To Khondapuri: heavy traffic but smooth roads

February 19, 2016

What a difference a road surface makes! We even had a bit of a shoulder today. My, oh my though, the traffic was non stop. We lost most of the heavy trucks at Talegaon when we turned onto a white road. Traffic was still heavy, just without so many trucks.

The scenery today wasn't spectacular, the villages we cycled through though was all India! Noisy with lots of honking, stalls lining the streets selling all sorts of wares, lots of people, motorcyles and tuk-tuks merging without looking. This we learned is the one rule of the road in India. The rule of the road being whoever is behind has the responsibility to avoid a crash. Traffic merging without looking is the prime time to follow this rule and pay attention.

People are very friendly and honest at prices for local food and drinks. When we stopped for a potato Vada, we were also given "free" onion pakoda (like onion rings). A bit later we stop for a coconut water drink. We start to see fields of sugar cane, trucks loaded with harvested cane, and roadside stalls selling freshly pressed sugar cane drinks. The sun is hot still but not like yesterday. We stop at one place for a drink where a bull walks around a wooden press squeezing the juice.

Just as we enter Khondapuri we see lodging, but continue on for another half kilometer. Realizing there where no hotels where google map indicated, we return to Hotel Kailash. "This is the perfect place for us, we feel like we are still budget travellers, but get hot water and TV" Patrick says. The room is basic and only 800 rupees ($12), the toilet doesn't have a seat and the bathroom looks a bit dirty, but there is hot water for a shower and a balcony to hang laundry. We order finger chips (french fries) and vegetable pakoda and beer for a mid afternoon snack.

We are inching our way to the next "touristy" destination, the caves at Ellora.

First stop for a vada and coffee. The boy that serves us smiles just like our neighbor kid Lucca.

More highrise ghetto's under construction. There is a lot of car manufacturing in this area, they must provide housing for the workers.

We just have to stop for sugar cane juice squeezed with a bullock press.

Today's ride: 91 km (57 miles)
Total: 13,070 km (8,116 miles)

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