This weekend, I had a chance to visit Puri and Bhubaneswar as part of my solo weekend getaway. Bhubaneswar is a small city and the first impression is that it has a very small Railway station with only four platforms to serve. Remember that this is the capital city of Orissa.
I took a train from Vizag at 12:10 AM and reached Bhubaneswar at 07:30 AM. I had 4 hours with me before my next train to Puri. I used this time to loiter around on the roads. One thing that caught my attention was that Litchis are being sold in heaps along the roadsides. Needless to say, that I filled my tummy with them. I also tasted Chanapuda which is a odissi sweet made of milk, cashew and sugar. This is not so great and happily can be missed.
I landed in Puri at around noon which is one hour ride on train from Bhubaneswar. I checked into Puri Hotel on the beach road in Swargadwara area. This area is the most happening part of the town with all the shops and stuff like that. The area is filled with countless number of sweet shops which very strangely prepare only one variety : Khaja. I somehow couldn't digest this fact of being robbed off with local sweets. But, the streets are also filled with stalls serving sea food. I got the biggest prawn I ever saw in my life for a mere 100 rupees. Upon picking the prawns from the lot, that is cut in front of us and cooked. I had 2 big prawns and a pamphret fish for dinner. Its like heaven for sea food. These stalls are right on the beach road beside Monginis cake shop, if you ever visit Puri.
Talking about heaven, Puri is the abode of Lord Jagannath and I visited the Lord as well. Believe me, this is the most commercial temple I have ever seen. Right from the entry till you leave the temple premises, people try to rob you in the name of God. Apart from that the temple is a beauty. It stands royally at 180 feet tall. And at the summit, there is a flag which will be changed everyday. There are four families under the temple payrolls which are trained to go to the top and change the flag. There are no steps and person going to the top will actually crawl up on the temple walls. You can visit the temple between 6 and 7 in the evening to witness this spectacle.
The sea in Puri is very rough. It best suits for surfing. But for others like me, the sea is very dangerous as the tides are very high. There is help available from the locals if you want to go into the sea though. And there are life guards watching over the sea for any mishaps. Baywatch sans babes and boobs...
The next morning, I visited Sun temple in Konark. This is roughly 40kms from Puri. The temple is an abode to Sun God and showcases the heights of Odissi architecture. The temple is in the shape of a chariot and is pulled by seven horses and the sanctum is the house of Sun God. Unfortunately, the temple is showing signs of aging and to save it, the government of India has filled the Sanctum with Stone to support the structure from collapsing inwards. The exterior is a majesty in itself.
From, Konark I came back to Bhubaneswar and visited the famous Lingaraj temple. This is a Shiva temple and it is also a pinnacle showcasing the Odissi architecture.The part of the town in which the temple is located is not developed much, making Bhubaneswar a perfect blend of culture and cosmopolis.
I took train to Vizag the next morning and back to my routine life...
