[aviator1101]

Bengalis have an affinity for three places which are commonly referred to by the acronym Dipuda, meaning Digha, Puri and Darjeeling. These are the most popular places where bongs want to be given an opportunity to get away from Kolkata.

No wonder we had a few days at hand and a long weekend coming up and we decided to make a short trip to Digha.

I had not travelled on this route for a long time, the last trip being as long back as 2010. And the road conditions were not very encouraging at that time. However, a short whatsapp chat with fellow BHPian Samba and we were all set to visit this sea beach not too far from the maddening crowd of Kolkata.

Since the following day, ie Saturday was a holiday (Muharram), I expected a huge rush and hence decided to get the bookings done online. However, all good locations seemed to be filled till another friend suggested we stay at New Digha and also recommended a good hotel very close to the sea beach.

We left home on Friday morning at 5 am sharp. The distance to New Digha was around 190 kms, and as per Google Map we were expecting to reach by 9:30 am (travel time of 4:30 hours).

Odo reading at start


After crossing Vidyasagar Setu, we followed Kona Expressway (NH12). Truck traffic was quite a bit even at 5:30 in the morning. After Santragachi, traffic seemed to thin out a bit till Nibra(Andul) from where we turned left onto Kolkata Chennai Highway (NH16).
This is a major National Highway that runs along east coast of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. First time after leaving Kolkata we were beyond the city speed limits and both me and the Ecosport seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. But weather seemed to play spoilsport here, raining off and on, forcing us to limit our speeds to around 80kmph. Zig-zagging our way through intermittent truck traffic, we crossed Dhulagori, Uluberia, Bagnan, Deulti and reached Kolaghat where we took a breakfast break.

Immediately after crossing the Kolaghat bridge, on the right hand side, is the tried and tested halt for travellers on this route, the Sher-e-Punjab Dhaba.
After a filling breakfast comprising the famous parathas, we set course again for Digha.

Brownie parked at Sher e Punjab Dhaba for breakfast


The Breakfast Spread : Yummy Parathas


Shortly after crossing Kolaghat, we left NH 16 and turned left onto NH 116 which connects Kolaghat to Haldia. It started raining very heavily from here onwards and we were sceptical about the fate of our trip to the beach if weather remained bad. We followed NH 116 till Nandakumar where the six-lane highway part ends and turned right onto Digha Contai Road (NH 116B) which is a two lane highway which leads further to Contai, Mandarmani, Digha and beyond.





This part is congested due to local traffic at the populated portions but road condition throughout is really good. Rain clouds seemed to follow us all the way till Digha, but surprisingly when we were entering Digha, the clouds seemed to clear up a little bit and we saw the first rays of sun through the clouds after leaving Kolkata.

Entering Digha


At Digha we stayed at Yes Regency, but there are number of other options in the same area. Our criteria was proximity to the beach and availability of safe parking area and this hotel provided both apart from lovely sea food. The room was sea facing and the view from the verandah was simply awesome.

Our Stay at Digha


Brownie parked safely


The First View from the Verandah


The room was sea-facing with a wonderful view


We checked in at around 11am and changed and left for the beach.
Surprisingly for a weekend, the crowd was not much and the weather had cleared up and it was all bright and sunny. After enjoying at the sea for a good about two hours, we returned for a scrumptious lunch comprising sea food. The crab and pomfret was really well prepared.





We decided to do some photography in the beach during sunset but overcast sky denied us the opportunity as it was all a gloomy affair post lunch.

However, in the evening the sea-side market seems to come to life in a different form.





Everything from dry fruit stalls to conch shells to sea food snacks to branded restaurants to entertainment - all in one quadrangle. It was a really unique experience and we made the most of it since we had only one evening to ourselves.







We could see the moon through the clouds for a very brief period and tried our hand at photography, albeit without any impressionable output.











Soon dark clouds arrived and drizzling started and we had to return to the hotel for dinner. We made plans to wake up early to witness sunrise at the beach.

Unfortunately, we woke up at 0400 to find that it has rained the whole night and it was still all cloudy and gloomy. However, hoping against hope that the weather would clear up in an hour's time (sunrise was scheduled at 5:11am), we made it to the beach.

But weather God decided otherwise and we could only see the first rays on sun after 6am.









Check out time in most hotels at Digha is 9am. So we came back from the beach and prepared to leave. Buffet breakfast was multi cuisine and complimentary. We had our fill and prepared to start the homeward journey at 9:30 am.

Brownie at the Parking just before departure


The drive back home was uneventful and amidst intermittent rains. The expected time to drive back was around 4.5 hours and hence we decided not to halt anywhere enroute and straightway reach home for late lunch.

Sunrise and sunset are two events worth witnessing at the sea beach. However, since we couldn't do either, we decided to come back in the winters again when the weather is generally good.

[Samfromindia]

Nice TL, brought back memories of my own DiPuDa trip 2 yrs back on my EcoSport. Rated *****

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...g-50-days.html (DiPuDa (Digha-Puri-Darjeeling) in 50 Days)

[Hirohito]

Great to see Digha after many moons. I had traveled to Digha by bus from then Calcutta back in 1999 iirc. That was first experience of the sea. Thank you for reviving such old memories.