A December tour In Vizag(2023)

It was not my first time to visakhapatnam. Back in 2016 I was here with my college friends and teachers on an excursion. Now the memories of the excursion are twinkling in my mind. I remember we calculating the number of different species in the famous RK Beach and Rishikonda breach. I still love to memorize the walking through the road in this beautiful Araku valley to go to the tribal museum and the journey to borra guhallu. The local people played flute before starting their daily work on the train to borra guhallu and just enjoyed it without much thinking. The flutes and the folks against the background of passing tunnels of the hills created an amiable ambience.

City of Vizag Between Eastern ghats and Bay of Bengal

So, after almost 7 years I again witnessed the stunning Vizag. This time we(ma, baba, Dada,didi, palasada, mamai, pukku, subhro)had such a short time in our hands. We stayed there for only two days(Dec-14th,15th) but we covered almost all the places of interest.

Photo clicked by Dada in front of Rk beach

Details of the journey:

13.12.23: From Shalimar station we boarded onto the coromandel express (train no. 12841; time- 03.25pm). My father in law drove didi and me to Shalimar station where my family was already waiting. However, we spent happy hours on the train with great gusto and fun. Being bengalee we could not break the tradition of eating now and then. Sometimes we had ‘paneer pakoras’ while other times we had biscuits.

Then we had our home-made delicious dinner, ‘luchi, alurdom’ cooked by my mother in law at about 8.30pm. Subhro then joined us in Bhadrak. Ma, Subhro and I slept in the B-4 coach whereas the rest were in B-8. After a half sleepy night it was 5.44 am when we reached our destination, Visakhapatnam station.

In front of the coromandel express after reaching Visakhapatnam

14.12.23:Then we were received by our ‘Driver dada’ and taken to Beach Edge Guest House which is situated exactly opposite Ramakrishna Beach. We were given a room to rest as we reached the hotel before the check in time.

However, the wide open sea and the orange aura of the rising sun offered strength to be alive once again with so much positive vibes. Beside the beach there were small stalls which offered nutritious foods like boiled eggs, ragi, sprouts chaat etc. We all ate boiled eggs and yummy sprouts chaat. Enjoyed touching the waves with our bare feet. Then we had tea. After that, we came back to the hotel and freshened up. By then our pre-booked rooms were available.

After sometime we all got ready to start the day’s journey.

The places we visited one after another on the first day of our trip are-
1. Simhachalam temple,
2. Kailashgiri,
3. Rishikonda beach,
4.Tenneti park,
5. Visakha museum,
6. Kursuka Submarine museum.

On the way around 10 o’clock in the morning we had our breakfast. We ordered local delicacies like idli, upma, dhosa and Poori(bhatura). Mamai was quite reluctant to have poori because he wanted momo there😆. But when his mamu fed him poori, he could realize that the poori tasted awesome!

1.After having our breakfast we went to Simhachalam temple through the beautiful, neat and clean roads of this city in Andhra Pradesh. We arrived there at 11.30am. From Rk Beach it is approximately 20km away and takes about 45 minutes in the car.

The design of the temple entails the rich sculpture of Indian art. Goddess Laxmi is worshipped here. There are tickets for Rs. 100, 200 and 300 to get the entry into the temple. We bought caps to get relief from the warm sun there and had a nice time clicking photos and selfies.

2. Then we visited Kailashgiri where the famous big white statue of Lord Shiva and Parvati is situated. This place is very pleasant and serene. Tall and small trees in the back of the statue sheltered many birds and squirrels. Besides a playground for children was also attracting our eyes. Pukku and mamai were playing, running and having fun.

We also enjoyed riding the toy train. A view point of kailashgiri beholds the whole landscape of the place which covers the beautiful hills and sea.

3. Then we had a quality beach ⛱️ time in Rishikonda beach. Mamai and pukku bought two sunglasses and posed like heroes and heroines, didi and Palasda made trending romantic reels. Everyone was enjoying the blue sea and the waves.

4. It was then 4 o’clock when we entered Tenneti park. This place is truly awesome. The heavenly ambience melted our hearts in a way that I would like to go again and again to cherish the warmth of this beautiful landscape. I think these pictures would justify a little bit of my saying.

5. Then we went to Visakha museum which has a good collection of naval history and artifacts of Kalingandhra region.

6. The Kursuka Submarine museum was our last destination for 14th December. It was a great experience to see the tools and equipment of the submarine. We were overwhelmed to think how man has used technology in such a good way!

Refreshments with Araku coffee at Araku Cafe

So, then we came back to our hotel and rested for a while. With the bright and brewing evening I became nostalgic to see the glittering, joyful city and the waves of the sea from my hotel room. I could not stop me from expressing my inner thoughts and scribbled something in Bengali-“এখন সন্ধ্যে ৭টা বেজে ৫৪ মিনিট, দাদা আর শুভ্র সবার জন্য dinner এর আয়োজন করতে গেছে।beach edge guest House এর 202রুম এ আমি এখন একাকী সমুদ্রের nostalgia গায়ে মাখাতে বসেছি।
এর আগেও vizag এসেছি কিন্তু এখন যেনো আলাদা রকমভাবে শহর টাকে পাচ্ছি। এত ঝাঁ চকচকে রাস্তা, রাস্তার দুপাশের সাদা আলোগুলো চোখে পড়ছে। সব বাস্তবতার মাঝেও এত জলজ্যান্ত একটা শহর এত সক্রিয় যে পুরোটাই সজীব লাগছে। হোটেলের জানলা টপকেই ওই কাছেই সমুদ্র। অন্ধকারে ঢেউ গুলো সাবানের ফেনার মতো তীরে এসে আছড়ে পড়ছে; হয়তো কোনো পুরনো স্মৃতি মিটিয়ে নতুনকে আহ্বান জানাতে। মরে যাওয়া অনুভূতি গুলোকে আবারও জ্যান্ত করতে ব্যস্ত আমি তাই লিখেই ফেললাম দুকলি।”

**View from 202room of Beach Edge Guest house**

Later, we had our dinner brought by my elder brother and husband from a Bengali hotel. After that, we slept.

15.12.23: We had to arise very early in the morning to begin our most desirable and awaited journey to Borra guhallu by the train Kirandul special which was scheduled to depart from Visakhapatnam station at 6.45am in the morning. But the departure was delayed. However, It was unfortunate that we couldn’t book the Vistadom coach of this train but we were not hopeless to see the passing tunnels amidst the green hills. Almost everyone started whistling and shouting in joy each time when the train entered the dark tunnels to listen to the echoes. Palas Da got down from the train and clicked photos when it was stuck in a beautiful place among the trees and hills before a tunnel. I played tunes in my mouth organ as per Didi’s request. Then, we ate some ‘chana’ and ‘papad’. I remember all were having tea and coffee to keep up the excitement. The clock struck 10.40 and we finally arrived at Borra Guhallu.

Having arrived at the place before reaching Borra caves we finished our breakfast with idli and dhosa.

1. Borra caves: Then we entered the Borra caves after buying the tickets. It’s phenomenal and one of the deepest caves in India. It is located in Araku valley of Andhra Pradesh. The main attraction of Araku is this wonderful cave where limestone and natural groundwater has undergone such an aesthetic chemical reaction that gives us this beautiful creation of nature with a large opening like the adventurous cavity.

We had crossed narrow and wet stairs to reach the temple at the top of the cave. This could be risky for an old person because the gap between two stairs is longer. However we visited the temple and came back by walking through many stairs. Meanwhile we came to know about a funny incident. A naughty money took away my father’s cap from his head and dropped in a place where my father’s hand could not reach. However, with the help of a stick a tall man brought it back to my father. There were many monkeys who are probably more intelligent than men. They even tried to snatch the cold drinks we bought. There are a lot of stalls for sale of many accessories to buy for family and friends. Finally, we ate famous bamboo chicken which was mouth watering indeed and the Bamboo biriyani was also very tasty and yummy.

It took almost 3 hours to cherish the cave’s beauty. 2. Then we headed for a visit to the coffee plantation area in Araku. There we took photos and bought coffee dust for ourselves.

3. Tribal museum : This was the day’s last visit. We roamed around the museum and cherished the garden with different colorful flowers and plants. There were statues of the tribal community where everyone was posing. The culture and daily life of the tribal community is depicted here with many handmade models and drawings. This is a nice place to visit. Now, there are many stalls of crafts for tourists but there were nothing like these before during 2016.

With this our bucket list fulfilled and we started for returning to rk beach.

On the way our car stopped near the rainbow restaurant due to an inconvenience in the wheel. By then it was 7 pm. The journey became a little hectic for us as we could not rest due to the short time. We all took Pan-D medicine in that halt. After a while, the problem resolved and we again resumed our journey.

After having our dinner on the way we returned to the hotel becoming exhausted. Then, no other thing bubbled in our mind except a deep sleep.

16.12.23: Our tour was over and we had to say bye bye to the beautiful smart city. So, we boarded Vasco da Gama- Shalimar Amaravati express(train no.18048) from Visakhapatnam at 8.45 am and returned our home after a train journey of about 15 hours.

We took so many good moments with us to cherish forever.

Tinge of The Arabian Sea and Impeccable Lakshadweep

Our married life has just started with its sweet, sour and witty moments. Everyone says to enjoy this flying time. We also enjoyed; not with the fact of not having these happy moments again in our lives but with the blooming hope to have a lot more.

However to witness the fairy mist of love we made our honeymoon trip to Lakshadweep and also visited Munnar. My husband arranged this tour with all his efforts and courage to make it ethereal and memorable.

By then my luggage packing was almost complete. Subhra arrived from Bhadrak on 20th and packing his luggage we attended Debjit da’s marriage ceremony. It was 11o’clock in the morning (21st January, 2023) when we started our journey from Fazirbazar with the blessings of our family members (Mamoni, Bapi, Ma, Baba, Dada, Didi and others).

At Kolkata International Airport on 21.01.2023 (12.11pm)

Leaving behind the city’s despair, the cab headed towards Kolkata International airport; from where we would board the flight to Bangalore. After security check in we had to wait for a long time. Then our flight took off at about 1.45pm. Through connecting flight we reached (9.15pm) the Cochin airport which added beautiful traditional flavour in its architecture. Here I learnt that Language can’t be a barrier to travel. For shelter at night, we stayed at Thomson regency. Fried rice and chicken butter masala from Zomato filled our stomach and freshened our mind from the day’s exhaustion.

During leaving from Cochin in the morning,7am **(22.01.2023)**

The dada of Thomson regency whose name I couldn’t remember, arranged an auto for us and we left for Agatti. Agatti is a small, regional airport which is situated on the serene Agatti Island which showcases the beauty of pure aqua-blue waves of the sea. The waxy leaves of a plant named ‘kanni’ in the local language(Pali, a mix of Urdu and Malayalam) adorn the whole area. The permit to Lakshadweep was arranged by tour agency GoL.

Through the midway among the coconut trees we went by car to catch the speed boat which will take us to our coveted dream island- Bangaram. I have never experienced the vigorous blue waves of the deep sea before. So, my vomiting tendency is pricked unknowingly. However this journey of two hours was very thrilling and magnificent.

Just think of a few handful people, isolated small islands, and only the blue beauty of the Arabian sea in front! How peaceful it is!

The corals under the crystal clear sea water were spread here and there. The skipper tried to follow the path where corals were not present because they don’t want to harm the special and precious corals. While we reached Bangaram Island we were welcomed by the staff of Bangaram resort with a refreshment drink, they introduced themselves and their services also.

The resort is exactly on the sea beach and it comprises small huts decorated with coconut trees and cane-chairs. The best place to calm and free our hearts was these cane-chairs where we spent quality time, we shared our happy and sad moments spontaneously. The testimonies of our happiness were the shining stars of the dark night and the roaring sea. Now in this scrolling era we usually forget to look up into the night sky and find peace in the little twinkling stars. But sometimes life can be simply happy if we know to cherish our mother nature and the calming environment.

Being isolated from the business of life we could feel us and cherish us, and taste the waves of life mimicking the forgiving sea rhythmically.

However, the silence of the island, twinkling stars in the sky, grey sea beach with orderly organized white chairs and tables for candle light dinner created an ideal cozy ambience for romance. This luxurious arrangement is probably desired by all couples on their honeymoon. Beside this, there were numerous dishes to cater to our hunger and the buffet system was cool enough. Having our dinner we came back to our room (room no. 106) and slept a winsome night.

The lucky Candle light dinner on 22nd Jan’23

The next day(23.01.23) began with the anticipation of witnessing the sun rise. We woke up early in the morning and started walking along the beach. Small plover birds were very restless to find food beneath the white sand. Subhra clicked nice photos of the flock of cute plovers. However, after a long time the sun winked above the aqua-blue water spreading its orange aura. Then we went to bangaram lake which is in the back of the resort. The path to bangaram lake is covered by kanni trees, coconut trees and many others. We followed the straight path to reach the shallow backwater of the sea. This place is truly awesome. Our eyes got stuck with the beauty of simplicity and richness. We stayed here for about 20 minutes and then came back.

Then we visited Parali Island which is a fine, tiny island; near this island many turtles were playing with gusto. We became very excited to see them through the clean and clear water from the speed boat. However, in this tiny island people live for a few days, just to earn their livelihood and then they go back to Agatti when the weather starts to get unfavorable in the months of monsoon. We bought jaggery made from coconut at a cost of three hundred rupees.

The next island visit was Thinakkara. It is the same in appearance like the Parali but here we saw the local people who catch fish and the fishes are dried and hung from the bamboo sticks. That is how they earn a little. Yes, life is so basic and simple there. To cross the island from one end to the other we became thirsty and bought a couple of coconuts from the local people which cost 50 rupees each.

Returning back we had our lunch. Then in the afternoon we went to Sand bank where the white sand is deposited forming a mound of sand and to reach there we had to cross shallow water during the low tide. It caused me to have a pastime to play with water and it brought back my childhood days once again. The amiable sunset added extra beauty to this heavenly white landscape. The blue of the sea was more prominent to behold the memories of Sand bank. Many colourful small fishes, crabs, and birds were visible; this view mellowed our hearts. We had a great time there indeed. So that is how our second day on the island was spent with lots of banter. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t have a candle light dinner for the rest of the days on the island due to unfavorable weather. However, we know we want more if we have more; so no regrets now.

It was 24.01.2023. Subhra was very keen to do the watersports and he firstly thought to do scuba diving to explore the corals. But unfortunately I can’t swim and I am very afraid of water. But I had a dormant wish for watching the living corals. So, he had chosen snorkeling instead of scuba diving. The guides took us somewhere in the deep sea water and told us to wear the masks and life jackets and then to go down by the steel-stair which connected the speed boat. My heart was throbbing as Subhra started first with his guide. Then I started with holding my guide and the rest is history. Plenty of colourful corals -brain corals, sea cucumbers and many other aquatic animals were clearly visible. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I just read them in my classical zoology book but never thought to have their glimpses in this Arabian sea. Shoals of fishes of different colours were roaming and I touched them with my own hands. My guide gave them food and they cherished it willingly. The deep blue water beside the corals frightened me and I gripped the shoulder of my guide tightly but he took care of me, told me to be relaxed and helped me to have safe watching of the corals. Many many thanks to him and my husband. We had no waterproof camera to catch this snorkeling experience but we can cherish the flashes of that moment now and then whenever we want.

After returning back we had a shower bath of the sulfated water and then had our lunch; with the drops of rain-water we waited for the evening to see the grey beauty of the sea. However, our hearts became overwhelming as we had to leave this beautiful bangaram island the next day. The white cat became very naughty and it was playing with us that night near the cane-chair. But we had to go because life is dynamic and random.

25th January’s morning started with heavy rain and black clouds in the sky. We became worried as the waves might be bigger. However, after a long time the weather was better and we started for Agatti to return to Cochin.

A Tiny Trip to ‘Mukutmanipur’

In this Corona-era life has taught us a lot but the monotonous being has snatched all our trivial happiness. A few times earlier, the wishes were wingless and meek but they now defy to prepare their wings for a little fly.

When the heavy breathings of so much uncertainties and negligence overwhelmed, I tried to part with them and indulged myself in finding the way of having a free-freedom. As we know beauty is always in our eyes, so I decided to go to ‘Mukutmanipur’ which is just 180 Km away from Howrah and located in the district of Bankura. I think this pocket-friendly trip can give amiable moments to rejuvenate a craving soul who wants to explore. However, it would be better if I can depict the whole journey and offer you to visualize those tiny happy moments.

There are different routes to reach this village.

From Kolkata many private buses are available which would take almost 6 hours.

2. By train, reach Bankura Station and then go to Bankura bus stop to avail Buses heading towards Khatra. From Khatra Mukutmanipur is only 11 km. One may book a car from Bankura station to reach Mukutmanipur directly.

I Preferred, the Train Rupasi Bangla (02211) which took 3hours 30minutes to reach Bankura from Santragachi junction. Then we took a toto to reach the bus stop (it took about 10min). We boarded in a bus which headed towards Khatra (it took almost 2hours) . From Khatra pump more we took a engine van to reach our destination (15min).

It is the first time that I have arranged everything of my own from online ticket booking to hotel booking. So, it is a memorable trip for me. With the blessings of the rising sun my mother and I set out. Luckily breaking my Dad’s belief of not having a toto at the silvery dawn we got a toto to reach Andul Station. After that we reached Santragachi station by 5.46’s Panskura Local. At platform no.1 the Rupasi Bangla express was ready to depart. We took our respective seats (D1/41&42) and the train progressed at 6.25am. We enjoyed our train journey with sleepy eyes. Though it was the middle of march (20th March, 2021), the cool winds did not make us feel so. However, the running bunch of greens welcomed us in our Sonar Bangla.

On the way to Khatra, through the window of the bus we cherished the landscapes that the king of seasons gifted. A vibrant beauty of Bengal with blooming red-‘Palas’ in the midst of dry fields seemed to be so enchanting that I just wanted to collect the fallen palas flowers and make a fine-garland.

Finally we reached Mukutmanipur when the clock struck at 12.40. Neglecting the drops of sweats we walked up to reach our resort- Sonajhuri Prakriti Bhraman Kendra which was close to the Kangsabati Dam. This nature resort is so beautiful that one can easily spend a quality time with his or her family. Here the shelter of tall trees and sweet chirping of birds touched our hearts. The rooms are on the lap of hilly rocks and there are many AC and NON AC rooms for accommodation. The names of the rooms are very unique as they refer to the names of certain trees like Tal, Tamal, Mahul etc. We stayed at Tamal-2 which neared the Hill top view point. A magnificent view of the dam can be cherished from the hill top view point.

Without any further do we took a cozy bath and got ready for having our lunch in the canteen. There the sonajhuri trees were showing their gracious presence through the window panes. After finishing the lunch we had a quick and nice nap in our soft and tidy bed. My mother woke me up when it was 4 o’clock. Then we went for exploring the dam area. From sonajhuri the dam is a 10 minutes walk. We reached there and reserved a toto for visiting places like pareshnath temple, kali temple, musafirana view point and the mohana of kumari and kangsabati river.

All these places were located on the dam. Basically the kangsabati dam is the major attraction in mukutmanipur. The setting sun created a golden splendour in the quiet water of the dam. However, the evening passed in the brewing fume of tea.

The next day we explored the dam by boating. Many stalls were there beside the dam in which beautiful earthen pots and crafts can be found. We took some of them to cherish the essence of the soil of Bankura.

We did not delay much as we had our train at 5:12pm from Bankura. I think it was a tiny but refresher weekend trip.