Back in the Saddle

We’ve decided that yesterday was the low point of the trip and we are back in the saddle today. The hotel is as problematic as I reported, but the area is so lovely that we are just going to deal with it. Today started with a visit to a stone carving center. We are sure to be back and make some purchases. These are gorgeous sandstone and granite carvings that are so exquisitely detailed. We will just need to decide which one(s) of these wonderful things to have sent home. Knowing us, we’ll create something that is a combination of several things and it will take 6 months to get made and shipped to Palo Alto.

We visited the Sun Temple at Konark which is one of India’s signature buildings. It was constructed (exactly on the east/west axis) in the 13 century in celebration of the military victory over the Muslims. There are thousands of panels each depicted some part of Hindu mythology – much of which is quite erotic. We were so pleased to have a guide who could point out the various aspects of the history and mythology. Otherwise, it would not have had such meaning.

"A day like today makes a crummy hotel worth it."

I have noticed that the people in this part of the country adn much darker than in Delhi.  The dialect is also different and sounds more like Chinese than the Indian I am used to.  The women continue to be dressed in beautiful traditional clothing even if they are doing road repair work.

We then stopped in a local fishing village which was definitely not for the tourists. The sights, sounds, and definitely the smells were authentic. We were the only non-Indians there and people were haggling over the prices and new fish was being brought in by the boats every minute.

We then had one of our world famous picnics topped off by a fresh coconut for desert. We ended the day with a walk on one of the widest beaches I’ve ever seen with warm water and golden sand. A day like today makes a crummy hotel worth it.