Odisha Trip

It's trip time with favourite people. I badly wanted this trip to balance my emotions. :P It was a rugged 2 months ride for me.

Come travel with me to ODISHA. 

 

It was a last minute plan and we had booked 3rd AC train tickets for me, Amudhan, my husband, Ramya Akka(co sis), her kids Shri and Siddhu. Mama stays there at Bhubaneswar for work.

Looking forward for a wholesome odissa trip.

Trichy - Cuddalore - Chennai - Bhubaneswar 

I joined at Cuddalore Ramya akka and kids who started from Trichy. Amudhan was pretty excited to see his cousins and immediately started running up and down the berths. Peppa Pig Train Journey episode is one of his favourites and he related every small detail of the train travel with the way he had imagined by seeing the cartoon.

It was very nice to see him enjoy the travel moments.

We had carried enough snacks for the kids to keep their tummies satisfied. We also had some craft work, crayons, sketches, colour papers, drawing books and many more to engage the 30 hour long train journey.

The middle berth was occupied by the kids for their craft work. For the night we had packed chapathi and tomato thokku - the ever competent travel khana. After some fulfilling chapathi rolls, we settled to sleep in our berths. Vicky joined at Egmore.

Day 2:

Mornings of train journeys are usually not so comfortable as we have to use the common utilities. Poori sabji for breakfast and the kids continued their play for the next 14 hours.

For lunch we had ordered from the RailOFy App. But the train was late and  food was delivered at Vijayawada. 

Fast forward , we got down at Bhubaneswar Railway station after a 4 hour delay at 10PM.

After a tiresome travel we reached our place  Mama had prepared dosa batter and two chutneys, quick gobble of dinner and fast asleep in the comfy new beds.

Day 3:

Rainy mornings of Bhubaneswar is very pleasant. After homemade breakfast and lunch by akka we started to the most awaited 'Ponniyin Selvan' movie at around 4PM. After the majestic experience, we decided to take a stroll around the temple City which was studded with stunning lights and decorations. The entire city was celebrating the Durga Puja in its fullest form.

Pandals - Large 

1. Russia’s Hermitage Museum at Jharpada

Artisans from West Bengal have crafted the pandal gate while the idol has been made by craftsmen from Cuttack.

2. Lalitha Mahal Palace at Bomikhal

Recreation of Elegant Lalitha Mahal palace located near Chamundi Hills

3. Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir at Saheed Nagar

4. Akshardham temple-themed pandal at Rasulgarh

5. Benaras - Varanasi Ghats themed pandal at Old Station Bazaar

Well, I definitely want to write about the city, the pandals, the gorgeous Durga Devi in every nook and corner of the city. The whole city was shining with happiness.

- Glittering Light roads 

- Durga Devi gorgeously hosted in pandals in         Book and corner of the city

- Skilfully crafted Pandals of beautiful colours

- Stage Singers and Orchestras in every turn to     enhance the vibes

Above all the face of Goddess Durga everywhere with her stunning look and gentle smile which spreads positivity in abundance to all her devotees.

We managed to see 4 pandals and it was an extraordinary experience witnessing the vibrant colours and the spiritual vibes. We had to walk around 3 kms along with the heavy crowd to get the blessings of the gorgeous Durga Devi.

That was a very long but a happy day. After coming back, we had dinner at home and went asleep.

Day 4:

Mornings started with homemade breakfast. 

Reached Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves .

Stop 1:

A short trip to Udaygiri and Khandagiri caves will take you back to relive the culture and lifestyle of the Jain ascetics.

First we climbed the steps of Khandagiri cave and reached a small temple. There was a 5 step steep hill climb for the kids and we reached the top. It felt good to see the city from this view. We sat there for few minutes and started back down. The Khandagiri and Udayagiri caves are built facing each other. 

After coming down, we had some nimbu paani and started walking to Udayagiri caves which was just 10 steps away. 

The chambers in the Khandagiri and Udaygiri hills were resting places for monks. Overlooking the forest and the lush greenery, the monks would feel at home right on nature’s laps.

While walking along with the ruins, one can notice many sculptures eroded that the artisans once carved.

You can just sit in any of the caves and take a couple of minutes to observe the caves and the lush green surroundings.

Overlooking the forest and the lush greenery, the monks would have felt at home right on nature’s laps.

It felt so chill and relaxing as we laid our heads on the beautifully crafted pillow like structures. 

We also walked to the top of the cave to see the beautiful city view.

Stop 2:

We then drove to the famous Lingaraj temple.

Lingraja temple is located within the city of Bhubneshwar, dedicated to Lord Shiva, my favourite God

Gobbled some hot masala chat and walked to the temple Lake to be seated for a while. It was pristine with the lovely nature colours and gave us a good feel inside out.

We then walked inside the temple and the astounding architectural beauty of the temple makes us awestruck.

The temple represents the quintessence of the Kalinga Architecture and culminating the medieval stages of the architectural tradition at Bhubaneswar.

As we walked around the main gopuram, there were many small stupas hosting the various avatars of Lord Shiva. The dusk colours gave an extra touch of serenity to the stupas that stood royally.

After a wholesome walk we headed back to Pandal visits.

Stop 3:

For the first time waiting in signals for long time were also entertaining because there were several happenings around. As we walked and walked and walked amidst the heavy crowd to one of the grandest pandals of the city, the Varanasi Ghats structured Pandal at the Old Station Bazaar.

To enjoy the intricate and ancient craftsmanship on the walls of the Varanasi themed Ghats is pure bliss.

The colours chosen for the recreation and the lights enhancing the theme, it was a visual feast. The Ganga Aarti is a very famous ritual performed to honour the Holy Ganges. Here in the recreation also the Ganga Aarti was performed. 

After walking long and getting squeezed in the crowd, we will feel the worth when we get to the see the gorgeous Durga Devi who will be smiling graciously, giving us all the warmth that we were looking for.

Done for the day, we headed back for the scrumptious chicken gravy and chapathi waited at home for us.

Day 4:

It's time to move from Bhubaneswar and explore the other beautiful slices of Odisha. We packed out bags for 5 days and boarded our self drive car.

Below is the travel route taken for the next fout days.

Rambha - Jahnikuda - Jenapur - Puri - Konark - Rissia  - Chandipur

The weather predictions for the day was moderate rainfall. We started early and travelled to Rambha.

Chilika Lake - 

This saltwater lagoon is studded with a few small islands adding to its scenic beauty and every island has its own charm to enthral a large number of visitors. There are several must-visit places that are located in close proximity to this lake.Being an abode of picturesque landscapes, it is well known for its natural beauty.

We travelled to Rambha, it's one of the boating point of Chilika. From Rambha, there are few other islands that can be visited during the boat trips. Unfortunately, due to rain, the boatings at Rambha were suspended. 

But we got to experience one of the most heavenly and a picturesque space. 

The place is a government maintained - otdc (Odisha Tourism Developement Corporation). We waited there to see if the rains are going to stop.

This OTDC at Rambha has cottages to stay. We just walked inside to see the lake. To our pleasing surprise, we saw a very beautiful long walklane leading to a frame with sit chairs. It was gently drizzling and the place was deserted. As we walked down the lane, at the end was a cute archway housing a couple of benches to sit and view the magnificent lake views.

The mild rains, the eyesight long Lake view, the wet weather colours everything put together gave a very heavenly feel.

We sat there for few minutes and took some photographs.

The boat rides were suspended due to bad weather and we had to get back.

Our plan was to do boat ride in Rambha, visit 5 small islands and then travel to Jahnikuda. From Jahnikuda to Satapada there is a vessel which can carry passengers and cars and ride across.

We started from Rambha to Jahnikuda. With the shiny pristine lake on one side and the lush green paddy field on the other side, this route is definitely one of most scenic routes I have ever travelled. Incessant rains added to the beauty of the travel. With some good melodies played at the backdrop, this entire stretch gave us a complete peace of mind. 

This route on the paddy field side is studded with a lot of lakes, infact the entire state itself is filled with lakes. It felt so good to travel in such a nature filled surrounding.

We reached Jahnikuda where we had planned to board our car on the vessel to cross the lake to Satapada. But the ferry services had stopped in the last 10 days for repair. So we have to travel for 5.5 hours to reach Satapada which could have otherwise crossed in 30 mins if the ferry services had worked.

 Satpada near chilika lake, we crossed the rural countryside of the village covered with rice plantations on both sides. Besides such greenery, we saw marshy wetlands in the fields on either side of the road.

All you can do is – relax, soak in the beauty of nature, and live the moment. This is what we did for most of the time, bask in the quaint beauty of the lake,

The beautiful sunrise or the hazy dusk, as long as we look forward for the mystery, you can go on living the life.