Left for Kashid on Sunday and stayed there for 2 days at Swapnali Tourist at the end of Kashid just after Prakruti A small place of 8-10 rooms managed by the Divekar family staying in the same compound. 1200 for non ac and 2500 for AC. There was nothing to praise or criticize. about Swapnali. Food was home cooked and average. Rooms and toilets were new and clean.
Service was okay as there is no staff and Sameer Divekar attends to the clients. Of course, Kashid beach was simply fantastic and since we were at the end of the beach, away from all the shacks and hammocks, there was no one but us and a couple of others. The beach was clean and water was good and we had fun watching the sunset and playing in the water in the mornings. We left for Dive agar on Tuesday as we had heard a lot about its virgin beaches.
The road from Kashid to Diveagar is around 36 kms and goes through ghats and is bad. The roads are very narrow and when you see a vehicle approaching, you have to get to one side and let it pass. Small stones on the edges of the road are sharp enough to puncture your tyres like I did. But a good samartian rickshaw driver helped me change my tyre in 5 minutes flat. I was lucky because many times you can keep driving for a good 30 minutes without seeing a soul on the road. Reached Diveagar in 2 hours.
Went straight to Pratimesh Hotel which someone at mouthshut had recommended. It turned out to be a very good place. We paid 1750 for an AC room for a night, which normally goes for 2500 on weekdays. Staff were helpful, we had a lady to do all the washing and drying, an old man to wash our car and attend to other stuff. The best part was the food. The kitchen at Pratimesh is run by a local guy and he came up with some amazing stuff that I have never tasted. Non veg was prawns curry, fried surmai, fired prawns and in veg, there was this kaju bhaji - tender cashewnuts soaked in red curry that tasted like prawns and was the most delicious dish I ever had. Next day he served vegetable made of raw jackfruit and beans that was again mind blowing.
We went to the beach in the evening and were simply horrified after reading so much about its virginity. The beach looked more or less like it had been raped. The entrances to the beach itself were littered with plastic and mineral water bottles. The sand colour was brown and dirty and our feet started itching. The sand stuck to us and clothes even after it had dried, nothing like Kashid. There is a long stretch of bushes bordering the beach and coupled were making out inside the bushes in makeshift spaces. I couldnt find a place to keep our stuff because the entire place was littered with plastic bottles, garbage, glass bottles, beer cans, you name it. The stink was so awful in some sections that we felt like puking. I asked the locals why the condition was so bad and they said the beach was cleaned only once a week on Fridays and Kashid beach was cleaned daily.
The next morning we visited the Suvarna Ganesh temple nearby and left for Harihareshwar another 35 kms ahead. The dive was marvellous...winding through ghats and mountains on your left and the Aarvee beach on your right. There are not much facilities for staying in Arvee and so the beach is pure virgin..sand whiter than Kashid and not a single soul. Took darshan of Kalbhairav in Harihareshwar and returned to Mumbai same day. In all, avoid Diveagar and stop if you must only to visit Suvarna Ganesha temple or go straight to Harihareshwar and enjoy Arvee beach on the way or Harihareshwar beach. But avoid Diveagar beach at all costs.