Vizag – Goa of The East Coast

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Santosh

For a resident of Bangalore, there could be no better holiday than a weekend at the beach. A lot of you would agree. Bangalore has the weather, the people, and places to hang out as well. But we seriously miss having a beach nearby.

Vizag, or Vishakapatnam, is the second largest city in Andhra Pradesh and is famous for its natural port, apart from the tourism of course. It’s about 1300kms from Bangalore and hence my initial thoughts were to take a flight. But after finding out the ridiculous cost of a flight ticket to Vizag, I decided a train was better. By train it takes about 18 to 20 hours depending on the train you’ve taken (as I found out when coming back, it could take a LOT more than that, so be prepared).

I was pleasantly taken aback by the weather when I arrived. It was very much like what I was used to, cool and calm. Surprising for a beach town. The Vizag railway station however lacks a lot of basic amenities, including a (working) air conditioned waiting room. This would turn out to be such a big damper on my return journey. More on that later.

View of the Haritha Beach Resort from the beach.

My room was booked at the government APTDC Haritha Beach Resort at Rishikonda. That was another 15kms from the railway station and travelling there would be only by auto. Be prepared to pay a couple of hundred bucks unless you can talk Telugu. One thing though, the auto drivers there don’t hassle you like in Bangalore. So you can let your guard down… a little.

vizag-rishikonda-beach-haritha-resort-view Coming to the resort, the staff were extremely helpful. Language was not a problem as I could (sorta) follow Telugu. They’re quite fluent in Hindi, just in case. The rooms were fantastic and we had a stunning view of the beach from our second floor deluxe room. One does not have to worry about food either. The room service was quick and the food was brilliant. There’s even a very nice restaurant called Offshores. A view of the beach and the sound of the water make a very scenic background for a quiet dinner. Don’t forget to order sea food. Cooked in traditional Andhra style, you can expect a spicy affair for your taste buds.

View of Rishikonda Beach from the resort

My only qualm about Rishikonda was that it wasn’t a private beach. However, the crowd was small and the people weren’t privy to what tourists were up to.

All I wanted to do on this vacation was to laze and enjoy the beach. There are a lot more things to see in Vizag though. The Borra Caves, Arakku Valley, more beaches, and lots of temples. If you love to drive, it would be well advised to rent a car because the city has some breath taking scenic roads that one will thoroughly enjoy driving.

drive to vizag rishikonda beach road

My experience with the return train journey was horrible. The train was initially delayed by 3 hours, and it only kept increasing. It finally arrived a whole 5 hours late! This did give me an opportunity to explore the city, and I managed to sit through a whole Telugu movie – for the first time.

All in all, Vizag is a truely beautiful beach town to visit, and for me, it really was the Goa of the East Coast.

Yes, It Actually Happened!

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Santosh

bic_logo
Millions watched it, but we were there!

That’s what a friend’s Facebook status said late Sunday evening. The first Formula 1 race in India had just ended. The air was still dusty, you could smell the burnt rubber, and we wanted more!

Barely two months ago, the Buddh International Circuit was still a huge pile of dirt. There was uncertainty in the air about whether the first Indian GP was ever going to take place. I took my chances, booked my flight tickets early. And then, the tickets went on sale the next day! Two days later, more than 15,000 tickets were sold and the South Natural Stand was already sold out! It was going to happen, F1 in India!

I left to Delhi on the 28th, by a very early morning flight. Delhi’s weather was surprisingly very much like what I love and am accustomed to in Bangalore. The only signs of being out of place was being in the center of what is an insanely huge terminal, Delhi’s IGI T3. Wow.

After a few phone calls, I was headed to Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, where accommodation for us had been arranged. I was already in a cab when I was told Ghaziabad was 40kms from IGI. Ouch! Oh well, the cab ride gave me a chance to enjoy the sights of New Delhi, at a price of course.

India Gate

We headed out to Greater Noida, where the Buddh International Circuit is located, another 40kms from our hotel. The roads around New Delhi are amazingly well kept; not a single speed breaker or ditch through the whole ride. I had already started liking New Delhi, and it was just the beginning.

The area around the circuit was hardly complete. I’m talking acres here, because it looked like the Jaypee group owns half of Greater Noida. It was Jaypee for as far as you could see. Amazing really. Then there was the circuit itself, damn. The first sight of it really gives you a sense of pride, making you not believe something like an F1 race was actually happening in India.

And then came out Alguersuari in FP2… oh my gawd. The sound of an F1 car was just unbelievably loud. And for fans like us, it was the epitome of the trip thus far. Unbelievable. A thousand miles traveled, and the just the sound of an F1 car had made us feel it was worth it all.

Friday evening was spent in Delhi, visiting India Gate and the famous eatery Khan Chacha. My opinion about Khan Chacha – the owners are egoistic and the prices just don’t justify the taste. More on this later.

Saturday involved being late to Qualifying because of traffic, visiting the F1 Village, returning to India Gate, and heading out to Karim’s. Karim’s too, was over hyped. It was 9pm and the Biryani and Raan were already over. WTF?

Sunday. Race Day! And boy, was it worth the 2 hours in traffic. We made it just in time for the parade lap, and cheered as Vettel, Schumi, Massa, Alonso, and Karthikeyan went by on old classics; and uttered racist words as Hamilton passed by. We watched as Massa and Hamilton collided, Massa’s Ferrari grinding to a halt as it passed turns 10 and 11, Massa being scootered away (on a Honda Activa! ), and after the race, the damaged Ferrari being towed away just a few feet from us. Ahh, worth it all.

We were THERE!

And as an added bonus, we saw the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, stuck in traffic right besides us, happily acknowledging the crowd that had stopped their cars to take photos!

Sunday night’s dinner was at Kake-Da-Hotel, and WOW! The half an hour wait was a small price to pay for what was the best Butter Chicken and Mutton Keema I have ever had. Khan Chacha and Karim’s can learn a thing or two from Kake-Da, the food was superb and light on the wallets. A must for anybody visiting Delhi.

Sides: This post was to be written more than a day ago, but I ended up sleeping for 20-hours straight after coming home!

Must-Have Android Apps #1

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Santosh

I come across so many good Android apps now and then that I would love to share, so I thought I’d make random blog posts here every often to share them. Here’s the first one.

#1. Lookmobile

Lookmobile

If you’ve left your phone behind, and would like to access any new SMS, call logs, as well as contacts, this is the app that you absolutely must have! Remember Texty for Chrome? Think of this as an enhanced version that works across all browsers. Some would have privacy issues using this, but well, guess it isn’t for you then. (The website does store all your contacts and SMS for only the current session, and is then erased.)

[Market link]

#2. TripAdvisor

A fantastic app for travelers. Gives you information on hotels, restaurants, as well as photos and other details about almost any place you’d like.

TripAdvisor

[Market link]

My search for Navi Mumbai, India

An Epic 1000km Trip Around Karnataka

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Santosh

Back in June, a bunch of us decided to vacation at Chikmagalur, a hill station quite close to Bangalore. We booked a couple of rooms with the Horticulture Department of Karnataka (they run lodges there), prepared ourselves by packing warm clothes, and left.

The check-in time was supposed to be around noon, so leaving at 6 in the morning, we were sure to reach there around noon. After a few hiccups that I’d rather not mention, we were at the bus stand at 7 am. We caught the first bus to Chikmagalur only to realise there weren’t any seats left. Getting down at the next stop, we spent some time snacking on biscuits while I spoke to a friend. In the heat of the moment, someone brought up the topic of going to Mangalore, and just as that came up, a bus to Mangalore was in sight. Without thinking, all of us boarded the bus and began our trip to Mangalore. “Screw the room bookings money”, we said.

Epic Bhatkal

We ended up staying in Bhatkal for a couple of days, visiting Idugunji and Murudeshwar in the process. Then headed over to Honnavar and Jog Falls. Jog was brilliant, even though it wasn’t the right season for it. We stayed here for a night and boy, was it fun!

All in all we clocked about close to a thousand kilometers and about 6 days out of the house in total. EPIC!

Here’s the map of the whole trip:

View The Bhatkal Trip in a larger map

Bangalore Weekend Getaway – KRS, Brindavan Gardens, and Kanva Reservoir

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Santosh

Over the weekend a couple of us from college and a good friend from school decided that we should head out somewhere for the long weekend. After some initial thought and some troubles, we decided a one day trip was better.

Initially, we decided to go to Siddara Betta, which is a small hill about 25kms from Bangalore. It’s situated off the Magadi Road. At the last minute, we didn’t take the turn towards the hill, but instead took Mysore Road and thus began what was going to be a 330km, wild ride through some remote parts of Karnataka and some well known parts as well.

En route to Mysore, we repeatedly saw signboards to Talakadu, which sort of got on my nerves because Talakadu was quite far off. Nevertheless, it excited my two pals, Virinchi and Somonnoy, who would scream in unison every time we passed a Talakadu signboard. It was in a similar fashion that we ended up going to Kanva reservoir.

Kanva Reservoir

Kanva reservoir is a small reservoir that is about 8kms off the Bangalore-Mysore SH17. What we didn’t know was that the 8km stretch was beyond traversable by car. And yet, we decided to go ahead anyway. After an hour of torturous driving that included some wheel spin and almost getting stranded, we reached what was supposedly the reservoir. Kanva reservoir turned out to be nothing more than just a 30 feet wall built across a large lake. It was ridiculous. And to make matters worse, the water level was very low thanks to the bad summer we’ve had so far. Nevertheless, we decided that we had to do some justice to the 8km drive, and sort of had a little fun by the water.

Coming back from Kanva was much better. We took a detour that took us through several small villages and then to Channapatna. The one lane road was well tarred and maintained which helped us make up some time. If you are really interested in going to Kanva, I suggest that you ignore the signboard on SH17 and head towards the town of Channapatna where you come across a road diversion. Take the right and left at the dead end and head straight from then on. It’s best to ask for directions every few minutes as it could get a little tricky.

Back on the SH17, we threw fuel economy out of the equation and sped on towards Mysore. Several minutes later, we stopped by McDonald’s. The air-conditioned McD is a nice place to stop by for some burgers and a cool drink as well.

Brindavan Gardens

Back on the highway after an hour, we raced towards Mysore. About 25kms before Mysore is the deviation to Krishna Raja Sagara Dam (KRS). The road isn’t all that great, but manageable. It’s best to reach KRS before 4pm or you’ll end up being in the midst of a large crowd. People are no longer allowed on the dam for security reasons (somebody threatened to blow it up). So you’re stuck at Brindavan Gardens. It’s not such a damper. The place is quite an eye sight, and especially a place for love birds.

It’ll take you at the least a couple of hours to go around Brindavan Gardens (leeway for photographs and tea breaks taken into consideration), so make it fast. There’s a colourful display of fountains at 7.30pm or so, but we couldn’t wait for that long. We left as soon as the sun went down. From then on it was nonstop to Bangalore where we reached home somewhere around a little past 10pm.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable trip. We only wish we had left Bangalore earlier so we could go around Mysore as well. Maybe next time!

Trip to Gokarna Om Beach

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Santosh

Engineering has been quite monotonous so far. At least 6 hours of classes everyday and sometimes up to 8 hours. Thankfully, you only have to be stuck with each subject for less than 5 months. After the semester exams, a bunch of us close friends headed off to Gokarna, a small town in the Karwar district which has some really beautiful beaches that attract a lot of foreigners.

We initially wanted to go by train, but the train timings were such that we would reach Shimoga in the middle of the night, and from there, we would need to take a bus to Gokarna. Instead we took a sleeper coach bus right from Bangalore itself. The bus was an hour late! En route, our dear friend Somo made the bus wait for a good 10 whole minutes as he came running from home.

We reached Gokarna at 7 in the morning. What was surprising was that there was almost no humidity despite being a coastal town. The weather was excellent!

gokarna om beach photos

Once at Gokarna, we had to hire autorickshaws to Om Beach. The beach is pretty far from the bus stand and 100 bucks for the rick is worth it. En route the tiny ghat section, you will see Gokarna’s other beaches which are equally as beautiful as Om Beach. Once at Om Beach, we had to walk till the end of the beach to find a place to stay as every other shack was either booked or available only to foreigners. Apparently, charging foreigners a large amount for a lousy shack is how these people manage to keep the price cheap for us.

The entire stay for 2 days was just brilliant. Day 1 went away with exploring the geography of the place, lazying by the beach, and a visit to the temple. On day 2, we trekked quite a lot in the somewhat hot sun and found a stunning spot where we could see a panoramic view of the sea. Sadly we hadn’t taken our cameras on the trek. The rest of the day was spent floating in the sea, playing catch in the water, and losing precious stuff.

Budget wise, I had expected us to spend close to Rs.2,500 like the last trip to Mangalore. Surprisingly though, the whole thing worked out at exactly Rs.1,600 per head! Here’s the run down for those planning to go to Gokarna:

Travel – by bus (to and fro), sleeper coach (Seabird) — Rs.800
Accommodation – Sunset Cafe — Rs.300 per room (2 people in a room with maximum 3 allowed)
Food – this was the costliest because we did not skimp on our non-veg craving, and yes, ’cause we’re hogs, lol – Rs.450
Autorickshaw – the only way to travel from the beach to the town — Rs.200

I haven’t gone into much detail about the trip due to lack of time and patience. Gokarna is overall a very nice place to visit. Om Beach is calm, quiet, and a privy place away from hooligans. Contrary to recent rumors, the beaches are kept really clean and morally well looked after.

Santosh G.S.

Deterministic Chaos of A Random Geek

Tag Archives: Travels