Day One: We Drive Along

Puri Beach At Sunset

On NH60

Near Puri Level Crossing

We started very early and had to drive keeping the headlights on for the first half an hour - so thick was the fog. The early morning traffic, ever so sparse, boosted the progress and we touched down NH117(Kona Expressway) in almost no time.The interiors of the car was pretty warm with the running air conditioning and the thick jacket that I was wearing made life difficult.So, had to stop mid way, somewhere on the Kona Expressway, to get a lighter jacket from the boot.It was then, after getting out from the car that I got a taste of the early morning chilly air. The air was thick, misty and tremendously foggy - making it very difficult to see the vehicle in front. From there onto Kolaghat Sher-e-Punjab dhaba was achieved in an hour.We swooped down for some real hot Aloo ke Paranthe and Tea.The almost empty dhaba was a rare sight for me and we usually have to wait in queues to get a seat - guess we have beaten the morning rush atleast this time. 

From Kolaghat we headed straight and aimed for Kharagpur Exit. I was warned by many not to take the flyover that most vehicles take on the Kharagpur exit, instead stick to the road further and head straight. The flyover should come exactly 55kms from Kolaghat and around 127kms from Kolkata - DO NOT TAKE THE FLYOVER.After heading straight for around 0.5 km the NH60 board will come up - this should confirm that you are on the right track.The NH60 is quite an empty stretch and we sped up and touched almost a ton for most part until the trip meter indicated 200 kms and we found an Indian Oil petrol pump on the left side of the road. We refuelled the Red Panda and asked the guy how to escape the Jaleswar truck jam on NH60 and pass through Jaleswar town.After I got a hang of things, we proceeded further and stuck to the extreme left. A "DILKHUSH RESTAURANT" comes up on the left side of the road, almost hidden amidst the queues of trucks with another Indian Oil petrol pump on the opposite side. Cross the restaurant and continue on the left and go down the extremely potholed left flank and take the right turn under the bridge. Beware, any cars with a low CG can get scraped at the bottom while going down the flank.This is the way through Jaleswar town. From there on proceed through the town and ask the locals for Satsang Vihar, which is quite a famous landmark in the town.
Note - NH60 is a concrete road.

After Jaleswar, it was mostly deserted highways and we crunched up the distances fast for a tea break at Balasore. The NH60 shuts shop at Balasore and from thereon its the Chennai road,NH5 and we felt like we were back on tarmac.We drove rapidly and covered the distances fast enough for another break at Panikhoili. Mind you - toll collection centers are pretty frequent on this road and we ended up paying Rs 260 as toll tax.But when the roads are decent, it is not a worth.We moved past the Chenna Pora(a type of sweet) shops on the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar road and broke for lunch at BBSR for a plain vegeterian thali.

Lunch done, it was time to move on yet again and we headed to Puri and reached at 5 in the evening. The Puri-BBSR road is in a state of being widened and there are several sections which are closed, which results in lower speeds. The total distance of 62 kms was covered in 1.5 hrs.

After refreshing up, we snacked at the Open air restaurant with Dosas,Egg-Chicken Roll and tea and later strolled on the beach for a couple of hours.There are vendors who rent chairs at Rs 10 per hour(quite cheap) and you can watch the sea and its waves lash across the shore.We returned back pretty early because the tiredness of the journey was telling on the body.Had a nice dinner, again at the Open Air restaurant and went on to sleep.

That completes the first day, a mix of drive and sea shore!