Diwali in Konark

We took a packed bus to Konark - however, Paul got to sit down as the crowd parted and we were ushered to the back of the bus. Paul comandeered the only available seat on the basis of his 'weak constitution' which menat Sophie had the joy of meeting a man who among many other pearls of wisdom, imparted the information that 'all Indian women treat their husbands as gods' - we think he may be in for a shock when he gets married. He also found it impossible to understand a word paul said and when Paul stopped attempting to communicate declared he was a 'nice, gentle, simple boy' with a look of sympathy for a halfwit.
When we got to Konark it was Diwali and there were candles and incredibly loud firecrackers everywhere. We bought sparkles and Paul was very scared they would take our faces off cos they weren't British licensed.
We then went for dinner and happened to walk into a restaurant where they were having a Kali puja which we were invited to join in. We weren't intending to join in, we only wanted a picture but we ended up throwing flowers at the image of Kali and were encouraged to join in chanting round the fire. After this the people involved were our best friends and one of them repeatedly declared his love for us and all things English including the Raj and was a bit disappointed when we weren't too enthusiastic about it. He also told very detailed horscopes for us - Paul has to watch out for two tall men, one of whom will have light brown skin, and a very short woman who will cause him trouble and will also feel bad until January 15th when all will become better. In contrast to the other man he also claimed all Indian women had extramarital sex. Despite being a bit freaked out by him we went back there every day cos everyone else was really nice. The main highlights in Konark were the temple and the beach and our bike ride through the very peaceful villages at sunset with lovely scenery, cool breezes and a woman going down on a man in his car.....so maybe crazy man was right.........