India & Sri Lanka (Post Covid Overseas Visit No 12 - My 24 days in Southern India & Sri Lanka Nov 14 > Dec 7 2024) Day 19 - Dec 3 2024 (Final Day - Puri & Day 1 - Bhubaneswar)

Shree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math
Puri, Odisha 

Shree Jagannatha Temple
Puri, Odisha 

Day 19 Wednesday Dec 3 2024 (Puri & Bhubaneswar) - my final day in Puri prior to taking an afternoon train from Puri > Bhubaneswar (my last city of stay for this Southern India trip), spent the early morning doing a leisure stroll along the main Grant Road towards the Shree Jagannatha Temple, Puri.  

Puri > Bhubaneswar (61km) 

 

1) Morning walk from Chanduka Palace Hotel > Market Chhak / Market Square, Puri - art mural brightened up my morning walk along the Balabhadra Lane, an old area of Puri  !  There was a hive of activities in Market Chhak / Market Square areas, vendors selling all sorts of goods, varieties of food, fish, fresh fruit & vegetables, drink, prayer items for worship etc !  

2) Small Eat - my early morning breakfast at a Tiffin Centre near Market Square, Puri, simple & filling ! 

3) Morning stroll along Basanta Road & Grand Road (near Shree Jagannatha Temple), Puri - a busy main road dotted with numerous commercial shop lots, eatery stalls, street food, petty traders etc; interesting to note that the signboards of commercial shop lots along the main Grant road tend to stick to some uniformity (white lettering words & light brown color background) ! 

4) Shree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, Grand Road, Puri, Odisha - established 1920, a renown pilgrimage site providing lodging for devotees, this sacred monument is dedicated to the life & teachings of Sri Chaitanya. .

5) Shree Jagannatha Temple (Rear End), Puri, Odisha - a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism & two of his siblings, Balaram & Subhadra, nearby is the Gadanti Chowk; my 2nd external visit ! 

6) Puri Railway Station, Odisha - my train ride (AC Chair Rs347 = Rm19) from Puri Railway station (departing 16.20) > Bhubaneswar Railway station (arriving 17.25), after our hotel check out, we took an auto rickshaw from Chanduka Palace Hotel > Puri Railway station  (Rs100 = Rm5.40).

7) Shree Jagannatha Temple Information Centre, Puri Railway Station, Odisha - PR publicity on Jagannatha Temple in the Puri Railway station. 

8) Countryside scenery of my train ride from Puri > Bhubaneswar, Odisha as viewed from a moving train's windows - vast tracts of rice green fields, evening sun set, rivers & bridges, brief stopovers for passengers to alight & board in railway stations along the way; for the elders & young ones looking forward to meet their loved ones, it was home sweet home carrying a great feeling with them echoing this popular moving song "Country roads, take me home to the place I belong" !  As for me as a traveller, it was time to say bye bye to this fascinating city of Puri leaving behind a fond memory & looking forward to my next city of arrival - the Temple city of Bhubaneswar, Odisha !    

9) Arriving in Bhubaneswar Railway station, Odisha & took a auto rickshaw (Rs300 =Rm16) to The Ginger Inn for our late evening check-in.

10) Hotels & eatery stalls operating nearby the Bhubaneswar Railway station - bought Biryani chicken (Rs100 = Rm5.40, takeaway) as our dinner for this evening. 

11) Hotel Accommodation (Bhubaneswar): my 4 nights stay in The Ginger Inn, Palasuni, Bhubaneswar, room tariff Rs 1,680 (Rm91 = US$21), twin sharing, king bed, private en suite, airconditioned, nearest bus stop (Palasuni) 200m, my 1st night stay in Bhubaneswar.