January 25, 2011
To the Top of the Konkan Coast
Kashid & onward to Alibag
My room smells musty and isn't much cop with no hot water for 800 rupees, so getting out is not going to be too hard and I do so at just after 8:00.
Across the road on the beach there's a cricket game being played by a bunch of young guys and I take a snap of it as it seems so quintessentially Indian.
The Internet place opens early here, but I need a cup of tea first and a nearby hotel that looks quite up-market has a menu that includes 'bread, butter, jam' and I ask if it's possible to have toast, but the guy at reception says no - only bread. It seems so in-cred-i-ble.
My heart - or my stomach - is set on toast this morning and I find another place that looks posher just a little bit further along the seafront promenade and see their menu has the magic five-letter word and sit in the large window and have what I want, plus two fried eggs on top, with a glass of cold milk. Sorted!
The Lonely Planet says this coastal neck of the woods is for intrepid travellers and it's more or less true as I've seen few - just four fellow cycle tourists - but here in Marud there are some backpackers, although bear in mind this is within spitting distance of Mumbai, a metorpolis I'm in no big hurry to reach due to its expense and congestion. Megacities and cycling are not that compatible in my honest, experienced opinion.
Still, that's where I'm heading. Not today, though. There's another resort only about 50 km away and that'll do me.
Yes, it's true, my daily mileage is fairly low compared to most cycle tourists, yet this coastline is best savoured at a leisurely pace and with sleeping options being around 50-60 km apart, it seems like a good idea to take my time and stick to that kind of distance.
Today I'll head towards Alibag and just see if I get there or not as a fellow guest in the place I slept told me there's a better beach just a few K south of it, so I'll suss that out first, then decide.
The sun is out again and after a hour or so doing computer stuff I pedal off along the coastal route - Highway 4 - and enjoy it, as I have done previous days.
It swings inland in places and there's not that much to see at first, with a few climbs getting me warmed up - but the worst ones are a few days back now.
The beach resort of Kashid looks inviting and I cruise slowly along the adjacent tarmac and finally brake to a halt at the last vendor's stall where I park my bike and take a seat after ordering a bottle of water and a Sprite.
Five minutes later the smell of food being cooked triggers my appetite and 150 rupees - a bit dear, but to hell with it - gets me a fish curry with rice and two chapatis.
It's too early - 2-ish - in the day call it quits although it's mighty tempting, as the wide golden beach looks wonderful and there are guesthouses around. The thing is there's a beach place called Chaul a bit further up, so that's my goal.
One climb gives me a view of a biggish tree growing on rocks that are submerged under sea water and I clamber down a grassy cliff and under a barbed wire fence and take a snap and then get back up with a struggle.
Chual doesn't flat my boat and I don't even stop to check out the beach, which must be down a side street. The guesthouses don't attract me sand I simply keep on riding and reckon it'll be Alibag today, unless neighbouring Kural lures me.
It doesn't and Alibag is a pretty nondescript; a workaday place.
The woman running a hotel that's hidden down an alley in the older part of town asks for a grand, then comes down to 800 rupees, but it should be 600 really.
As the first two were full I feel a bit snookered and so cough up. To be honest I feel a bit knackered and the last 20 km of riding were a little busy and the previously magical 4 lost it's sparkle.
From here it's about 20 km to the ferry that'll take me across into Mumbai and unsurprisingly today's ride - or at least the latter part of it - had that end-of-tour tinge to it.
There's no power in Alibag till gone 7:00 and I wonder how a country can hope to develop when electricity is in such short supply. Walking around is a dangerous feat as gutters by the road are deep and full of crap and falling in would likely result in a broken leg.
My dinner is at a place near my hotel and I want prawn fried rice, but the waiter says that's not available and adds I can have prawn curry with rice and it seems there's a plot to wind me up today. In-cred-i-ble In-di-aaa...
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 3,610 km (2,242 miles)
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