This past weekend was our first trip out of Kolkata, to a city called Puri in the state of Odisha. Puri was not originally on our list of places to get to, but India is a big country and it turns out that getting to some of the must-see places is 20+ hours away! Puri is a mere 9 hour overnight train ride that is mostly spent sleeping. It was a nice weekend getaway trip and seeing the ocean occasionally is a treat (that might be our inner Vancouverites talking)!
Our trip was a mix of relaxation and adventure. I have decided it would be best told through photos so here we go...
We were both anticipating our first train ride in India. These before and after pictures pretty much sum up our train ride.
When we got to the train station we discovered that data was not working on our phone (so no booking an uber cab) and we didn't know how far away our hotel was (which makes it harder to haggle the price of a taxi). Ooops. This was particularly amusing as we had been exchanging stories of mistakes we'd made when taking trains elsewhere and not looking up how to get from the station to the desired destination was a common theme. We problem solved and ended up taking our first rickshaw ride through the monsoon.
After freshening up at our hotel, we were keen to walk along the beach. The waves were huge and the whole beach was lined with people wading, jumping over the waves, or simply sitting in the sand and letting the waves wash over them. No bathing suit necessary; we saw people swimming in jeans, skirts, even sarees.
Why hellooooo Mr. Camel.
There were A LOT of cows living harmoniously among people in the city. They were everywhere (and so was their poop but I didn't photograph that). In this picture, you can see a large group of cows stopping traffic to walk down the middle of the road.
We took a car ride about an hour out of Puri to see the famous Konark Sun Temple, built in the 13th century. This is one of the wheels on the temple that is built in the form of a giant, ornamented chariot for the Sun God.
We couldn't help but notice some rather.... suggestive imagery detailed on the outside of the temple as well. Further research has taught us that this is not uncommon in India. These Maithunas, erotic sculptures, are not uncommon to find on Indian temples and reflect a 13th century India where sex and sexuality was openly talked about.
Back in Puri, we also visited the Jagannath temple in Puri, which is huge! There was a shoe stand the size of my old apartment and fences to corral people into an orderly line before entering the temple. As we are not Hindus, we could not enter the temple but had instead read in our Lonely Planet book that there was a library rooftop we could view the inside of the temple from. We climbed the stairs and a man greeted us and told us a long tale about all the visitors (including the Pope!) who had visited this library. He insisted we make a donation towards the library then led us to the rooftop. On the way up the stairs, he pulled out a long stick and started tapping along the walls and stairs. Seeing our shocked faces he explains "It's the monkeys! They bite! Don't worry I will be your bodyguard." He then proceeded to walk around the rooftop, occasionally jabbing out at monkeys and yelling while we took photos. Predictably, he then asked for a tip for being our bodyguard.
We are pretty sure the whole thing - from the picture of the Pope to the biting monkeys - was an elaborate scam to get our money. The view was pretty good but the sight of him climbing the stairs and fending of the monkeys was worth every rupee.
Dramatic clouds, sandy beaches, and the sound of waves was worth the whole trip.
We also ate "Kung Pao Paneer" at a Chinese restaurant and found a breakfast place with pancakes! However, we couldn't find the "Puri Cheesecake" or bakery we had read about online and spent an hour or more walking in search of baked goods. The second day also included a well-deserved trip to the spa. By the evening Zahra had an upset stomach and the monsoon was back so we hid out in a coffee shop and waited for the train.
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