45 km
Cycling out through Murud was so nice I kept thinking that if I had had a camera fitted on my helmet I could have snapped a dozen good pictures. Very interesting town life going on. I rode across the bridge and soon saw another good beach.
At Rajapuri I get a boat across to Dighi. There are some guys with motorbikes near the jetty and they confirm that this is where the boat will leave from. They say it will leave at 1130, in 45 minutes, which suits me fine. But it actually does not leave until 1230 and I wish I had had some bananas.
Ar Dighi I find a little restaurant where one fellow is just finishing off a meal that looks tasty. I ask him if it is vegetarian and he says yes. I tell the waiter I would like to have the same. His English is almost nonexistant and he keeps asking me what I want. He wants me to have a name for the dish, which I obviously don't. Eventually another guest gets involved and my order is sorted. I think it was called Ushal and it was very tasty.
A little later I meet the first cyclist so far on this trip. He is Julian, a nice young English guy going the same direction as I am. He has cycled 17500 kms, from London via Poland, Iran, The Stans, and Kathmandu. Last night when I had dinner in Murud I talked to a German sounding couple who had a rented car. When I tell them I have cycled from Kathmandu they give me a high Hindu greeting and say "respect!". Glad Julian was not around then or my puny 2500 kms would not have been much worth.
I talk to Julian an hour or so by the roadside and then we cycle off together.
The coast is a bit more hilly here and the road winds round and round, up and down. At first the road itself is fine but then turns worse, and eventually much worse. It is as if they never got around to putting the top tarmac on.
When we come to the beach at Shrivardan Julian says he is on a much smaller budget than mine and that he plans to camp on the beach and cook his own dinner. I ask around for some guest house and is pointed off just ten minutes down the beach. I roll my bike over there and ask for a room. It is Subhan Beach House. It is only accesible from the beach, there is no road to it. The manager tells me a room is 1800 Rs. When I ask for something cheaper he offers me a hut on stilts for 800 Rs. It is a no frills thing with only mattresses on the floor. But it is clean and and so are the mattresses and sheets. I take it and ask if Julian can sleep there as well for the same price, he can. I go down to the beach and tell Julian he is welcome if he cares to. We still have many things to talk about and it would be a bit ridiculous to have him in a tent on the beach and me being the only guest at the resort. So he moves in. I have a good Fish Thali in the restaurant, and Julian cooks his own stew on a Primus stove right there.
The sounds from ocean waves feels good when going to bed. Towards morning it gets quite cold though and I wake up several times to adjust my blanket. We have Masala Omelette and chai for breakfast.
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