Bhubaneswar - the place your travelling dreams go to die

After leaving lovely Kolkata, which was lively, friendly and attractive, Bhubaneswar came as something of a contrast. The only hotel with a room free was at the top of ten flights of stairs, stank mysteriously of engine oil, and involved clambering over a number of random people sleeping outside the room. After absorbing the atmosphere for about ten minutes, we decided to head out in search of entertainment and food. We headed to a restaurant recommended by our guidebook - signs were ominous when they reacted with shock when we asked for food and then ushered us into a room with a single table and chairs and a water coolling noise that constantly emitted a moblie phone-ringtone like jingle. After discovering that most things on the menu were not available, we headed to the Plaza which bore the legend 'a/c bar and restaurant'. What it should have said was 'dark, seedy hellhole with a stench of death (which on closer examination was the toilet) inhabited by the drunks of Bhubaneswar, quietly drooling in corners and trying to forget they live here. Don't come in if you have trouble seeing as we have only one lightbulb and no windows so only one table and the mouldering, spidersweb encrusted Diwali (?) decorations are illuminated.' But they probably couldn't fit that on the window. After a very small meal, we retired to the engine oil paradise with a solitary Kingfisher (our first beer in about a month - can't think why we chose Bhubaneswar to have it) and watched an American sitcom called Hope and Faith which ironically destroyed whatever hope and faith we had left.

To be fair in the morning it was an almost alright place (Bhubaneswar not the Plaza) with some cool temples and a great restaurant and we are now in Konark which is absolutely stunning but we have now run out of time to say anything nice but hey bitching is so much more fun!

Love Paul and Sophie