Midnapore - Bishnupur - Bankura - Lost - Very Lost - Suri
We didn't make particularly good progress today! We had three mechanic stops (see photos above) - the exhaust needed repairing three times, and the front suspension once (following a brief period of "Airtime" the previous day after hitting an unmarked speed ramp at 60 kph). In my defence the ramp was on an A road in the middle of fields! Paul also managed to improve the ventilation in the back of the Tuk Tuk by impailing us on a stationary lorry carrying steel cables - he was trying to weave through a traffic jam at the time.
One of the mechanics decided to direct us through a small rural village on mud tracks instead of taking the main road - I don't think some of the farmers had ever seen a rickshaw taxi before - or at least 2 fat white south londoners driving one!
We arrived in Suri and struggled to find a hotel. The state of West Bengal had declared a total strike and there were blockades and rallies throughout the town of Suri. At the time we didn't know it was a strike and were a bit alarmed to find ourselves in the middle of a mob asking if there was a five star hotel in town (there wasn't!)
Eventually found somewhere to stay, and spent the evening in a restaurant listening to piped music based on 70s TV programmes (eg the Brady bunch) - a bit like eating in a lift or a supermarket!
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