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-   -   a small drive through Orissa (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/76857-small-drive-through-orissa.html)

hi all. well with the guidance and assistance of one very nice ADP i drove my(sudipto s team's ) bullet down from mandarmoni to bhubaneswar. from digha there is a decent road which leads to the NH5 and then a nice ride, excluding the deviations.
from bhub,i spent a few days making day trips to konark, puri and the marine drive. konark is really special. of course being a foreigner i was not allowed into the temple of puri but it looked nice from the top of the private library across the street. but you can only see the very tops of the temples from there.
from bhub i went up to sambalpur on the nh42. the road was pretty good but for the monstruous speed breakers. i call them bike breakers. light traffic made for a relaxing ride. got hit with a killer thunderstorm that night and then learned that a non indian must pay 1000 rupees to enter the park at debrighar. ouch! i dont mean to sound cheap but that kills my budget!!
i then travelled south on the nh6 to baragarh and took the nh201 which in a few small parts is nice but is mostly very rough dirt and rocks under construction. the bike took a lot of abuse on that run. made it to bhanipatna that night and then left for jeypore down the same road and more of the same abuse for much of the way.
i was kind of in a hurry as anirban had told me the market to see the bonda people was on thursday and not friday as i had thought. as usual he was right, and the next morning i was in that market in onakadelli.
the ride out to the market town in the early morning was particularly scenic with the morning mist not yet gone and very little traffic on the road. you go out of jeypore for 15 kms then split off left for another 45 kms or so to get to the town. some nice hills and some tight switchbacks in them made for a very nice ride.
i arrived in the town and the market was in full swing by 8:30 am. i was the only tourist there as the group tours with their guides were up in hills to watch the bonda walk down to the town.
really interesting to see the native clothing of the women. not many men make the trip to the market. i sat in a small market where the women bring down oilseed, chiklet(for chewing gum) and other hill products, placed on a scale and traded for cash or salt. there seemed to be a good trusting relationship with the guy in the town doing the business with the bonda people. a really nice experience that was.
there were probably about a dozen foreign tourists there and i think that the bonda women are so used to us so they have no reserve in tugging at your shirt and pointing to biscuits and other products in the shops and hoping you will buy it all for them. when i was leaving and putting back on my riding gear i was surrounded by a few of the women. one tried to grab my gloves, one my water bottle and the other my head scarf. they were all smiling but hey, those are my necessaries ladies! lol
overall, i know it was just a short shot at orissa, but i found the people to be exceptionally friendly everywhere i went. they couldnt do enough for you when you needed or asked for something. big bright smiles on their faces and some strange looks at the leather-clad alien on the big thumper with the big biscuit boxes on the sides!
i will add some photos when i find a inet cafe with a functioning usb slot!
coming soon.
now in hyderabad and boy is it hot!
later

well. i must say i am not happy with the quality of my shots. maybe my canon A620 is worn out or i am just getting worse in this skill.
they all seem overexposed. even though i am using the program mode.
any tips would be appreciated.
1 temple tops at puri
2 marine drive
3 shady pit stop
4 just out of jeypore around 7:30am
5 countryside goiing up to the village market
6+7 Bonda ladies
8 selling their wares
9 trading for salt

makes one realize how things are. toiling in the heat all week to get oilseed and such and trade it all for salt.

As usual, exploring the unknown and least-visited of India! That was an interesting read, mitchontheroad.

Where next?

Wishing you many many miles on the road. Looking forward to more pics,

Imran

thanks imran. where should i dine tomorrow? lol
hv, heading south towards chennai and then konyakumari then work my way up the western ghats and a large circle back to kolkata. something you would knock out in a few days, no doubt!
hoping to spend a month or so in uttaranachal for its beauty.

Hey Mitch, you made me nostalgic. Yes i belong to orissa and been a while to orissa.
BTW where is your bullet picture?
Did you get any chance to meet Upper Bonda tribe.
Keep touring, keep us posted.
TFS.

Always a pleasure reading your travelogues. And I'm sure you know the meaning of the term "Achenar anando". (If not, ask Sudipto to explain)

Could you give more details of the digha - NH5 road. Jaleswar is on NH60, and you have to cross the Subarnareka somewhere.

Around 8 years back, did the same circuit, but in opposite direction. The tribals there (not the Bonda) are friendly, but volatile. Had an encounter with a drunk wedding party, which passed of OK, but could have turned very ugly.

And when I reached Angul (used to go to Angul and Talcher quite often then), was told I was an idiot.

Interesting to hear that NH201 remains what it was. Does anyone remember its SH number? And are there petrol pumps now. Near the population
centres, you could get petrol from Pepsi bottles. Practice still continues?

Take care.
Safe journey.

Sutripta

Beautiful; The word Orissa always scares me of bad roads; but I'm willing to make an exception on this one :)
Pics 1,2,4 & 5 are the ones mesmerizing me; Keep them coming

Nice one. Your logs are always interesting to read in the novelty of places you visit, and the roads from a rider's perspective.

Is Bangalore part of your itinerary?

thanks mitch. awesome travelogue and great narration. nice pics as well.

Great going Mitch, good to see that you have uploaded some pics.


Absolutely thats a ride to remember - we did it twice for the Gupteshwar and again for the Bonda tribes and Machkund trolley.

well, i only saw those bonda women at this time. maybe on another trip i can see more different peoples.
no bullet pix. i figue everybody knows what a bullet looks like!
will pop one in at a later date. had to have the cafe guy transfer the photos chosen from my pc to his main one. my pc didnt have a photo editing program. so, its not easy.
digha nh5 road is simple. for just a tiny bit leaving digha it is really horrible but then its just a country lane type of road winding its way to the highway. nothing special or interesting really.
i've been to more than a few drunken wedding parties!
there are petrol pumps on the 201. sure in the larger towns. but also on the roadside from bottles.
adc, sorry for the adp!!! my fingers have no control after holding onto the bike all day!!
thank you again for all your help.
now in kurnool, andra pradesh and heading south. 37 degrees now. like driving in a tandoori!
later

It's really nice to see your pics on team-bhp Mitch. Congrats for working it out at last. Those Bonda tribe pictures are really nice. I hope you took all the pictures of Konarak that are worth taking ;-)
Please give us some more dope on the eating joints of Hyderabad. I am told you had a wonderful time checking them out with Imran?
Take care.

Hi,
My comments in bold.
Drive safe. Hydrate.

Regards
Sutripta

seems like dust on the sensor. Do you have the clean sensor option or something on your canon?