On my recent road trip to Bihar, Jharkhand & Chattisgarh, the last stop was Raipur & then we were to go back home via Jabalpur, MP. We started early morning from Ranchi to drive down to Raipur. The trip was to end in another 2-3 days. I wanted to make the most of whatever was left. And of course, visit some cool places in Raipur so that I could have something to blog about.

As we checked into our hotel, I asked the receptionist, “What can I see in Raipur?”.

She looked at me as if I had asked for her kidney, and remained silent.

“As in to check out.”, I asked again.

She still didn’t get me.

“Tourist destinations?”, I was losing patience.

“There is nothing here ma’am. Maybe you could go to the park. They have fountains.”

I asked her if she was from Raipur. She was.

She asked me if my mind was at the right place because I have been asking her for tourist spots in Raipur. 😀 Okay. She didn’t say this in as many words, but she sure gave me the look. And I know the look. How? Hey, I am from Delhi NCR. We are the masters in giving condescending looks. She gave me one.

I checked Tripadvisor & blogs online to see if I could go somewhere, spend my evening in some cool place & plan for tomorrow. But I really couldn’t find anything except for the park nearby i.e. Vivekananda Sarovar. After all, they had fountains. 😀 But my legs hurted as hell from climbing 700+ stairs at Hundru waterfalls in Ranchi the previous day. But the show must go on. So, I dragged myself to my hotel room to freshen up so that I could go to the park & a museum nearby. But the hotel room lived up to the standards of a 4 star property. I swear the clean bed sheets called for me. I had dinner, and I slept. Then, I woke up after a while, drank tea & watched Finding Nemo. And before I knew it, I had slept again.

That summed up my day in Raipur.

The next day, I woke up with less pain in my leg & a lot more energy to visit the parks & nearby museums and shopping places.

It’s not as if Chattisgarh is not worth a visit. In fact, it’s got many beautiful attractions such as Chitrakoot Falls, which are also known as Niagra falls of India. It’s on my bucket list actually. Chattisgarh is also famous for Kosa silk, some temples such as Bhoramdeo temples that’s got erotic carvings much like those that are found in Khajuraho which is why Bhoramdeo temples are also called Khajuraho of Chattisgarh.

By the way, Chattisgarh has been home to many famous personalities – Anurag Basu, Harshad Mehta, Lucky Ali, even Swami Vivekananda & more.

I didn’t start on an amazing note with Chhatisgarh. Maybe because I am not a famous person (Can I say – not a famous person yet 🙂 ). I believe that every place seems/ looks/ feels different to different people. Chhatisgarh didn’t open up to me. Neither did it welcome me much. I visited and I left with no special memories. But I promise to visit again. I will plan a trip to Bastar to visit India’s widest falls, the majestic Chitrakoot falls. Maybe then Chhatisgarh will extend its welcome to me.

Until next time!