Day 27 – Mumbai to Tawa, NH 8, Maharashtra (Kanyakumari to Leh Cycling)

My Cycle gets all the fame

After spending four days in Mumbai, I started on the next phase of my journey. I woke up late in the morning (7:20 a.m.) and this made me feel that I should take a break that day as I was late to leave but that would not have been a good idea. So I left at 7:30. Mumbai was already in its full vigour by the time I hit the road. I wanted to enter Gujarat today itself but as per my earlier plans, had to stay at Manor, Maharashtra. Manor is just a normal town and when I reached there, I got the impression that I would not be able to find accommodation over there. I cycled further and for the last time in Maharashtra, had a “pav” dish known as Missal Pav. It took me about 50 kilometres to cross the crowded Mumbai, and I wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible by taking all the flyovers and not getting stuck in the traffic jams.

Blistering heat on the highway
Blistering heat on the highway

I stopped for Lunch at 2 p.m. at a dhaba  in Tawa on National Highway 8. It was expensive as it was the only eating place nearby. After having some food, I asked the owner for a place ahead on the highway where I could stay. He asked my whereabouts and the purpose. I explained to him and he told me that I could stay at his farmhouse, which he often gives to travellers for rest. The fare he asked was more than half of my daily budget but later, after I told him my budget, he conceded after consulting with his wife.

Waiting for my lunch at the dhaba
Waiting for my lunch at the dhaba

This place did not even have a good mobile network and I was not feeling good having stayed there. I had already cycled 116 kilometres that day and it was very hot in the afternoon. I knew I would enter Gujarat the next day and I still had to decide about my stopover over there.