Bird’s eye view
350 km today, that too almost straight as an arrow, parallel to the coastline of Orissa, should not have taken a very long time, but it took us 8 hours, including two hours of a leisurely lunch and coffee. As Billy Goat famously said to Nanny Goat: “If you can’t beat it, eat it.”
So gastronomically, today was a good one, as we shall see.
Roads were excellent, as expected, though speed limits kept our average below 60 kmph. OD plate drivers, especially around Bhubaneswar, have a marked tendency of inserting their muzzles in front of my bonnet, like tickle-deprived golden retrievers.
Panna also drove today for an hour, recollecting her skills from her drag-racing days, and I got a well deserved break.
Now for a few details.
Sunrise at Dublagadi (6.00 am)
We had seen a lot of haze last evening and were apprehensive whether Ra would show us his pre-coffee face. But we need not have worried. Ten minutes after we hit the beach, carrying our folding chairs, the red ball peeped out, an inch above the horizon, and stayed with us for the next hour, after which we returned to our resort.
The beach was deserted as expected, but for an elderly couple picking shells. It was low tide, and the sea had gone next door to play with the neighbour’s kids, leaving a litter of seashells, sandy ripples and odd puddles. We could see fishermen walking in from the misty horizon after having collected their nets, which had captured bunches of fish as the tide had receded. The scene was deeply serene.
Leaving Dublagadi (8.30 am)
Google maps whispered that it might take 6.5 hrs to reach Barkul, which meant around 8 hrs point-to-point. So yesterday, we had asked the resort manager to ditch his usual puri-bhaji breakfast, which would take hours in the making. He then offered us the executive version - toast, boiled egg, and fruits - all served up by 8.00 am, and a more pleasant breakfast, especially after yesterday’s eye-watering lunch, we could not have asked for. We got our Punch cleaned up by the local lady, and hey presto, we were off by 8.30 am.
Coffee at Bhandaripokhari (11.00 am)
If I am giving the impression that this place is famous for coffee, please dial down. We just stopped here to stretch our legs, unload a thermos with hot water, chuck in some coffee powder, and sip the sleep-slayer magic potion. There happened to be a small park there in the making, which seemed to be quite an investment given the smallness of the locality, but if Orissa municipality is in a generous mood, who am I to object?
Panna took the wheel for an hour after this. Although she was whistling a jolly tune, maybe she was nervous, because on returning the wheel to me, she swigged half a bottle of water without coming up for air. Ah well, practice makes perfect. I think I should give her a spell in the hills. What do you all say?
Lunch at Bhubaneswar (1.30 pm)
With my predilection for precise planning, I had looked up a reasonable hotel on NH16 itself when it passed Bhubaneswar, expected at lunchtime, so when we parked in front of Hotel Seetal and went up six floors to The Bistro, the rooftop restaurant, both our physical and intellectual appetites had been whetted. We were booked into a series of government lodges after this, and I told Panna that if she wanted to stock up a bit on the tasty stuff, probably this would be the place, a sort of icy frontier town before the artic wilderness started. She took heed and had a plate of tengri kebab and naan, bless her. Me? I have a weakness for okra. We also had dessert of a regional speciality, called chhana pora (flammed cottage cheese served in rabri).
Arriving a Barkul (5.00 pm)
As one travels from Bhubaneswar towards Vizag, one is forced to pass Chilika lake. I had passed this way twice earlier, once having stopped for breakfast at Rambha as well, a little downstream of Barkul. Both Barkul and Rambha are spots on the west coast of the great Chilika Lake. On the east coast lies Satpada, which people usually visit (like we had done earlier) as an add-on to Puri. But Barkul was a smaller and quieter place.
The OTDC Panthanibas here, which we had booked, enjoyed the same old-world charm (read run-down) as other government properties. Our first floor room balcony looked down onto Chilika lake, though we decided to engage more closely by walking down to the jetty and enjoying the sunset from there.
Although OTDC had their own boat services, the jetty area or waterfront had many private operators ready to take people out for a spin, and the people promenading there peered at the cluster of small shops selling the usual knick-knacks. We took some snaps, walked out to the end of the circular embankment that created a small safe lagoon, and sat there, Panna’s orange boots drawing a lot of attention from the ladies walking past, who were feeling pretty dowdily dressed inspite of themselves being on their own a sartorial escapades.
We returned to our room at 6.00 pm, all primed to relax. Some home made tea and crisps, and our digital devices were in full flow. We booked some simple egg chow mein for dinner, a nice counterpoint to the luscious luncheon.
Tomorrow, we travel to Gopalpur, another seaside town. That has some history though, which I will relate tomorrow.
Photo credits: Panna Rashmi Ray
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