(The author is travelling Bhubaneswar to cover the FIH Men's Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament)
A cat-napping cab driver, a rush to the airport and a delayed flight - the Bhubaneswar diaries of yours truly didn't open with an ideal foreword. But I am finally in Oriya land, Odisha.
A far-from-ideal 4-hour sleep followed a series of events that almost turned into an ordeal - prevented in the end by the Bhubaneswar haze that didn't allow the IndiGo aircraft to take off from Delhi.
But what happened before that forced me to raise voice in the quiet of the night, waking my 10-year-old son up, who raised his head, waved at me and pulled the quilt back over his head.
Meanwhile, I was trying to wake up the cab driver who was supposed to report at 4:45 a.m. It was 5:10 and my calls continued to go unanswered. Finally, a desperate attempt to reach the service provider managed to restore order. An alternate cab zoomed me through the airport.
A quick check with my flight-dispatcher friend confirmed the Bhubaneshwar haze and an assurance that the flight will be delayed. That slowed my pace down but in between that phone call, the substitute cab driver didn't bother returning the change or provide me with the bill. Hey, I have to get that reimbursed, you idiot!
The 7 a.m. flight was finally speeding on the runway at 7:50 p.m., and in two hours I was at my 'Final Destination' (not literally, I mean).
From one cab driver to another - let me introduce you to Abhay, my sarathi (chauffeur) to the hotel from the Bhubaneswar airport.
In three sentences, Abhay gave me quick and casual tour of the city. (1) "There are a lot of temples to see here" (of course, Abhay). (2) "The Nandankanan Zoo is worth watching." and (3) "Puri is an hour's drive away but has only beaches to see." (Oh, really!)
And a word of caution.
"Don't roam around after 10:30 p.m. The police will pick you up," Abhay (which means 'no fear') told me in a tone that would scare rather than caution anybody.
"What!!" I almost yelled back at him, firming up my voice to let him know that I am in town as a representative of the media.
"Oh! Then you must carry your Press Card," he stepped back with a quick glace at me and shifted the topic to taxi charges to various places, before giving me his number as he pressed on the brake pedal in front of Ginger Bhubaneswar - my abode for the next six days.
Kalinga Stadium, here I come.
(Do come back to read what the author came across on Day 2)
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