INDIA & BANGLADESH 2014: 12 From Bhubaneswar to Raipur, India

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Our first stop today, a couple of hours from Bhubaneswar, was the Karnak Temple near the coast. Karnak was built between 1250 and 1262 AD in honour of the Kama Sutra, which was written in the 4th century AD. There are a large number of beautiful carvings depicting erotic scenes from the Kama Sutra.

Originally the main temple was 72 meters (236 ft) high, but as it is said gold was stored in the uppermost portions, in 1526 the Muslim rulers of Bengal destroyed the upper levels to rob it, reducing the height to 40 meters (131 ft). There is another 11th century temple in the complex built for the wife of the ruler's son.

We drove south along the coast road paralleling miles of golden sand beach with clear waves to Jima, not a very clean town. It has the Jagannath temple, one of four that each Hindu is encouraged to visit in their lifetime. The complex includes kitchens with 752 ovens preparing about 3,300 kilos of rice and 900 kilos of lentils each day for hungry Hindus. Non-Hindus are not permitted in the temple, a great relief after seeing how many people were crammed into its confines. The main temple in this complex is 66 meters (217 ft) high.

Across the street is an ancient library, which is being renovated bit by bit as donations become available. Some very old books and scrolls are written in Sanscrit on palm leaves, but are kept in damaged glass cases, not protected from weather in the windowless building. Our guide knew the librarian, so for a donation we were able to explore the building, then go to the roof where we could look down into the temple complex. It has a lot of macaque monkeys as residents, and swarms of pilgrims.

We walked a crowded main pedestrian street before driving to the night beach market, where a couple of kilometres of stalls are on the sandy beach. Overnight was at the Mayfair Hotel, without a doubt the best of the trip. They have a marvellous gourmet chef, so we ate in the bar, were service was excellent..

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

It was an easy morning, so after a leisurely breakfast and some computer time I went into the large pool where I played ball with a young fellow who was with his parents. I got a call from Marilynn that we had to check out, so we moved into the bar for drinks and a fabulous lunch, knowing that tonight there would be no dinner.

On the way to the train station we received a large bag of fruit, biscuits, water toilet paper and napkins from the travel agency – our survival kit. An agency employee had came by bus from Bhubaneswar to Puri ride with us in order to organize the best possible accommodations. He tried everything, but proved that no amount of effort would thwart the intentions of India Rail. He got back off at Bhubaneswar, where we were joined by a doctor who had twice been elected member of parliament in previous governments. One of his sons is currently Minister of Petroleum in the Modi government. He was with us about four hours.

Once alone I climbed into the top bunk and Marilynn the bottom, but found sleep impossible as the train jolted and jerked along the uneven road bed, making frequent stops. This was definitely not an express train!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

At 1:50 AM the cabin lights blazed to life as two men moved in to occupy the other two berths. They talked loudly, made cell phone calls, and went after Marilynn's pillows, as she had taken them from the empty bunks in addition to hers. She thought it was the cabin attendant, so offered money to keep the pillows, but the offer was rejected. Although I ignored them, it didn't take long to realize we were honoured by the presence of key members of the Indian Olympic snoring team, likely in the volume and harmonious snoring categories. They were also quite good at producing loud sounds from the other end.

We were met at the station platform by Dicky, the best dressed guide of the trip, in white shirt, tie and vest. He steered us and luggage to the car and we were soon checked into the very nice Hyatt Raipur Hotel. We were tired and hungry, so agreed to meet the guide at 1:30 PM before participating in an excellent buffet breakfast, showering off the dirt of the train and getting a couple of hours of sleep.

We originally had no program for today, but there were a couple of places not far from Raipur that were recommended. I asked Dicky if we could pay extra to visit these places, but he said that would not be necessary, they would take us. The first was Sirpur, where there are a number of historic sites about 85 km from Raipur. The Laxman Temple to Vishnu was built by Queen Vasata between 625 and 650. It was pleasant being the only visitors. The well done museum had lot of carvings, and there wasn't even an attendant.

The nearby Teevardwo Buddhist Monastery was also 7th century, indicating how close the Hindu and Buddhist religion were then. There is a beautifully preserved Buddha statue, and again we were the only visitors. The village of Sirpur has about 38 temples of varying ages, many in regular use. The whole village area is dotted with tall temples above the humble town buildings.

Raipur, the capital of the state of Chhattisgarth, has a population of about 1,100,000. It is at an altitude of 300 meters in very flat countryside, not a hill in sight. The temperature is warm year round. It is a major manufacturing centre with heavy industry and some smog, but a pleasant, modern city.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Another lazy morning of catching up - I'll get this off before we leave. The hotel is located in a huge shopping mall with many fast food outlets, so the plan is to go to Subway for sandwiches in lieu of dinner tonight.

We will be picked up at 1:30 PM to go to Rajim, another famous holy site with temples and palaces dating from the 8th century. From there it will be to the airport for our 7:30 PM flight to Bhopal.