On a laidback, sleepy Friday morning we headed to Surat airport to drop of my uncle. We then decided to ride to Dumas for a quick exploration as it is only 7 kms from Surat airport. These were still COVID lockdown days and a weekday morning, so we got a fairly empty town to explore.
Until this visit, I only knew of it as a beach town with popular bhajiya (fried street food) stands. But as we explored it, I was not surprised to find a plethora of temples speckled across the town. And the ambiance was relaxed and very down to earth, as I have noticed in many such smaller beach towns.
The beach is quite a walk away from the main road. There is one tarred road that goes towards it, but cars weren’t allowed on it at that time. A barrier had been installed by the police. We didn’t want to walk, so we headed back.
Dumas Port has quite an ambiance with dilapidated boats lying around in various states of disrepair. Two people were conducting a pooja ritual nearby. Neighbourhood kids were playing around. A mangly dog slept in the shade. As I said, quite an ambiance.
All in all this was a pleasant visit.
There is the presence of large swathes of marshland before one can reach the actual beach and sea. It is a unique layout. However, the marshy areas seem to have a forlorn feel to them. There are stories of them being haunted. Something about being an old burial ground. No idea about it. But it did feel forlorn to me.
One can rent cycles at the old langar square. I feel renting these cycles and riding in the small town lanes, checking out the temples and other building structures might be a more interesting activity in this town instead of visiting the beach side. But that could just be me and my exploration bug. 😀
Coastal towns are usually predominantly non-vegetarian with a lot of seafood consumption (though less so in India compared to international destinations). But Gujarat has a very high percentage of vegetarian folks, maybe highest in all of India. Thus, we vegetarian folks get the choice of a lot of vegetarian local foods even if it is a small beach town. :)
That’s all I have on this. It’s a pleasant town all in all. But I am always concerned about these small towns getting a huge crowd of city visitors. Be responsible while traveling. Don’t get drunk and cause a ruckus. 🙏🏻🙂 Don’t litter or cause any other ecological mess. Any other tips for responsible traveling in Dumas? Share in comments.
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