Home away from home

When you hear a place named "Puri" you think of the religious connotations attached to it. No doubt, it is a religious place but there are many more things attached to this place than just the Jagarnath temple.

Puri had become a second home for me, i mean who would not like to sit at the beautiful beaches and just watch the waves crash, or see little children getting immense joy in making sand castles. It has two main beaches, one being the "Swargadawar Beach" and the other one was "Model Beach". Both the beaches were beautiful in their unique way.

The Swargadawar beach is the most visited beach in Puri because the hotels and restaurants are right in front. No matter what time of the day you go, it will always be crowded with people. You can take camel rides or horse rides across the beach. In the evening, across the beach there are fish stalls, many people do not like the aroma of sea food but if you are a sea food lover then the fish stalls are a must try! There are also stalls with egg rolls and "chowmein" as they call it. Huge markets are located near the beach where you can get souvenirs for your dear and near ones. If you want to buy beer or whisky for the night there are many liquor shops located within the market.

Near the Swargadawar beach there is a beautiful light house which gives you the glimpse of the large entity of water lying infront of you. But you need to go there in the afternoon as the light house closes at 5:00 pm. It is a must visit!

The Model beach is a very quiet and serene. Not many people go to that beach as it does not have a lot hotels or restaurants located near it. If you want to get away from the boisterous crowd then this is the beach for you. There is a sweet old aunty who is there till late night serving amazing tea and biscuits. In the morning the beach looks even more appealing to the eyes as you can see the vintage fish boats on the shore with men pulling gigantic nets from the sea which have glistering fishes tangled within them. In the morning when you sit on the beach take precaution as there are many petite crabs crawling around.

Konark Museum is a treat to the eyes if you are interested in historical artificats. You need to take out time to visit this place, but trust me, the beautiful artifacts which have preserved with love and care in the museum is a must see. It is only 30 mins to 1 hour away from Puri. The picture below illustrates the sheer happiness after visiting the beautiful museum.

The Sun Temple, Konark is enriched with history. The detailed work in each and every artifact is still visible even after so many years. Every tourist should visit this place and soak in the beauty it has to offer to each every person. Many parts of the temple are under construction which may add to the hassle for some tourists. Also for photo-shutter bugs, there are many places in the temple which can be the perfect spot for "the perfect picture". There is door before you walk on the aisle leading to the main temple. Through that door you can get a beautiful mugshot with the entire temple in the backdrop.