Tuesday 12th February - The Coupe King Rides Again

Today marks the halfway point of this year's trip. We sleep well on our concrete bed and report as directed at 06.30 for an auto trip down to the landing stage. This trip is about 3km and is mainly along a raised causeway between the wetlands. There is so much to see just from here that we decide to come back after breakfast and walk it. We have the same team as yesterday and no time is wasted in getting out on the water. There are some different species to see including crakes and snipe. The low level sun throws up some interesting photo opportunities.

We take a different route and hardly see another boat for the next two hours. It would be peaceful if it were not for the music blaring from the temple in the village. It has been going since at least 5a.m. and some of it sounds like Jim Reeves' greatest hits sung in Odia, the local language. There is also the incessant blare of locomotive hooters on the East Coast Main line. We see lots of breakfasting birds and are treated to a close up of a pied kingfisher hovering, then diving into the water right beside the boat.

On the way back to the landing stage Subash finds us a yellow bittern as well as a different crake that refuses to come out of the reeds to be photographed.

As we arrive back at the lodge a smart looking bus pulls up and a group of well dressed elderly types ( yes, even older than us) get off. They are French and this is a T&P stop for them before they go for a boat trip. They have a tall young man who speaks French as a guide and a well fed looking chap from the Odisha Ministry of Tourism as some kind of minder. They don't look like concrete bed enthusiasts. We enjoy our bread omelettes and the spicy ginger tea that follows.

Reena has arranged for the same auto to drop us off near the landing stage for our causeway walk. Walking north means we are not having to squint against the sunlight. Lots of birds to see, including Storks, black headed ibis, red wattled lapwings and a small, elusive one that looks like it is some kind of flycatcher. Our walk takes us through the village where we do what all the locals do and duck under the level crossing barriers. We hardly have time to wash our feet before lunch is called.

The French group are back for lunch and we suspect that they are funding the dish of curried prawns that arrives at our separate table to accompany our veg meal. The Odishsa Tourism man tells us that they are 4 High Court Judges, a law professor and the Chief Executive of a multinational company. Why are they on the run in Odisha?

After lunch we pack, pay and take our leave. D enquired last night about a taxi and was told "30 kilometres. Auto OK". It is our regular auto jockey and we begin to suspect that he has an in with the management. The first 10 km or so are on excruciatingly bumpy country lanes, after which we join a wider road in a small town. We pass a milepost - Balugaon 31km. We soon join the dual carriageway of the East Coast Highway which is a much better ride until the turn off into Balugaon. We have come to Balugaon because some of the long distance trains stop there. We are travelling with an old friend, the Falaknuma Express, which we have used a couple of times between Howrah and Bhubaneswar in the past. The train runs all of the way through to Secunderabad, part of the Hyderabad metropolis, and is going to new territory for us. On the way to the station we check the update on our ticket to learn that, once again, we have the two berth coupe, the only one on the train.

The station at Balugaon is very neat and tidy and there is maintenance work ongoing. D goes for an explore and gets stopped by a very smart member of the Railway Police Force. "Where are you going?" " To Secunderabad" "Do you have a ticket?". He takes D's word for it and suggests it would be best to wait in the shade, not bad advice as it about 32°C. The shade contains the Station Manager's office where D learns that we will need to cross the footbridge to Platform 2. As there is seating in the shade there also, we make the move sooner rather than later.

An announcement is made portending the imminent arrival of train 12703. The smart copper appears and asks us which coach, then ushers us a bit further up the platform. The train arrives , we have a few paces to walk, and we are in the H end of coach HA1. The bedding walla has been defending our coupe by kipping in it, but he gracefully retires and we can get comfy. We are in here for something like 18 hours, depending on how late the train becomes. D gets his copy of The Great Indian Railway Atlas out and all is well.

By 21.10 we are at Vizag, about 10 minutes late. The train reverses here so we will have forward facing seats in the morning. D is sent out foraging and we dine on crisps and packet, pre-sliced cake. Makes up for the last two days of healthy eating. And so to bed.