Christmas 2014 Day 7 of 11, Konark Sun Temple

30-December-2014

The plan for the day was to visit Konark temple. 

11:30 AM We left the hotel, drove on NH-203 and turned left into NH-13 that takes us to Konark.  The road like most road in Odisha that we encountered are good but undivided and two laned making overtaking and dealing with oncoming traffic little difficult.

Konark temple is a classic example of how over the years we have messed up our heritage. The place clearly was a fabulous structure but years of neglect and damage has just meant that the temple keeps of deteriorating.

The carvings on the temple are just magnificent. the picture above is the wheel of the chariot in Konark temple and the picture below is the carving in one of the spokes. Each of the spokes have such intricate carvings. 

There is so much construction going on at the temple and  it seems to have been going on for eternity. 

Because of holidays, the place was super crowded.
3:15 PM Finished with the temple and started back.
There is a Yatrinivas, we decided to go for lunch but were informed that some VIP has booked the place and there is no lunch for us. So we decided to leave back for home. We were also told by friends that there is this place called Pipili where one can get handicrafts items, so we decided to go there before going back to hotel.
5:20PM We reach Pipili and drive through the main streets. The place looks completely closed. We couldn't locate any place that was selling handicrafts. So we head back to hotel.

6:45 PM We reach back to the hotel.