Do the Diu

HIT THE ROAD

Diu, all 39 square km and 40,000 inhabitants of it, lies off the southern coast of Gujarat, separated from Daman (its UT sibling) by the Gulf of Kambhat.

After the hot, dry flatlands of Saurashtra, the erstwhile Portuguese colony is a pocket of geographical, cultural and gastronomic relief (non-veg and alcohol available in plenty and on the cheap!).

Hordes of parched Gujaratis descend on the place to slake their thirst, but there's a lot more on offer here than just ethanol. The Portuguese left behind a legacy of grand churches, fortifications, a maze of colourful bylanes and bustling markets and, of course, siesta culture. Ideal weekend material, what?

Diu is 870 km from Mumbai and 470 km from Vadodara, via Bhavnagar and Una. Mumbai-Vadodara can be slow because of highway construction, but Vadodara-Diu is much faster. The best stay option is Hotel Pensao Biera Mar (Ph: 02875-252342, Rs 1,000 onwards), a charming old villa.

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