It was a typical cold and lazy evening of November 2012 in office when an email notification popped on my work-station (where the work stops :) ) “2013 Holiday Calendar”…..
I saw a holiday on Jan 14 (for Sankranti/संक्रान्ति ), Voila! , its Monday (the most hated day for the drones :) ).
So we 4 friends (Me, Suresh, Sandeep and Raj) decided to give ourselves a good start for coming New Year despite of the “Dec 21-2012 apocalypse” grapevine.
The plan was to visit Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark and Chilika in 4 days. Planned to take 2 days leave, booked Flight from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar, booked train from Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad in November itself so that everyone will make his mind that yes, we are going for sure.
Bhubaneswar is well connected by air, rail as well as road through almost all major cities in India so no worries if your source place is not Hyderabad, you may continue reading.
Now we started googling for Hotels in Puri, why Puri, why not Bhubaneswar as we were landing in Bhubaneswar itself, because the plus point with Puri is it has beaches, which gave us extra option to spend our leisure time (apart from our itinerary) on the beach and we decided to visit Bhubaneswar while returning (as we had to catch the train from here in Night).
Finally we booked Hotel lee garden, Puri through makemytrip (http://www.makemytrip.com/hotels/hotel_lee_garden-details-puri.html). Main reason to book this hotel was:
After booking, we called the Hotel and informed about the same, we were instructed to bring a printout of booking confirmation email and any ID card that’s it.
Great! … conveyance booking done, Hotel booking done, now it was time to prepare the itinerary and wait for 12th January 2013 and meantime I prayed to God please postpone your “End of World” mission. And believe me… God do listen our prayers J.
We took off from Shamshabad Airport, Hyderabad @ 8:20 AM and reached to Bhubaneswar @ 9:45 AM, hired a prepaid private taxi (Tata Indigo) from Bhubaneswar airport to Puri for 900 Rs.
We reached to the hotel Lee Garden @ 1:00 PM approx. Though it is only ~70 KM from Airport to Puri but most part of the road was under construction so it killed some time.
About Hotel Lee Garden, Puri:
Room was nice, decent enough to not to criticize upon anything unless you have problem that Towels are not being changed on daily basis.
The whole staff including the Owner was cooperative and nice. They helped us to correct our itinerary and arranged a CAB for us to visit Konark, Chilika and Bhubaneswar on each separate day (Approx 800 Per day for cab).
The Chung-wah Restaurant, Puri:
It is in hotel itself governed by same owner.
I’ve no idea about real taste of authentic Chinese food, but whatever I ate in this Restaurant was the best in taste for me till now, be it Chicken H&S Soup or Hakka Noodle with Chicken Manchurian or Chicken Fried Rice or chicken Talumein soup or Szechuan chicken or chili chicken, every item we ordered was great in taste and believe me, for supper after a whole gratifying day, what could be better than having a soup full of herbs with extra black pepper and some delicious chicken snacks.
It was a bit expensive though.
You can find review from many people here : http://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g503703-d1200970-Reviews-Chung_Wah_Restaurant-Puri_Orissa.html
Day 1, 12 Jan 2013 :
After freshen up we asked receptionist the way to Jagannath Temple.
He told us a short cut and we decided to walk to the Temple. It was nearly 2:30 PM when we started.
In 30 minutes we reached to the Temple. Left our Sandals/belongings under a local shop’s custody (As camera/mobile phones are not allowed inside the Temple premises for security reasons). He took Rs. 10 per “Locker”.
The Jagannath Temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath_Temple,_Puri
The first thing which came into mind when I saw the temple was “incredible”. What a magnificent piece of Architecture. I wish I could take lots of pics of this epitome of ancient Indian architectural exquisiteness.
There is one main temple and several other temples of different gods and goddesses each one is worth to stop by and to observe/ to pray and capture (well in memory only L). Since it was after noon so had less crowd there, generally the peak time is early morning and Evening (The Aarti times). It took us 30 minutes to get “Darshana” of Lord Jagannath.
We spent almost 2 hours here then came out. Had famous “Rabdi” (a sweet dish made by boiling milk for long time until it becomes semisolid). Had Khaja(sweet) also, You will find n number of vendors selling Khaja outside the temple.
About 8:00 PM we reached back to the hotel. We asked the receptionist to arrange a cab for us to Chilika next day. He suggested us to get ready early in the morning so that we don’t miss the Boats. We took dinner in Chung-Wah. Then we walked to the Beach near to the Hotel, the beach was almost lonely, there were benches to take rest and a row of umbrella shelters. We walked on the beach for some time then sat on the benches; all we could here was the roaring waves, it was an amazing experience.
Day 2, 13 Jan 2013:
We started to Chilika (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilika_Lake) by 7:30 Am on a cab. (Though it was a bit late as per the driver), reached to Satpada (boating start pint) by 9:00 Am approx. We hired a boat for full package (includes Dolfin view, Nalabana Bird Sanctury, Kalijai temple and the lake estuary (see meeting point)).
When we started to chilika, the driver asked us if we would like to have lunch on the boat or buy some snacks on the way. We agreed for having lunch on the boat. He made call to a hotel near the boating point and asked me to make the order now itself so that by the time we reach there, our lunch will be ready.
The full package was for 8 hours and charged 2800 Rs.
We started sailing from Satpada by 9:30 Am. Lake is pristine and full of lives. After 1 hour or so, boatman stopped the boat and told us to get ready with camera, we were about to see dolphins at any moment. Indeed, after a while we got few glimpses of dolphins but focusing camera on them within fraction of second was not possible, though I was able to shoot few.
Then we proceeded for Kalijai Island. By 11:30 we had lunch on the boat. It was an ultimate experience because we don’t get to eat on a boat daily. Food was of average quality but never mind, coz we were eating on the BOAT… who cares about the quality…. coz we were eating on the boat…. Yeee feel good.
As soon as we were approaching to the island, many other boats started appearing from all sides, finally we stopped at Kalijai island, boatmen asked me to return in 1 hour. We headed to the Temple, got “Darshana” within 10 minutes; I felt that this place is a kinda picnic spot. We took a round of this small island, it was dirty yet beautiful. If you are bare foot, be aware of the pieces of broken glass bottles and shit.
You will get one of the most splendid panoramic views of the Lake once you reach on top of the island. Imagine the view where lake is surrounded by hills and the island is surrounded by plenty of colorful boats, awesome.
We hopped in the boat in less than 1 hour. Started for the estuary. Meanwhile I asked boatman about the Bird sanctuary. He replied we are now sailing across the bird sanctuary itself, then suddenly we started realizing that there were verity of birds flying here and there and now each bird which we saw, seemed migrated. Wish I could have asked this question while coming; I could have spotted/captured few of them. Any ways we managed to capture few of them.
It was evening now, Sun has begun to come down, and this was the moment when we got some once in a life time scenes. Imagine “The Sun is reddish-orange, there is a mesmerizing red reflection of light on the water and few boats are passing by looking like silhouettes”… a spellbinding experience.
Finally we reached to the estuary, I must say it could have been the best spot for photography and relaxation at the same time but it was complete dusk by this time so we just had tea there, explored the beach, spotted some red crabs and within 30 minutes we were back to Satpada
Here is some free advice fresh out of our experience:
We reached to the Hotel by 10 PM approx and had dinner in chung-wah. Walked on the beach till mid night had some pics and left to the hotel.
Day 3, 14 Jan 2013:
It was Makar-Sankranti, favorite festival of my childhood, I and My brother used to make “Kanni”, prepare “manjha’ till late night then wake up early in the morning, take bath, participate in Pooja and then run to roof to fly kites. I used to lose all my kites (in Kite-fight) within 1 hour then used to hold my brother's “Pareti” and doesn't matter who’s kite is got cut, we used to shout out “baa Kate….” (Nostalgic)
Anyways.. it was maker-sankranti 2013, we woke up early in the morning before the dawn, the plan was to take sun-rise-on-horizon pics and take bath, pay homage to Sun coz it was maker-sankranti.
We went to the beach in the dark, we were surprised to see crowd on this lonely part of beach. People have gathered from all part of India to take bath here and worship to SUN and the Lord Jagannath on the occasion of Sankranti. I was waiting for the sun rise, it was cold here.
After a while we saw the dawn but we couldn’t take perfect picture as clouds came between the horizon and the sun but still a picturesque view.
Around 10:00 AM, we started for Konark on the same cab. Puri-Konark route is very beautiful, some part goes along sea and most of the part is covered by trees, very scenic.
We reached Konark in approx 90 mins. There is a narrow lane which connects Sun temple to the Main road and it is full of handicrafts shops on both sides which makes this lane so colorful.
The Sun Temple: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konark_Sun_Temple)
Mind-boggling architecture, it took almost 2 hours to cover the whole premise. From a distance, you can clearly see the huge chariot of sun god.
There is entry fee Rs 10/head and it remains open from 10 Am to 5 Pm.
We came out from the temple premises and had lunch at a local restaurant where thali was the only option. Spent some time on Chandrabhaga Beach which is very near to the temple then we headed back to our hotel. On the way we spend some time on a private beach (charged 20 rs/head), it was surrounded by sea from one side and forest on other side, there was a way through the forest which connects main road and the beach, someone told us that this is preserved beach for turtle sanctuary. It was dusk by this time and literally there was no one on the beach except us, a mix of scary, thrilling and euphoric feeling.
Day 4, 15 Jan 2013:
We left to the Bhubaneswar at 10 Am from Puri. We visited the following places as per out itinerary.
Instead of writing for each , I’m attaching few pics which will describe more than words.
I saw a holiday on Jan 14 (for Sankranti/संक्रान्ति ), Voila! , its Monday (the most hated day for the drones :) ).
So we 4 friends (Me, Suresh, Sandeep and Raj) decided to give ourselves a good start for coming New Year despite of the “Dec 21-2012 apocalypse” grapevine.
The plan was to visit Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark and Chilika in 4 days. Planned to take 2 days leave, booked Flight from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar, booked train from Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad in November itself so that everyone will make his mind that yes, we are going for sure.
Bhubaneswar is well connected by air, rail as well as road through almost all major cities in India so no worries if your source place is not Hyderabad, you may continue reading.
Now we started googling for Hotels in Puri, why Puri, why not Bhubaneswar as we were landing in Bhubaneswar itself, because the plus point with Puri is it has beaches, which gave us extra option to spend our leisure time (apart from our itinerary) on the beach and we decided to visit Bhubaneswar while returning (as we had to catch the train from here in Night).
Finally we booked Hotel lee garden, Puri through makemytrip (http://www.makemytrip.com/hotels/hotel_lee_garden-details-puri.html). Main reason to book this hotel was:
- Near to The Jagannath Temple (Almost walkable – 2 Kms approx )
- Walkable to a Beach (Just 5 minutes walk)
- Tariff was pocket friendly. (RS – 1700/Night for Standard Non Ac 4 Bed)
After booking, we called the Hotel and informed about the same, we were instructed to bring a printout of booking confirmation email and any ID card that’s it.
Great! … conveyance booking done, Hotel booking done, now it was time to prepare the itinerary and wait for 12th January 2013 and meantime I prayed to God please postpone your “End of World” mission. And believe me… God do listen our prayers J.
We took off from Shamshabad Airport, Hyderabad @ 8:20 AM and reached to Bhubaneswar @ 9:45 AM, hired a prepaid private taxi (Tata Indigo) from Bhubaneswar airport to Puri for 900 Rs.
We reached to the hotel Lee Garden @ 1:00 PM approx. Though it is only ~70 KM from Airport to Puri but most part of the road was under construction so it killed some time.
 |
| HussainSagar @ 5:30 AM, we were on the way to Airport, I requested the driver to stop so that i can take this snap |
 |
| A view from Sky |
About Hotel Lee Garden, Puri:
Room was nice, decent enough to not to criticize upon anything unless you have problem that Towels are not being changed on daily basis.
The whole staff including the Owner was cooperative and nice. They helped us to correct our itinerary and arranged a CAB for us to visit Konark, Chilika and Bhubaneswar on each separate day (Approx 800 Per day for cab).
The Chung-wah Restaurant, Puri:
It is in hotel itself governed by same owner.
I’ve no idea about real taste of authentic Chinese food, but whatever I ate in this Restaurant was the best in taste for me till now, be it Chicken H&S Soup or Hakka Noodle with Chicken Manchurian or Chicken Fried Rice or chicken Talumein soup or Szechuan chicken or chili chicken, every item we ordered was great in taste and believe me, for supper after a whole gratifying day, what could be better than having a soup full of herbs with extra black pepper and some delicious chicken snacks.
It was a bit expensive though.
You can find review from many people here : http://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g503703-d1200970-Reviews-Chung_Wah_Restaurant-Puri_Orissa.html
 |
| A glimpse of Lord Jagannath Temple |
Day 1, 12 Jan 2013 :
After freshen up we asked receptionist the way to Jagannath Temple.
He told us a short cut and we decided to walk to the Temple. It was nearly 2:30 PM when we started.
In 30 minutes we reached to the Temple. Left our Sandals/belongings under a local shop’s custody (As camera/mobile phones are not allowed inside the Temple premises for security reasons). He took Rs. 10 per “Locker”.
The Jagannath Temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath_Temple,_Puri
The first thing which came into mind when I saw the temple was “incredible”. What a magnificent piece of Architecture. I wish I could take lots of pics of this epitome of ancient Indian architectural exquisiteness.
There is one main temple and several other temples of different gods and goddesses each one is worth to stop by and to observe/ to pray and capture (well in memory only L). Since it was after noon so had less crowd there, generally the peak time is early morning and Evening (The Aarti times). It took us 30 minutes to get “Darshana” of Lord Jagannath.
We spent almost 2 hours here then came out. Had famous “Rabdi” (a sweet dish made by boiling milk for long time until it becomes semisolid). Had Khaja(sweet) also, You will find n number of vendors selling Khaja outside the temple.
About 8:00 PM we reached back to the hotel. We asked the receptionist to arrange a cab for us to Chilika next day. He suggested us to get ready early in the morning so that we don’t miss the Boats. We took dinner in Chung-Wah. Then we walked to the Beach near to the Hotel, the beach was almost lonely, there were benches to take rest and a row of umbrella shelters. We walked on the beach for some time then sat on the benches; all we could here was the roaring waves, it was an amazing experience.
 |
| Spotted Mr. Crab on the beach |
 |
| A perfect evening |
 |
| The umbrella shelter |
 |
| A giant conch shell (शंख ) - No idea if it is natural or man made |
Day 2, 13 Jan 2013:
We started to Chilika (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilika_Lake) by 7:30 Am on a cab. (Though it was a bit late as per the driver), reached to Satpada (boating start pint) by 9:00 Am approx. We hired a boat for full package (includes Dolfin view, Nalabana Bird Sanctury, Kalijai temple and the lake estuary (see meeting point)).
When we started to chilika, the driver asked us if we would like to have lunch on the boat or buy some snacks on the way. We agreed for having lunch on the boat. He made call to a hotel near the boating point and asked me to make the order now itself so that by the time we reach there, our lunch will be ready.
The full package was for 8 hours and charged 2800 Rs.
We started sailing from Satpada by 9:30 Am. Lake is pristine and full of lives. After 1 hour or so, boatman stopped the boat and told us to get ready with camera, we were about to see dolphins at any moment. Indeed, after a while we got few glimpses of dolphins but focusing camera on them within fraction of second was not possible, though I was able to shoot few.
 |
| I could manage to get glimpse of these two dolphins |
Then we proceeded for Kalijai Island. By 11:30 we had lunch on the boat. It was an ultimate experience because we don’t get to eat on a boat daily. Food was of average quality but never mind, coz we were eating on the BOAT… who cares about the quality…. coz we were eating on the boat…. Yeee feel good.
 |
| Lavish Lunch on the BOAT |
As soon as we were approaching to the island, many other boats started appearing from all sides, finally we stopped at Kalijai island, boatmen asked me to return in 1 hour. We headed to the Temple, got “Darshana” within 10 minutes; I felt that this place is a kinda picnic spot. We took a round of this small island, it was dirty yet beautiful. If you are bare foot, be aware of the pieces of broken glass bottles and shit.
You will get one of the most splendid panoramic views of the Lake once you reach on top of the island. Imagine the view where lake is surrounded by hills and the island is surrounded by plenty of colorful boats, awesome.
 |
| BOAT parking at Kalijai Island |
 |
| View from Island |
 |
| Dive to survive |
 |
| Grab the Crab and fly... |
 |
| These pillars are the border of bird sanctuary |
 |
| I think they come from Siberia.... |
It was evening now, Sun has begun to come down, and this was the moment when we got some once in a life time scenes. Imagine “The Sun is reddish-orange, there is a mesmerizing red reflection of light on the water and few boats are passing by looking like silhouettes”… a spellbinding experience.
 |
| Courtsy : Raj |
Finally we reached to the estuary, I must say it could have been the best spot for photography and relaxation at the same time but it was complete dusk by this time so we just had tea there, explored the beach, spotted some red crabs and within 30 minutes we were back to Satpada
Here is some free advice fresh out of our experience:
- Bring food from Hotel as you know the quality and quantity, if not possible then try to reach as early as possible and don’t order without asking the price and quantity of each item.
- Kalijai Temple (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalijai) is on an island in Chilika, it is too far from Satpada and takes almost 4-5 hours to reach there and the same time to return. So, you should be start boating by 7 Am or 8 Am max so that while returning you can have enough time to spot dolphins and migrated Birds in the sanctuary and have a stay for a while at the estuary. You may be lucky to spot the Red Crabs… its worth to stay here… but we couldn't because by the time when we reached here, it was dusk already and boatman was not ready to sail in the dark.
- There is no safety arrangements on the boat (e.g. life-jacket, air filled-tubes etc.) so be careful when you are travelling with kids and/or non-swimmers. Though Lake is not so deep for a person of average height as I saw many fishermen were standing there stomach level deep in the lake practicing aquafarming.
- Don’t forget to bring enough WATER Bottles with you coz lake is salty and you are going to spend 8 hours on the boat.
- Make sure to empty your bladder before start since there is no place for nature calls on the boat
We reached to the Hotel by 10 PM approx and had dinner in chung-wah. Walked on the beach till mid night had some pics and left to the hotel.
Day 3, 14 Jan 2013:
It was Makar-Sankranti, favorite festival of my childhood, I and My brother used to make “Kanni”, prepare “manjha’ till late night then wake up early in the morning, take bath, participate in Pooja and then run to roof to fly kites. I used to lose all my kites (in Kite-fight) within 1 hour then used to hold my brother's “Pareti” and doesn't matter who’s kite is got cut, we used to shout out “baa Kate….” (Nostalgic)
Anyways.. it was maker-sankranti 2013, we woke up early in the morning before the dawn, the plan was to take sun-rise-on-horizon pics and take bath, pay homage to Sun coz it was maker-sankranti.
We went to the beach in the dark, we were surprised to see crowd on this lonely part of beach. People have gathered from all part of India to take bath here and worship to SUN and the Lord Jagannath on the occasion of Sankranti. I was waiting for the sun rise, it was cold here.
After a while we saw the dawn but we couldn’t take perfect picture as clouds came between the horizon and the sun but still a picturesque view.
 |
| Good Morning |
 |
| Coming Home after spending whole night in sea doing fishing |
Around 10:00 AM, we started for Konark on the same cab. Puri-Konark route is very beautiful, some part goes along sea and most of the part is covered by trees, very scenic.
 |
| Puri-Konark road |
We reached Konark in approx 90 mins. There is a narrow lane which connects Sun temple to the Main road and it is full of handicrafts shops on both sides which makes this lane so colorful.
 |
| Handicraft shop in the Lane to Sun Temple |
 |
| Handmade nests and birds... look so alive |
The Sun Temple: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konark_Sun_Temple)
Mind-boggling architecture, it took almost 2 hours to cover the whole premise. From a distance, you can clearly see the huge chariot of sun god.
There is entry fee Rs 10/head and it remains open from 10 Am to 5 Pm.
We came out from the temple premises and had lunch at a local restaurant where thali was the only option. Spent some time on Chandrabhaga Beach which is very near to the temple then we headed back to our hotel. On the way we spend some time on a private beach (charged 20 rs/head), it was surrounded by sea from one side and forest on other side, there was a way through the forest which connects main road and the beach, someone told us that this is preserved beach for turtle sanctuary. It was dusk by this time and literally there was no one on the beach except us, a mix of scary, thrilling and euphoric feeling.
 |
| Way to the paid beach... through forest |
 |
| No one was there except us |
Day 4, 15 Jan 2013:
We left to the Bhubaneswar at 10 Am from Puri. We visited the following places as per out itinerary.
Instead of writing for each , I’m attaching few pics which will describe more than words.
- Dhauli Shanti Stupa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhauli)
Shanti Stupa, Dhauli
A view from shanti stupa.. - Udayagiri-Khandagiri Caves
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayagiri_and_Khandagiri_Caves)
- Lingraj Temple(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayagiri_and_Khandagiri_Caves)
- Nandankanan Zoological Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandankanan_Zoological_Park)
Finally we caught train (BBS-PUNE express, starts from Bhubaneswar at 10:10 PM and reaches Secunderabad Jn at 5:40 PM) and bid adieu to this historically rich place with lots of new travel experiences
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