TOURS from KOLKATA - DIGHA --DAY 3 -- MORE FUN

--(Day 3), 26th December 2010 ... We have to return back to our homes today. But before the day ends we've planned for more fun. This day we woke up at 5:30 and were hip hopping to go early to the sea, to see the sunrise. Two of our group were quite lousy and being lazy bugs didnt venture out. Wooooo !! It was cold outside, more than yesterday, and it was dark too, but six of us braved the cold and went towards the beach. Two of us sat at the (cold) cement benches waiting for the sun to come up.. and two of us found a bamboo machan to sit. It was dark , quite dark with only the moon at one side and a star at the other (most probably it was Venus inthe east). A beautiful, serene night waiting for the sun to rise , amidst the foggy sky. As the sun came up it was a beautiful sight. The red sun rose with all its glamour and the waves crashing on the beach was breathtaking.

The fun began after the sun came up and we tried to hold the sun in our hands... There were horsemen on the beaches who take 20rs for a ride on the horse back. At first we were not comfertable with the idea but after one of us got up, we were boosted up and one after another climbed the horse. It was a funny feeling when the horse was moving , as it was scary too. After climbing off the horse we stayed at the beach for a while longer and decided to return back. We had some coffee to warm our bones as we were nearly chilling now. Up on the pavement it felt better with the sun warming up the air. Going back towards the hotel we had some aloo dum, luchi as breakfast from a roadside shop. The girl in the shop was handicapped, but she was happily rolling out the hot puri from the pan. Her parents were helping her. It is good to find people who dont let their problems handicap them mentally and they keep on going with life with content and smile. I and my friend wanted to buy some stuff and so as the others left back for the hotel, we walked the pavement upto New Digha. Through the way from Old Digha to New Digha the roads are lined with fir trees. Not the himalayan fir but the beach fir which bear small seeds. The trees were lined with some very beautiful birds which are not common to be seen everywhere. Wonder O bird! where do u come from! which far off land u hail from?! After shopping for little tits bits from the market, we hired a tuk tuk gari, only to understand that we were out of money. So as the van reached the hotel, we called up our frend and asked to come down with the money. (Rs 10 for two people). Coming up in the room we attacked one of our sleepy friends with cold hands and he went up screaming. He! He! He! He! At last we were able to spike him up, and he had to get up from the cozy bed. After washing ourselves fresh, we were ready to say goodbye to the hotel. We cleared up our bills and went to see the aquarium as planned. The aquarium is a small establishment with different kinds of fishes from the sea. The fish watching was complete even before half an hour. A trekker was supposed to pick us up from the aquarim, but it did not turn up in time and we had plenty of time till we were waiting. The ground outside the aquarium was vast and again lined with the fir trees and few other trees. We climbed the trees, played around and clicked many more wonderful pictures. The boys played with a ball to while away the time , till the captain of the group got injured. (Old pains) Another trekker was hired and we started our pre-planned journey to Udaipur beach. Ahoy! The Beach! - Udaipur Beach (Sunday Afternoon) - We had left the beach yesterday night with image of a serene silent place, and Woooo what do we find today??? It was full of people and full of local vendors selling DAAB, sea fishes, CRABS and other items. It felt as if all these people had suddenly mushroomed overnight without any warning. Most of the tourists were either local tourists or people like us who has come to spend just the after and would be leaving the same day. There are no hotels around the place. A few are being proposed around the area but it might take some more time to get them started. As because there were no changing rooms nearby, we girls avoided drenching in the sea. The boys as usual again jumped in and started playing with the ball. we had less time in hand as we would be catching the train to take us back home from Digha at 3:35 p.m. By 1:30 we had to call everyone out of the water though no one felt like returning back. It was a lazy December afternoo, a good warm sun, the cool air, people had become fewer by that time and we were lazy. who would want to return back at such a time ?? But we had to.............................. The boys washed themselves up in a Sulabh , a kilometer away and we climbed the trekker to go at the station. The train DIGHA - HWH DURONTO was standing at the station at 3:00p.m, scheduled to depart at 3:35pm. We had to divide ourselves according to reservation 5 ppl in the first coach, 3 ppl in the last coach. We kept our bags and went back to the town to get some lunch packed. We were ravenous after so much excitement. Got some fried rice and chicken packed along with a few egg rolls. Reaching back at the station we saw that Duronto was not on the tracks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .SHIT MAN!!!!! We missed the train..... Now what ???? .. . . . . . . . On another look we were relived to see that Duronto was standing right on its tracks, but got hidden due to another train on the next track. Phew! Saved... and we rushed in the train.

The train started at 3:35 and took us back to our home city ..... we laughed and played even inside the train, sang and danced too . :)

By 7:00 p.m the train reached Howrah.. and here our tour ended and went back home .. Happy ...

TOURS from KOLKATA - DIGHA -(Day 2)-- FUN FUN FUN

-(Day 2)--25th December 2010 -- 5:30 A.M.

The alarm went on and on and we kept silencing it. We were too tired to move out of our cozy warm beds. We called each other at the early morning and postponed watching the sunrise for the day next.

But ultimately I could not sleep anymore and got up by 6:00. Everyone else wanted to sleep, so I got fresh and went up to the roof of the hotel. The roof has good view of the main road as well the road towards the sea. I found that the beach was quite close by, so I hopped into my shoes and went to the beach alone. The early morning sun was very refreshing. I don’t remember after how many years was I looking at the rising SUN, that too at 6:30 A.M.

I went at shore and clicked a few pics of the sea and the sun. The sound of the morning sea ... the cool breeze... people around.. its quite nostalgic. I spent nearly an hour there.I started feeling hungry and so went back to the hotel. All were still in their cozy beds, but it was about time everyone got up.. One by one everyone started to brush up and get fresh.

We had our breakfast in the hotel dining hall. Aloo dum & Puri. The cook was good. By 9:30 - 10:00 we all went towards the sea. We started walking from Old Digha beach towards New Digha Beach. The sea was already swelling and had reached the rocks at rocks at Old Digha.

After few photo sessions, I handed over my things to my friend who preferred walking with her sis and mom on the pavement, and went out with the boys (four of them) in the sea. They walked with me for quite a while, but the sea water was getting into their blood and they started becoming fidgety to jump full into the water.

The water was up to my shins and I was walking quite slow, so the boys got ahead and started jumping in the cold water with a ball. Water splashing all over and getting drenched to their bones. As we were nearing New Digha Beach , there was less of the natural sea and more of the human sea. New Digha was FULL of PEOPLE .Rushing, pushing, gushing to jump into the sea.

After walking a few miles, I moved out on the pavement and in that sea of people everywhere I lost sight of my friend. Ultimately I found them sitting on a bench near a DAAB WALA.

The boys were having a lot of fun in the water, and we were having fun trying to locate them in the sea. And then they were lost!! Two people trying to find the other two. After spending nearly three/ four hours by the sea, the boys ultimately came out, hungry (and they found each other).

We went back to the hotel in an open motor van (tuk tuk gari - named by us), jerking and bumping on the road - but it was fun in the open air. Unfortunately we were all tired and so were not singing. We had a good bath and went for lunch at the canteen. This time it was as dinner - full plate rice, dal, aloo fry, chochori (mixed veg), and prawn and tel koi and again ilish ( Diff ppl, diff preference).

After Lunch, we were not able to move anymore.. Oh No! Not at all .. we were too tired and too heavy to go out anywhere though we did have some programmes. We tried to sleep for half an hour as a Trekker (small jeep) had been booked for 4 P.M, to take us to "TALSARI".

The road towards "TALSARI" was good, and I was quite surprised to find that within a few minutes we were running in the state of ODISA. It is a pleasant place, and in the evening it was looking quite comfertable and cozy place. Though we could not see the sea there, the boats were already shored. When the tide comes in, in the morning the fishermen sail in these boats to get their catches. There were many dead fishes and crabs lying dead on the sand. There was very small river if you can call it a river , where we jumped in to cross and reach the sand hill beyond. Thoug it was getting dark now, we were buzy doing pranks until aunty called us up to leave.

There are not much facilites in the area, but there are small shops around where one can have a good tea and pakoras. And also a "SULABH" is open in one of the corners.

After TALSARI the driver suggested we go to UDAIPUR beach. So we climed back in the trekker and off we went. By the time we reached the beach in the dark night, we were half filled with sand, rising from the back tyres of the vehicle.

UDAIPUR beach at NIGHT -- There is nearly nothing there at night. Just nothing. A few small shanties is all that was there at night. Not even a tubelight. And it was Oh! So Wonderful!

We were not able to see anything - Nothing , It was so silent, except for the sea ........ the sound of the sea seemed to call us from the dark. We could hear the sea and make out how near it was. How silent the night was and how free the air was. We decided immediately that we would come here the next day morning and spend all the time that was left before we leave tomorrow in this silent beach.

We went back happy and spent some time at the Old Digha rocks again and back to the hotel for dinner of Fried rice and Chicken curry. We had been eating since the first day we reached Digha , and we were more than full to eat anything and were trying to push it off in each others plates. But YES!! We managed to eat them all :)

TOURS from KOLKATA - DIGHA

.. Going to Digha in the Winters is one of the experience which will alwyas remain memorable.
Two days trip near the warm winter beach was awesome.
History: Digha Originally known as Beerkul during Warren Hastings time was discovered in the late 18th century by the British. It is mentioned as the "Brighton of the East" in one of Warren Hasting's letters (1780 AD) to his wife.
My Experience :
..(Day 1) ...Started the journey on 24th December - The Christmas Eve. I left home at 6:15A.M in the morning. The cold was bearable, and weather was refreshing. Calcutta in the early mornings looks a very different city , than the regular hustle bustle of the day. Silent with few people on the roads, the janitors sweeping the roads, few buses - its a wonderdul exprerience. Newar the Maidan, the army horses were being trained - unfortunaly the bus was moving and I couldnt click any pictures.

Reached the station nearly by 7:00 A.M. The TRAIN - Guwahati Digha spcl, was supposed to reach the Howrah station by 7:45 A.M, and our group of eight was waiting at the station. We had our breakfast at FOOD Plaza,at the station - Dosas.
The train was Late and so we dilli dallied around trying to know the station better. After a long wait the train reached the station at 1:00 P.M.

So our journey began ... and we were quite excited .. we talked and chatted for a while, it was only a matter of four hours. The train stopped at a staion named Rajgoda ... and again the wait began. It stayed there for nearly more than half n hours, making us late by an hour to reach our destination. Dusk had set in, and we were becoming impatient. Ultimately the traine strated and we reached Digha by 5:30 P.m. It was already dark by then, so there was no opportunity for sight seeing. Digha station is a very small station, with only two lines for trains. We walked outside the station and hired two Van rickshaws for eight people. They charged us Rs 50 each to reach our Hotel at Old Digha.

We reached the hotel and was relieved to find that the rooms were vacant, as it was holiday season and there was a possibility of not finding any rooms. But as it was Friday, we got the rooms, though with a exorbitant price of Rs 750 for each room, as for off-season or weekdays the price goes down to 350Rs.

We went to our respective rooms and got fresh and left to go near the beach. The rocks at OLD DIGHA. The tide was quite high and the water was splasing with its full vigour, crashing on the rocks.
One by one , we all tried to get as near as possible and click pics with the water splashing behind us. It was real fun as we were trying not to get wet, yet be as close. We all shriekd and laughed as the water tried to wet us, and we tried to run away.

Some pics came out real good. There was a fuction going on on the eve of Christmas and suddenly the sky was filled with all sorts of illimination and fire crackers. And then, the MOON rose from the easters sky, as orange as a cheese cake. Though it was not a full moon, it was beautiful.

This is one of my best pictures... I feel so.

We stayed by the sea for nearly 9p.m and went back to the hotel to have dinner and seista.

Dinner was a full plate of rice, aloo fry, dal, gobi sabji and every bengali's favourite - ELISH (Hilsa fish).

We directly went off to sleep after dinner as we wanted to get up early the next day to see the sunrise at the sea.

.......Contd ..................