“As you can see, the sea level has risen; the coconut trees are swaying dangerously. We are getting reports (verified or unverified, only God knows) from various sources (who are the sources?) that the road connection to Gopalpur is snapped. Huge areas are deluded by the landfall due to Titli”. Barked the ABP Ananda reporter. Frustrated, I switched off the TV. Only 3 days were left for our road trip to Gopalpur and the storm everyone named as “Titli” was creating havoc everyone; and risking our plans to visit Gopalpur on Sea.
Gopalpur on Sea – The journey
“Durga Durga” my wife made a small prayer, before we started our journey to Gopalpur on Sea.
The last 3 days had been full of hectic phone calls to friends, relatives, and hotels in Odisha to know about the ground realities. Bengali news channels are notoriously famous for over-dramatization of events, so their reporting should be taken with a pinch of salt.
After a brief snack at Express Food Plaza, Kolaghat; I took over the wheels of Ford from Arka. We crossed Bengal (or Banga as Didi has rechristened it now) at 10:00 am; and the car picked up steam in the empty highways of Odisha. One marked difference in Odisha was the absence of Civic volunteer (holud bahini or the yellow brigade, as I call them due to their yellow uniform) and CCTV cameras. Also, we found no roads to be blocked or flooded as we inched towards Gopalpur.
We had a brief stop at Mangalajodi. Although it was not a “migratory bird season”, we could see a few species of the winged creatures (Priya, Arka’s wife helped us in the identification) and a few migratory human beings (foreigners!).
We reached Gopalpur at 6:30 pm. The last leg of the journey was through the Eastern Ghats Mountains with the Chilka Lake by the side–the whole scene being more mystic in the dusk of the setting sun.
The Disappointment
Gopalpur disappointed us a bit (a better expression would be – it didn’t meet our expectations). Yes, there was a sea, a small yellow sand beach, the waters of the sea touching the base of the hotel in high tide, a balcony to appreciate the sea and count the tides; but the spark was missing. Maybe the hectic life we lead has made the body crave for continuous adrenaline burst.
Eat, watch movies and sleep; that’s what we did all 3days. And believe me, we loved it very much; so much that we were a bit disappointed when we bid adieu to Gopalpur on Sea.
Conclusion
- Gopalpur on sea can be reached by car or by train to Behrampur
- Stay at Sea Pearl Hotel (good location, value for money but bad service); or Mayfair Hotel (if you have excess money to throw away)
- Do – Nothing.
- Season – Visit in winter (summers can be very hot, and A/C may not work)
If you have any questions on visiting Gopalpur, please feel free to ask in the comments section below; or at our Community Forum and I will be glad to answer. In short, it is a good place to visit if you want to get away from your regular life for a few days and spend some time in peace. Do not however go expecting something too great.
