Leg 149, Visakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal, India to Sylhet, Bangladesh
DAY01_18.PLN (10.1 KB)
Before heading back to the Himalays I followed the coast to Bangladesh. The river deltas don’t look so great in game, but still plenty to see in Bangladesh.
01-17 Vishakhapatnam VOVZ 6:26 PM
01-17 Jeypore VEJP 6:52 PM Virtual vision landing
01-17 Vedanta Lanjigarh Airstrip VABH 7:19 PM Virtual vision landing
01-17 Gopalpur VAGP 7:51 PM Konark Sun Temple on the coast 19°53’15"N 86°05"41"E
01-17 Bhubaneshwar VEBS 8:30 PM
01-17 Cuttack VE62 Netaji Birth place 8:40 PM
01-17 Jaipur (Sukinda) Airstrip VADA 8:53 PM Steel plants, Chromite reserves
01-17 Keonjhar VEKJ 9:11 PM
01-17 Barbil Aerodrome VAKI 9:23 PM Iron ore Manganese deposits
01-17 Noamundi VANO 9:31 PM Iron and steel industry
01-17 Chakulia VECK 9:56 PM
01-17 Kalaikunda VEDX 10:08 PM
01-17 Behala (Kolkata) VEBA 10:30 PM
01-17 Nataji Subhash Chandra Bose International VECC 10:44 PM
01-17 Barrackpore VE31 10:48 PM
01-17 Jessore VGJR 11:07 PM
01-17 Phultala VGPH 11:25 PM
01-17 Nalchiti VGNA 11:44 PM
01-18 Shah Amanat Intl VGEG 12:17 AM
01-18 Comilla VGCM 12:48 AM
01-18 Tejgaon VGTJ 1:12 AM
01-18 Zia Intl VGHS 1:22 AM
01-18 Agartala VEAT 1:41 AM
01-18 Khowai VEKW 1:55 AM
01-18 Kamalpur VEKM 2:01 AM
01-18 Kailashahar VEKR 2:11 AM
01-18 Shamshernagar VGSH 2:17 AM
01-18 Osmany Intl VGSY 2:41 AM
Flight time 8:15 27 stops
Jeypore before dawn, established by King Veer Vikrama Dev in 1648-49 CE
Vedanta Lanjigarh Airstrip
Sunrise over Aleswar beach, Bay of Bengal
Konark Sun Temple
13th-century Hindu place of worship depicting the vast chariot of sun god, Surya
Bhubaneshwar, ancient city in India’s eastern state of Odisha, formerly Orissa
Home to many temples built from sandstone dotted around Bindu Sagar Lake in the old city
Left: Rajarani Temple, 11th century Hindu temple possibly dedicated to Vishnu
Middle: Brahmeswara Temple, 9th century Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva
Right: Lingaraja Temple, 6th century Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva
Udaygiri and Khandagiri caves, formerly called Kattaka Caves or Cuttack caves, 1st century BC
ANd Mukteswara Temple, 10th century Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva on the right
Jaipur Airstrip at Sekinda, iron ore mining (vast Chromite reserves)
Sukinda Tata Steel. 97% of India’s proven Chromite reserves are found in the Sukinda valley.
Sukinda is also in the top 10 most polluted places on Earth
Thick forests near Nola
Patahara Waterfall somewhere down there
Barbil Aerodrome, more iron ore and Manganese deposits
Naomundi, small mining town located close to the Odisha border
Sonudor
Kolkata formerly known as Calcutta, the capital of India’s West Bengal state
Founded as an East India Company trading post, it was India’s capital under the British Raj from 1773 to 1911
Eden gardens, 66,000-capacity cricket ground, on the banks of the Hooghly river
Howraw Bridge, 1943 cantilever road bridge, not quite the way it’s supposed to look
First time I’ve seen a boat moving on a river, going under the bridge no less
I followed him for a bit, so far so good
Mayday mayday, sadly sunk in a magic river hump
Much to see in Kolkata, 20th century Victoria Memorial and 18th century Fort William (middle)
Fort William is known for its black hole prison
The Mother House Of the Missionaries Of Charity containing Mother Teresa’s tomb
Mother Teresa (1910-1997) aka Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. In 1948, Teresa founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, now active in 133 countries.
Ramakrishna Mission Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral House and Cultural Centre
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century.
Belur Math on the left, dedicated to spiritual guru Sri Ramakrishna.
Dakshineswar Kali Temple on the right, 19th century temple with shrines to Krishna and Vishnu.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886) was an Indian Hindu mystic, saint, and religious leader know for such quotes as:
The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail.
When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited.
The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth.
Jessore, major city in Jashore District located in the south-western region of Bangladesh
Patuakhali on the southern bank of Laukathi river
I wondered what those red areas were on the map, SSBM corporation, brick factory
Chattogram, large port city on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh and Kamaphuli river
Flying along the Sandwip Channel
Meghna bridge over the Meghna river
It was built with the assistance of Japan and officially named Japan Bangladesh Friendship Bridge 1
Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh beside the Buriganga River
Zia International Airport serving Dhaka
Dhaka fast growing city, Sadarghat bustling river port on the right
Lalbagh Fort from the 17th century with the tomb of Pari Bibi
Pari Bibi (1650s-1678) was a Mughal Princess and the daughter of Shaista Khan. When Pari Bibi died a premature death, Shaista Khan viewed the fort as inauspicious and stopped construction. He built the tomb of his daughter within the compound of the fort.
Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975) Memorial Museum
I have no idea what the significance of the pay phone is, perhaps the site of his assassination on August 15th 1975 during a military coup.
Some images from Bangladesh National Museum
The Meghna river near Santipur. The red seems to be some kind of cover on farm ground
Argartala, India with the white Ujjayanta Palace, built in 1901 in the center
Khowai river
Khowai Airport in the Indian state of Tripura
Sylhet, city in eastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River
Keana bridge, iron & steel bridge built in 1936
Ali Amjad’s Clock, oldest clock tower in Bangladesh, Keana bridge and Shahi Eidgah
Hazrat Shahjalal Mazar Sharif, tomb of the greatest saint of Bengal
Shah Jalal (1271-1346) a celebrated Sufi Muslim figure in Bengal, often associated with the conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region.
To the Himalayas next via Bhutan.