Puréed in Puri

With yet another early morning start my afternoon arrival in Puri found me utterly sleep deprived and not at my most alert. Clutching my hotel receipt I accepted the first reasonable rickshaw offer to get me there.
After 9 hours in the train's chilling Air Conditioned compartment, stepping out into the Puri climate was like opening a furnace door. Then the trek to the station entrance was almost a blistering kilometer... Whew!

So my first impressions of the town were somewhat hazey. Thankfully the hotel which lies just on the far edge of the backpacker's quarter is clean and pretty even if it is a little hard to communicate with some of the staff.

Come morning I took my first walk to the beach. Not a palm fringed exotic strip, but rather an expansive wide stretch of hot arid sand more reminiscent of the Sahara with giant pounding waves rolling in from the Bay of Bengal.

After a cold (not so cold really) drink I set out to see the famed Jagannath temple. A massive walled complex with giant towers soaring above the walls. It was busy with devotees flocking through the gate. It was hot and the road traffic loud and chaotic as usual.

The books told of the Raghunandan library, a building opposite from where it was possible to view the proceedings. Reaching it meant walking around a corner, through what was clearly an on going construction / renovation up stairs through dusty doorways until I reach a dingy room with rows of long unopened glass bookcases. "opened in 1921 said the old chap who was keeper of the books and the key to the roof.

After some book signing and inevitable pressure for a donation (I settled for 100)
I was led upwards to an even hotter unshaved roof to view... a less than inspiring sight. Mainly a slightly better view of the towers but not the fascinating insights suggested in the guide books. Still it was the the whole experience that mattered, not just a view.