Puri
Having had a really good experience in Chennai we
embarked upon having some culture. This we thought we just might get at the
Jagannath temple in Puri. Puri is on the coast and we booked a hotel on the sea
front.
Puri beach. No sun loungers or brollies here!
On arriving things were fine but our first trip in a tuc-tuc to see the
town resulted on being rammed in the side by a stupid taxi driver in a 4 by 4.
The tuc-tuc rocked a bit and seemed undamaged. The 4 by 4 had a very second
hand front bumper. No one was hurt as it was a very slow speed shunt. After
some heated exchanges between the drivers our tuc-tuc was on its way to go
shopping. Unfortunately for us there was little to be had and we returned to
our hotel early. The next day we fared no better. Having got to the temple,
being forced to walk for ages past open sewers and vast numbers of cow pats
still steaming, because the tuc-tuc driver didn’t want to go any nearer, I was not
permitted to enter the Temple as I was not Hindu.
We tried more shopping and again
unsuccessful. A walk along the beach was pleasant enough but it was less tidy
than the average refuse tip. We were woken up early in the morning to be told
that we should have checked out from the hotel 5 minutes ago and would have to
pay a supplement! Our complimentary breakfast was not available until after
7:00 am after checking out! You could not have it if you had checked out! You
may gather we were not impressed! We took a taxi to Bhubaneswar to get our
flight to Delhi leaving plenty of time to visit more temples. Once again I
was not permitted to enter the main one. I was also asked to remove my shoes in the car park too that was well away from the Temple. You do not wear any footwear in a temple anyway, but before you get there! My response was emphatic! We then headed off to a big market and found nothing to
buy. The nearest Enfield shop was 40km away too far to visit in the time available so I have the picture of the one from Trivandrum instead.
Lunch in a nice restaurant and so
early at the airport that I have time to write this and reflect on our visit to
this religious centre. We did visit a Buddhist temple on the way and
surprisingly it was a very uplifting experience. I have now a little time to
reflect on the events of the last few days and I am still trying to reconcile
the respect that people have for their families but none for anyone else and
this is well represented by their driving and lack of courtesy and arrogance. A
society that gives so much to their religion gives so little to their fellow
man. You have generosity in the UK that gives millions to children and with the
cold snap in Delhi a charity drive only managed 30,000 blankets for the poor
from tens of millions of people I think it is around 80 million population in and around Delhi! I have seen
such beautiful workmanship from craftsmen that is seems impossible to believe
that even the simplest task is made impossible by thoughtlessness. Sometimes
there seems to be the idea only to do the job they are told to do and not what
is required. An example would be that your meal would be served but you would not have any plates to eat it from until they were asked for. I now have to do some postings on Trip Advisor. Moving on to nicer
thoughts so far with so much travelling I’ve not had chance to get on a bike
and have some fun since Dibrughar weeks ago. I still have time providing it is
warm enough, Delhi Belly or my persistent cold gets in the way!
Diesel Enfield!
Royal Enfields are fixed in my mind and now having
posted the photos to Ram of the Flying Flea and Greg Staves Enfield I found a
photo I had taken in Cochin of a diesel Enfield that was over 25 years old.
Lucky for us emissions in India have forced production to stop. Mind you 80km
on a litre of fuel is immensely attractive but you will only be doing 40 kph!
That is the speed that most people drive or ride at so getting anywhere is
incredibly slow. The Enfield engine was redesigned in 2008 to have unit gearbox
and conform to USA and European emissions with EFI. In India it is predominantly a
carburretored motor. They produce around 7500 per year with a waiting time of
between 3 to 8 months depending on model. They have made over 3,000,000 bikes
since production started in India in 1955. I did get asked the question by Ram
about what is the most popular bike in the UK and it does come down to
adventure bikes. I asked about the “twin” and there is something in the
pipeline. I do hope they follow the example of Triumph and the Bonneville. It
would be sad if the twin could not compete on performance. More thoughts to
come and more bike shops to visit.
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