Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part - 5)

[Continued from Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part - 4)] We reached Puri at around 5 pm. We took an auto rickshaw to get to our hotel. But the condition of the sky was not good. We felt that soon it will start raining. I had decided that as it was too early, so we would go directly to out hotel and have bread as dinner. As soon as we went back to the hotel it started raining. We were quite tired. So we went straight to bed. At night we had bread and biscuit  as dinner.

The next morning we woke up at 10 am. After having breakfast we took rest. Then we had lunch at Savera restaurant. The food was good and the price was very low. That evening we stayed at our hotel. That night also we ate at Savera restaurant. The next day we went to the sea beach. That day the waves were even higher. And what more! The water of the sea was cool unlike that of New Digha. The sea waters of Digha were warm and hot. We also ate sweets from sweet sellers who were roaming near the sea beach. The sweets were very good. After having a great time at the sea we went back to the hotel. From the hotel we enjoyed the wide view of the sea. Then we ate veg thali at Ruchira restaurant. As we had booked tickets for our return journey back to Kolkata on the next day, so in the evening we went out and bought some items like biscuits, potato chips etc. After having dinner we came back to our hotel.

Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part - 4)

[Continued from Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part - 3)] In afternoon, we went to Ruchira restaurant and had lunch. In the evening we went to Swargadwar market for shopping. There we bought some Punjabis, towels for us and our relatives too. The next day we went to the OTDC booking counter. There we booked seats for the Chilika tour. The tour was on the next day. As we did not want to tire ourselves before the journey, we went back to our hotel.

Alarnath Temple

The day after we woke up early at 06:00 am. Our tour was scheduled to commence at 07:30. So we quickly got ourselves ready and went down. Then we took an auto and headed straight to Pantha Niwas. On reaching we saw that our bus had just came there to pick up the passengers. Then our coach guide for this tour checked our tickets as the previous guide had done in the previous tour. But this time all punctuality of OTDC seemed to be lost. Many passengers had not turned up and so our bus had to wait for them. Some came but others still did not came after 20 mins of waiting. So atlast our bus started its journey. Our first destination was Alarnath Temple. There we had to walk for about 10 minutes to reach the temple from where our bus was parked. On reaching the temple we found that there were many people. So we had to wait in a queue to be able to see Lord Alarnath. But time was running out. So we were getting anxious. Atlast we got darshan of Lord Alarnath. After that we reached the main road almost running. We ate breakfast of Dosa and Idli at a small restaurant beside the road. Then we reached the place where our bus was standing. But though it was time but still most people had not come back. So again waiting. After waiting for about 10 minutes outside the bus, the driver came and boarded the bus and switched on the A/C. So we also boarded the bus. But still one of the passengers did not came back. Atlast our bus started. Our next stop was Dahikhia.

Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part - 3)

[Continued from Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part - 2)] Our coach guide sent a guide for us. We started walking with our new guide who would show the intricate designs and curvings on the walls of the temple, tell us the history of the temple and explain the reason about why this temple is considered unholy. This temple was constructed by King Narasimhadeva I in the 13th century. The name Konark was derived from the two Sanskrit words - Kona meaning angle and Ark meaning Surya because of dedication of the temple to the Sun god Surya. Our guide showed us the wheels, intricate curvings and sculptures of the chariot sun temple. He also showed us how to read the time with the help of a wheel and the sun. It took 12 years, 1200 workers and 12000 gold coins to build this masterpiece of architecture. One interesting fact that I would like to mention is that one will never find any shadow of this temple on any sides around it. Now most parts of the temple has fallen down. The entire temple was designed in the form of Sun Gods, chariot drawn by seven horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely designed wheels at the base. The temple complex consists of four parts - Bhoga Mandap, Nata Mandir, Audience Hall and the Main Sanctum. Out of these only the Audience hall survives in its entirety. The main sanctum where the idol of the sun god was placed has fallen off. And some portions of the Bhoga Mandap and Nata Mandir survives. After seeing the temple complex we went back to our bus.

Konark Temple

Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part-2)

[Continued from Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika] As I was running after the bus and shouting, trying to attract the attention of the guide. At last the guide saw me. The bus stopped and he got down from it. I told him that one of our co-passengers had went to the toilet and had still not come back. We waited there for some time. And then with a relief I saw that our fellow passenger was coming towards us. We boarded the bus and the bus started. Our next stop was at the Nandankanan Zoo. Our guide told us that we would see the important landmarks of Bhubaneswar city on the way to the zoo. As our bus went through the smooth and wide roads of new Bhubaneswar we saw the Assembly House, Indira Gandhi Park (IG Park), Rabindra Mandap, Police Commissioner Bhavan etc. Just before reaching Nandankanan, our guide told us that we would enter the zoo through gate-2. He told us that he would be there with us at the zoo. On reaching Nandankanan we got off from the bus and went in. There our guide told us to wait and he went to buy the tickets. Then he came and distributed the tickets to each of us. The time allocated was 2 hours.

Nandankanan Gate

Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika

From Howrah railway station, we boarded the 12837 Howrah - Puri Express. Our train departed at 22:50 hrs from platform no. 22. It reached Puri the next morning at around 08:30 hrs about 1 hour behind the scheduled time. From there we took a cycle rickshaw. At this peak time tourists were flocking in and it was quite hard to get sea facing rooms. Our first target was the Puri Hotel. On reaching the Puri Hotel we got off from the rickshaw. I went in to enquire whether any room was vacant. There were no sea facing rooms available so I decided to search for accommodation in other hotels. After searching many hotels, at last I found a room in Hotel Swarg. That day we took rest. In the afternoon we went to Quality Restaurant to have lunch. The quality of the food was terrible. In the evening we went for a stroll in the marine drive. We also spent some time on the sea shore. The breeze cooled our minds and body. After that we went to Parijat Restaurant for dinner. The food was better than the previous one but it was not too good.

Jagannath Temple

A Visit to Shimla

[Continued from Visit to Agra] We boarded the 12011 New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi Express at 07:40 am from New Delhi railway station and reached Kalka at 11:45 am. From there we boarded the Himalayan Queen Express which is a toy train. It departed from Kalka at 12:10 pm. It was a thrilling journey as the train chugged through narrow tunnels, breathtaking bridges and panoramic green valleys. It was beautiful, truly beautiful. We reached Shimla at around 6 o' clock in the evening. We booked a room at a Hotel Moon Palace. The hotel is located near the Mall, the centre of the town. After settling all the luggage in the room we set out to have a first glimpse of the city. After roaming for sometime we entered a restaurant to have lunch. The food was quite good and the price was also reasonable. After that we came back to our hotel and crawled straight into the bed.

Himalayan Queen Express

Shimla Scenery

Visit to Agra

[Continued from My Trip to Delhi] Agra is one of the most popular tourist places of India. The main attraction of Agra is the Taj Mahal. Every year thousands of tourists from India and abroad come to Agra to see the Taj. Agra is also famous for the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. All these three main attractions of Agra has been given the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Taj Mahal

We boarded the Sriganganagar-Howrah Toofan Exp from New Delhi railway station at around 7:30 am and disembarked at Agra Fort at around 1:00 pm. From there I took a cycle rickshaw and searched for hotels. We booked a room in Hotel Amba Inn. That day evening we took rest in the hotel. The following day we went to see the Taj Mahal. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj has three gates - East, West and South. River Yamuna flows to the north of the Taj.  It remains open on all days from 6 am to 7 pm except Friday. We entered the courtyard through the South gate. For security reasons we had to leave some food which we were carrying in the cloakroom before entering the complex. On seeing the Taj we became mesmerized. The majestic structure made up of white marble left us spellbound. I wondered how this structure was built with so much perfection and accuracy. We entered the Taj Mahal. Inside the Taj, intricate designs were curved on the walls. Also there were intricate screens or jalis which allowed light to enter the mausoleum.

My trip to Delhi

Delhi is one of the most multi dimensional metropolis of India situated on the banks of River Yamuna. It is the capital city of India. Delhi is full of captivating monuments, magnificent museums, glorious shopping destinations and yummy eating places. It is also one of the oldest places to be inhabited by humans. Delhi is divided into two parts - Old Delhi and New Delhi.

India Gate

We boarded the Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express from Howrah railway station. Our train departed at 08:10 am and reached New Delhi at around 8 am the next day. At the New Delhi station there are two gates, one is known as Paharganj gate and the other one is known as Kashmiri gate. The Rail Yatri Niwas is situated near the Kashmiri gate but most of the private hotels are located in Paharganj area. We came out of the station through Paharganj gate and started searching for hotels. We booked a room in Hotel Cama. After taking a little rest we came out of our hotel. Firstly we went to see the famous India Gate. This is one of the most prominent tourist spot of Delhi. India Gate, the national monument of India was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens inspired by the Arc De Triomphe in Paris. It was built in the year 1931 and is about 42 m high. Originally a statue of King George V stood under the now vacant canopy in front of India Gate but was later moved to Coronation Park. After India's independence the India Gate became the site of the Indian Army's Tomb of Unknown Soldiers now known as Amar Jawan Jyoti.