Black Pagoda

It’s hard to believe that this is day 9 of 14 of the Rickshaw Run!!

Our end spot yesterday was a bit off track because we ended up deciding to visit the Konark Sun Temple this morning. I believe it’s the first UNESCO World Heritage site that we’ve ever visited! It was a very hot, crowded place, but once again we lucked out with a wonderful legit guide who saw us in the crowd and offered to guide us through.

This Hindu temple was built in the 12th century, and the largest structure was actually later demolished by Muslims. All of the stone (guide said sedimentary stone) surfaces are intricately carved. There are 24 wheels, each with 8 spokes, and our guide explained that represents how the day is divided into 8 3-hour sections. at least in some of the wheels. He also showed us how you can tell time by where the shadow of the central stone hits in the circle.

We felt badly that we were constantly saying “No” to people asking for photos/selfies with is, but we were afraid if we said yes to one person, we’d be there ALL day, and the guide confirmed that.

Last night we stayed at a resort with lovely gardens that I found ahead on Expedia. The first two times we reserved hotel rooms via Expedia it worked like a charm. This time not so much. I reserved a “Deluxe Cottage with garden view” that was $84 - the most we’ve spent on lodging. But they put us in a 4th floor room that had seen better days, and said that the “garden view” was looking down out of the window. Luckily Eric had the patience to keep pushing, and they moved us to a lovely garden cottage. It really is amazing how well we can get along even with a massive language barrier.

Now we are heading to stay tonight at the coast near Balasore, our last time on the coast before we head inland.Read more