Today morning didn’t start too well. I had the bike repair work to do before heading out anywhere.
Couldn’t go before 9, cos the markets open then. Went around town searching for a good dealer in spares, as well as a mechanic. Asked around for directions, and received mostly cold responses in general. The traffic cops guided me to main market.
Found the only spares dealer, and he did not have spare mirrors in stock. I took the left mirror and screwed it on to the right side. Thought it would do the job temporarily, but it was pointing outward, and didn’t help much. Gave up on the mirror. Approached a few mechanics to get my drive chain in order, and they all refused to touch the bullet. all of them said I would need to visit the state capital Bhubaneswar and I would find someone there. How frustrating !
Returned to the hotel, checked out, had a little spat with the reception guys who refused to acknowledge my deposit payment made the night before unless I showed them the receipt. They said if I don’t have it (even though they have a record in their books of the payment), I need to file a complaint at the local police station and fill out an application form (and we crib about process bottlenecks at work!!). I somehow fished out that receipt from my over stuffed backpack, got the whole thing sorted out finally and checked out with a bitterness (something I had promised myself to stay away from, at the beginning of this trip) and headed out to Konark sun temple, a UNESCO world heritage site, based on the kalinga architecture – remember your history books ?
The ride to Konark, was an amazing forest and beach combined road.. Filled with untouched marshland and rich thickets. The experience took off of my mind, all the bike worries, and all the frustration I had gone through this morning, and I cruised along at a very comfortable 30-40 kph, enjoying the breeze, the sights, as well as gentle non-stop rain. Cooled me down big time.
Reached Konark, and it far exceeded my expectations (which had gone down low, considering its a historical monument and we aren’t known to maintain those in a good condition). The most breathtaking and well kept 13th century structure, with a very organized guide system. The place was beautiful, and I kept thinking why I didn’t stay here instead of Puri last night. This area of Orissa is nothing like I saw for the last 200 kms.
I guess when you are going through a bad day, the littlest nice things can make a big difference, and the Konark experience was huge ! I’m not a temple or a museum guy and I would rather just drive by (mostly because of what I wrote about maintaining and well-keeping of those structures) but this was very different.
Had to move on to Bhubaneswar, to get my bike fixed, so took a few pictures , and rode onward. Reached there by 3pm, and started looking for a royal Enfield service center. 2 were listed on Google. One, where the address and phone number listed were both non-existant, and the second one which was far away, who refused to speak in English or Hindi, and hung up on me.
Found a local spares dealer, and thankfully my helmet visor was replaced with a new one. 1 out of 3 – check. He also told me where the company service center was. So I reached there, and bought a rear view mirror. Explained to them the chain problem, and they very coldly said sorry – no mechanics have any bandwidth to do this. Talk about bad experiences getting worse.
I approached a mechanic and asked him to install the mirror – which he did. 2 out of 3 – check. Was all set to leave town as is, and go to the 2nd service center out of town and give it a shot. Asked the mechanic to see if he could fix the chain and I would pay him, he agreed, went all out of his way to replace an almost broken link, cut out an extra link, and put it all back together in less than 30 minutes. I was happy, paid him 100 bucks and left.
Hit the highway again, and saw that second service center – a huge building, with a beautiful lounge on 2 floors, showcasing all royal Enfield accessories etc. If only they had been nice to me on the phone, I would be relaxing in that lounge while my bike was getting fixed.
Anyway, my work was done, and I was planning to settle in cuttak tonight – completing only 150 kms or so for today.
The new visor – non-automated, sparkling clean, scratch free – gave the whole riding experience a new dimension.
Was a very short throw from there to Cuttak. Prepared myself for the unknown. But things changed from there. People were very warm, went all out to help when asking for directions, and within 10 minutes of entering cuttak, I was at the hotel. Greeted by smiles from everyone here, who was fascinated seeing my bike was from Bangalore and I rode all the way – it was another positive turn for the day. I was happy, I like Cuttak ! I was shown to my room, given WiFi access, and sent up food via room service. So far so good.
In a little while, the power started going out – every few minutes, for a few minutes. This has been the case since I entered Orissa. That didn’t dampen my spirits much, since I’ve had a bad day and a half. Seen worse.
Freshened up, and set out to search for dinner. The city is a very happy and chirpy place. Everyone is relaxed, the markets are open till late – after 10pm – unlike even Bangalore. Had no trouble finding my way around, since the city has a ring road going right around it. That branches out every km or so to get into the main city. Very logical, and very planned. Traffic on ring road is a breeze, inside the city – not so much, but really maneuverable.
Loaded around a little and came back.
No data connectivity and WiFi is sporadic, so pictures may not come in today either. Sorry !
Edit: pics added
