51 km
I was up early today and was hoping to hit the road before it starts getting really hot. But then I ended up talking to people and again it was past ten before I finally got away. At first the road was fine, but soon turned worse. When I rode into Kelshi and asked for a boat across the river I was told I had to ride further inland. It came to be a very long and not that nice detour. Eventually I crossed that river on a bridge some 12 km further inland than were I had hoped to come across by boat. The ride on the Southern strand of the river was not altogether bad, but after having crossed the bridge I had to cycle back towards the coast on an awful gravel road. The detour must have cost me a couple of hours.
Once back on the coast again I started looking for an alternative to Shrivardan to stay at. When I reached Hari Hareshwar I asked at the Mtdc Tourist Bungalow for room, but it was full. Eventually I got a pricey room, or a bungalow actually, at the Hareshwar Tourist Bungalow. The room is fine and clean. But service at the attached restaurant is abysmal. There is no menu, food is not good, and they charge a hefty 65 Rs for a slice of strawberry icecream. There is a large freezer in the restaurant but still the only choice is strawberry.
Paint is flaking from the walls, there were piles of towels lying about right in the dining room. Someone spent the money building a fine resort, and then left managing the restaurant to incompetent fools. The whole thing reminded me of state run establishments in Eastern Europe in communist times where no one gave a shit.
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