orissa and the east coast

an idea starts to fascinate me...going to orissa.
after learning that yath ratra (car festival) begins on june 19th in puri in orissa i feel that this could be the place to go to for me.
and being on the east coast it's supposed to receive less rain during monsoon.

but...apart from puri, bhubaneswar and konark there is not much info in lp and rough guide about orissa.
thats, where i hope some IMers come into play
has anyone of you been to orissa and has some recommendations for me about places not mentioned in lp and rough guide?
i've read the threads about orissa and found some tips about gopalpur-on-sea and chandipur. thats exactely the info i'm looking for. have a look http://www.indiamike.com/india/showt...=3630#post3630
has anyone had similiar experiences in orissa or further south in andhra pradesh or tamil nadu? doesn't has to be something spectacular.. just some nice places not known to lp
or has anyone been to puri for yath ratra?
or some other tips about the east/south east?
i hope i will find out while traveling...but as i still have 8 days to wait till i can start discovering for myself...it would be the best help
to while away the time reading some of your experiences and recommendations.

ps if you dont want to tell the whole world about a secret gem.. i can understand that...but don't hesitate sending me a pm

let it roll in

martin

freemanx,

The following link may throw some light on the less frequented state of Orissa:
http://www.indiantravelportal.com/orissa/

I was there last December and probably was my best journey in India (hard to say it, and probably not true because last one is always the best ). Apart from Puri, Konarak and Bhubaneswar you must visit the tribal area. In fact I've spent over there most of my time following in some way the steps of the trip Norman Lewis did 15 years ago. The result was his book "A Goddes in the Stones"
The best way to move is with car and driver and you'll also need some permissions. If interested you can have a look in my photo gallery hehe in indiamike and obviously you can email me anytime to jorgereverter@hotmail.com
Jorge

What would (very theoretically..or I should I say beri theoretically, considering that we (bhi) are speaking of orissa) be a cool Idea is if you could do coastal (north) andhra, orissa and thence to madhya pradesh (by road) and then to rajasthan, instead of the traditional konarak-puri-benares (temple route) . but I can see a few problems in orissa - madhya pradesh route (eg: no trains, dacoit country, ...etc)

Orissa is a great tourist route, there's a wildlife sanctuary called Nandan Kanan that has a HUGE collection of white bengal tigers.

I was in Orissa over the December-Jan time frame. Nice places to visit are Bhubaneshwar (lots of temples constructed in the unique Orissa style, Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves are some attractions), Puri (Jagannath temple), Pipli (if you like handicrafts) and Konark Temple. One note about Hindu temples in Orissa (at least the famous ones) - only non-beef eating Hindus are allowed in. If you look Caucasian, neither the Jagannath temple in Puri (Where the rath yathra begins) nor the Lingaraja temple will allow you inside. Maybe the Hare Rama Hare Krishna following Caucasians are allowed in but others are not. Even Indira Gandhi was not allowed into Puri Jagannath temple because she married a Parsee. I believe there are external observation decks from where you can look into the temples. Also, beware the pandas (priests) who are aggressive crooks. The minute they see a non-Orissan, they ask for outrageous amounts of money. Even though my family is from north coastal Andhra which borders Orissa, we were harassed in every single temple. The pandas in Puri are the worst of the lot. Konark Sun temple is really awesome and very much worth a visit. Orissa is extremely hot in summer and when the monsoons start, Orissa is frequently assaulted by severe cyclones. Every year, Orissa loses people, cattle, etc. to storms. Orissa is relatively primitive in facilities for travellers compared to other Indian states. Be prepared to sweat your guts out. Most white tigers in Nandan Kanan died either in the cyclone or a mysterious virus. When we were there in Dec, we saw exactly one tiger. Sad!

Check out my member gallery for photos from Orissa.

nice to know about you. I am staying in orissa , and if i could be of any use to you, dont hesitate toask me . I would share my knowledge and information about the beautiful state of orissa.

thanks a lot everybody,

for your very useful informations and tips! thats great

SHIMLA, thats a great link, lots of info. you seem to be the man for every question, excellent!

Jorge, going to tribal areas sounds challenging! i'll get back to you
if i develop the feeling to be able to visit these people.
your pics of tribal people are outstanding, you've done an excellent
job!

albaruni, ineresting route you are suggesting.

sillylilly, are these storms supposed to affect orissa during the south-west monsoon or more likely during the northeast one?
should i be all right in june/july?

yes, i really have to see if i'm able to cope with the heat and
humidity. if not...well, theres allways HP and kashmir

thanks for puting up your photos, they are great, giving a bit of an impression of the place, i like it.

orissaagent, thanks for the offer. what places would you suggest
me to visit? any chance visiting a NP or wildlife sanctuary after june 15th? or are they all closed during monsoon?

kindest regards

martin

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...how/682830.cms

thanks again SHIMLA,

i wouldn't have thought these storms happen outside of monsoon season.

I dont want to sound neggative. But my oppinion is theres reasons to why the eastcoast of India isnt popular.

Beeing a beach lover myself I was really dissapointed ariving on the beach of Konark for example (huge dead turtles etc really crappy). Konark itself is not all that bad though. And there is a Hari krishna restaurant in Bhubaneshwar that served the one of the most memorial meals I had in India alltogether.
Still If you dont need to see Orissa (there is a nice dance festival and a dance school in Konark by the way) than maybe its not worth it....

You probably allready been there buy now right? If so what did you think then?

I don't know how Freemanx liked Orissa, but I spent almost a month there last winter (in Puri) and loved it as much as ever. I've been going to Puri since the early 70s; it's changed a lot but always wonderful for me.

YOGINI SHRINE

Location : Hirapur, 15-km southeast of Bhubaneswar, Orissa
Significance : One of the four hypaethral temples in India


On the outskirts of Bhubaneswar , 15-km southeast of the city is a small, circular temple, the Yogini Temple, dating to the early ninth century. It is hypaethral (open to the sky), and belongs to a genre of architecture completely apart from the major Orissan School. Although it seems that temples of this type existed throughout India at one time, today only four remain. Two of them are in Orissa; the shrine at Hirapur, and one in the far western reaches of the state, at Ranipur-Jharial.
etc(see link)
http://www.indiantravelportal.com/o...ini-shrine.html

Hi am sanjay from Orissa too,
May I know ur details and interest in Travel industry?

I havent been to Puri. So hows the beach there? Whats the sceen? Is it a hippie hang out or what?

Have a look at Hirapur temple. Most of the people in town works as blacksmiths, making bells for the temples. They also have a very large tank with pretty ghats. Very few tourists go normally there. If you are in the area, worths a detour to spend few hours there.