We woke up early to have breakfast at 7 so we could pick up the motor bike at 8 as agreed at the bike shop. Breakfast was at a place recommended by Lonely Planet for its dosas, and I asked for a non-spicy one while Henri ordered an ordinary dosa. But when I tasted the dosa put in front of me, it was still spicy; and then the cook gave Henri an uttapam. Duh? Then the cook made another dosa, but put raw onions in it and asked Henri for a little extra money for the onions. Duh squared. Then I asked for napkins to wipe my fingers and a kid gave me newspaper. The day began like a big joke.
After a hurried breakfast, we looked for the bike owner but he wasn't there - neither was the guy at the other rental shop. What's up with the bike owners here? The brother of the owner saw Henri and me pacing up and down in front of the shop and he called his lazy brother to come over. We finally got a bike at 9 am, we put fuel in it and drove from Puri to Konark to see the famed Sun Temple.
We took about an hour and a half to get there because the bike is old and it kept dying; restarting took time. On the way to Konark is a protected forest, a wildlife sanctuary, meaning the place was cleaner than most of India. We were surprised to see such clean rivers and streets, and the highway was newly paved. Incredible!
Entrance to the temple is 250 for foreign tourists, but only 10 for Indians, Nepalese, Thais, and a host of other countries I can't remember. Too bad I needed a passport to pretend I'm Thai!
