Visakhapatnam
Our previous post : Araku.
Day 3:
After finishing our lunch road-side, we started for Vizag. We reached NSNR residency at Vizag by 3.00 pm. We liked the hotel rooms and got lost in the cosy beds till sunset. Later, we had lazy walks to Ramakrishna beach (10 minutes walking distance from our hotel) in the evening and stayed there for long. After dinner, we came back to our hotel for sleep.
Day 4:
I had to wake up early as my son woke up. Hence, we had a nice morning walk again by the sea-side. The morning showed us the Bay of Bengal clearly. The beach was different here than we have at Bengal or Odisha: the beach here got a little slope, waves are far more strong and as the Eastern ghats meet the sea here, all the beaches of Andhra got stones which might be dangerous.
We enjoyed the sunrise here and stayed unless the Sun rises enough to burn us.
My son didn’t meet his chances at the sea so he rather spent his time on the rides in the parks. The popular beaches in Andhra like Ramakrishna, Rushikonda or Lawson’s bay got numerous parks and rides for the kids, couples and older people.
We came back to our hotel rooms when Sun started getting hot. Later, we had our complimentary breakfasts with idlis, had bathed and got ready for the day’s outing. We started at 10.00 am and in another hour, we reached Simhachalam temple. There was a long queue to enter the temple so I didn’t process further and stayed with my son in the shade while others took a shorter route to enter the temple giving a higher entry charge (Rs. 100 against the usual Rs. 20). As suggested by our cab-driver, we had prasad in the temple though I didn’t like that South Indian preparations. But, I liked the take-away prasad (Laddu) they were selling and hence, bought a lot of them.
It was about 1.00 pm when we finished at Simhachalam and started towards Yarada beach. We had to cross one hill completely to reach the Dolphin’s hill where it resides. We reached Yarada by 3.15 pm as took a lot of breaks to drink coconuts etc.
The beach offers a calm and secluded atmosphere to those looking for solitude and mental peace. The beach maintains its cleanliness and majesty, attracting lots of tourists. The water is clear blue, clean, carrying pretty distinct sand particles, that would probably go away after a wash.
With hills on either side, the long-stretched beach provides a nice and clean backdrop for photo-shoots.
We captured a lot of portraits for all of us keeping the waves tumbling at the rocks in the background.
By 4.00 pm we started from Yarada towards the Lighthouse. We reached and booked tickets for it with Rs. 10 per head (Rs. 20 for camera). It is fortunate for us that a beacon used by the Navy is open for visit when not in use in the day-time. Though the tower seemed like a 4-to-5 story building from outside, we had to toil a little to climb it.
But, the view from the lighthouse balcony is a breathtaking panorama: from the fishing harbour to the Rushikonda beach. Even more, one cannot realise where the vast sea merges with the sky. The lighthouse gets closed at 5.00 pm hence, we came out soon.
It was time to return. We were exhausted with the long journey, hot weather and day’s sight-seeing. We came back to hotel rooms drained but, after an hours rest, we had to come outside once again for some marketing. We visited some popular shops near Jagadamba cinema to buy some sarees and souvenirs from Lepakshi Handicrafts.
Day 5:
Due to tiredness, all of us woke up a little late. But, eventually, we finished our bathe and breakfast quickly as had to start by 9.00 am. Finally, we started at 9.15 am towards the day’s first destination: Bheemili beach. It was not among the popular destinations as was comparatively less crowded and located in the villages for fishermen.
On the opposite side of the beach, I located one cemetery.
We took a rest under the shades of the trees while enjoying a few custard apples. We now started for our next destination: Rushikonda beach. In our way, we had a few points (Thotlakonda, Rama Naidu Studio and Red sandhills) but decided not to visit. By 11.00 am we reached Rushikonda beach. Compared to other beaches of Andhra, it seems popular for bathing in the sea.
The beach is popular for various water-sports: kayaking, speed boat etc.
Then, we moved to Kailashgiri skipping the zoo (Indira Gandhi Zoo). Visiting a zoo would take huge time and on a hot day like that, walking a long way (about 4 km) carrying my son would be difficult: I thought. Instead, we focused on Kailashgiri which is a park with numerous seating options, shades, small restaurants and view-points. We parked the car near the sea and took a rope-way to climb the hill on which the park is located. The park-entry was Rs 5 per head and rope-way return ticket was Rs. 90 per head. They charged the park-entry separately as there are options to climb the whole way up using stairs (but, it is too long so suggested to avoid).
The park offered us numerous options for posing and fooling around. Though, the scorching sun was draining our enthusiasm and energy too quickly.
Exhausted too soon, we opted for a light meal at the restaurants and collected some souvenirs from a nice shop. While returning, we visited the Titanic view-point which offers a panoramic view of the whole city. I would suggest visiting the place after 5.00 pm during summer (as it closes at 8.00 pm).
We came down using the rope-way by 2.00 pm.
Then, we came to know that there is an alternative way to reach the park: by road. In that case, you get an option to ride the rope-way or avoid it.
Then we had to drive to Ramakrishna beach for affordable lunch options. Afterwards, we went to Visakha museum. A few war-artefacts from the past has been kept outside the building where inside they placed several historical treasures and artefacts (sculptures, coins, letters, consumables etc.) from this region.
Some interesting additions at the maritime museum are the artefacts used by the Indian Navy (in war or peacetime).
On another building of the district museum, testimonies of relatively modern times has been preserved.
Afterwards, we visited the Submarine museum, the first submarine museum in south-east Asia. We collected the tickets for Rs. 40 per head (Rs. 50 for the camera) and entered. The officials convey the history and technical details of the submarine in different languages (Telugu / Hindi) and hence, one need to enter (or, wait) in proper slots.
We entered inside, saw the resting facilities, operational chambers and all. I was personally astonished by the height of the submarine: it was about 5.5 feet and it should be really difficult to move for Navy officers of high statures to freely move down there, I thought.
Then, we hurried to the fishing harbour as it would get closed by 5.00 pm. We were fortunate to see a destroyer near the port.
On the another side of the port, we saw numerous fishing trawlers lined up.
The were option to do boating in the sea also. But, we were reluctant about that.
Instead, we scrutinized the life of fishermen in the trawlers a bit.
While returning, we took a few photos of the fishing market from the moving car as couldn’t stop there due to the foul smells.
Due to the long sight-seeing tour and hot weather, we were too exhausted and hence, returned to the hotel rooms.
Day 6:
The day was to relax and rest before the train journey to return home. We enjoyed the planned fashion and finally checked out at 2.00 pm after lunch. We took an Ola cab to reach Visakhapatnam station. Finally, we boarded the train by 5.00 pm (late by 40 minutes) bidding a warm goodbye to Vizag and retaining some beautiful memories to reminisce later.
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