Dhenkanal railway station is quite a long way out of town. For once the old jokes do not apply as the railway does go much closer to the centre. We are in plenty of time and stock up on water for the trip. We were given a bunch of home grown bananas as a parting gift so that is lunch sorted. The train appears on the boards but no platform is listed. D asks one of the staff who waves across to the other platform. People are already gathering over there so we shoulder our packs and cross the footbridge. This is quite a long walk as there are two through lines between the platform loops. There is a constant traffic of coal trains, full and empty, passing through with one set of wagons full of sand for variety. Confusingly there are loaded coal trains heading in both directions.
The Puri Intercity is due at 9.45 which passes. A few minutes later the boards change to say Expected 10.10. About quarter past it pulls into the platform. There are no coach markers so we have guessed mid platform and have to march briskly towards the rear of the train to find coach C1, an AC Chair Car. This coach must have been to Dundee. Our window has been glazed with plywood. The TTE does not move out of his seat for the entire trip. So much for clamping down on ticket fraud. We are reversing our route from two days ago so the lack of view is not too much of a loss. At Bhubaneswar the train more or less empties and D bags a seat with a transparent window. It is still 30 minutes late but by the time that we arrive at the seaside town of Puri the arrears are only ten minutes.
In the baking Puri heat an autorickshaw tout pounces. LP suggests that the price for a 35 kilometre transfer to Konark should be from about 300 but that is probably out of date. He wants 1500 and is told that his jokes are rotten. All of the time we are getting nearer to the station exit. The price drops to 1000 then 800 'last possible'. He is getting louder and louder in his efforts to sell us an overpriced ride and a crowd is collecting. R spots a pre-paid kiosk and we head for that. Two chaps in Odisha Home Guard uniforms appear. We are told that the fare is 503 rupees, the 3 being the booking fee. We agree to this and a book of pink forms with sheets of carbon paper is produced. It would seem that the crowd are all auto drivers and they all turn down the gig. One of the uniforms shouts over a wall and an older chap appears, talks for a while then leads us to his auto. The only prepayment that we make is the 3 rupees fee.
The driver turns out to be a bit steadier than many auto jockeys and takes care to avoid the bumps as we negotiate the Puri streets. Out of town the road surfaces are good apart from some vicious speed bumps that certainly achieve the required effect. The authorities have placed encouraging roadside notices at regular intervals. Our favourite was 'Donate blood but not to the road'. From time to time we pass groups of parked coaches and crowds of people picnicking in the fields. The amount of litter was staggering. The concept of Swachh Bharat appears to have bypassed this bit of Odisha. For a few km the road runs quite close to the sea but the beach appears to be almost deserted. There are lines of coaches parked as we enter Konark and there are a lot of people about. The Sun Temple Hotel is quite easy to find and , after giving our driver a decent tip, we are welcomed by a bevvy of young ladies in matching white and purple outfits.
Reception is in the restaurant which is in a modern block fronting onto the street. After checking in we are led through the back into an older part where we climb the stairs before crossing back into the new bulding. The room is quite basic but with very efficient A/c and the most modern looking water heater that we have seen in India. The promised free wifi connects but is very slow and D's data plan is still firmly stuck on Edge. We unpack and head out for a recce. LP does not include a street plan for Konark so we are relying on the phone maps which are a bit sketchy. After a few minutes walk we arrive at a place called Konark Urban Haat. We know that Haat means market but this is a pleasant garden with various shuttered buildings around. Obviously closed today but we have a pleasant stroll in the gardens. The lines of coaches are thinning and we notice that a lot have West Bengal plates so a long drive home.
As we approach the Sun Temple entrance the crowds thicken. A couple of guides with official looking badges approach us. Today is a free entry day in honour of the Magha Mela, tomorrow we must buy tickets. While the prospect of depriving the ASI of a fiver is very tempting one look at the crowds swarming in the temple grounds persuades us to wait until the morrow. Instead we climb up to the walls around the temple site. This is quite a wide path but there are hawker stalls laid out on the ground on either side and a lot of people browsing. At times we have to push a bit to make progress and at the first opportunity we take a lane away from the temple and back to the town's main street. This has been closed to most traffic and makes for easier walking.
It is the hottest day that we have had so far and we feel that we have earned a refreshment. Our book recommends the state run Yatrinivas Hotel which failed to respond to our attempts to book accommodation. We present ourselves at reception to be told that there is no beer today because of the festival. State governments in India seem to have a habit of shutting bars to mark festive occasions. No doubt the SNP will be following suit shortly. The state run "Foreign Liquor Store" is trading and supplies a couple of cold Kingfishers although the price seems quite steep. Somebody has carefully scratched the recommended price off the labels. We return to our room to drink the bottles before they get warm. A notice at the hotel door which we failed to spot earlier says 'Wine strictly forbidden'. Good job we got beer.
After a drink D goes to explore the roof terrace. There is a man smoking who asks how we like the hotel and the town. D asks him if he is the owner. 'No, staff'' he responds. Asked if the town is always this busy he explains that this weekend is a special people's festival to mark the sun's birthday. He also enlightens regarding the young ladies in white and purple. They are work placement trainees from a hospitality college.
We have eaten so well for the past couple of days that we just go for a light supper of onion and mixed veg pakodas. The man from the roof reappers to ask if we want ketchup and when we decline he delivers a small dish of chatni. It is very good and when we ask what it is made of he says a special fruit used only in Odisha. In the local language, Odia, its name sounds like wow. He does not know any English name for it but produces one from the kitchen. We have no idea what it is. We retire to our room to read and wrestle with the internet. The other guests seem to be warming up for a hooley so we find the earplugs from our luggage before turning in.
I cannot imagine visiting Konark with such crowds. You're really brave. That fruit is elephant apple. It's called Ouu in Odiya and the chutney is Ouu Khatta. Have you got yourself some Chenna Poda yet?
ReplyDeleteNot brave, just uninformed. We had no idea that there would be a festival on. Tonight we are back in BBS and will go in search of Chenna Poda.
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ReplyDeletePS Thanks for the fruit ID.
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