BHPian toppor recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Our Trip ExperienceLast year October we took a week off from work and we travelled from Bagdogra to Ranchi to Rourkela to Gopalpur to Puri and back. This is an account of the journey, which had lots of meeting folks, food, visiting new places and of course the travel. We took our trusted steed the Tata Safari Adventure Persona (2021) for this trip. We started at around 3.30 PM on the 11th October after office, since it was a working day for us, we generally prefer early morning drives after a full night’s sleep as that way everyone is fresh and looking forward to the long journey. However I had to attend office on Friday even for half a day else due to the sandwich policy even Saturday and Sunday would get counted as leave. Yes, my office has this policy. Since we started late, our plan was to halt in between and then complete the remaining journey to Ranchi the next day. The roads were good (the usual patchy road between Siliguri and Dalkhola) and we travelled in good pace to reach Hotel Nirmala Heights in Bhagalpur by 7.45 PM for night halt. We had our dinner and slept peacefully to prepare for the next leg of the journey. At Bhagalpur Nirmala Heights Next morning, 12th October, despite all efforts, we could only start from Bhagalpur by 6:45 AM, waking up kids in the morning is a daunting task in itself. We had our first bio and fuel break around 8:15 AM at Banka. We had carried some dry snacks for kids, as we were aware that we would not get good places for breakfast enroute. We stopped for lunch at Hotel Kaveri near Bokaro, the food was good and we were hungry. We stopped for 1 hour as we were close to Ranchi and would reach in another couple of hours. There was a small park with slides and swings, kids had their share of stretching legs. We started by 1:15 PM and reached Ranchi at my uncle’s place in Bariatu by 3 PM. Lunch stop Somewhere near Giridih The route taken: Bhagalpur > Banka > Jasidih > Giridih > Mesra > Bariatu On the 13th October, we started for Rourkela to meet my wife’s Sister’s family. My co-brother works in Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and therefore they stay in the SAIL quarters in the humongous township. Since this is a short journey and we were in no hurry. One of my college friend called us over for lunch at their place in Kantatoli and we happily obliged. Their place was about 6KM from my uncle’s place, so we bid them goodbye and in 15 minutes we reached my friend’s place. We were meeting after 3 years, both of them had prepared a huge spread of Chicken starters, Mutton Curry, Palak Paneer, Papad, Salad and sweet dish to conclude. The food was fantastic and no one clicked any photos and just concentrated on eating. I reckon, we need to click some pics at least for the travelogue here. We started leisurely at 2:30 PM from Kantatoli, Ranchi for Rourkela Township, it takes about 3 -4 hours. At Uncle’s place in Ranchi The route taken: Ranchi > Lodhma > Karra > Torpa > Daraikela > Rourkela Township 14th October was for stay in Rourkela and visit the nearby attractions. First order of things I took the Tata Safari for a much needed wash in a nearby Car Wash, the guys did a good job of foam cleaning for Rs.200, pretty economical. My co-brother went all out in his hospitality, we had a pretty late breakfast of Alu Paratha with homemade mango pickle along with curd. I asked him to show me around the township and we then went on a 2 wheeler to visit a few prominent landmarks like the Ispat indoor stadium, Ispat General Hospital, Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium, the newly built Apollo Hospital, Sacred Heart Cathedral Church and some of their marketplaces. The township is well planned with proper roads, lighting, parks etc. There were no traffic signals, people just moved about without any issues, not that there was no traffic, but everyone gave way and patiently waited for their turn. All in all it was pretty impressive place. By this time our stomach started growling and it was time to head back for the lavish spread that was prepared at home. We had Country Chicken Curry, Prawns Masala, Mutton curry, Chicken liver fry, Fish fry. The desert was Gulab Jamun. Much needed Wash for Tata Safari Motorboat ride at Basanti Sarovar The heavy meal immediately started showing its effects and a power nap was desperately needed. There is something so magical about sleeping in the afternoon which words cannot explain. However, we were informed to be ready quickly so we can step out in the evening to visit a few other places. In the evening my wife’s uncle and aunt who stay in Rourkela were to visit us at my co-brother’s home, so it was going to be another round of heavy eating for dinner. All of us got ready and we started by 5 PM first stop Basanti Sarovar, it is a lake with some play area for kids and a few eateries. Kids were interested in boating and so we went on a motorboat ride and we were royally late as we had to rush back home to meet uncle and aunt. My co-brother was already getting calls from them as to when we will reach. So we did not visit any other place, promising to be back soon and cover the other places. We reached home by 8 PM, had delicious food and the stories and chit chats followed for elders, while the kids were occupied with indoor games. We finally could go to sleep only by midnight. On the way to Gopalpur The ever handsome Tata Safari Resort at Gopalpur Fish at the beach Shack 15th October, we travel from Rourkela to Gopalpur by the Sea. Ideally we wanted to start early, but last night’s activities ensured that we had a late start. Nevertheless, we started by 7 AM and stopped for breakfast at Barkote, the options were limited with either Puri Sabzi or Tea and Bun. By the way, were now fully packed, as my co-brother’s family was also travelling with us in our Tata Safari. So we were 4 adults and 4 kids, we had folded one of the last row seats and all of our luggage’s were stuffed over there. We were able to travel comfortably with this arrangement, again I do not have any pics for this, and I have made a note to myself to make sure I do this more often for better journaling. Anyways, back to the trip, everyone had their fill, we bought some fruits to keep us energized just in case we feel hungry and not get a decent place to eat. We had our fuel break at 9:15 and now the Tata Safari was also full. Lunch break on the way to Gopalpur Beach fun with kids Lighthouse at Gopalpur We stopped at Hotel Samrat at Khordha road for lunch, we had delicious fish and chicken thali, the food was great and we topped it up with ice-cream. We then stopped for bio and fuel break around 3PM at Kalapur in Odisha and reached our hotel Gopalpur luxury Palm Resort by 3.30 PM. Most of the group went straight to bed after a long day’s journey, while wife and I decided to take a walk by the beach and explore good sea food. We were happy we stepped out as the market place was buzzing with all sorts of sea food, lot of people walking, chatting, and playing in the sand. We tried a few different variety of fried fish, like mackerel, crabs and prawns. I could see that there was a lot of Andhra influence in Gopalpur may be due to proximity with the Andhra Pradesh border. Well I will admit, I’m a sucker for Hyderabadi Biryani, and the moment I saw one, I knew what to have for dinner. I called my co-brother and asked what would they like to eat, and all of us agreed on either Chicken or Mutton Biryani. We carried all food and came back to resort had our fills and everyone slept like a baby thereafter. One for the memories 16th October the plan was to explore the beach a bit and then move to Puri for the next destination. So after the not so good complimentary breakfast, all of us stepped out to the beach. The sun was harsh but the kid’s still had their share of fun. Vitamin Sea is all they need to get their spirits uplifted. Puri is about 4 hours from Gopalpur, we had a relaxed time at the beach and started around 11 AM for our hotel in Puri. We had lunch at a nondescript place it was just quick stopover to fill our stomachs as all of us were pretty excited to reach Puri as soon as possible. Sterling Puri Reception Beach fun Sea Food made to Order Cousins We had booked the Sterling Puri and it was amazing. The hotel faade is huge and welcoming, the backside of the hotel opens towards the sea, albeit you need to walk a bit to reach there. Check-in formalities done and the next thing to do was visit the beach and spend quality time there. The beach was crowded, however one good think was a dedicated parking facility, which is very much required at any such touristy place. We parked the Tata Safari and everyone had some fun in the sea waters. As usual a beach visit is never complete without eating sea food at beach shacks. In Puri, the fish is displayed raw and when you order, they start the preparation and serve it to you piping hot. All of us had something or the other, with such huge variety at display, it satisfied the taste buds of young and old equally. So after some well spent time at the beach we came back to the resort, we ordered dinner at the resort and it was lip smacking good. Wife and I spent some time chit chatting and didn’t even realize when I dozed off. View of the beach from the hotel We got up early on the 17th October, we wanted to explore more of the resort before pushing off to visit the Sun Temple at Konark. The kids explored the play area which has see-saw, slides and a few swings. Thereafter a visit to the pool was mandatory, all of us spent about an hour in the pool and then had the splendid spread of breakfast at the Sterling Puri. The food tasted amazing and there was enough seating area for everyone. With breakfast done, we started for Konark at about 11:30 AM, it is about 35 KM from Puri and an hour of scenic marine drive. We reached there by 12.30 PM and realized it will be impossible to walk in the scorching heat without an umbrella. Well, if you have forgotten the umbrella at home, you need not worry, as folks are renting umbrella for I think Rs. 50 a piece. Talk about opportunity in disaster (aapda me avsar). So we started the tour of the temple, we hired a guide to understand the heritage in detail and it was a good decision. We had 4 kids with us and the heat was relentless, we completed the visit in 1 hour and exited the site. We had some snacks in the marketplace outside and bought some cashews. We drove back to Puri and decided to have lunch near the Golden Sea Beach, which is a certified Blue Flag Beach. We had lunch over there and went back to the sea, the kids played to their hearts content. We then moved back to the Marine Drive and some more snacks, sea food, play in the sea waters, horse rides later, came back to the resort. The kids went to the play area, while the elders started chit chatting, this would be the last night of this trip in Puri. At Sun Temple Konark Kids play area at the hotel We started from Puri on the 18th October at 10 AM and since my co-brother had booked a flight to Rourkela, we had to drop them at Bhubaneswar. Then we started our return leg of the journey, we stopped for lunch at Krishna Inn at Balasore. A quick lunch and crossed Kolkata and decided to halt near Simurali at PM Inn which was on the highway. We ordered food, which was okay, the hotel was nothing home to write about but we just had to stay the night and it was pretty late to keep looking for another place. Lunch Pitstop On the 19th October, we started by 7 AM and stopped only for lunch at Hotel Punjab Darbar at Balichuka, and reached home by 4.30 PM. That completed the 9 days trip, we had 1 full day to recover and prepare for our respective schools and offices. Breakfast stop on the way to Bagdogra Tata Safari was absolutely flawless in the entire trip, no issues whatsoever, even when we were loaded to the gill for the Rourkela – Puri trip, none of us felt any discomfort. My wife even tried the last row for quite some time and her feedback was positive. She was able to sit comfortably and did not feel cramped. The ride quality is great and I personally do not mind the hydraulic steering, my first car was a Ford Figo ZXI 2013 and I’m used to the heavy steering. The power is more than sufficient and in the highway you can easily cruise in eco mode to get the maximum Kilometer per litre. All in all after each trip the Tata Safari reinforces that the decision of getting it home was a great one. Thank you for reading, Happy Driving!Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
