rainy then the afternoon time is best inside the cottage which gives you a very cosy ( and romantic!) feel. A good book to go along with it is perfect. An afternoon nap is also a very tempting option or then just vegetating and doing nothing. As the evening draws close its best to step out and actually explore the place. They have long paths all around the club which are quite trekworthy! While you take a walk you truly feel like you are in the middle of a jungle. Flora with huge gigantic trees and all kinds of plants and flowers add to the beauty of the place. And ofcourse a bonus and that is the luxury of 'fresh' air which is totally unpolluted! How you crave for things like that when you are leading a crazy hectic city life!!!
There is a small lake which is the abode for thousands of fishes, big and small of different shapes and colours. Its a norm to feed the fishes and the change from still waters to a multitude of ripples happens right there when you are chucking in bits of bread or biscuit pieces. They just come out of nowhere and try to grab a share of whatever they get! There is a very pretty bridge across the river and the sight is 'picture perfect'! They have small boats as well and there is one relatively bigger one which is in the shape of a swan! This time around it looked freshly painted and fully white with some bindi like thing adorning its forehead. My first reaction was to call it Rekha as it looked very south indian to me!
Weekends always have a line up of programmes, either for kids or the whole family. Their musical nights are quite nice and create a perfect ambience when you are sipping your favourite drink! It creates a different kind of mood altogether. One of my favourite parts of the stay there are the nights , for many reasons. The quiet at night almost spells an eerie atmosphere, though not scary! Everything is so still and yet so pretty. When you take your night walks you encounter a beauty which is very difficult to describe in words as it has to be felt! I feel if there are angels and fairies for real, they most certainly reside in places like these. Strangely the birds seem awake through the night given the incessant supply of humming and chirping sounds. You also get the most sound and blissful sleep and the quality of your dreams is something else altogether. And I think that has more to do with the pure, refined vibes and energies in such places. You just feel so settled!
Since we all are so used to a city life with a maddening pace, it takes you awhile to get used to a place like this. And when you are just about settling in your first thought is "Ok what next!" and then you have to remind yourself that you are here just to chill and unwind. And its uncanny that when you have settled into the surrounding and sync yourself to the rythm of of it , is when its actually time to bid adieu! I have always left the place with a slightly heavy heart, one because its so lovely and two the thought of going back into a hectic crazy city life makes its even tougher.
