[AKSen2015]

Prologue:

Though I was born & brought up in Kolkata, I spent a good 5 years from 2005- 10 growing up in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. During this time and maybe 2-3 times prior to this I have atleast visited Puri . The charm of the Sea and the fun that we had as kids on the beach with family as well friends was always memorable.
As my parents still stay in Bhubaneshwar , The occassional visits to Puri ensured whenever I would get an oppurtunity, just that over the years the companions in the visit changed or rather evolved. From a kid visiting with Parents, to a School/College goer visiting with friends , to most recently as Husband and Wife.

So, on 2nd Oct taking the Gandhi Jaynti holiday, I left for Odisha to meet my parents as well as visit Puri for a change from the montony and routine that the lockdown had brought about since my Marriage in March.

Day 1:

We left from our Rajarhat residence at 5 in the morning .This was Kratos’s (My Ignis ‘s 3rd 2nd trip to Odisha and in the 15 months and 26k kms of driving it, I find it to be a car that’s raring to go on the Highways. We used the Belgharia Express Way to get on to the highway after crossing the Toll at Nivedita Setu got onto the Flank going towards Kharagpur and after encountering some traffic near the Highway exit, we made good time and crossed Kharagpur by 7:30.

I generally make it a point to stop at Express Food Plaza at Kolaghat for breakfast but on this trip neither of us were hungry and so we decided to move on .

We made a stop close to Laxmannath Toll for Coffe and Biscuits and to take some photos.
The road was beautiful and the only challenge was bouts of Rains at different parts of the journey, We entered Orissa by 8:15 and stopped for Breakfast at Hotel Aahar near Basta on
AH 45. After a meal of piping hot Rotis, with Omlette and Dal Makhani, we set out for the onward journey.









We did not halt anywhere in between but encountered a bad patch at Bampada, near Balasore where due to water logging, potholes couldn’t be properly judged and some rough patches on the Cuttack – Phulnakhra stretch which with the ongoing rains made me check my speed.

I reached my home in Palashpalli , Bhubaneshwar by 12:30 and boy was it good to finally meet my Parents after almost 7 months. Lunch was “Ma ke Haath” ka khana and I think it appeals to all those who stay away from their Parents how blissful the experience is.

The day was spent chatting with family .


Day 2:

I was in a hurry to reach Puri, as I had to report at office for my routine Branch visit and given that my wife was travelling with me , I had to get her checked in at the hotel with luggage and then head for work. Left home at 8 am after Breakfast and though I was in a hurry , couldn’t help but stop to take some pics of the Road and the Car.
As most of the BHPians might be aware , the BBSR- PURI road has been repaired and its now a 4 Lane highway as opposed to the narrow road that it used to be some 8-9 years back. The only worry on the road is the unexpected Livestock sitting on the Highway and one does need to be a tad bit cautious.







We reached Puri by 8:45 AM and after finishing our Check In formalities, at Mahodadhi Palace Hotel, I headed for work. Mahodadhi Palace is a Heritage Hotel and one of the best hotels in PURI. The Hotel is the perfect amalgam of old-era charm, contemporary opulence, and absolute comfort. Gazing at the vast Puri Sea Beach the Mahodadhi Palace is an impressive red stone monument that once was the summer palace of Maharaja Panchkot , the erstwhile ruler of Purulia.

For ease of locating, its right on the Beach front , 4 buildings after crossing Victoria Club Hotel.

You can also refer to the Google MAP for the exact location.














Came back by 2 pm and after a sumptuous Lunch, spent the afternoon working from the hotel and lazing around.

We headed out in the Evening to sit on the beach and we were kind of Amazed to see Puri so deserted. Apart from the locals, there were hardly any tourists and the effect of Lockdown could be well understood as I atleast had never seen Puri Beach , so empty.










Day 3:

SUNDAY and as is our nature, woke up late , had breakfast in bed and after taking a bath, headed for the famous Jagannath Temple. The temple was closed due to lockdown and I could manage to go upto the gate and offer my Prayers. Coming to the land of Jagannath, and not paying him a visit would be a miss on our part so after offering our Prayers , we headed to the beach.

Spent some good moments at the beach , had lunch and had planned to go Shopping in the evening for family as Durga Puja is just round the corner. Spent the evening walking up and Down Marine Drive, and reliving my childhood memories. We called it a night early as the next day was Monday and we both had office in the morning.









Day 4:

Monday, and as was already known, had to devote the entire day to Work and hence stayed indoors. Treated ourselves to a filling breakfast and an equally decadent lunch and finished working in time to enjoy the sunset and a stroll on the Beach.

The Sunset was beautiful and served as a great backdrop of some awesome pictures of my beloved ride,













Dinner was scheduled at Chung Wah (Lee Garden) , Puri. This place can be called an Authentic Chinese Eatery with a chinese family running the place and over the years the restaurant has grown to being a landmark and a favourite for all those who love Oriental or Chinese Cuisine.






After eating to our fill, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

Day 5:

We left Puri, for Bhubaneshwar and spent the day working and catching up with family as we would be leaving for Kolkata the next day.


Day 6:

We left for Kolkata after bidding farewell, to my parents. Started the Journey at 6am and made our first stop at 7:45 at Bhadrak for breakfast at Orion Hotel.
Post breakfast, we did not take any stops apart from Lunch at Kolaghat, at Express food Plaza .

The journey from Kolaghat to home at Kolkata was a bit slow as we encountered traffic and also had to byepass the Toll at Nivedita Setu through the service lane due to the massive traffic.

The Journey was memorable and refreshing. I managed to complete the total trip in 2 Tankful of Petrol and got a decent mileage of 18-22 throughout the trip.

Waiting eagerly for my next trip and creating more memories.

Ciao

[haisaikat]

Nice travelogue Sen Babu. Puri is the all time favourite destination of Bengalis and its pictures are all time soul refreshers. Seeing the Mahodadi interiors for the first time I can feel the grandeur. Keep more of these TLs coming, and you seem to be lucky for being in a organization that has Puri branch

[abhisheksircar]

Quite nostalgic after spent a good amount of time in Bhubaneswar

Lee Garden. Good to see them. We never missed a Puri visit without visiting them atleast once. Good to see them not change even after few decades. Even the food !

The roads to Bhubaneswar to Puri have completely changed which I saw in the last visit. Broad lanes. I grew up to narrow winding lanes !

Another wonderful drive was the drive from Puri to Konark. Absolutely beautiful driving along the sea line.

[AKSen2015]

Hi. Yes sir, I have been going to Puri from maybe 2003 onwards owing my father being posted in Bhubaneswar from 2002. We remember the narrow roads passing through village at parts.

Even till about 2011, I remember the roads being the same. Post which it underwent a beautiful change .

Glad I was able to rekindle some memories.

Originally Posted by abhisheksircar

Quite nostalgic after spent a good amount of time in Bhubaneswar

Lee Garden. Good to see them. We never missed a Puri visit without visiting them atleast once. Good to see them not change even after few decades. Even the food !

The roads to Bhubaneswar to Puri have completely changed which I saw in the last visit. Broad lanes. I grew up to narrow winding lanes!

Another wonderful drive was the drive from Puri to Konark. Absolutely beautiful driving along the sea line.

Thank you sir. I work for an Insurance company and look after the eastern region hence the chance to go on pretext of work. Glad You liked it.

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Nice travelogue Sen Babu. Puri is the all time favourite destination of Bengalis and its pictures are all time soul refreshers. Seeing the Mahodadi interiors for the first time I can feel the grandeur. Keep more of these TLs coming, and you seem to be lucky for being in a organization that has Puri branch

[Samba]

Nice travelogue.

Puri, though not in West Bengal, still we Bongs feel as if we are in the same state! I bet there wont be a single person on this planet, who has visited Puri but not liked it! This place has a charm of it's own. I always try to visit Puri at-least once a year.

[AKSen2015]

Thank you Samba da. There is absolutely a certain charm and character to Puri beach that I feel maybe some other beaches lack. Though they are wonderful beaches the fun of Puri is kind of unique and not found in Mandarmani or Tajpur

Totally personal opinion and maybe slightly biased because of growing up in Odisha.

Originally Posted by Samba

Nice travelogue.

Puri, though not in West Bengal, still we Bongs feel as if we are in the same state! I bet there wont be a single person on this planet, who has visited Puri but not liked it! This place has a charm of it's own. I always try to visit Puri at-least once a year.

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[Ranabegins]

Just wanted to check with you regarding restrictions by Odisha government, have the covid travel restrictions been removed fully and did you face any checkpoints.

[AKSen2015]

Hi, We both had got ourselves tested and were carrying reports of us being Negative. But there was no checkpoints neither in Puri nor at the border .

The Hotel just conducted the basic temperature checks

Originally Posted by Ranabegins

Just wanted to check with you regarding restrictions by Odisha government, have the covid travel restrictions been removed fully and did you face any checkpoints.

[greenhorn]

Wow that's nice to hear that the bbsr puri road has been upgraded. I've done that stretch many times to go to hotel honey bee in puri for their food (and skipped the beach most times. Usually we would go set out from college after an all night party in the early morning, reach konark at sunrise - really a magical place to be at that time - that's what it was built for after all - and then head over to puri via that extremely scenic road for breakfast
You can see the pics from my drives here - they happened almost 10 years ago

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ar-orissa.html (Getaways in and around Bhubaneswar, Orissa)

[AKSen2015]

Thank You. Loved your photos Brings back lots of memories

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Wow that's nice to hear that the bbsr puri road has been upgraded. I've done that stretch many times to go to hotel honey bee in puri for their food (and skipped the beach most times. Usually we would go set out from college after an all night party in the early morning, reach konark at sunrise - really a magical place to be at that time - that's what it was built for after all - and then head over to puri via that extremely scenic road for breakfast
You can see the pics from my drives here - they happened almost 10 years ago

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ar-orissa.html (Getaways in and around Bhubaneswar, Orissa)

[Deadpool]

Nice, crisp TL accompanied by some stunning wide angle shots. Puri definitely has a special place in every Bong's heart. Its hard to find a Bong who never visited Puri at least once in lifetime.

Your pictures have reminded me our last year Puri trip.

[AKSen2015]

Thank you. I'm so glad you liked it

Originally Posted by Deadpool

Nice, crisp TL accompanied by some stunning wide angle shots. Puri definitely has a special place in every Bong's heart. Its hard to find a Bong who never visited Puri at least once in lifetime.

Your pictures have reminded me our last year Puri trip.

[Saurabh M]

Lovey travelogue and nice pics. Puri is like second home to every Bong. Whenever we visit India, we make it a point to visit Puri atleast for 3-4 days.

We almost always stay at the Victoria Club Hotel and every time we pass in front of Mahodadhi Palace, we discuss about trying this place once. How is the food (since that's an important criteria for us) and we absolutely love the food at Victoria Club.

Once again, thanks for sharing and as you said, have never seen Puri so deserted.

[AKSen2015]

Thank you. The food is good in terms of both quantity and quality. Would recommend trying the Prawns

Originally Posted by Saurabh M

Lovey travelogue and nice pics. Puri is like second home to every Bong. Whenever we visit India, we make it a point to visit Puri atleast for 3-4 days.

We almost always stay at the Victoria Club Hotel and every time we pass in front of Mahodadhi Palace, we discuss about trying this place once. How is the food (since that's an important criteria for us) and we absolutely love the food at Victoria Club.

Once again, thanks for sharing and as you said, have never seen Puri so deserted.