I have a problem .
A mental irregularity you might say.
I need to travel to a place with uninhibited nature every 2 /3 months.
Not shopping malls or movie theatres .But greenery ,mountains and the seas.
Greenery I have at my home.
(Check out my Instagram feed)
But there’s really no way ,with current technology to have a piece of the ocean or a small mountain in your living room.
For now my imagination and frequent travels help.
My trip to Puri was in October .
This year I did the mandatory Durga Pujo pandal hop with a heavy heart.
My sister and mother didn’t come to Kolkata for the Pujo .
The crowds on the roads and the empty house was too sad.
We decided to visit Puri .
Puri is Jagannath Dham.Home of Lord Jagannath .One of the sacred Char Dham for Hindus .
The main idol in the temple is made of wood .It’s replaced every 18 years with exact replica.
This is one of the unique features of the idol.As most Hindu temple idols are made of stone or metal.
The famous Rath Yatra or Chariot festival starts from the temple.
Bengali’s treat Puri like their home away from home.
It’s close to Kolkata.The cuisine is similar.They love fish too.
We took an Indigo flight.It took us 45 minutes including take off and landing
Bhubaneswar airport is 65 Km away from Puri and the road is excellent.
Close to the airport we had a cup of masala chai with the typical road side tea stall biscuit.
It was the best chai I had for the entire trip.
For Kolkata people it’s like the Maharani chai and the Dilli wala Dhaba chai .
Milky and perfect .
The Hotel
The Mahadadhi palace greeted us with conch shells and the traditional Tika.
The hotel is located bang opposite the beach.
It’s a beautiful heritage property .It was the retreat of Maharaja Panchkot.
Fort Mahadadhi is a beach view hotel .
Mahadadhi means the great sea.
You have a view of the majestic ocean right from the bedroom
We had one if the Royal suites .
The rates included breakfast and dinner .But lunch is generally a la carte .
The variety of food may vary depending on occupancy.
Location of the hotel is perfect.
It’s 50 ft from the ocean.
Lord Jagannath temple just 1.5 Km.
Railway station a few minutes away.
They have 3 restaurants including a purely vegetarian one.
There’s a swimming pool including a splash pool for children.
The staff was very helpful and courteous.
The Food
The seafood was delicious.
They served some of the most delicious fresh sea food I have ever tasted.
Only con for me .Very few options for desert .
The pilgrimage thing
The trip to Lord Jagannath temple was mixed.The entire temple round is pretty organized .But I have issues with crowds .It was saptami and pretty crowded .
The temple architecture is from 12th century and will stop you in your track.
No photography is allowed inside and the security is pretty strict .
It’s your eyes and your memory which help you soak in the beauty of the sculptures and carvings on the temple wall.
Buildings don’t have life .But I have always felt that temples , have stories to tell.
The story of the people who built them ,toiling under the hot sun.The people who lived there.
The hopes the dreams ,the heart breaks.
These echos are louder in places of worship.
If you listen carefully you can hear tales, the ancient walls whisper.
After the worship part we were lucky to taste the bhog and prasad.
It was absolutely delicious.My favourite was the “malpua with rabri”, which was easily the best sweet dish I tasted in Orissa .
The malpua was lightly flavoured with cardamom and just the right amount of sweetness.A perfect food memory .
The sea at Puri.The star of the show.
It’s rolling with huge waves .A rich blue.
Don’t try to take a bath without a life guard to help you.It’s pretty treacherous .
The ocean makes you humble.
It’s vastness and your size.It’s eternal beauty and our lifetime .
It never stops and rests .
Staring at the ocean you feel the calm that comes from being light-years old.
The Shopping
Priyadarshini a weavers association of Orissa had the most gorgeous weaves .
Other than that they have beautiful Dokra work ,tribal art pieces .
I love handmade goods.
They tell stories which machine-made stuff don’t .
When you imagine the time dedication and creativity each of these piece demand its awe-inspiring.
My shopping stash.
I also got a couple of prints on silk for framing.The beauty of these handcrafted pieces will brighten up any home.
Would you like to get some of these gorgeous stuff for your home.
Let me know in the comments below
