No room at the Inn

Sunday we left Bhubaneswar headed for Puri, the resort town, where we were told we would see lots of people like us. We decided the best mode of transportation was taxi. That way we could stop at any of the sites along the way and get a great view of the countryside. So at 11:30 our taxi was ready and we were off. Again I have to stress that the countryside is gorgeous. Lush green trees line the roads and mark the fields. Looking out the window it is so green and so pretty. The trees give the full umbrella effect, appearing perfectly sculpted with huge intricate trunks. Our first and what turned out to be only stop was in a small town called Pipili. Several shops lined the road so after confusing our driver when we asked him to stop, we jumped out of the car to take a peek. Really only five or six kiosks filled with embroidered cloth, purses and a few other knickknack. This is where we bought our first souvenir to bring home. All the time we were wondering which was probably less than 15 minutes, our driver stayed close by our side. I think they feel a huge level of responsibility to ensure you are safe, which we were so I am not sure why he was hovering? Jumping back into the car we were off for the final leg of today's journey. Now it is only 75km from Bhubaneswar to Puri but with the road conditions traffic and people walking along the road we never went faster than 60km/hr so it took us about an hour and a half to get there. We had checked hotels out on the Internet and thought that the Puri Beach Hotel seemed nice, was on the beach and had great reviews. However our taxi driver was having trouble finding it. After driving along hotel lane, beside the beach we learn that it is several kilometers away from the tourist area and would require a taxi each day to get to where the action was. Yes it had beachfront and looked very nice but we didn't come here to relax in our hotel. We wanted to people watch, walk along the boardwalk and look in the shops, so we asked the taxi driver to take us back to the main road. The first hotel we found that looked good, because it had balconies and was centrally located along the beach was the Victoria Hotel, but unfortunately there was no room at the Inn. The next was the Puri Hotel, next door, not as fancy but still had a balcony and great view. We have now officially checked into a well situated star 1 hotel. Climbing four flights of stairs to our room, we open the door with an antique key and enter. It could use some paint, and a good cleaning of the washroom but at least it had toilet paper. The bed was clean, it would do for the next couple of days. I am trying to convince myself that as long as I have a clean bed and private access to a washroom that is all I need. In the future we may have to travel on the cheap? I do have to tell you for everything the room lacked they made up for it in service. Our male maid was there to offer us room service every morning, breakfast and tea, ensured our room was cleaned and that we had everything we needed. Planting our bags on the bed, we were off to explore the beach and main road. It was pouring rain as we walked along the boardwalk. When it rains in Puri you get wet but definitely not cold so we continued to walk taking in the sights. On one side the beach, the other rows of kiosks filled with textiles or snacks. Really not a lot of variety. Coming to the end of the boardwalk, maybe 2 or 3kms we turned around and headed back. The rain had stopped and we were quickly drying out. Let's head down to the beach and watch the people jumping in the waves. We found a good spot and sat down to enjoy the waves smashing in and people watch. It was apparent that the beach was full of tourists however we were the ONLY white tourists in town. I started to laugh the first time a group of young men asked if they could have their picture taken with us. We felt like celebrities as people came up to us asking for a picture, children and adults alike stared at us and several individuals wanted to know where we were from.We obliged them all, laughing and smiling as we did. The waves roared into the beach and the men in bathing suits or their underware and the women in their saris (no bikinis here) jumped in and out of the waves. Children built sandcastles. Everyone was having a great time as the tide slowly crept in.The beaches of India have peddlers just like in Mexico, selling jewellery , special stones (yeah right, (still looks like plastic to us), purses, souvenirs and a variety of food. Even in English they understood "no thank you" but were trying their hardest to just take a look. No thank you, no thank you! The worst part though was the skin and bone, mothers carrying tiny children and elderly with canes begging for money. I knew if we gave to one we would quickly be approached by all of them and there were many so I said no and looked away. It was very hard to do!!At one point we were approached by a Krishna monk, who performed a blessing on us and then put a yellow mark on our forehead just between the eyebrows. Of course we gave him a few rupees, as we didn't want to chance badluck by not accepting the blessing. There we sat with a yellow mark on our head that looked like bird droppings, enjoying our surroundings and the people in it. Then all of a sudden the tide was pushing the beach goers back as it swept in and captured a few people's sandals. We are sure a few people went home barefoot that evening. As the tide pushed the crowd back up the beach we decided that after sitting there for over two hours it was time to head back to our hotel. It was getting dark and we still weren't that brave to be walking around exploring after dark. Our room did have TV with a few English channels, just no internet, and we still had lots of books to read. But as typical for us I am sure we were asleep before eight.