OrissaTrip2010

A rich heritage of medieval history, that takes us back across 3 dynasties from the eastern coast of the Indian Peninsula. Yes we are talking about the golden triangle in the state of Orissa comprising of Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark. We planned this trip about 3 months back and we are extremely satisfied with our choice of the destination and the timing of the trip. Sterling Resorts has a made a came back in the level of service and resort upkeep in the last 2 years is what I realized from this experience. And we have been very glad of being able to utilize our timeshare from Sterling Resorts after a really long time.

So the principle is to first secure the timeshare resort booking and then plan everything else around it.

So here goes our story of this memorable trip –

Day 1 (11-Nov) – Pune to Bhubaneswar by train is a long drawn journey which takes 36 hrs and hence this option was ruled out at the outset. I must say that booking early helped get a really good deal with Indigo Airlines which had a return ticket for Rs.7K from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar via Hyderabad. So we took a Tavera from Pune to Mumbai domestic airport. The Mumbai domestic airport and its world class infrastructure makes one feel very proud as compared to its international counterpart. The free unlimited Wi-fi and complementary newspaper at the airport are valuable facilities at this place. We took the flight journey of only 3 hrs to cover about 1,364 km which includes a 45 min stop at HYD. On reaching the Bhubaneswar airport we took a Cool Cabs taxi to Hotel Venus Inn located in the heart of the city at Bapujinagar. We had made advance booking due to the holiday season. This hotel had a well known Veg restaurant and hence our evening dinner choice was easy. Do not expect much from his hotel but is sufficient for a short night stop over at a reasonable price.

Day2 (12-Nov) - We checked out of the hotel in the morning after a short South Indian breakfast termed as tiffin in most of South India. There are a lot of sweetmeat shops in this area known for a variety of sweets made with cottage cheese and jaggery.Channa Pol is a recommended sweet famous in this area. We had made an advance booking for a Tavera for our city sight seeing for the day followed by a drop in the evening to the Sterling Resort at Puri.

Our first stop was to see the Udaygiri Caves which date back to the 2^ndcentury BC made by King Kharavela of the Cheti Dynasty. There are about 36 caves and the caves give a nice view of the city from the top. Some shapes are very interesting and the various levels of these caves are well planned, some to house elephants as well and hence known as Hathigumpha. Bang opposite this is a temple of Lord Shiva atop the Khandagiri caves. Beware of guides who try to extract lot of moola which is not worth it. An elaborate story has been carved on a stone in English and Oriya (the local mother tongue) near the caves. After spending over an hour, we then headed out to reach 20 km north for our primary sightseeing destination of the day – The Nandan Kannan Zoological Park. I must say that this is probably the best comprehensive Zoo that houses a wide variety of wild life and fauna. Some of the highlights worth mentioning are White Tigers from North East India and Lions found in the Gir Forests of Gujarat. We were lucky to spot a tiger perched atop a tree and another one quenching his thirst in the water filled moat.

There is a section that houses various nocturnal animals like Barn Owls. as well as birds from different global geographies like colorful Macaws from South America and rarely seen Vultures from South East Asia. After completing a big walking loop of about 4 km, Tanvi and Aai were a bit tired. we decided to wait in queue for a Lion and White Tiger Safari. However this was disillusioning and there is only 1 tiger and pair of Lions that are far away that you get to see.

That too we could get a better sight due to the powerful binoculars that we carried and this is a must to carry on such trips. So I would not recommend this to others. Post that, we spent an elaborate hour in the Reptile Park which has vivid collection of pythons, cobras, vipers, other snakes, tortoises, crocodiles and other rare species of reptiles. There is a huge model of a dinosaur at the entrance as well. Further onwards, Atharva and Tanvi were treated to a small toy train ride which took us into the thick foliage where bright peacocks were perched. After a quick snack break, we all enjoyed time watching hordes of deer, sambar, rare “neel gai” (blue buffalo) and a colorful cassowary. The kids and even Aai-Baba were blessed by a small Baby Elephant about 4 months old and another little one was overjoyed to see so many visitors and started rolling over and nudging Atharva.

Beware of the groups of monkeys that roam freely all over the park’s walkways. They can snatch any type of food that is held in the hand and visible to them. There is a 3-D show just where you exit the park which is not worth recommending too. It was 5PM by the time we finished the zoo and after that we headed back south to Bhubaneswar and onwards 60 km south to reach the Sterling Resort at the southern tip of Puri. In fact the last path of 4-5 km leading upto this resort is a rough one and that is the only negative I see with this resort. However, this strategy seems to be adopted by many such timeshare resorts at tourist locations for various reasons. We stopped briefly in Bhubaneswar at the 1200 year old Lingaraj temple which has a big size “ling” stone carving that is bathed daily with huge quantities of milk and honey. It is worthwhile mentioning here that no cameras and footwear are allowed inside such and many other temples, hence as a rule of thumb we used to keep these in the car itself. We were greeted at the Sterling Resort with a warm smile, “teeka” on the forehead and a welcome drink. The rooms were spacious and each had an extra child bed and small kitchen set. We slept well after having a sumptuous candle light dinner on the resort lawns right off the Beach.

Day 3 (13-Nov) – We took it easy on this day and had a heavy and massive breakfast in the resort restaurant which had an array of continental, south and north Indian menus. Of course, we skipped lunch and headed out to see the famous Lord Jagannath (an avatar of Lord Krishna) Temple in downtown Puri. Though we had timed this holy site visit at an offpeak day and hour, we saw hordes of devotees squatting all over the place. There is a lot of security around as well as inside the temple. When it comes to such temples, there is one species of humans all tourists need to be aware of. These are the priests called as Pandas. They keep on pestering till you oblige to pay them some ransom with which they short circuit the crowded general entrance and take you near to the deity to get a better view for the “Darshan”. Many times these Pandas may not completely fulfill their promise and it feels a bit unethical to bribe such priests for a noble intention.

There is a Temple trust that also sells ticket for a better and closer view but that queue is also huge. Overall our experience was OK and I must say that the hygiene in the overall premises needs to be viewed with a pinch of salt. Also, it is advisable to leave the tiny tots in rotation with one of the elders. In our case, I stayed outside the temple with all the belongings and then Baba came out and I went inside till the rest waited at a designated place. Another thing is that mobile phones and cameras are strictly prohibited so you may keep them with you in case of emergency but do not venture taking them out unless you are lost and need help. One also finds groups of ISKCON devotees in and around the temple. Finally after we all regrouped outside the temple, we traced our steps back to the Sea Beach main road taking about 3 hrs along the way doing various kinds of shopping. In Puri, one has to hone his skills in bargaining since everything is priced at least twice, if not more, for tourists. Good bargaining however does pay off most of the times. Items like clothes, toys and collectible handicrafts are worth spending that time.

While my better half as well as my mother were engrossed in shopping till late evening, I and Baba opted to take the kids to the Beach front and I must say that I spent quality vacation time playing Frisbee with Atharva and Tanvi enjoyed running and in and out of the waves that caressed the shores while Baba was happy with his 3 or may be 5 cups of tea while watching over all of us. We concluded the day with a dinner parcel from one Hotel Suv Palace and took an Auto to the resort for Rs.120 for 4 kms ( and I must admit that this was cheap). We also booked a local cab for the next day to take us for a day long trip to the Chilka Lake which is about 60+ km to the SouthWest of Puri. This is cheaper than taking a cab + driver for the entire duration of your week long vacation trip.

Day 4 (14-Nov) – The kids were very happy with the indoor activities available in the resort. Atharva especially enjoyed playing Table Tennis with me and other guests while Tanvi was content with the roll of dice on a Horse Race table. The driver of the hired Cab (a brand new Indigo) – one Mr. Santosh was very kind and drove us safely through the rural hinterland to Lake Chilka.

Along the way we stopped at a point to admire the Red and White Lotus flowers in full bloom in a village marshy pond. The family boat ride for Lake Chilka costed Rs.1600 for a 3.5 hr trip. Atharva tried his hands at steering the speed motor boat and we enjoyed spotting the Dolphins in the vicinity as the boat made its way across the shallow lagoon waters.

After watching the dolphins, on the return path, we had a brief stop at the land mass where the lake meets the sea. Here we saw a fisherman taking out a fresh pearl from a sea shell. Our boatman showed us his skill in catching the red crabs that swarm this area and one of the shanties had live stock of a variety of crabs/prawns and fish that one can choose from to buy and cook fresh right over there. Finally we headed back and enjoyed a quick bite at the only decent restaurant near the Lake before heading back to our resort. We again picked up tasty Veg biryani and raita for dinner on the way. Since this was Children’s Day, the Resort Management had organized some party games in the Open Lawn Area where we got prize for the best dancers among the motley group that had formed. The resort manager – Mr. John and his team do a really good job in hospitality to all the guests.

Day 5 (15-Nov) – On this day, we had hired another cab through a local travels company to take us to the World Heritage site of the Sun Temple at Konark, which is about 35+ km to the North East of Puri. The drive itself is right along the coastline and is good clear road with cashew nut and date trees lining our path all the way upto Konark. All parking and entrance fees are topped up by these cab drivers so be a bit careful. The Konark temple is to be seen and admired only from the outside since the inside is all cemented and sealed out in the year 1903 by the British Governor of erstwhile Bengal.

This is a series of 5 temples built 800 yrs back in 12^th century by King Narasimha. Hence this and most of the temples in this entire area have giant statues of a Lion face on top of an elephant head called Gaja-simhas. The Konark temple history is very interesting and intriguing as well. The Sun temple (also called Ark over here) is probably the only such temple in India where the Sun deity was balanced in air using a strong magnet. However this strong magnet was destroyed and large precious diamonds from inside the temple were allegedly taken away by the Portuguese since the magnetic waves used to destroy the compasses of the passing ships and thereby damage and sink them in the shallow waters.

The temple edifice makes one think of the evolved culture as well as social life structure that prevailed in this time period. Various sculptures tell different things like the killing of Hiranyakashyapu by Narasimha (avatar of Vishnu), Chinese warriors, different dance postures, trade, marriages, court trials, battles and many sensuous and emotional figures. The main temple that is preserved is the chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve beautifully carved wheels on each side of the chariot. The other beauty is that the line of temples all face exactly in a single line directed eastwards. So the wheels are also acting as a measure of the time based on the sundial principle. A Government appointed guide is a must for this place but be careful to not tip him more than what is recommended on their identification cards. While we were there, the president of Mauritius also visited the temple and the security guards immediately cordoned off small areas as he made his way through.

The sweet fresh water from a ground borewell in these premises was very refreshing and Atharva helped draw water for many tired visitors with glee. After spending about 4 hrs at this site, we did some shopping in the local market (cashew nuts are half the price as compared to Pune) after having a round of sweet coconut water.

After returning back to the resort we spent the evening at the Resort Beach front and then myself and Atharva took a dive in the swimming pool. After a sumptuous resort dinner on the garden lawns, we relaxed in the room watching cricket highlights of the ongoing 2^nd Test Match between India and New Zealand.

Day 6 (16-Nov) – Myself and Manisha treated ourselves to an Ayurvedic Spa massage at the resort. We had contracted an Auto rickshaw driver to take us to a nearby Golden Sand Beach which was inside a restricted Forest Area. We were expecting to see a Tortoise Farm here but some months back they had moved this Tortoise bredding ground to a far away area.

However we spent some time at the deserted beach and finally returned back to the Sea Beach front market area to do more shopping and then relaxed at the Beach front. Atharva made friends with a local seller who was off for the day and enjoyed playing Frisbee. Eventually he also displayed us his skills with the sand by making a face of a Orissa dancer which was very proportionate. Many beach visitors admired his creation. Atharva promised him to come back again some day to play more Frisbee since this was our last day at Puri.

Day 7 (17-Nov) – We had contracted Santosh, the same cab driver (Mobile No - 9937247364) to take us back to the Bhubaneswar airport and he arrived early morning at 6AM.

The Resort Staff bid us a warm farewell. The sun greeted us warmly from the beach as we left Puri. The Indigo flight back from Bhubaneswar was very comfortable and on time. Eventually we comcluded our trip by 5:30 PM when we reached back to Pune from the Mumbai domestic airport with an arranged Tavera Cab. Another well deserved vacation came to a happy and memorable end.