Jan. 21 : Bhubaneswar, India

Saturday, January 21 :: Bhubaneswar, India :: 0km today / 2679km total

A relaxing day being driven around a few tourist sites. All of the other tourists on the bus were Indians, which is not surprising... at least 95% of tourists in India are Indians (not including package-tourism Goa). There was a refreshing gender mix among the tourists, quite a change from the everyday male-dominated streets of India. I had great conversations with many of the passengers, as they were able to speak good English. Among other things, it was interesting to discuss the fact that many high offices in India (including the 2 highest) are occupied by non-Hindus... even though India is a democracy and Hindus are 82% of the Indian population. One Hindu man I was talking to greatly emphasized that most people look past religion here, and he was happy to have a Sikh and Muslim in such high office, because he greatly respected their individual integrity and honesty. On another note I was greatly shamed to hear of another tourist who had been to Nova Scotia and had plenty of racial slurs thrown his way by the locals, and I winced when I heard the "P" word... I tried to explain that not all parts of Canada, or Canadians, are as racist or ignorant, trying to cite examples of Indian friends in Toronto who have lived many years in Canada with little to no discrimination... but what can you do when the man is standing there in front of you, with that look in his eyes, there is no excuse possible.

The Sun Temple of Konark reminded me of Angkor Wat, but much, much smaller. It's one of the temples in India thats famous for, among other things, kama sutra carvings. I wasn't allowed into the Jagannarth temple in Puri, not being a Hindu. I was completely fine with that, I feel that religious sites are not necessarily "public property" and can make their own rules about who they allow in or exclude, but several of my fellow tourists apologized for the backwardness of the temple rules and were, in turn, shamed by my exclusion. Just another example of the great diversity of thought and attitude among the Indian population.

Back in Bhubaneswar (after a 2-hour mechanical breakdown) I returned to a great restaurant that I had found, and had my 3rd mixed tandoori platter there. Yes, we're talking chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, tandoori prawn, and tandoori paneer (cheese). Add some naan bread and a Kingfisher, and you have one fantastic meal for $5CDN. In India things can go from bad to awesome to crappy to fantastic in a heartbeat, so when I find something good, I stick with it! I tried to get bus ticket out of here tomorrow, but somehow ended up with a promised train ticket tomorrow instead, from a small shop, even though I've been led to believe that all trains out of here are booked for a week... it all seems a bit shady and I might be out my 100 rupee deposit if the man doesn't show up tomorrow. Then again, if he doesn't show up his shop will be missing a few windows, so we'll be even.