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Places to
stay - Budget The
only cheap hotels in Bhavnagar are in the old bazaar area.
The Hotel
Mini (+91 278 512915, Station Road), located in the old city, close
to the train station, is one of the better and friendlier
budget hotels. It's clean and quiet with decent-sized
singles and doubles for Rs. 125 and 225 respectively with
private bathroom. Checkout is 24 hours and this place
can rustle up breakfasts and thalis.
Shital Guest
House (+91 278 428360 Amba Chowk, in the middle of the bazaar
area, is not a bad choice. Enter through the rear of the
building. Singles with shared bathroom cost Rs. 75 while
equally basic but clean doubles with private bathroom with
bucket shower and squat toilet costs Rs. 150.
Places to
stay - Mid-Range and Top End
Hotel Apollo
(+91 278 425252), directly opposite the bus stand, is
definitely the best mid-price deal. It has very
comfortable and spacious rooms with TV for Rs. 450/600 or Rs.
650/800 with air - condition. There are money-changing
facilities and there is a good restaurant.
Bluehill
Hotel (+91 278 426951), down a quiet road from the taxi stand,
is well appointed with air-condition rooms for Rs.
900/1350. There are two veg restaurants and there is
24-hours room service, internet access and a health club.
Nilambag
Palace Hotel (+91 278 424241), west of the bus stand on the
Ahmedabad road, is an interesting place to stay - if you can
afford it. This former maharaj's palace is not as swish
as some other palace hotels, but it's still quite
luxurious. Rooms are Rs. 1990/3500 in the palace or Rs.
1200/1800 in the "royal cottage". There is
also a swimming pool and restaurant.
Places to
Eat
There are
plenty of choices around town for thalis. Hotel Surti,
almost opposite the Hotel Mini, does reasonable thalis for Rs.
30 and Hotel Mini is also good value (all you can eat for Rs.
35). Those at the Vrindavan Hotel cost Rs. 50.
There are
plenty of cheap food stalls on the northern side of Ganga
Jalia Tank - the one relatively permanent and Ok cheapie is
Hotel Mini Punjab.
Of the mid
and upper range hotels, the Nilgiri Restaurant in the Bluehill
Hotel and the RGB Restaurant in the hotel Sun 'n' Shine are
probably the pick, with varied menus, good service and
reasonable prices. The veg and non veg restaurants at
the Hotel Apollo isn't bad.
Bhavnagar -
Getting There and Away
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| Air
The
Indian Airlines office (+91 79 426503) is just north of
the Ganga Jalia Tank. There are four flights a
week to Mumbai (US$75). An auto rickshaw to/from
air port costs about Rs. 60.
Bus
State
transport buses connect Bhavnagar with Ahmedabad and
other centers in the region. There are regular
departures throughout the day for Una (for Diu; Rs. 60,
five hours), Palitana (Rs. 18, 1.5 hours) and half-hoursly
to Ahmedabad (Rs. 65, four hours).
Private
bus companies include Punjab Travels (+91 278 424582),
opposite the Galaxy Cinema, and Tanna Travels (+91 278
420477), nearby. Both offer regular deluxe buses
to Ahmedabad (Rs. 80, four hours) and on daily bus to
Mumbai (Rs. 300, 13 hours).
Train
There
are at least three trains to Ahmedabad daily (around six
hours). The Shetrunji Express (9909), Ahmedabad
Express (9935) and Link Express (9947). For
Palitana there are three daily trains that cover 51km
journey in 1.5 hours (Rs.10).
Around
Bhavnagar
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| Alang
On
the coast between Bhavnagar the Talaja is Alang,
India's largest ship-breaking site where
supertankers, container ships, warships and other
vessels are dismantled - literally by hand - by
20,000 workers day and night. It's an epic,
almost Dickensian scene, but almost impossible to
see as a tourist.
Velavadar
National Park
This
park, 65km north of Bhavnagar, is well known for
its blackbucks, which sport impressive spiraling
horns as long as 60cm in mature males. the
best time to visit is from October to June; ask
about current regulation at the Forest Office (+91
278 428644) or from the sanctuary superintendent
(+91 278 426425) near Bhavnagar's bus stand - the
latter is also the number for booking
accommodation at the Tourist Lodge at the
sanctuary; doubles cost around Rs. 300.
Getting
there by bus from Bhavnagar is possible (Change at
Valabhipur), but to visit on a day trip you would
need to hire a taxi (no more than Rs. 7000.
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