Even though I am a Bengali, I have not been to many places in West Bengal, of course including Digha. Since I have been brought up in the northern states of India, I only got the chance to explore West Bengal during summer vacations and holidays.
I was posted in Bhubaneswar, Odisha for my initial years of job service. Odisha and West Bengal are neighbouring states. This gave me the chance to explore my hometown on many occasions. Just a simple weekend, and I could plan to visit.
The Digha Plan
Digha is one of the most popular sea resorts in West Bengal. It is quite small but still a hotspot for many people, particularly for people from West Bengal.
Anyways, so we decided to visit this so famous destination to celebrate New Year’s Eve. As always, we booked a car from Zoomcar services for the planned day. We decided that our first stop would be none other than the Digha Beach itself. Followed by the Marine Aquarium and Regional Centre. And finally retiring to our accommodation to celebrate New Year.
Digha Beach
A 7 hours journey to reach Digha from Bhubaneswar meant that we needed to start as early as possible. And, so the struggle came on us to get ready by 5 AM.
We reached Digha beach at around noon and without wasting another second, dashed towards the sea. If you know me, I am a 100% beach lover. One of the best reasons why I loved living in Bhubaneswar was that Puri was just an hour drive away.
As expected from the most popular seaside resort in a state, it was packed. So many tourists and stalls and sellers of various kind. Ice cream, coconut, chips, temporary tattoos, photographers, souvenir sellers and so much more. Even though usually, I like peaceful places, I actually liked the crowd that day. It made the beach look kinda lively.
We all enjoyed the sea for an hour or so and I decided to relax at the beach. Now, this is when I got totally creeped out by something crawling at my feet. I literally shouted so loud that some people nearby came rushing towards me. And to my surprise, it was just a starfish that was crawling on.
I have actually never seen a starfish, except for on the TV. And when I looked around there were so many of them.
When I was holding one of them in my hand, a guy approached me. He seemed to be selling something but didn’t know exactly what. He simply asked me to give him the starfish. And I was like really confused as to what he would do with it. When I refused, he just gave me a really pissed off look and went on to collect the ones that were laying around.
After our fun in the water, we were so damn exhausted. Came out, had some refreshing coconut water (my all-time favourite when on the beach) and decided to have our lunch.
There is a facility for a shower and for changing clothes here. But not maintained at all. Too dirty and too smelly. But we needed a place to get into fresh clothes so had to use.
Anyways, we headed over to some restaurants lined up near the beach. They were more of a shack than a restaurant but with a proper shed and tables set up. Now I was the only Bengali among my friends so by default, I was the one to decide what to eat. And MAN they were literally robbing us. I mean not like robbing robbing, but more of the prices of the food.
Even though I have not lived in West Bengal but I know a hell lot about Bengali food and I still have an idea of how much a dish would cost. The prices were just soaring high. We were all just way too hungry so just went on with it. Not happy at all.
Marine Aquarium and Regional Centre
After an unsatisfied tummy, we headed for our next destination. The Marine Aquarium and Regional Centre.
Entry Fee: INR 20
Timings: 10 AM – 6 PM
It is an average-sized aquarium. With lots and lots of smaller fish tanks and a huge variety of fishes. Mostly shellfishes. A whole section dedicated just for crabs. Literally a whole corridor of tanks filled with a number of various crab species.
To be honest, it was a bit spooky inside. I don’t know why but it was pretty dark inside. Maybe because all the fishes were deep-sea fishes and they might be frightened of light. Although, that’s just my guess.
Anyways, so it was starting to get dark and so we decided that let’s hit our accommodation. We wanted to get some rest so that we are all up and fresh to celebrate the new year.
BUT, things don’t always happen the way we plan. Right?
Celebrating New Year
We had just reached our hotel and were about to step out of our car when one of my friends got a call from the office. He was asked to come to the office the next day due to some production issue that needed to be fixed at all costs.
Even though it was Sunday the next day but things like these do not wait for the week to start. And so, we didn’t have any other choice but to go back.
But, we made sure to have a detour and enjoy some more time at the beach before departing. Just a few minutes and it was worth it. After all, we were sacrificing the whole next day for it.
I was pretty sad to depart. I mean we had it all planned. It was really special that the new year came to be on a weekend. And now, here we are going back.
Since it was a long way back and the one who had to go to the office the next day was the only one who could drive. His bad luck. So, we started but decided to stop wherever we were on the road at exactly midnight.
On our way back, we came across many dhabas where they were hosting bonfires outside. And that gave us the inspiration for how we could also enjoy our New Year’s Eve. Without hesitation, we went out and asked for some wood and oil they could provide us. And now we had our car boot filled with wood.
Just when it was 11:55 PM, we pulled up and started setting up the woods for our bonfire. We got some paper from a nearby mechanics store to help us light a fire and VOILA! We had our new year’s bonfire all set.
That very night I came to realize that no matter where you are or what dreadful situation you might be in if you are surrounded with your friends and beloved ones, all seem to be merry.
I don’t know what I was imagining the best way to spend the night would be. But this was one of the ways I could have celebrated the New Year’s Eve.
Been there few times many moons ago. Memories refreshed.
This is such a cool guide! I especially love your photographs of the starfish. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Tegan 🙂
Such a nice trip! I have never traveled that east in India and it looks like a wonderful place to visit!
It was one of those planned trips that didn’t go as planned but still a memorable one.
such a lovely [post.
I live in the southern part of India and would really love to visit the northern states.
engaging writing style for a travel blog.
really enjoyed reading your post.
Thanks a lot Hari.