Part 1: Odisha Road Trip – Prologue
Part 2: Odisha Road Trip – Vizag (Day 1, 2, and 3)
Part 3: Odisha – Bhubaneshwar – Part 1
Part 4: Odisha – Bhubaneshwar – Part 2
Part 5: Odisha – Konark

Part 6 – The Final Part

Day 8 – 20/4/2022 – Wednesday

Today was a busy but enjoyable day. We started the day by having breakfast and then heading to the Jagannath temple. Upon arriving, we were informed that we couldn’t bring in any leather items or phones. Despite there being a queue, we were able to have our darshan (viewing of the main deity) within 30 minutes. We also took the opportunity to visit several smaller shrines within the temple complex and received prasad (sacred food).

Though Jagannath Temple was one of the highlights of our trip, we didn’t take any photographs, and there is enough information about the temple on the internet.

After returning to our room and having lunch, we took a short rest before heading to the Alarnath temple. My daughter received a set of books from her grand dad. In one of the books, she read a story as below and hence her interest on this temple grew and hence from the time, I planned for Odisha, I was on the lookout for this temple. The story goes as,

According to his mother, a 12-year-old child whose father is the priest of the Alarnath temple has always believed Lord Alarnath to be a friend. His father went on a trip, and before he left, he urged his son to take care of Lord Alarnath’s food offerings every day. As his father was away, the youngster carried kheer to the temple and left it in the inner sanctum, requesting the god to consume it. The pot was always empty when he returned. His father did not believe him and even beat him, but the boy maintained that Lord Alarnath was eating the kheer. The next day, the father followed the child and witnessed a mystery divine creature eating the kheer; however, as the father tried to catch it, the kheer spilled and burned the entity’s face and lips, and it fled. The father saw that Lord Alarnath was eating the kheer, and word of the child’s devotion spread quickly. During the Anasara fortnight, kheer is served as prasad to Lord Alarnath to commemorate this. The burn scars on Lord Alarnath’s idol’s face and lips are a reminder of the child’s devotion.

Along the way to the Alarnath temple, we were approached by people offering us the chance to visit Chilka lake, which we later realized was heavily commercialized.

The Alarnath temple, located in the state of Odisha in India, is a revered Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. According to legend, the temple was founded by the legendary king Indradyumna, who was a devout worshipper of Lord Vishnu.

The story goes that Indradyumna had a dream in which Lord Vishnu appeared to him and told him to build a temple in his honor. Indradyumna immediately set out to find the perfect location for the temple, and after many years of searching, he finally came upon a beautiful and peaceful spot in the forest.

Indradyumna began construction on the temple, and as the work progressed, it is said that Lord Vishnu himself appeared on the site and blessed the work. The temple was completed, and it became a place of great devotion and reverence for Hindus all across the region.

One of the most beautiful and serene place

The Alarnath temple is an alternate place of worship when the Jagannath temple gets closed during the Anavasara period wherein Lord Jagannath is inaccessible to devotees.

After our visit to the Alarnath temple, we decided to visit Puri Beach.

It was a beautiful evening at the beach in Puri. Despite the fact that it is a popular tourist destination, the beach was surprisingly less crowded, which made it the perfect place to relax and enjoy some quality time with my partner. We started by walking along the sandy shore, soaking up the atmosphere and taking in the refreshing ocean breeze. The water was crystal clear and the waves were gentle, making it the perfect place to play with my kid. We spent hours building sandcastles and just enjoying each other’s company.

As the day drew to a close, we sat on the beach and watched the sunset, feeling grateful for the opportunity to spend this time together. It was the perfect way to end a wonderful evening at the beach in Puri.

We decided to try the local delicacies of Puri. They were too delicious.

Baked Rasgullas

After dinner, we returned to our room and started discussing our plans for the next day. We had heard a lot of negative comments about Chilka, including the live extraction of pearls from oysters and the killing of fish in front of visitors. This really saddened us and we decided to skip Chilka and instead spend the next day returning to Bangalore at a more leisurely pace.

Day 9 – 21/04/2022 – Thursday

We woke up leisurely and it took us thirty minutes to pack and load our luggage into the car. Post breakfast, we visited the Loknath Temple and Mata Matha in Puri.

The Loknath Temple is a sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, and it is located just a couple of kilometers from our stay. The temple is surrounded by a beautiful water body and is a peaceful place to spend some time.

After visiting the Loknath Temple, we headed to the Mata Matha. The place is known for its beautiful architecture and is a popular place for kids to visit. This is a beautiful place to see the depictions of Vedic stories in life-sized statues and portraits. One can easily spend an hour here.

Lord Ganesha

Lord Jaganatha

Elephantine Hanuman Statue

Stories on Ramayana: Rama crossing the Ganges

Ramayana: Sita asking for the Deer

Ramayana: The battlefield

Krishna and Sudama

Krishna and Govardhana Giri Hills

Gajendra Moksha Story

Devas and Asuras in search of Amrut

Lord Nataraja

As we left Odisha, it was time for the tougher, tiring return part of the journey. We decided to divide the journey into three parts because we had to cover around 1400 kilometers. The first stop was at Anakapalle, just after Vizag. The drive from Puri to Anakapalle was expected to take 10-12 hours. Unlike the onward travel to Odisha, the return drive is generally difficult, as we were now nearly fatigued and began munching kilometers while reliving the events of the preceding several days. We brought idlis from Puri and decided to eat them on the way.

After passing through the town of Srikakulam, we had a short tea break. We arrived at Anakapalle as the sun was beginning to fade for the day. We made our reservation at Hotel Vijaya Residency over the phone. After supper, we walked to a couple of nearby stores to stock up on loaves of bread, jams, and beverages for the next day’s venture. We called it a night after that and set the alarm for 430 AM the next day.

Hotel Vijaya Residency – Basic rooms with functional AC and Geyser – Abundant Parking

Bull – Taking rest for the day

Day 10 – 22/04/2022 – Friday

The alarm rang. We quickly had a bath, and there wasn’t much to load into the car, just the backpack. It was early morning. Sun was just coming out with a mild drizzle. A perfect environment for the drive.

We began our journey toward Naidupeta. The idea was to travel 600 kilometers and spend the night at the Naidupeta K45 hotel. We did not book rooms because we anticipated the hotel to be pretty vacant.

I began munching miles, with Preethi and my child dozing in the rear. I had nothing but deserted highways and Illayaraja to keep me company. I was on the outskirts of Rajahmundry by the time they awoke. We made a brief pit stop and ate the bread with jam. We bid our farewell to the Godavari, and our original intention was to eat lunch in Vijayawada. But, knowing that I had traveled a lot of distance, I took another little rest at the Garuda Food Court. This was a much-needed reprieve. We had some brunch and then proceeded.

There is nothing sweeter than a cup of bitter coffee

Again, passing Vijayawada town took some time, but as we were far ahead of schedule, it didn’t concern us. After an hour, we arrived at the N5 food plaza (just after crossing Ongole). We stumbled into a nice NARACHEE FAMILY RESTAURANT & CAFE out of the blue. We took a break here for lunch. The meal was delicious. The restrooms were fairly clean.

Preethi then inquired as to how far we were from Bangalore. I estimated it would be easily another 500 kilometers, and I had already driven close to around 450 kilometers for the day. We were expecting to stop for the night in another 200 kilometers. She stated that at your present rate, it appears that you want to return home tonight. That possibility had never occurred to me before. I told her I didn’t believe I could do it since it would be too much.

We quickly freshened up after lunch and got back in the car. I recommended to Preethi that we take a rest in Tirupati instead because we’d be crossing Naidupeta about 4 PM and I’d probably drive some more today. The stretch between Naidupeta and Tirupati is a little complex and two-way, and I thought it to be a straightforward trip from Tirupati to Bangalore the next day. At 530 PM, we passed the Tirupati airport, and the actual sensation of returning home the same night dawned.

So I took a little rest on the way to freshen up. This basically allowed me to think. After some thought, I realized that because I knew the route from Chitoor to Home like the back of my hand from previous drives, it shouldn’t be too dangerous. So I decided to take a chance, and if I became exhausted, we can take a break at any point. We decided to inform our families, and they agreed with our idea. We kept gobbling miles until we were fewer than 200 kilometers from home.

I started counting every 25 kilometers. I was getting weary after driving 750+ kilometers and my speed fell significantly from the high 100s to just over the 80s. Around 9 p.m., we had supper at Aaradhya Grand. The food was damn good, but the remaining 60 or so kilometers looked daunting. My kid was becoming anxious since we had been in the car since 5 a.m. This is when my brothers became concerned, and they kept me company over the phone for the next 20-30 odd kilometers. Once we were down to single digits, I had to be extra cautious and doubled my attention till we arrived at our house. Finally, The Home, Sweet Home !!!!

The final stats for the day

Epilogue

One of the most memorable parts of the journey has been seeing my daughter try new things for the first time. The look of delight and awe in her eyes as she saw new sights and learned new things was simply beautiful.

This trip was also an excellent chance for me and Preethi to learn about new cultures, customs, and ways of life while also spending quality time together.

This trip gave us a lifetime of memories and experiences that we would cherish for the rest of our lives. We’ll remember the trip for the first of our many really long drives together reminiscing about pleasant moments.