We arrive in Puri another incredibly important pilgrimage place for Hindus. The highlight of this place so far has to be the amazing bacon, cheese and tomato toastie I had for lunch. Simply delicious, the best bacon in India! That may be a bit of a harsh comment of this enchanting city though. The afternoon we arrived we went on a cycle rickshaw tour of the old city. It is a weird feeling being driven around in these push bikes with passenger seats; as you feel quite guilty for the amount of work it is for the riders. However the company we did the tour with was called Green Riders who are a company who supports the poorest people in the city and give them a job driving the cycle rickshaws and help them to earn money and get on in life. This makes you feel much better if you are giving them a job and they desperately need this job. During the tour we visit the popular pilgrimage sites and walk around the main city street where 80% of people here are pilgrims. This is where the huge Juggernaut temples are, Juggernaut being the 9th incarnation of the God Vishnu.

Our second day in Puri started with a guided cycle tour through the countryside and small villages. After so many days sitting on the truck not doing anything really it was great to get out and ride a bike, although Indian bikes are certainly not western bikes. There are no gears, its funny I never appreciated how much difference they make, but it wasn't too bad as it was the ride was all on the flat. They also don't seem to value breaks that much, they are more of a slightly slowing aid than actual stopping equipment, a strange idea in a country where the traffic is so manic. On the other hand maybe it helps to explain why there is so much chaos as everyone is just always moving. The ride was great, again seeing the villages that don't really see westerners is always good and as we were cycling through there wasn't lots of photo taking and uncomfortable interactions, it was mainly lots of smiling and waving. In the afternoon we visited the Sun Temple just outside the city, it was a huge temple with beautiful stone carvings. The sun was almost unbearably hot by this time and we were pleased to get an ice cream and retreat to the air conditioned hotel.