INDIA – CHHATTISGARH, ODISHA WEST & JHARKHAND

Day 7 Sat Oct 17
CHHATTISGARH  (Raipur, Korba, Jashpur, Bilaspur, Durg, Kanker)

Tentative WHS: Kanger Valley National Park
RAIPUR
Flight. Lucknow to Raipur @08:50-10:10. Indigo. $75.
I took an Uber from the airport to the bridge (600R) and then bargained with the driver to see the three sites in Raipur and drop me off at the train station.
Laxman Jhula. A very large pedestrian bridge across the ? River. It is a cable-stayed bridge with two large towers on each end. Oddly it is closed through the middle of the day. Go figure.
Budha Talab Raipur. This is a large Buddha at the end of a causeway that extends into the middle of the lake. The causeway is lined with big trees and ends at a small circular park. Free
Mahant Ghasides Memorial Museum. An eclectic collection spread over 3 floors. Photographs of several Indu temples, small statues (including the Hear no evil, See no evil and Do no evil monkeys), old knives, large statues mostly of Hindu gods, terracotta, a bad stuffed animal exhibit (birds, leopard, pangolin, bear and deer), archaeology from Stone Age through copper, swords, shields, axes and two ancient muskets, metal sculpture, jewelry, drums and flutes, bark cloth and cloth paintings. 5R

The driver then drove me to Raipur Junction, the main city train station. I could not book a ticket, but from my last experience in India, tickets become available two hours before departure (no longer true). I sat in the Gents lounge which was air conditioned, wrote this post, read my new Time and finished several projects.
Train. Raipur to Rourkela. I had three choices: 16:15, 23:20 and 23:35, all 6-7 hours, and preferred the last two so that I would arrive in the morning.
I eventually bought the only ticket available, a General ticket which meant the worst car packed with Indians, no seat and no where to park your body with difficulty even in standing. I had talked to an Indian policeman in the Gent’s lounge and he suggested boarding the B cars (airconditioned sleeper) and talk to the ticket guy. They had no berths and there was minimal standing room in the space between the cars, so I sat on the corner of a berth (illegal and not nice) and tried to sleep sitting leaning against my packes stacked on top of each other). I may have dozed for an hour. A ticket guy was pissed that I was in these cars and ordered me back to General. I made my way through 4 B cars and the very last berth was free. I laid down and had a reasonable sleep to avoid a disaster of a night.
ON Train to Rourkela

Day 8 Sun Oct 19
ODISSA WEST (Sambalpur, Rourkela)
ROURKELA
There were no NM sites other than the city itself (World City). A Hindu temple was up a huge flight of stairs but I had nowhere to put my pack. I arrived at about 07:30 and wandered out to the street, had a great meal of peas and a pastry, walked down the street (there were mostly closed stores of no interest), sat and read the Economist and then went into the Crossroads Mall, a dump with many closed stores and one restaurant.
Train Rourkela to Ranchi 12:50-15:30. I had been able to get a S ticket to Rourkela. This car has two wide lower berths with seating for 6 or two lying down and 4 sleeping berths. So I sat next to the window and had a lovely ride looking at the Indian countryside, mostly rice terraces and farms with cattle and goats.  

JHARKHAND (Ranchi, Koderma, Godda, Garhwa, Gumla)
RANCHI
I arrived but I could not get a connection on Fonus so hired a tuk tuk, saw the museum and went to the airport. 
Tribal Museum. Has dioramas depicting the traditional livelihoods of the 32 tribes of Jharkhand. Each diorama created by the sculptor Amitava Mukherjee depicts a nuclear family in a rural setup. They highlight the art, music (instruments), tools, and dance in the daily lives of the communities. Each tribe is shown in their traditional occupation, the population of the tribe, languages spoken, native districts, and traditional occupation. 30R

Ranchi Airport. I thought that I had finally found all the things that I had to removed from your luggage and put in the trays (mostly anything to do with charging “all electronics”. But this was extreme. I had to completely empty by big pack to find my Speedy Stitcher Awl which they wanted to confiscate. They had already taken a fork I have gone through 50 immigrations and a hundred airports but also questioned my microplane grater (for removing callus), electronic toothbrush and cigarette USB charger. I didn’t want to lose the awl, so exited security and checked my luggage (for the first time in 2-3 years).
I told the security that this was the most strict security in the world (193 countries and a thousand flights) and they gave me the usual Indian bullshit about how safe India is. I missed the opportunity to give them a note that read: AWARD THE MOST THOROUGH AIRPORT SECURITY IN THE WORLD.
Flight. Ranchi to Kolkata @21:05-22:30. My Fonus was finally able to connect and I got an Uber to hostel.
ON Central City Hostel 600R. On the fourth floor, the dorms are great with good AC. Small kitchen, lounge area and smoking next to a window. The breakfast was white toast with jam and peanut butter and bananas. 

GO TO WEST BENGAL SOUTH (Kolkata)