Orissa Trip Part 3 - Konark

New day, new place. This final day of the trip was for the Sun Temple in Konark. We started off again from our base in Puri, this time heading along the coast on the way. The Puri-Konark trip measured in time units is about 2 hours long. Stopped by at the beach just before the Sun Temple. This is supposed to be one of the more violent beaches and there are restrictions in place for the people. Wonderful view and one of the cleaner beaches I have seen, this is probably due to the fact that human interference has been limited. Next stop was the Sun Temple. A magnificent structure is how you would describe it at first glance. It was love at first sight for me, and the next 2 ½ hours that we spent exploring the place shall be definitely amongst the best ways I have spent my time. Designed in the shape of a giant chariot pulled by horses, the Temple has lost some of its sheen over the years with time taking its toll on parts of it. But none of that can take away from the beauty of the whole magnificent architecture and you just can’t stop marveling at the time and effort that has gone into the making of the Sun Temple. Every part of the temple has been carved with meticulous detail and artistry and each rock probably has a story to tell you. Countless photographs later, we finally had to force ourselves to get pout and head towards the bus. Needless to say, whatever description and praise of the place I try to fit in here will always fail to do justice to the whole thing. It is something that needs to be seen to be believed. And yes, one unique thing about this temple is that there are absolutely no restrictions on what can be carried inside. You are allowed to go in wearing footwear, but then this is not a conventional temple in the sense of the term.
On the way back to Bhubaneshwar, we also had a brief stopover at a Buddhist peace Pagoda in Dhauli. Built on the banks of the Dhauli river, it is again an eye catching structure. One of the many peace Pagodas built by Asoka, these stunning structures are a definite sight for sore eyes. Golden Buddha statues are installed on all sides and they have a white tower shaped structure. This was the last stop on the trip for us before we headed back to Bhubaneshwar station to take the train to Howrah. And get back to good old B-School life at IIM Calcutta.