Konark - The Sun Temple

Earplug assisted slumber endures until about six in the morning.  There is a pattern emerging here. We are woken by the noise of a football crowd in the corridor outside our room. At least that is what it sounds like. The other guests are heading for the roof to see the sunrise. We read for a while then make leisurely preparations for the day. Since last night the internet connection has improved significantly and we manage to post a couple of days worth of blog. Last night we were told that breakfast starts at 7.30, 8 (or possibly 7.38) so we put this to the test.

The staff seem a bit surprised to see us but leap to it, switching on the A/c and moving some furniture.  We have breakfast included but this only runs to choices from the vegetarian page. This includes pancakes but not omelets. R opts for Aloo Paratha while D goes for banana pancake, the first he has ever tried. The paratha comes with lime pickle. How can she eat that for breakfast? Shortly after 8 we set out on the 400 metre walk to the temple gate. It is already on the upper side of warm and we are carrying plenty of water. On the way we meet one of the guides who had tapped us yesterday. Surya's English is quite good and his price seems fair for an hour and a half tour so we engage him. He leads us to the ticket office, takes our money and walks straight to the front of the queue.

Before we enter the temple complex he takes us to an overlooking spot with a bench in the shade and runs through the history of the site and some of the more general details. He seems knowledgeable and has a sense of humour. After the introduction we go through the scanner gate into the grounds.  It is quite busy but nothing like yesterday and there is time and space to look at some of the detail of the carvings and listen to Suraya's commentary. Although the temples are effectively ruins,  one of them is still large enough to demonstrate the scale of the works. As well as being very big they are geometrically aligned with the sun's solstices and equinoxes and covered with fabulously detailed and intricate carvings of court scenes and everyday life.

These temple buldings were themed as a chariot with seven horses to pull it and twenty four carved wheels to bear the load. Each wheel has its own theme but is also a sun clock, accurate to within 5 minutes during daylight if you know how to read it. Clue - the shadow moves anticlockwise. Surya shows us many of the unusual features in the carvings including a giraffe and some rather racy portrayals of medieval hanky panky. He keeps things moving but interesting and is worth his fee and a tip. We part inside the gate as D plans to take some more photos around the temples. In fact most of the photos taken are of us including some by so called official photographers.  D was not quick enough to demand a fee. This urge to be photographed with unknown, wrinkly pink people seems extraordinary to us.

The sun is now very strong and we beat a retreat to the hotel for a cup of black tea and a spot of A/c. We also discover that our laundry has not been collected. Two of the trainees rectify this and we can relax. This turns into a siesta and it is 2p.m. before we venture out with a list of Konark's major attractions to tackle. We peer in through the gates of the open air theatre to see jungle babblers and treepies which we watch for a while. Then we cross the road to the Museum. As we walk up the drive we see the staff rouse themselves from reading newspapers on the verandah and take action stations. The ticket booth requires two men to relieve us of Rs10 each, while a another chap waves us through a door and says 'No photos'. There are 5 galleries and in each a uniformed security guard sits to ensure good order and no photos. D moves to take a surreptitious shot of one of the galleries and is immediately admonished by an eagle eyed defender of the state.

The galleries are well lit, in some sort of logical order and well signed. A/c and upholstered benches feature in each room. Most of the exhibits are pieces from the temple site but there are drawings and plans that help to explain the grandeur of the intact temples. Great value for money. We are the only visitors and as we leave each room the lights are switched off behind us. It is over an hour until closing time. On the way out we learn why there is a photo ban. Walking down the drive D stops, turns and lifts his camera to take a shot of the building. The staff, who had resumed their positions on the verandah, scattered with incredible speed. It would not do for the rest of India to find out what cushy lives they lead.

After another look at the birds through the theatre gate we drop into the Yatrinivas Hotel. Today the Beer Parlour is open. It is small, with all the ambience of a dentist's waiting room but without the Reader's Digest or any other literature. The receptionist switches on the A/c, a barkeep is summoned and he unlocks the fridge to sell us a couple of beers. He also gives us a bowl of complimentary snacks which must be several years beyond their best before date. The OTDC must have been established by Church of Scotland missionaries. Before we leave we check out the restaurant as a possibility for this evening. It is much bigger and more like the waiting room of a hospital casualty department. 

Next up is the Konark Urban Haat site. We had concluded that they must have been closed for yesterday's festival and we also wanted to find out more about the fountain performance,  widely advertised in the town for 7 p.m. daily. Wrong. The gardens are deserted apart from a man at the gate and a handful of parked motorbikes. We find one trading unit occupied - by a bank branch that closed at 4 p.m. We find this baffling. The development must have been costly and there is clearly money being spent on maintaining the gardens. According to the internet the Odisha State Government decided to make the Haat, which has 50 units, more lively and tourist friendly in July 2012. Since then it was used once for a few days for a craft exhibition. On the way out we asked the gateman about the fountain performance.  "Not working. Electric problem."

Working on the principle of saving the best till last we return to the hotel via the bus station. This is a dusty patch next to the road whence the regular buses leave. Regular readers will be aware that we seldom travel to places that don't have a railway station and we have no urge to repeat Sunday's 35km auto ride, so we are here to research our getaway. It looks doable,  even with our baggage train.  The hotel is much quieter tonight and we dine by ourselves,  enjoying mushrooms muttar, egg curry, lemon rice and mixed dal. Our dhobi is returned,  wrapped in newspaper. This evening is much quieter and we forgo the earplugs. Is this a risk too far..

PS Despiteby the moans we had a good day.