Thanks for all the comments guys; I will
try to improve further. Please continue your reviews & comments.
Day -2 (Sunday, 23-Dec-2012, 6:00 PM):-
In my 1st post, I forgot to
publish a good sunset photo taken on the way to Jeypore.
After a plate of samosa chat, I started my
journey from Jeypore around 6:45PM… I still needed to travel approximately
525Kms after an entire day’s ride. I turned towards Salur (AP); the road is
full of potholes and is frequented by a number of heavy trucks and Lorries,
making it a difficult ride. This road is located between the mountains with acute
curves and hairpin bends (Ghat roads) every few hundred meters. I was almost
covered in mud hurled at me by the passing buses and Lorries; while I couldn’t
cover my helmet shield due to steep curves.
It was my first night GHAT ride. Beauty of
forest in night, dusty, pothole-d roads and the chilling cold started thrilling
me. My hands shivered in the cold as my gloves were lost (1st post).
I tried taking photos of this nature in night, but I failedL.
I visited Sunabeda, Pottangi, sunki
checkpost, Salur, to reach Ramabhadrapuram. Then I continued on the route
towards Rajam and Chelakapalem junction which connected to Nation Highway 5
(Visakhapatnam to Bhubaneshwar).
I reached there by 12:00AM, found one tea
shop and started sipping tea. Many lorry drivers’ curious faces surrounded me
with thousand questions like, where are you from? To where are you going? What
dress is this? Why are you riding at mid night? What is the use of traveling?
Why are you traveling alone? Including my trip updates till then.
Uffff... my god! Too many questions!! It
reminded me of my college days’ exam vivaJ. I replied to them with one line answers
& as soon as my tea cup was empty, I started my journey towards Bhubaneshwar.
That night I came to know how cold affects
human body. After 3:00 AM, my body started trembling without my knowledge, all
my body parts felt like frozen peas. Even my riding gears stopped supporting in
this cold. After crossing Bhramhapur, I decided to camp. I reached a small
village, parked the bike near a mechanic shop, placed tent 10feet away from
highway and slept.
Day -3 (Monday, 24-Dec-2012, 5:30 AM):-
I woke up by 5:45 a.m.,
refreshed myself at an agricultural field nearby, boarded the bike &
started riding towards Bhubaneshwar. I
reached ‘Nandankanan’ ZOO by
11:30AM. Since it was a Monday, ZOO was closed. I felt sad, since I had
travelled all this way to see white Tigers.
I Started moving
towards Cuttack; on the way I took these pictures:-
I couldn’t
find riding gloves in entire Cuttack & Bhubaneshwar. I visited a park near
Barabati stadium and sat down for a while.
I rode
back to Bhubaneshwar & visited Udayagiri
& Kandagiri Rock Cut Caves. For history, check wiki link-(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayagiri_and_Khandagiri_Caves).
I tried to capture some of the photos in this zone:-
I also visited
Lingaraja Temple in the evening; the
architecture of the temple is amazing. I wasn’t able to take the photos from
inside since photography is prohibited. However, I took some photos by climbing
the next building near the temple.
I called
fellow Couch Surfer Mr. Yugabratha Kar who was ready to host me at Puri. He asked
me to meet near “Wild Grass” Restaurant in Puri. He owns this bistro. He gave
me a beach house to stay that night.
I
refreshed myself and met him around 10:30 p.m. at his Hotel. Yugabratha and his
friends were waiting for me. I met many of his friends who are travelers or
photographers who work for traveling organizations. I came to know that Yugabratha
has traveled 21 countries and have businesses across the globe.
We exchanged
our thoughts, our recent travels, views and ideas till 12:30 a.m. I left for
the beach house to take rest.
Day -4 (Tuesday, 25-Dec-2012, 8:00 AM):-
Puri
temple is one of the holy temples in char dham. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_Dham).
I got up
around 7:30 a.m., after a sound sleep; my alarm failing to wake me up at 6:00
a.m. I started walking towards Puri beach,
found some sand sculpture exhibition. It was the first time I witnessed a sand
sculpture for real.
I rushed
towards the Jagannath temple to
visit. It is an eight lane road and people had flooded the entire road. Photography
was prohibited here too, so kept camera in the counter & headed inside the temple.
It took 1.5 hrs to see the Lord Balabhadra
(Balaram), Goddess Subhadra and Lord
Jagannath. The only thing I hated about the place is its lack of
cleanliness; people are spitting everywhere, throwing waste, plastic, and junk;
all inside the temple.
I came
out of the temple by 10:00 a.m., started moving in throng. These are some of
the pictures:-
Yugabratha
had invited me to his place, where I met his family and had breakfast. I
chatted with them for an hour. After thanking him for his hospitality, I left Puri for Konark.
The road
from Puri to Konark is awesome. The road lies next to the seashore & is surrounded
with greenery.
I reached Konark beach, spent some time there, took some pictures and headed towards the Sun Temple.
Konark
Sun Temple is a breathtaking evidence of 13th Century architecture. The
main door of the temple has been closed for 100years. Many sculptures are
engraved on walls of temple which indicates time, Positions of making love,
Impact of Greediness and many more stone carvings.
I met
two XBHP club members from Chennai near the temple. They suggested me to travel
back to Puri to visit Chilka Lake. I
bode farewell to them and headed in the same direction from whence I came, to
reach Chilka Lake.
I
reached Chilka Lake bank called Satapada by 5:40 p.m. Govt ferries have stopped
for the day by that time. I boarded a private boat with my bike to reach other
side of the lake with lot of expectation to see the Dolphins in the lake.
Later,
the people who boarded the boat were completely drunk and were speaking to me
in Oriyya. Then they started demanding for money. It was really a harrowing
experience. One guy started speaking Hindi mixed with Oriyya. He informed me
that the other side of the Lake is full of thieves; they rob the travelers in
the evening.
I took a hotel in Bhramhapur and halted for the night around 12:00 a.m.
Day -5 (Wednesday, 26-Dec-2012, 5:20 AM):-
I
started from Bhramhapur towards Borra
Caves which is located near to Vizianagaram. I reached Araku & visited the Museum and then started towards Borra caves
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borra_Caves).
In side
Borra caves you can see many Stalactite & stalagmites. This cave boasts of
every shape that human mind can imagine. It’s the deepest cave in India.
I reached
Vizag (Visakhapatnam) around 6:00 p.m., and had some food. My entire day’s
starvation was ended thereJ. I
again started my journey by 7:00 p.m. towards Annavaram. I reached there, checked into a hotel around 10:00 p.m.
and straight went to bed.
I visited
the Annavaram temple God “Sathya Narayana Swamy” and travelled towards Kakinada
to visit the Coringa Sanctuary with lot of expectations to see birds.I
reached the bird sanctuary only to find out that there were no birds now. I was
extremely disappointed when I saw just one bird in the entire sanctuary.
I took
Amalapuram route to reach Vijayawada from Kakinada. I took half ways instead of
the Highway. These half ways were charming, encouraging me to ride more. The
area is full of coconut trees while the Godavari River flows nearby.
I reached
Vijayawada by 6:45PM, had some food in a roadside hotel and started towards Hyderabad.
From Vijayawada
my boring & sad ride started, because I needed to hit office from Friday
(28-Dec-2012)L. I
reached home around 11:00PM at Gachibowli (Hyderabad). Tired and exhausted, I
went to sleep by 11:15PM.
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Next post: - Night trek which turns into nightmare (Daymare)……
