29th January - Changing Rooms

Another disturbed night as somebody started dragging furniture across the marble floor outside our room at 1.18 a.m. The sooner we get some overnight train trips and some proper sleep the better. Our train is due out of Bhubaneswar at 7.10 and we get to the station in good time. The platform stalls here all sell disgusting frothy chai out of vending machines which we are boycotting.  Hopefully there will be a proper chai vendor on the train.

We have just found the platform when our train pulls in. It starts here so is empty (not always a given in India). There is only one reserved coach, almost at the front of the train, so there is a march along the the platform to get there. Today is two seats in Second Sitting (2S) which are quite cozy.  We are on the train before most and quickly stow the bags on the overhead rack. The people sitting opposite are twenty seconds behind us and dip out. Their bags have to go in the grime under the seats. A proper chai man arrives so we can breakfast on biscuits and take our tablets. 

This train is an Express which means that it is faster than a Mailor a Passenger but still a bit of a plodder. There are open, barred windows and when we get underway we have to resort to long sleeve cover ups. Our TTE works very hard to keep the unwashed and unreserved out of Coach D1. The task is made more difficult because the reserved coach is indistinguishable from the rest of the train. D gets in some door riding and there is a constant stream of vendors, singing beggars and a solitary hijra. If you don't know Google it. All too soon we are at the last major station before our stop.

Chilka Station is a rather quiet wayside halt with ground level platforms. We manage the descent from the train and use the almost brand new footbridge to cross the tracks. Everybody else just jaywalks across the East Coast main line. Outside the station there are autos. Thank god!  The chap quotes an acceptable fare to the Barkul Panthanivas OTDC hotel, our base for the next three days. The auto deposits us outside some elaborate crowd control barriers which we have to negotiate to get to reception. 

After filling in several forms we are shown to our AC Cottage. We debaggage and settle in for the long term. An exploratory walk seems to be in order. The hotel is next to a harbour on Chilika Lake, a huge brackish lagoon that is the winter home to millions of migrating birds. Last year we stayed at Mangalajodi, an Eco Resort at the northern edge of the lake and had two days of great birding. Barkul is definitely not an Eco resort. The litter is just horrendous even by Indian standards.  There are hordes of day trippers here to catch boats out to Kalijai, a temple island situated a few kms out into the lake. There are also boat trips advertised to Nalbana Island, a large bird sanctuary.  

Despite the throng of humanity there are some interesting birds on view, mainly waders, but also a Brahminy kite which gets into an altercation with some crows. The morning has been very hazy but the temperature starts to rise around lunchtime and we take that as our siesta cue. Having found a way to get photos on the blog D is thwarted by a feeble connection and once again we have to post the latest update in text only. 

Outside there appears to be a party in full swing and any sort of snooze out of the question so we ready ourselves for some more local exploration. Just as we are leaving one of the hotel staff arrives to tell us that we need to change cottages. According to him ours has faulty AC but the only fault we have noticed is that the electric geyser sounds like a moped when switched on. We quickly grab our things and move next door. The new room somehow has a cheerier feel and a reassuringly quiet geyser. 

Resuming our explorations, we head up the road which brought us here. There are a few eateries and several small shops, some of which have large jars of Orange Bites on display. There are also dozens of coaches parked up in a field.  We rather stand out in the crowd and have to answer the 'What country?' question a few times. There are surprisingly few requests for one photo. Perhaps our looks are fading. We decide to enquire about boat trips to Nalbana Island, a bird sanctuary out on the lake. Our plan is to go tomorrow morning begore the day gets too hot. At the Tourist Department Information kiosk a young man with reasonable English tells us that there is one boat tomorrow at 7.30 a.m. That will do nicely.

On the harbour waterfront there is a rather smart enclosure with a restaurant,  playground equipment,  a wooden outhouse labelled Shopping Arcade and some kind of elevated structure with no obvious purpose. A sign over the entrance suggests that this is another Orissa Tourist Development Corporation venture. We are ready for a cup of tea and decide to try the restaurant.  A man in uniform seated at the entrance apparently decides who is worthy of admission and quite a few aspirants are turned away with a dismissive flick of the wrist. But not us. He even stands up. The restaurant is welcoming and has AC. They regret that they cannot supply black tea, only chai which we order. It is disgusting vending machine hot, sweet, frothy liquid that needs to be called something other than chai. We ask to see a menu and enquire about opening times. They are closed for a function tonight but open until 8 p.m normally. We have the option of the hotel restaurant for tonight.

As it gets dark we shower and dress for dinner, heading to the restaurant at 6.30.  'Opens at 8' we are told. We seek out a bottle of Club Soda for medicinal purposes and retire to fester in our room. There is a knock at the door and one of the hotel staff is there. Perhaps the restaurant is opening earlier, perhaps it is time to change rooms again. Neither of these. He is here to ask if we want any beer. How kind. One is ordered, just to show willing. At eight prompt we hit the restaurant.  Much to R's disgust the India v England T20 cricket is on the TV. We are the only punters and are invited to order from a wall board headed 'Lunch Menu'.   Our vegetarian choices are once again very enjoyable and filling at a total cost of less than £2 each. Back at the room D tries to follow the cricket on his phone but falls asleep.