November 2014 : Puri trip for me was a mixed experience. On the positive side I was glad that my mother was satisfied and content on visiting the Jagannath Temple in Puri. That was the whole purpose of the trip anyways – to get mum to visit the 4 Dhaams at 4 corners (direction) in India – this being the first one. Seeing my mum happy and understanding what it means to her was for me the most satisfying thing which makes this trip worth.
~~ Getting to Puri ~~
After reaching Bhubaneswar(BBSR) from a 24.5 hour train ride from Delhi I had an overnight stay arranged in BBSR. On enquiring the BBSR hotel the cabs were costing INR 1200 (approx £12.00) for a 1 hour 60 km journey. The next morning after checking out of the hotel we took a auto-rickshaw to Kalpana Square where I was able to get a deal directly with cab driver for INR 600 (£6.00). There are other cheaper options, AC buses ply and cost somewhere INR 150 (£1.50) but you will need to additionally get a auto-rickshaw from Puri Bus Stand to your hotel.
~~ Puri Temple ~~
I have covered my experience with the Jaggannath Puri temple in my previous post 5 Reasons why NOT to visit Jagannath Temple in Puri & My experience.
~~ Puri Beach ~~
Puri beach is a good beach but not the best. There are better beaches elsewhere in the world but in this part of the country it can take the credit.
Our hotel was 100 meters from the beach and so it was very useful and easy for me and mum to come down anytme. We spent hours on the beach. From morning sunrise, to noon heat, to evening walks and post dinner stroll. Here are some of the pictures.
Useful Info: You will be approached by a number of street walkers trying to sell pearls. Be very careful, some of them are fake, most are cultured and very few from a original sea shell. If you find yourself being sold pearls for 20 or 50 rupees (20 or 50 pence) then it sure isn’t real.
The waves are a bit rough compared to Mediterranean seas. Almost no one uses swimming costumes, men will jump in their shorts and undergarments while women in their regular daily Indian wear.
Here are few beautiful pics.
~~ Konark Temple ~~
Konark Sun temple, built in the 12th centuary, is a piece of art and it was good to see it being restored. It is approx 40 km from Puri town centre. From Puri we hired a cab to take us to Konark and Chandrabhaga Beach. The to and fro drive is 2 hours. For the 6 hour commitment we paid our taxi driver INR 830 (approx £8.30). Taxis are fairly easy to get, if you are in town you will be approached by many people around the temple and beach area. Avoid booking well in advance, a day before is sufficient and directly with the drivers and avoid the middlemen.
We hired a tour guide to show us the temple around for INR 150 (approx £1.50). I have read about the Konark temple and it was a good idea to refresh the memory. The guide showed us around the temple, with a good amount of focus on the 24 chariot wheels. It was disappointing that the inside of the temple is still filled with sand and the restoration work will take years before one could enter the temple. Nevertheless even after 800+ years it stood there intact and the area around it beautifully preserved (being a UNESCO heritage site).
We left Puri by train which left at 23:30 hrs. As we had the whole evening to kill, we ended up in Cafe Coffee Day and spent approx 3-4 hours chatting. The train journey back to Delhi was suppose to be overnight with Delhi arrival for 10am the next day but the train was 6 hours late and we reached at 4pm. An exhausting end to our Puri trip.