Trip to Visakhapatnam

It was high time since I had taken a break from the monotonous routine of work life and wanted nothing more then to run away. An opportune occasion helped in deciding the exact dates of the trip and the booking of tickets was done immediately. The internet and scores of friends were our source of knowledge for places to visit, things to do, not to do @ Visakhapatnam.

1st day morning proved Murphy right. We had a list of decent hotels, and the last one on the list was actually the best one – APTDC’s resort. Next time onwards, I think I am going to book the State Tourism hotel without even seeing it. Without wasting any time for the trivial stuff like having a bath etc, we hit the beach. Not the one that was across the road – that was the one being used by fisherman, have you ever tried going to a beach with smell of fish all around you? Not pleasant, I can vouch for that! Instead we hit the famed Rushikonda Beach after lots of bargaining with the auto-driver. The beach is breathtakingly beautiful, and the water is not as violent as the beaches of Pondicherry, although not totally harmless as was evident by the constant vigilance of the Marine Police. A sumptuous lunch, a much needed hot bath, and a siesta later we donned the role of a tourist yet again to visit the RK Beach and the Submarine Museum situated there. The Submarine Museum is one must-visit place, only when we see the living conditions inside a submarine, can we understand what plight the Navy goes through to protect the Indian waters. Hats off to these guys, most of us would not be able to even imagine living in those cramped conditions.

2nd day morning dawned, and we were still undecided whether to visit Araku Valley and Borra caves or not. As per all the reports, it is a beautiful place, but I was in no mood to spend 5-6 hours in a car. So decided against visiting those places, and instead dedicated the time to become the before-faces of the fairness cream ads – since there was no time constraint, we spent hours at Rushikonda . At the beach a cop was moving up and down stopping people from going into deep water, but that did not seem to be his only responsibility, it seemed he had been entrusted with the added responsibility of Moral-Police. Some other couples were enjoying the beach close to where we were sitting, and the cop was almost always patrolling the part where couples were present. And also it seems the buffaloes have taken a liking to the Bay of Bengal. We saw two small herds of buffaloes roughing it against the sea, and they seemed to be enjoying it! The last pit stop in Vizag was Kailashgiri Hills – a small hill with a majestic view of the sea, the surrounding mountains, and the whole Visakhapatnam between the sea and mountains.

Two days very well spent, but I think this is not the last that I am seeing of Vizag. I really liked the place, and can surely plan another trip to Visakhapatnam.

P.S: Paresh, thanks a lot for the post, it is beautiful