More Puri

The caves

Seeing as I love being at the ocean, I thought I would split up this blog some so I can share some of my pictures. On the second day we were in Puri, we had to get up early to go to caves that were a couple hours away from Puri. Some of us opted to stay back so they could spend the day on the beach, and I was jealous of them after getting in the bus and finding out that there was no air conditioning and I would have to sweat on the way there. The rest of us packed the bus and made our way to the caves.

On the bus with the Brahmin priest

On the way there a Brahmin priest came on the bus and blessed the Hindu pictures that were on the bus (many Hindu drivers have some kind of shrine or small statue in their car). Then he came to each of us and blessed us with a tikka (bindi) and put camphor on some of our eyes. After he left we drove some more before stopping and making our way over to the caves.

Exploring the caves

The caves turned out to be more like a large rock formation that had outcroppings dug into it. After reading a sign I learned that the structure was thousands of years old and had been excavated so people could visit. After being burnt the previous day and having to sit on a bus with no air conditioning, you can imagine how we all sweated while perusing the caves out in the sun. By the time we were done and back by the bus we all decided to get a nice cold drink and decided to buy some appy fizzes. Let me just say, appy fizz is a delicious drink! Appy is the brand name for the apple juice (might I say that best apple juice I have ever had) and an appy fizz is carbonated apple juice (highly recommend it if you can find it in stores). For many of us, the appy fizz was the best part of being at the caves.

I'm going to miss India

We made our way back to the hotel, ate lunch, and ran for the beach. The waves were a lot more turbulent so it was fun because we didn't have our little lifeguard to watch over us. After awhile Erik came over to us and told us that the hotel had informed him that we had to swim at our own risk because there was a tsunami warning. Most of us didn't care overly much because we were having too much fun but after awhile it started to be quite a workout jumping over the waves and Rachel had seen a sea snake so we eventually came out of the water to dry off. Erik, Kate, and I started roaming the beach for shells and after finding a few, Kate ditched us to see if she could go take a camel ride on the beach. We went inside and after taking a shower, Becca, Brenna, and I walked along the beach and took some pictures. After snacks and dinner we played games late into the night and did impressions of each other. Sucharita sung us a Tagore song and we presented her with a book that we had all written and put a picture in. Puri was a great trip because it was one of the last times we will all be together for awhile and I am so glad to have been on this trip with such great people. Compared to a lot of study abroad trips with all their drama, we all got along and were instant friends. I am definitely going to miss everyone once we leave India, but I am looking forward to being able to hang out together next year at school.

Great friends, great memories...as one journey ends, another begins

Puri

A beautiful sunset in Puri

Unfortunately my time in India is winding down and I thought I would quickly blog about my trip to Puri. Puri is located in the state of Orissa, which is below West Bengal. The area is a popular tourist site because many people go there to see the ocean. We were excited to go swimming and be able to relax before our final paper was due and now I can say that I have been to 3 oceans (technically it was the Bay of Bengal but I think its close enough).

Me on the beach

We started our travels on a night train which left Howrah station in Kolkata and we arrived the next morning. We ate breakfast and immediately headed for the beach so we could swim. The ocean was fantastic although it was slightly annoying when our tour guide and an Indian lifeguard joined us and kept telling us to move back into shallower water. Honestly, we could probably swim better than they can seeing as most Indians cannot swim and we all can because we either live by an ocean, have swam in an ocean, or live in a state with thousands of lakes. Anyway, it was very fun and we were all happy to hang out. I also saw a jellyfish floating about 3 feet away from me and had to yell to Erik and Rachel to watch out or we would have to pee on them (for those of you who don't know, that is what you are supposed to do to someone who has been stung by a jellyfish).

Walking along the beach before our "bodyguard" came to get us

After awhile we went in to eat lunch and then promptly fell asleep for a nice nap. After waking up, some of us decided to go for a walk along the beach and before we could get too far down the beach, the tour guide came to retrive us for snack time. He was quite annoying through the entire trip and we dubbed him the "bodyguard" because he wouldn't let us go anywhere or do anything unless he was along. We came back for snack time and then a group of us went with Sucharita (our program director) to a temple. After sweating our way there (we walked and it is extremely hot in India now) we had to stand outside because only Hindus were allowed inside. Tiffany wanted to see if she would be allowed in so she accompanied Sucharita. Tiff's Asian features could possibly pass as Assamese (North-Eastern Indian state) so she was hoping she was going to get in but the guards were extremely strict and told her that they would call an Assamese priest to check the validity of her claims, so needless to say, Tiff booked it out of the pretty fast. The temple was supposed to be very beautiful and extravagant but they are VERY selective about who they let in. We decided to just head back and after taking a crazy auto ride in which we almost ran into a cow, a dog, and a wall, we made it back to the hotel for dinner and just hung out for the rest of the night seeing as most of us were pretty tired and burnt to a crisp (I am hoping that it will be tan by the time I get back to the States or I really will look like Bob from VeggieTales).

A view of the beach taken from our hotel