Day 3 - Arriving In Puri, Orissa

24th Jan 2007
After an early start from Delhi, picked up from hotel at 5.15 am, I boarded the Deccan Airways flight to Bhubaneshwar at 7.30 am.

My baggage was overweight again, as it had been for the Virgin Atlantic flight yesterday, however Deccan were slightly less expensive on excess baggage than Virgin, charging a mere £20 to take my extra 10 kilos, compared to the £300 Virgin charged me it seemed like a bargain.

It riles me I have to pay extra for the 10 kilos overwieght my bags were anyway. I mean I have spent a year low carb dieting and am absolutely sure that my body weight is at least 10 kilos less than the majority of passengers on that plane, so it seems an injustice and an insult to my weight loss efforts that I am made to pay £300 extra to cover the 10kilos extra in my suitcase.

I should have eaten the stuff, carried it in my belly and weighed myself in at 10Kilos more, then there would have been no charge. However as most of the weight was computer equipment, I was unable to swallow any of it and hence had to use a suitcase, for which I get this bloody surcharge!

Anyway...my flight was free seating and I grabbed a window seat. Big mistake as I got penned in by some leary man who proceeded to spread his legs so that he could tocuh mine and when I moved mine, he positioned himself so that his arms touched mine and was trying to stroke me with his fingers. Bad enough, I kept shifting position to avoid it, but it got too much when he turned his head towards me, and proceeded to start blowing on my face. A sharp stop that with a hand gesture stopped him and he tried to make up by offering to buy me a coffee, I refused and he tried to apologise, which I said fine, as it would have been had he stopped there. When I complained, he accused me of being racist and not liking Indians. I wanted to explain it wasnt Indians I didnt like, just sleazy men who try to tuch me up and blow in my frickin face. But couldnt be bothered. He started taking photos of me with his mobile phone and that was it. If the flight had been longer I would have asked to be moved, as it was, I think I was remarkably tolerant, but glad to get off that plane and away from Mr Sleaze.

So, I was picked up in a smart car at the airport and whisked to Puri, the abode of Lord Jagannath, arriving before noon at the Gandhara Hotel.

I was pleasantly surprised at the Hotel, I had chosen a less expensive one so I could stay longer, and it is really, really nice.
In the picture above, my room is the one on the left of the roof. This is so cool as I have a view of the sea from the front and from the right a view of the Jagannath Temple. It is quite awesome. Very clean and bright. The room has windows on all sides, I am tempted to call it a penthouse suite, I even have the entire roof terrace, with table chairs and sunbed, at my disposal. Even the internet access in my room, that I specially requetsed, worked without a hitch. All in all I am very happy to be here.


In the afternoon, after a shower and change and dousing myself in probably hugely toxic deet, I went to visit the Gopinath Temple and the home of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Gopinath Temple was nice. There are 3 deity areas, in the center Gopinath with Radharani on his left and Lalita on his right. Lord Gopinath plays a flute, this is the only deity of him playing his flute at all times. He is seated crossed legs, in one of his lges is a crack, it is covered today, but it is where Gauranga disappeared into when he left the world apparently. Lalita and Radha also appear to be playing wind instruments as well.

There are two more deity areas, of Lord Balarama and Madan Mohana and Radharani, Gauranga and Gadhadhara.

The Pujari said we must go there for lunch there one day, so I am looking forward to that. We browsed the gardens, where some people have bhajan Khutirs to live and pray in. I am trying to establish what trees grew in that garden, I kept a nut from one tree, maybe olive trees. I will try and find out. It was in this garden that the Deities were found, dug up by Gadhadhara and Gauranga some 500 years ago.

There is also a very nice Tulsi garden on entering the temple, to the left. It was a little dry, Tulsi looked a little forlorn, but I expect it is the dry weather has taken its toll.

Across the road from the Gopinath Temple is a hill, which is known to be non different to Govardhana Hill in Vrindavana. Overlooking this hill, is the house of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. Srila Prabhupada's Guru, it is pink and quite large and has been kept with his bed and deities in it behind mesh windows, for everyone to see. His deities there are of Vyasadeva and Madvacharya and sit on thrones by his lovely wooden 4 poster bed, complete with mosquito net.

From his window he could see the hill know to be non different to Govardhana Hill. We walked round his house, taking care not to step in the shadow of Tulsi, who griws prolfically in his garden.

Feeling tired and a little overwhelmed, I returned to my hotel quite early to get good rest. Which I did. Apart from waking at midnight to a raucous chorus from local dogs. I slept right through till noon the next day.