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Vacations and travelling are interrelated to each other. Once you are bitten by travel bug then it keeps itching every now and then. This time the answer to the question “Where to go?” came very soon because of famous saying by Dalai Lama “Go to someplace you have never been before”
The school holidays are kind of chaos for some places hence this time thought of exploring less touristy place. Initial plan was to explore Madhya Pradesh and Udaipur which was chalked off due to limited days in our hand, yes there were just 10 days. Now the locations sorted according to category started revolving in my mind like Fort, Temples, Beaches, Culture etc. Took a pause at Beaches category. Yes, why not a beach holiday…. Goa!! Coastal Karnataka!! A typical enjoyment near beaches with lot of photos of roads, food and sunsets!! Sunsets!! Hey why not visit the beaches with Sunrise!!
I got the answer for my destination, yes it was East Coast. Had discussion along with family where I always get typical answer “Where ever you take us, we are ready?”. Immediately started with planning phase by making rough itinerary. What to include? What to see? Worth travelling there? Can this be done in 10 days? Am I mad?
After so much of to and fro, finally I decided to explore Vishakhapatnam, Puri, Chilka lake and Konark. Now the main thing was to accommodate all these in 10 days hence started to make travel plan. I took help of TripAdvisor to select “Must See Places” in these areas. I had checked with routes along with H V Kumar. The plan was to go via Hyderabad where the road was passing near front gate of Ramoji Filmcity. With kid along with us thought why not include it in this tight itinerary, so somehow fitted it in the list (this is second time we are visiting film city). The final crazy plan looked like below,
D1 – Pune to Vijaywada
D2 – Vijaywada to Vishakhapatnam
D3 – Vishakhapatnam sightsee
D4 – Vishakhapatnam – Borra – Vishakhapatnam
D5 – Vishakhapatnam to Puri
D6 – Puri – Satpada – Konark – Puri
D7 – Puri – Tanuku
D8 – Tanuku – Hyderabad
D9 – Hyderabad
D10 – Hyderabad - Pune
I started to prepare my car for the drive. I had recently changed battery hence was not worried about it. A quick check with oil levels, belt, tire, air check and general wear and tear assured me that car is ready for long drive. As usual I could not sleep properly on the day before D-day, the excitement kept me awake. The family too was excited for this trip. All were ready by 5:00am, we did a small prayer and started our car.
Day 1: Pune to Vijaywada
Early mornings are always best to start for long drives. There is no traffic on city roads which helps to touch highway quickly. The roads we took from Pune to Hyderabad was NH65 which is pretty straight forward.
The road section from Pune to Solapur is butter smooth two lane divided highway. One needs to watch out for speed humps near Indapur and Tembhurni. We reached Solpaur for our breakfast.
The road from Solapur to Karnataka border is real pain to drive. It’s single lane for 70%. There are lots of diversions, the road in some places itself is vanished. Heavy and dusty truck traffic throughout with little room for overtake. Lots of miscellaneous traffic along with many jaywalkers at Omerga. Post MH-KA border the roads are again 4 lane and amazing till Hyderabad. We reached at Hyderabad ORR around 2:30pm. So, it was just 4 hours more for reaching destination of the day.
Hyderabad ORR is one of the finest road to drive with speed limit as 100 Kmph (Pune desperately needs such infra).
Within couple of minutes we bypassed entire Hyderabad city and were zooming on Suryapet – Vijaywada stretch. Saw Ramoji Film city entrance while passing by and assured that we will come back here while returning.
Hyderabad to Vijaywada section is a fantastic 4 lane road with some minor traffic. Look out for crossings near few villages en route. Vijaywada is filled with some miscellaneous traffic, we reached our destination for the day. Someone rightly said that one needs to drive more on first day, it was 850 Kms and 4 states in first day.
Day 2: Vijaywada to Vishakhapatnam
After a very good sleep we started towards Vishakhapatnam. The city of Vijaywada is filled with traffic, we took IRR to bypass Vijaywada, there was some truck traffic along with us. We left NH65 and joined NH16 towards Kolkatta.
Vijaywada to Rajahmundry was smooth with good 4 lane tarred roads. The only problem on road is that AP cops have placed barricades on highway to slow down which seems very dangerous. Some wrong siders also enter through same barricades. Rajahmundry has too much of two-wheeler traffic on highway (felt like driving between Karad – Kolhapur patch in morning hours)
We have crossed the mighty Godavari river which was running to meet Bay of Bengal. Rajahmundry to Vishakhapatnam seemed very longish drive to me. There was some road work near Tuni for almost 20 Kms, hence there were diversion were the cops have placed plastic blocks to make single lane road as two ways. There were lots of tractors and local village traffic throughout with occasional wrong siders. Average speed was 60-70 in this patch.
We entered in Vishakhapatnam at some 4:30pm. Mind it that Vishakhapatnam has some crazy traffic inside city. In addition to this there were barricades placed by cops inside city road as well for slowing down traffic. Lots of two-wheeler and signals throughout the city. With great patience we reached out hotel in Vizag.
The east side gets darker earlier than west. It was just 5:30pm and it started getting darker. We thought of visiting Kailashgiri in Vizag.
Kailashgiri
Kailashgiri is developed by VUDA. The main attraction here is huge statue of Shiva Parvathi on the hill. The entrance ticket is Rs.5 per head. To reach atop of hill one can drive their own car or can take rope way. We opted for ropeway. There is ample amount of parking place near Rope way base.
It was amazing experience to go by Rope way as you can have a good view of entire Vizag city dazzling in lights. Here we saw the first glimpse of east coast, but it was dark. Remember that Rope way closes at 8:00pm, they do announcement prior to it.
Once you reach at top you can opt for toy train ride which makes round to entire hill. The train has AC and Non-AC compartments. You need to sit on right side to see beach and city view while on left side you can have park view. There are few snacks and ice cream shops at top.
The Shiva Parvathi statue is very huge. If you wish to have your photos with this statue then there are few professional photographers available to do this job.
We have clicked the night view pic of Vizag city from Kailashgiri but it did not came clear. Hence for readers perspective I am attaching other photo from net. Credit to photographer “Rajarshi Mukherjee”
Night View of Vizag city along with east coastline from Kailashgiri.
We had a sumptuous dinner at famous Kamath’s Restaurant and retired for the day
Day 3: Exploring Vizag
We woke up lazily on this day. After having a good breakfast at our hotel started for Vizag Zoo which is also known as “Indira Gandhi National Zoological Park”. There is ample amount of parking place at entrance. The Zoo itself is spread in approximate 620 Acres. This is a first zoo I came across where you can take your own car inside it. (Rs.500 per car including 4 people). One can opt for battery operated vehicle or can walk inside as well.
We opted for battery operated vehicle to enjoy the ride. The entire vehicle with seating capacity of 4 peoples cost us Rs.300. They start from entrance and drop you back at same place after showing entire zoo. I would recommend opting battery operated cars as they know every nook and corner of zoo and they seemed to be very polite as well. There is separate Nocturnal animal section inside zoo where you need to pay Rs.5 per head. The guide is free with every family, but you need to tip them Rs.10 /20 at last.
The day we visited Zoo was some auspicious day in Vizag named as “Nagula Chavithi” which means worshipping snake. Most of the families had come in Zoo to worship snakes. We could spot many of the families on roads where there were trees and greenery doing this sort of pooja.
Families celebrating “Nagula Chavithi”
After coming out of Zoo we headed towards Rushikonda beach. We took famous Beach Road in Vizag to reach here. There is ample amount of parking space near beach, but the local autos and tempo travellers create mess inside the parking.
Rushikonda Beach
This is the first beach of East coast which I saw in my life. Just stood calmly within knee height waves for couple of minutes, felt relaxed. The beach is clean and little bit crowdy. This is safest beach for kids to play in water. There are few water sports available along with Hovercraft ride. We just enjoyed in beach and came back to our hotel after having a good lunch.
We had a small siesta and in evening we headed towards famous Ramakrishna beach to see other attractions. I would like to say the planning of beach road in Vizag is just amazing. Though there is traffic, but one can have fun driving on these roads. The intersections are well managed by roundabouts and parking is very well designed along road side.
INS Kurusura Museum
We parked our car near Kurusura Museum which is near RK Beach. INS Kurusura museum is also known as Submarine museum. Once you get your tickets then you need to stand in queue. They allow tourist in batches of 30 peoples at time. The staff will brief entire batch about the history and sections of Submarine. This is actual submarine which you can experience from inside.
Radio operators room
Sleeping section
Dinning section
Manual controls in submarine
Pathway inside cabins
TU 142 Aircraft Museum
This is another museum located opposite to Submarine Museum. It is actual bomber plane which you can explore from inside. Photographs are not allowed hence could not click any. There is a small museum prior to entering aircraft which showcases different parts of planes, engines and rescue mechanism. There is free audio guide for everyone inside this museum.
After exploring the museum, you can enter aircraft and see different sections within it. When you come out there is 3D and Sci-Fi games section available at the exit. One can pay and enjoy the games.
Yours truly at Vizag.
A war memorial near Aircraft Museum
When I came back to my car, I saw that my front number plate was missing. I remembered, few months back one of its screw was loose, I tightened it. I guessed it must have fallen somewhere on highway between Vijaywada and Vizag. It was almost 9:00pm that time, I enquired with some autowallahs about number plate maker but could not find anyone nearby. Driven straight to hotel, asked hotel staff to help me by taking printout of my number in big font. Taken cellophane tape and pasted that printout as front number plate. Lesson learnt, next time before commencing long drives along with oils and tires need to check number plate screws as well.
Day 4: Vizag – Borra Caves – Vizag
Started a bit early in morning towards Borra caves. The BRTS road is amazing to drive. That straight road then passes through multiple villages making it little bit messy. Once you come out of Vishakhapatnam city then its breeze to drive towards Araku Valley. The road is single lane but good in condition. You can maintain average of 90 Kmph on this, just need to keep an eye on bikers and roaming cattle’s. Lot of tempo travellers on this route doing some crazy overtakes.
The road to Borra Caves passes through ghat section. There are few sharp hairpin bends on the route. Few sections of the road are rough, but rest of the road is good to drive. There is ample parking space beside road near entrance gate of Borra Caves. You can walk for approximate 500meters from parking to ticket counter, on the way you will come across many small shops selling famous “Bamboo Chicken”. In addition to this you will also find tender coconuts, Araku coffee sellers etc in this zone.
Food items inside caves are strictly prohibited. You need to take extra ticket for mobile camera as well. When you enter inside you will see the view of Gosthani river. Here you can hire a guide if you want at Rs.150
Gosthani River.
Exploring Borra caves takes almost an hour and half. There are two levels inside caves. One can easily walk inside as they have designed proper pathways and railings with ample amount of colourful light. There is old Shiva temple inside which has some 20 steep steps, if you are tight on schedule or accompanied with old ones then you can skip it.
The cave is huge inside with cool atmosphere. You can see amazing rock formation created naturally with the water of Gosthani river. The guide will show you few structures resembling living beings inside caves.
Way to enter inside Borra cave
The story of discovering Borra Caves says that, one grazing cattle has fallen from this hole inside. The shepherd of that cattle found this cave. Borra means hole, hence the name “Borra Caves”
East Coast railway runs over this section.
Few pics of rock formation inside caves
After coming out of cave we had fresh tender coconut water. On the way towards car clicked the tribal preparation of Bamboo chicken. We are veggies hence don’t know how it tastes.
Bamboo chicken
We have good lunch at Haritha Restaurant which is located next to entrance of Borra caves. They serve good veg thalis at Rs.100. After making our tummies full we drove straight back to our hotel in Vizag.
In evening I explored nearby places to get number plate. I found one shop, but he told it will take 2 hours for making the plate, I thought for a while and asked him to apply sticker for time being. He agreed to it and pasted while sticker with black numbers on it as my front number plate. The job was done in 10mins for Rs.150.
Before bidding goodbye to Vizag, we once again visited Palm beach and Ramakrishna Beach. There were few stalls near beach which were selling some “bhel” like thing named as “Muri Mixture”. The taste was different than regular bhel.
Muri Mixture
Ramakrishna beach has some nice parks and seating benches facing sea. We sat there for couple of hours enjoying cool breeze. Many local peoples along with their families normally come to this place for relaxation. Few people were doing evening walks on the footpath nearby.
Ramakrishna Beach
We have dinner near RK Beach and came back to our hotel.
Day 5: Vishakhapatnam – Puri
Started a little earlier from hotel. Took beach road of Vizag to reach NH16. The road was amazing till Bheemli Beach, later it passed through some village and finally merged into NH16. This entire highway is fantastic to drive till Bhubaneshwar. Just need to lower the speeds near few crossings and bridges. There is cattle menace in entire stretch. The layer between roads and bridge are not smooth, entire car wildly shakes when passing over it. Be alert as during my drive there were lots of speed camera throughout this patch on both the sides.
We have taken turn off at Khudra for Puri. I guess this was wrong decision by me as the road was messy and has huge speed humps. In addition to this the road passed through some villages and markets adding miscellaneous slow-moving traffic ahead of me. Instead of turning off at Khudra one can go till Bhubaneshwar and take NH316 towards Puri. While coming back I did same, the road is fantastic.
Once in Puri you will find typical city traffic with more cyclist. The roads sometimes pass through narrow lanes. Few of these roads have jumbo speed humps. There is huge cattle menace on roads inside Puri as well.
Cattle Menace on NH16
One more state was touched by my car. Odisha!!
Way to Bhubaneshwar
Welcome signage of Puri
We checked into our hotel and relaxed for some time. In evening we decided to have darshan of Shri. Jagannath. Instead of taking my car we took battery operated auto. Note that the battery-operated vehicles and cycle rickshaws drop you near to temple, other vehicles are not allowed for almost 500m zone near temple (somehow, I could see two wheelers near temple)
We were lucky enough to see the flag hosting ceremony of Jagannath temple. The priest climbs at the top without any support to change flag. This ritual is happening from past decades. It is assumed that if flag is not changed then it will be dooms day.
The school holidays are kind of chaos for some places hence this time thought of exploring less touristy place. Initial plan was to explore Madhya Pradesh and Udaipur which was chalked off due to limited days in our hand, yes there were just 10 days. Now the locations sorted according to category started revolving in my mind like Fort, Temples, Beaches, Culture etc. Took a pause at Beaches category. Yes, why not a beach holiday…. Goa!! Coastal Karnataka!! A typical enjoyment near beaches with lot of photos of roads, food and sunsets!! Sunsets!! Hey why not visit the beaches with Sunrise!!
I got the answer for my destination, yes it was East Coast. Had discussion along with family where I always get typical answer “Where ever you take us, we are ready?”. Immediately started with planning phase by making rough itinerary. What to include? What to see? Worth travelling there? Can this be done in 10 days? Am I mad?
After so much of to and fro, finally I decided to explore Vishakhapatnam, Puri, Chilka lake and Konark. Now the main thing was to accommodate all these in 10 days hence started to make travel plan. I took help of TripAdvisor to select “Must See Places” in these areas. I had checked with routes along with H V Kumar. The plan was to go via Hyderabad where the road was passing near front gate of Ramoji Filmcity. With kid along with us thought why not include it in this tight itinerary, so somehow fitted it in the list (this is second time we are visiting film city). The final crazy plan looked like below,
D1 – Pune to Vijaywada
D2 – Vijaywada to Vishakhapatnam
D3 – Vishakhapatnam sightsee
D4 – Vishakhapatnam – Borra – Vishakhapatnam
D5 – Vishakhapatnam to Puri
D6 – Puri – Satpada – Konark – Puri
D7 – Puri – Tanuku
D8 – Tanuku – Hyderabad
D9 – Hyderabad
D10 – Hyderabad - Pune
I started to prepare my car for the drive. I had recently changed battery hence was not worried about it. A quick check with oil levels, belt, tire, air check and general wear and tear assured me that car is ready for long drive. As usual I could not sleep properly on the day before D-day, the excitement kept me awake. The family too was excited for this trip. All were ready by 5:00am, we did a small prayer and started our car.
Day 1: Pune to Vijaywada
Early mornings are always best to start for long drives. There is no traffic on city roads which helps to touch highway quickly. The roads we took from Pune to Hyderabad was NH65 which is pretty straight forward.
The road section from Pune to Solapur is butter smooth two lane divided highway. One needs to watch out for speed humps near Indapur and Tembhurni. We reached Solpaur for our breakfast.
The road from Solapur to Karnataka border is real pain to drive. It’s single lane for 70%. There are lots of diversions, the road in some places itself is vanished. Heavy and dusty truck traffic throughout with little room for overtake. Lots of miscellaneous traffic along with many jaywalkers at Omerga. Post MH-KA border the roads are again 4 lane and amazing till Hyderabad. We reached at Hyderabad ORR around 2:30pm. So, it was just 4 hours more for reaching destination of the day.
Hyderabad ORR is one of the finest road to drive with speed limit as 100 Kmph (Pune desperately needs such infra).
Within couple of minutes we bypassed entire Hyderabad city and were zooming on Suryapet – Vijaywada stretch. Saw Ramoji Film city entrance while passing by and assured that we will come back here while returning.
Hyderabad to Vijaywada section is a fantastic 4 lane road with some minor traffic. Look out for crossings near few villages en route. Vijaywada is filled with some miscellaneous traffic, we reached our destination for the day. Someone rightly said that one needs to drive more on first day, it was 850 Kms and 4 states in first day.
Day 2: Vijaywada to Vishakhapatnam
After a very good sleep we started towards Vishakhapatnam. The city of Vijaywada is filled with traffic, we took IRR to bypass Vijaywada, there was some truck traffic along with us. We left NH65 and joined NH16 towards Kolkatta.
Vijaywada to Rajahmundry was smooth with good 4 lane tarred roads. The only problem on road is that AP cops have placed barricades on highway to slow down which seems very dangerous. Some wrong siders also enter through same barricades. Rajahmundry has too much of two-wheeler traffic on highway (felt like driving between Karad – Kolhapur patch in morning hours)
We have crossed the mighty Godavari river which was running to meet Bay of Bengal. Rajahmundry to Vishakhapatnam seemed very longish drive to me. There was some road work near Tuni for almost 20 Kms, hence there were diversion were the cops have placed plastic blocks to make single lane road as two ways. There were lots of tractors and local village traffic throughout with occasional wrong siders. Average speed was 60-70 in this patch.
We entered in Vishakhapatnam at some 4:30pm. Mind it that Vishakhapatnam has some crazy traffic inside city. In addition to this there were barricades placed by cops inside city road as well for slowing down traffic. Lots of two-wheeler and signals throughout the city. With great patience we reached out hotel in Vizag.
The east side gets darker earlier than west. It was just 5:30pm and it started getting darker. We thought of visiting Kailashgiri in Vizag.
Kailashgiri
Kailashgiri is developed by VUDA. The main attraction here is huge statue of Shiva Parvathi on the hill. The entrance ticket is Rs.5 per head. To reach atop of hill one can drive their own car or can take rope way. We opted for ropeway. There is ample amount of parking place near Rope way base.
It was amazing experience to go by Rope way as you can have a good view of entire Vizag city dazzling in lights. Here we saw the first glimpse of east coast, but it was dark. Remember that Rope way closes at 8:00pm, they do announcement prior to it.
Once you reach at top you can opt for toy train ride which makes round to entire hill. The train has AC and Non-AC compartments. You need to sit on right side to see beach and city view while on left side you can have park view. There are few snacks and ice cream shops at top.
The Shiva Parvathi statue is very huge. If you wish to have your photos with this statue then there are few professional photographers available to do this job.
We have clicked the night view pic of Vizag city from Kailashgiri but it did not came clear. Hence for readers perspective I am attaching other photo from net. Credit to photographer “Rajarshi Mukherjee”
Night View of Vizag city along with east coastline from Kailashgiri.
We had a sumptuous dinner at famous Kamath’s Restaurant and retired for the day
Day 3: Exploring Vizag
We woke up lazily on this day. After having a good breakfast at our hotel started for Vizag Zoo which is also known as “Indira Gandhi National Zoological Park”. There is ample amount of parking place at entrance. The Zoo itself is spread in approximate 620 Acres. This is a first zoo I came across where you can take your own car inside it. (Rs.500 per car including 4 people). One can opt for battery operated vehicle or can walk inside as well.
We opted for battery operated vehicle to enjoy the ride. The entire vehicle with seating capacity of 4 peoples cost us Rs.300. They start from entrance and drop you back at same place after showing entire zoo. I would recommend opting battery operated cars as they know every nook and corner of zoo and they seemed to be very polite as well. There is separate Nocturnal animal section inside zoo where you need to pay Rs.5 per head. The guide is free with every family, but you need to tip them Rs.10 /20 at last.
The day we visited Zoo was some auspicious day in Vizag named as “Nagula Chavithi” which means worshipping snake. Most of the families had come in Zoo to worship snakes. We could spot many of the families on roads where there were trees and greenery doing this sort of pooja.
Families celebrating “Nagula Chavithi”
After coming out of Zoo we headed towards Rushikonda beach. We took famous Beach Road in Vizag to reach here. There is ample amount of parking space near beach, but the local autos and tempo travellers create mess inside the parking.
Rushikonda Beach
This is the first beach of East coast which I saw in my life. Just stood calmly within knee height waves for couple of minutes, felt relaxed. The beach is clean and little bit crowdy. This is safest beach for kids to play in water. There are few water sports available along with Hovercraft ride. We just enjoyed in beach and came back to our hotel after having a good lunch.
We had a small siesta and in evening we headed towards famous Ramakrishna beach to see other attractions. I would like to say the planning of beach road in Vizag is just amazing. Though there is traffic, but one can have fun driving on these roads. The intersections are well managed by roundabouts and parking is very well designed along road side.
INS Kurusura Museum
We parked our car near Kurusura Museum which is near RK Beach. INS Kurusura museum is also known as Submarine museum. Once you get your tickets then you need to stand in queue. They allow tourist in batches of 30 peoples at time. The staff will brief entire batch about the history and sections of Submarine. This is actual submarine which you can experience from inside.
Radio operators room
Sleeping section
Dinning section
Manual controls in submarine
Pathway inside cabins
TU 142 Aircraft Museum
This is another museum located opposite to Submarine Museum. It is actual bomber plane which you can explore from inside. Photographs are not allowed hence could not click any. There is a small museum prior to entering aircraft which showcases different parts of planes, engines and rescue mechanism. There is free audio guide for everyone inside this museum.
After exploring the museum, you can enter aircraft and see different sections within it. When you come out there is 3D and Sci-Fi games section available at the exit. One can pay and enjoy the games.
Yours truly at Vizag.
A war memorial near Aircraft Museum
When I came back to my car, I saw that my front number plate was missing. I remembered, few months back one of its screw was loose, I tightened it. I guessed it must have fallen somewhere on highway between Vijaywada and Vizag. It was almost 9:00pm that time, I enquired with some autowallahs about number plate maker but could not find anyone nearby. Driven straight to hotel, asked hotel staff to help me by taking printout of my number in big font. Taken cellophane tape and pasted that printout as front number plate. Lesson learnt, next time before commencing long drives along with oils and tires need to check number plate screws as well.
Day 4: Vizag – Borra Caves – Vizag
Started a bit early in morning towards Borra caves. The BRTS road is amazing to drive. That straight road then passes through multiple villages making it little bit messy. Once you come out of Vishakhapatnam city then its breeze to drive towards Araku Valley. The road is single lane but good in condition. You can maintain average of 90 Kmph on this, just need to keep an eye on bikers and roaming cattle’s. Lot of tempo travellers on this route doing some crazy overtakes.
The road to Borra Caves passes through ghat section. There are few sharp hairpin bends on the route. Few sections of the road are rough, but rest of the road is good to drive. There is ample parking space beside road near entrance gate of Borra Caves. You can walk for approximate 500meters from parking to ticket counter, on the way you will come across many small shops selling famous “Bamboo Chicken”. In addition to this you will also find tender coconuts, Araku coffee sellers etc in this zone.
Food items inside caves are strictly prohibited. You need to take extra ticket for mobile camera as well. When you enter inside you will see the view of Gosthani river. Here you can hire a guide if you want at Rs.150
Gosthani River.
Exploring Borra caves takes almost an hour and half. There are two levels inside caves. One can easily walk inside as they have designed proper pathways and railings with ample amount of colourful light. There is old Shiva temple inside which has some 20 steep steps, if you are tight on schedule or accompanied with old ones then you can skip it.
The cave is huge inside with cool atmosphere. You can see amazing rock formation created naturally with the water of Gosthani river. The guide will show you few structures resembling living beings inside caves.
Way to enter inside Borra cave
The story of discovering Borra Caves says that, one grazing cattle has fallen from this hole inside. The shepherd of that cattle found this cave. Borra means hole, hence the name “Borra Caves”
East Coast railway runs over this section.
Few pics of rock formation inside caves
After coming out of cave we had fresh tender coconut water. On the way towards car clicked the tribal preparation of Bamboo chicken. We are veggies hence don’t know how it tastes.
Bamboo chicken
We have good lunch at Haritha Restaurant which is located next to entrance of Borra caves. They serve good veg thalis at Rs.100. After making our tummies full we drove straight back to our hotel in Vizag.
In evening I explored nearby places to get number plate. I found one shop, but he told it will take 2 hours for making the plate, I thought for a while and asked him to apply sticker for time being. He agreed to it and pasted while sticker with black numbers on it as my front number plate. The job was done in 10mins for Rs.150.
Before bidding goodbye to Vizag, we once again visited Palm beach and Ramakrishna Beach. There were few stalls near beach which were selling some “bhel” like thing named as “Muri Mixture”. The taste was different than regular bhel.
Muri Mixture
Ramakrishna beach has some nice parks and seating benches facing sea. We sat there for couple of hours enjoying cool breeze. Many local peoples along with their families normally come to this place for relaxation. Few people were doing evening walks on the footpath nearby.
Ramakrishna Beach
We have dinner near RK Beach and came back to our hotel.
Day 5: Vishakhapatnam – Puri
Started a little earlier from hotel. Took beach road of Vizag to reach NH16. The road was amazing till Bheemli Beach, later it passed through some village and finally merged into NH16. This entire highway is fantastic to drive till Bhubaneshwar. Just need to lower the speeds near few crossings and bridges. There is cattle menace in entire stretch. The layer between roads and bridge are not smooth, entire car wildly shakes when passing over it. Be alert as during my drive there were lots of speed camera throughout this patch on both the sides.
We have taken turn off at Khudra for Puri. I guess this was wrong decision by me as the road was messy and has huge speed humps. In addition to this the road passed through some villages and markets adding miscellaneous slow-moving traffic ahead of me. Instead of turning off at Khudra one can go till Bhubaneshwar and take NH316 towards Puri. While coming back I did same, the road is fantastic.
Once in Puri you will find typical city traffic with more cyclist. The roads sometimes pass through narrow lanes. Few of these roads have jumbo speed humps. There is huge cattle menace on roads inside Puri as well.
Cattle Menace on NH16
One more state was touched by my car. Odisha!!
Way to Bhubaneshwar
Welcome signage of Puri
We checked into our hotel and relaxed for some time. In evening we decided to have darshan of Shri. Jagannath. Instead of taking my car we took battery operated auto. Note that the battery-operated vehicles and cycle rickshaws drop you near to temple, other vehicles are not allowed for almost 500m zone near temple (somehow, I could see two wheelers near temple)
We were lucky enough to see the flag hosting ceremony of Jagannath temple. The priest climbs at the top without any support to change flag. This ritual is happening from past decades. It is assumed that if flag is not changed then it will be dooms day.
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