Bhopal

Today I write from India's heartland, Madhya Pradesh's capital city Bhopal.

Bhopal has probably been a extremely underrated location on my trip. Never expected to find one of India's most liveable cities according to my definitions.

The weather isn't too hot - though I know I'm biased because I'm here in the midst of the monsoon. The roads and infrastructure are breath-taking. The Rani Kamlapati Railway Station(Previously Hadibganj) of Bhopal deserves a medal of it's own - it feels better than a lot of airports I've visited in the country. The city is clean and though it doesn't have a beach - standing on the brinks of the lake near Boat Club, you will quickly realise it feels exactly like Marine drive with the breeze and the lite waves of the lake lashing out on the walls below. The city also seems to have a very young crowd and has the entertainment options that the youth are drawn to. Safety also didn't seem like a concern to me while I was out an about even in the night. I saw women in many places at night and that made me feel extremely safe. Bhopal has the looks and feels of a big city but without the vibes and the people giving off that sweet small town energy. Everybody I interacted with from my Airbnb host, to auto and cab drivers to waiters and old friends from the city - everybody seemed to be extremely sweet, going out of their way to help me out! I couldn't have had a better time. If it were up to me and life worked out, this may be one of the places in India, that I'd love to live in :)

Okay enough raving about how wonderful a place Bhopal is!

Where Did I stay?

I stayed at this compact Airbnb in Arera Colony. It was centrally located, near No 10 market and had restaurants and cafes in the near vicinity. Both Cab services (Ola & Uber) as well as Zomato and Swiggy delivered without any confusion. Area felt extremely safe even at night. And the hosts were extremely delightful. Would totally recommend the property and the location.

casa particular in Bhopal · ★5.0 · 1 bedroom · 2 beds · 1 private bathroom

BETWA

Airbnb

Van Vihar National Park

Rent a bicycle and cycle through the 4km stretch of this national park with a road along the banks of the lake. If you are as lucky as me you may even have the delight of spotting some tigers, turtles, deer and crocodiles along your ride. I went during the morning, since Advaita suggested in might be warmer during the day. So keep in mind the weather conditions while you plan your visit. You can rent bicycle both inside the park or you can choose to use a Chartered bike (electric scooters and gear cycles) from outside the park. Both have centres on both entrances, so you can start from one end and exit while dropping your bike off at the other. I borrowed a geared bicycle from the Chartered bike stand and had a great experience, plus got my morning work out in! :)

Madhya Pradesh State Tribal Museum

Unlike most other museums I've visited before, this is probably the most well curated museum I've ever been to. Tribal cultures of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh have been showcased which such attention to detail through numerous live size displays. The houses of the tribes have been built within the museum and are extremely well maintained with constant re-flooring and other work being done. You will most likely not need a guide since most exhibits come with in detail explanations, stories and myths surrounding the exhibit. If you are here, you can also visit the Bhopal State museum which though not that exciting, is just around the block in the same compound. It has a good collection of artifacts and manuscripts from early freedom fighters as well as from the Nawabs of Bhopal.

Boat Club - Boating and Walk along the lake trail

This place has a variety of boating experiences - paddle boats, motor boats, rowing boats, etc. You'll also find tonnes of large ducks here. It was an absolute beautiful site when I visited in the early evening with the breeze and small tides lashing along the walls of the lake. Since I was visiting alone, I didn't feel like boating so I decided to take a walk along the banks of the lake and that was really heart-warming. There is a walking path that is open morning to evening here which you can make use of for an evening walk or run. You can also drop by at Wind and Waves Restaurant on Lake road once you are done.

Kerwa Dam & Zipline

This spot is a little far away from the city, so it's unlikely that you can use Ola or Uber to get here. I did use a cab service but had to cancel the ride and make my cab driver take the ride offline once I got there, since I realised it would be impossible to get a cab to take me back from here. I had a hard time spotting the Zipline from up here, so would be better to do your research properly unlike me. While I was here there was a light drizzle so I decided not to take the zipline and headed back. While the views were great from up here, I'm not sure it was totally worth the long trip I made for this.

Unfortunately your girl hasn't gotten to try out too much of the food over here, since I'm still recovering from food poisoning so this post isn't going to have any food recs from me. But Advaita had some great personal recommendations that I'm going to leave here.

1. Cafe Amado
2. Oliver’s bistro
3. Greenhouse cafe (jehanuma retreat)
4. Ten Downing Street (great food!, Multi cuisine, serves alc also)
5. Noor us Sabha hotel
6. Jehanuma La Kuchina: Fine dine Italian
7. Jehanuma retreat Under the Jamun tree - very aesthetic and serves kebabs and Indian food
8. Top N Town Ice creams (Got to try this - 10/10 would recommend - not as amazing as naturals (Naturals fan girl forever), but fully worth while for the money and great choice of flavours)