From Pune I was headed due west over the Western Ghats to the coastal fortress of Janjira and the ancient Princely State of the same name. However, there was no transport. Everything went via Mumbai, so I took a taxi. The reason there were no buses was probably because the land was fairly sparsely populated and we had to descend through one of the few valleys of the Western Ghats, the long chain of mountains running parallel to the west coast of India.  The landscape was incredible but it was difficult to take photos from the back of a speeding car.

160kms and 4 hours later we arrived in Murud. I was slightly concerned that I hadn’t been able to secure a reservation at any hotel. One, the Murud Marina, has a great website and a contact form to make a reservation, which didn’t work (I see they are now actually on booking.com) but when I arrived they had decent rooms at decent prices (2200Rs), so all good. And the bloke said I would be able to rent a scooter so happy days.

I got settled into may room and then headed out for lunch. I found a great place right on the beach, Hotel Vinayak. I did notice that there were a few people on the beach but no one in the water. Not a great surprise as it was a very muddy green come grey colour. No thanks. The hotel actually had a pool as well but strangely enough the closest I got to water was the shower and a boat trip (more on that later).

Boat trip:

Wandering around town: