[subhojitb]

It's just like from a batsman’s perspective; he crosses 50, he aims for a century. Generally, in his journey from the half milestone to the next big one , he is more confident. From my perspective, I had a drive to Puri (50 runs) couple of years back and since then always yearned to make a hundred in terms of a road trip.
This drive to Vizag ( read in my terms as century though on a flat track ) gave me a serene pleasure which tested my focus and energy of driving for 14 hours (batting atleast two sessions); with drive, drive and drive for 900 kms (playing 200 odd balls); with tourist spots being plenty from Simhachalam, Dolphin’s nose, Kailashgiri, INS Kusura Submarine, Hrushikonda beach, Thotlakonda Monastery and many others ( struck nearly 10 fours); Two big sixes in the form of Bay of Bengal and Anantagiri/Araku Valley and surprisingly not to forget couple of THREES as well like Chilka Lake and Borra Caves; and as luck go sometimes with batsman’s way – found a FIVE in the form of karting at HubForYouth.

The travellers:

My Son



My Daughter


My Better Half and Yours Truly


And..Our Beloved ERTIGA



Day 1:

I love to drive and live to drive but thought of spreading the onward journey over two days. First, did not want the trip to be too hectic right at the very beginning as kids were involved and secondly, it was a relaxed holiday with ample days for a trip like Vizag-Araku only. Though, my better half would raise serious objection to the term “Relaxed” as she had two little devils to manage the entire trip while I was busy in drive and tour planning.
The plan for Day 1 was simple – start late and just reach Bhubaneswar for an overnight halt.
We started at around 8:30 in the morning after having our breakfast at home. The Santragachi-Kona Expressway was the only minor dampener in our smooth journey till Bhubaneswar. Infact, out of the many toll plazas, Jaleswar turned out to be the most deserted one. Gone are the days of long haul of trucks on the either lanes and along with that the era of “Chai pe charcha” for TeamBhpian’s thread of bypassing Jaleswar. It’s indeed has become such a boon for the thousands of cars crossing each day through there.
The only home-made lunch of the tour was completed before Bhadrak arrived and our Ertiga also had a much deserved break.


Son - “Kharagpur, Jaleswar, Balsore tarpor tarpor jah bhule gechi” meaning Kharagpur, Jaleswar, Balsore ..ohh! I forgot after that
Daughter – “Amra to ei rasta diye Puri jaini” – We didn’t go to Puri via this road
Son – “ Dhuss !! edik diyei gechi re “ – We travelled through this route only

--- Was one of hundreds of such conversation which my ear caught before the kids went to “sunset” in their respective rows and dozed off.

It was 5 pm when we reached our destination for the day – Hotel Pushpak in Bhubaneswar with my sedate driving style.
Hotel Pushpak had cosy rooms and the day ended with a tasty Chinese cuisine at the hotel itself.



Santa added extra fun element


Day 2:

After a nice breakfast, started at around 9:45 and soon hit the highway. Small hillocks were now more prominent and the road – an absolute belter of a track. Slowly city traffic started to diminish and driving was a pleasure. Spotted a white scorpio of BHPian Debasish with rally stickers and thought of catching up with him. Unfortunately, the car took a different route to probably Chilka.
Though any chances of bird sighting were slim particularly from the banks and the strong late morning sun made sure hazy landscapes – still Chilka Lake from OTDC Panthanivas at Rambha was a treat to watch and provided us with ample photosession opportunity.








“Way to Mayfair Gopalpur” - sometime next,” way to APTDC Baruva” - sometime next; the banners zoomed past through the windshield only to be seen as oblique through the side view mirrors.
Munching on sweet oranges, sweet melodies from the 90’s giving us company, late afternoon sunrays keeping us warm – the drive was indeed memorable with GMaps reducing the number of kms left.

Slowly, the Vizag shoreline was visible on the left with the adjacent Beach road dressed up in starry LED lights. We reached Our hotel Ambica Sea Green at around 4:45 PM which was right in front of the sea in the R.K. Beach area close to the INS Kursura submarine.




Day 3:

After two days of driving, its now time for some sight sightseeing. The day started with a good breakfast at the Panorama restaurant of the Hotel. A cup of hot coffee with sea and INS Kusura in the backdrop on the right and War Memorial on the left, marked a perfect start to the day.








First taste of ghat/hill driving on a tour is really special even though its an ultra short one. We visited Kailashgiri and had a great time there.

Waiting for the Toy train



Fun time at the adjacent park


Statue of Shiv-Parvati


The Museum



We came back to hotel for lunch and tried the famous Bamboo Chicken right there before visiting Araku.



Post lunch, we visited the mighty INS Kursura Submarine museum and were left awestruck.





The evening was well spent with a nice light and sound show at the VUDA City Central Park.






Day 4:


We visited Simhachalam Temple after breakfast which is situated on the Simhachalam Hill and is 800 metres above sea level. The idol in the temple is worshipped as Narsimha – the lion god avatar of Vishnu. As with many temples, it took us a long time to complete the visit as it had dedicated queue.



My in-laws used to stay at Vizag many years ago and my wife also went to a pre-school there for couple of years. Drive down the memory lane feels nice, but driving back to the memory to fetch the obscured lane and then following lane driving in a new city and relying on GMap and local shops to find that lane which existed 30 years back – is a challenge that comes not a very distant second to Ray’s Sonar Kella.

Though we could not locate the house where my in-laws stayed long ago, we spotted the school



Followed by a quick lunch at KFC in CMR Mall, we headed towards Dolphin’s nose Lighthouse. Google was pointing the route through Navy area and as expected we were not allowed by them. We were back on track after some guidance from the locals. Perhaps, the road to Dolphin’s nose was the only not-so-good road in our entire trip. The road was quite narrow and devoid of tarmac at few places and quite steep at some bends.

The lighthouse area was poorly managed with only one entry and exit stairs where the queue was standstill. After some valiant efforts, we changed our plans and enjoyed the beauty of the sea from the surrounding areas.



While returning we could visualize the stunning sight of the dock area.


The day ended with some shopping at CMR shop at Jagdamba Market area.

[subhojitb]

Day 5:
If sunrise was the winner for the last two days, today was time to make some amends. It was meant to be a long day as we had plans to cover Araku and Borra caves and come back to Vizag by night. Waking up early ensured that we catch a glimpse of the sunrise.


By now, as we were travelling almost for the last three days via Beach Road, the initial route was mapped in the mind. Crossing the Dinosaur statue, Submarine part, Mango Hyundai with Kailashgiri in the backdrop, taking a left turn towards Laddugopal -- our Ertiga soon hit the road to Araku.
Like a change of flavours for the taste bud for the last few days, the sound of music also witnessed a change when we tuned in to Radio Mirchi Vizag to hear the catchy “Dio Dio Dishakha Dishakha” which was instantly greeted by my kids.
The child in me often fantasizes in a tour “This time last week”. The fascinating curves, Ertiga’s torque, the gorgeous gorges, hide and seek of the sunrays and lastly no mobile network ensured complete switch-off from last week’s meetings, client calls and daily deliverables.

We stopped briefly at Anantgiri Coffee Plantation






Then at Galikonda View Point



Locals preparing Bamboo Chicken



Approaching Araku


Araku Tribal Museum




Visited Araku Railway Station



After some refreshments, left Araku town and stopped at the outskirts for a photo session








As we had shortage of time, skipped Kathikai falls and headed straight to Borra Caves. This ancient marvel could have been enjoyed even more had all the cars been allowed till the final point. Few armed men patrolling the area and looked hardly like cops were allowing selective cars to travel to the final point and stopping the majority 2 kms prior to the main parking lot.

After some walk and auto ride, finally reached Borra Caves






The sunrays were dying and its now time to get back to Vizag. The dusk had set in, uncanny sound of insects were creeping inside Ertiga’s cabin as engine growl was reduced owing to downhill, osram 130/110 bulbs and its ally Hella projector fog lamps formed a sharp focus amidst the surrounding dark areas. Call it a coincidence or not, while we were crossing Tyda jungles my son suddenly turned on Maneater of Dumnigarh – a Sunday Suspense audio thriller. The environment could not have been more apt and the drive etched in memory – forever.

After a tasty dinner back at Vizag, it’s time to get to bed.
Good Night...action packed last day at Vizag coming up



Day 6:

RamaNaidu studio



Its a nice museum and showcases different movie apparatus like cameras, Editors, Sound mixers and many more. Kids loved the place and so do we. Unfortunately could manage only one photo in the inside as photos were not allowed.



The Beach View


Thotlakonda Monastery


Right at the very beginning of the tour I raised the excitement quotient of the kids by giving them a tease of HubForYouth. All throught out the tour they kept the “bee” mode on and have pestered me like none to spill out the beans. And now, the moment has arrived.
However, I felt sad as my wife was not allowed to drive the kart as driving with a saree was not allowed.





And tried the archery as well


Visited Bheemili


Spotted some feathered friends


A more closer look


After lunch at Sai Priya Beach Resort, climbed to Haritha resort to have a view of the Hrushikonda beach



Right on the beach


Ropeway ride to Kailashgiri


As the sun set past the Vizag skyline, the silhouette became more prominent and the city was beginning to switch on from the daylight mode to the night mode; as the ropeway came to a halt, I realized that our Vizag siteseing has come to an end.
Somehow, Ambica Sea Green’s cuisine didn’t suite our taste buds and to my wife’s credit she found a wonderful restaurant named Rasa which is housed at Vivana Hotel where we enjoyed our dinner for the last three days.

Day 7:

One final parting shot


The plan was clear – have a good night’s sleep, a good breakfast at hotel, start at 8 am sharp, have packed lunch and give minimum but adequate breaks. My target was to reach Bhuvaneswar by 3PM so that can reach home at Kolkata by 11. Fortunately, the GQ drive ensured that my plan was spot on.

Factsheet :

Though each person defines his/her own travel, still want to share some points from my perspective about the journey

• Total distance covered – 2252
• Fuel efficiency – 19.2 km/l
• Total toll (to and fro) – 2100/-
• Though we were carrying our food from home, from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar -- breakfast points could be at Express Food Plaza/Sher-e-Punjab, Kolaghat and lunch break could be taken at Orion Hotel, Bhadrak

• Our hotel in Bhubaneswar was Pushpak near Governor’s house and is around 7 km from highway. Room rates based on Makemytrip after discount, for Family rooms during the Christmas season was around 2600/-. The rate from hotel was around 3800/-. Family rooms were good in size and the bed comfy and the linen clean. Room service during the peak season turned out to be marginally slow but quite acceptable. Food was tasty and rates reasonable. Breakfast had decent spread. The parking of the hotel was in the opposite lawn and a small lane separates them. Security looks after the parking area but owing to other commercial outlets, other cars may be parked as well.

• Road tarmac from Bhubaneswar to Vizag is more smooth than that of Kolkata – Bhubaneshwar route which has occasional undulations. Apart from not-so-enticing-from-outside looking Dhabas specially for family and kids, there is very little proper option on the highway. I did notice one in between Brahmapur and Srikakulam, but unfortunately zoomed past that without proper info.

• Our hotel in Vizag was Ambica Sea Green was on RK Beach opposite to INS Kursura Submarine Museum. All the rooms are sea facing with Vista and Suite rooms having frontal view while Premium and Aqua rooms having side view. Premium rooms are more closer to the sea than Aqua but aqua rooms have a small aquarium inside the room to attract kids. Aqua room cost 3500/- through a Paytm deal and Premium room cost 2800/- through a Makemytrip deal. Rate quoted by hotel was approximately 5000/- Rooms were on the smaller side but clean, cozy and comfortable with central ac. Parking was limited to 5 cars within the premise and 4-5 just outside the main gate. The restaurant had an excellent panoramic view. Service was good. Breakfast spread was good but main cuisine was not liked by us. There are options on the beach front from Café, Bakery and Fast food. For us we tried Sonar Bangla (not the one in Kolkata though) which turned out to be just okay-ish. For rest of the days, we stuck to Rasa restaurant housed at Vivana hotel which is really good but not on a very higher side.

• Details regarding siteseeing places can be best found out thanks to Google and Wikitravel. However, just want to mention couple of points here:
• Dolhphin’s Nose Lighthouse entry gate closes at 4:45 PM and if one has intention to climb the top, then must reach there by 2 PM to avoid rush. GMaps tried to trick us by showing route through Navy area where we were rightfully not allowed. Rerouting showed different ways but through Navy area only. Guide from locals thereafter ensured the alternate route which is narrow at some places and not maintained properly.

• At Simhachalam Temple, bags, purse, mobiles are typically not allowed and can be kept at counters. There are three queues – Free, 20 Rupees, 100 Rupees – though I took the 100 rupees one, found that there’s not much difference in terms of time saved.

• In Kailashgiri, amusements like Park, Toytrain, battery car operated tour, Games can be enjoyed during the day. However, to have a view of the Vizag city below, morning or evening time is best suited due to mid-day haze. Onward Ropeway journey from sea side is having less queue but that queue almost doubles up at the hilltop. Ropeways have generator backup.

• Apart from the famous malls, Jagdamba Market is an open market but still having many departmental stores selling apparels to jewelleries, handycrafts to sweets.
• INS Kursura Submarine museum is a treat to watch and is closed on Mondays. Being holiday season we had to stand in a queue closed to an hour to reach the entry gate.

• Road from Vizag to Beemili is a driver’s delight with sea running parallel. There are couple of churches of Portuguese remains and the beaches are pristine. In our case, we reached the farthest point in Bheemili after seeing Rama Naidu Studio, Thotlakonda Monastery and then traversed our way back to have our lunch at Sai Priya Beach Resort close to Hrushikonda beach which is a good resort.

• For a feel of karting, Hub-For-Youth is a must visit place and houses other activities like shooting, archery, Paint ball etc. Currently, kids’ kart is under maintenance and women wearing sarees are not allowed purely based on safety reasons.

• For the sweet lovers, LadduGopal is a nice place to try out some and carry back something for home.

• Vizag to Araku can be best enjoyed through Vistadome coaches of the Kirandaul Passenger as the route involves lot of tunnels and the valley view is awesome through those glass cabins. For us, we did not get the booking and hence tried the drive option. Though, this route does not pass through any tunnels, still, the experience of hill drive through Tyda and Anantgiri is a charm of its own. The roads are wide enough and driving should be fun for most. However, just to add that actual hilly roads start almost after 65 km from Vizag and the hilly road is about 55-60 odd kms. Each place has a charm of its own, but Anantgiri appealed to me more than Araku. Having said that, outskirts of Araku with valley in the backdrop and the train adding to its beauty, cannot be ignored.
As mentioned early in my posts, Borra Caves should be visited with time in hands as one might encounter traffic snarls and blocked roads 1-2 kms prior to the main parking area.
One last thing to point out from our experience was Vodafone network became non-existent just when the hill road started and continued till Araku and searching for nwtrok in multiple devices provided to be of little help. One can have the map in offline mode prior to visiting Araku
• Last but not the least, driving in Vizag city was pretty smooth despite limited traffic signals and even fewer traffic guards.


Special thanks to kids for their innumerable photoshoot poses and adjusting themselves beautifully in a self made cocoon in the last row of Ertiga and to my wife for taking care of all the packing, managing the kids and inspiring me to write this travelogue.
It would be unfair if I miss out on my trusted companion’s contribution – the Ertiga

U
Took us IN
Took us TO
Took us BY
Took Us THROUGH
Took us UP
Took us NEAR
Took us DOWN
Took us FAR

And more importantly Took Us Safely Back Home.

Its subhojitb signing off for now with an ambition to score daddy hundreds both in home and away next time soon. Cheers

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[NomadicLife]

It reminds me of my trip to Vizag and Araku. Beautiful pictures and nice write up.

[subhojitb]

Thanks a lot NomadicLife. However, knowing your personally, would request you to pen down your travelogues as well as you have so many experiences with special emphasis on North Eastern India. They would not only be a rich source of information but filled with mesmerising photographs. Looking forward to it...

[ALTIMAed]

Originally Posted by NomadicLife

It reminds me of my trip to Vizag and Araku. Beautiful pictures and nice write up.

Reminded me too of the trip I made with my wife and 2 and a half year old son last year. We stayed the first night at OPTDC Barkul. The rooms are nothing much to be said about, but the food was really good. The next two nights we stayed at APTDC Rushkonda. Amazing sea facing room with a huge balcony. The food at APTDC did not appeal to my wife, so Sai Priya Resort was our haunt for lunch and dinner. Food quality and quantity was really good.

On the return, we stayed over at Bhubaneshwar.

[ARAY]

I had a drive to Puri (50 runs) couple of years back and since then always yearned to make a hundred in terms of a road trip. – It's one of the best stretches. Kind of my regular stretch since I moved to Southern part of India. Hyderabad- Kolkata is one of the most scenic stretches.

Son - “Kharagpur, Jaleswar, Balsore tarpor tarpor jah bhule gechi” meaning Kharagpur, Jaleswar, Balsore ..ohh! I forgot after that
Daughter – “Amra to ei rasta diye Puri jaini” – We didn’t go to Puri via this road
Son – “ Dhuss !! edik diyei gechi re “ – We travelled through this route only
- Having these little kids in your long trip is always a fun.

GMaps reducing the number of kms left. – Actually long haulers like us enjoy this sight.

Is a challenge that comes not a very distant second to Ray’s Sonar Kella. – But the experience must have been magnificent.

Followed by a quick lunch at KFC in CMR Mall, we headed towards Dolphin’s nose Lighthouse. Google was pointing the route through Navy area and as expected we were not allowed by them. We were back on track after some guidance from the locals. Perhaps, the road to Dolphin’s nose was the only not-so-good road in our entire trip. The road was quite narrow and devoid of tarmac at few places and quite steep at some bends. – The drive via the Navy area to Dolphins nose is also scenic. There is a diversion that you can take on the right and follow up the hill.

While returning we could visualize the stunning sight of the dock area. – You made the perfect timing. The accurate light.

Skipped Kathikai falls – Let me try my best to unmiss it. Trust me, if you don’t drive on this road 60% of the fun is missed out. Moreover the water levels at this time of the year is questionable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wchJbUxJQ1o&t=

Few armed men patrolling the area and looked hardly like cops were allowing selective cars to travel to the final point and stopping the majority 2 kms prior to the main parking lot. – Parking at Borra is a mess, good that you did not park near the cave, it would have become a nightmare coming out. Although this selective filtering is a news for me.

Good Night...action packed last day at Vizag coming up- I am sure you must have enjoyed zig-zagging up the small hill that leads to the movie setup.

Climbed to Haritha resort to have a view of the Hrushikonda beach – The Harita resort uphill gives one of the most breathtaking views of the beach below.

Sharing shots from Rushikonda beach.


Sunrise from Harita


Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Keep travelling and sharing such stunning blogs.

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by subhojitb

... signing off for now with an ambition to score daddy hundreds both in home and away next time soon. Cheers

Subhojit, it's a beautiful travelogue and I enjoyed reading it! It's always charming to see the happy faces of the kids enjoying their road trip. Hope to read your next travelogue soon.

Thanks,

[subhojitb]

Originally Posted by ARAY

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Keep travelling and sharing such stunning blogs.

Thanks ARAY for such a thorough reading of my travelogue and providing input with beautiful one-liners. Waiting eagerly for your next lucid writing coupled with stunning photographs that you take

Originally Posted by gmhossain

Subhojit, it's a beautiful travelogue and I enjoyed reading it! It's always charming to see the happy faces of the kids enjoying their road trip. Hope to read your next travelogue soon.

Thanks,

Thanks so much Golam for the encouragement. Indeed, the happy faces of the kids makes the trip so special.Sorry for the late response as was off to a quick trip to Purulia-Ajodhya. Let's catch up sometime and plan a short tour.

[haisaikat]

Hi Subhojitb, very nice and we'll written travelogue, some of the reference like that of Sonar Kella would be best understood by Bengalis only as they picture themselves in the shoes of Mukul. I plan to visit Vizag this January and i have a few questions since my aged in-laws would be accompanying

1. How much walking is required from the parking of simhachalam to the actual temple?
2. Which are places of interest would you recommend that have least walking required to reach from their respective parking lots?
3. You covered the final return journey in one day starting 8 am from vizag. What were the actual times to reach Bhuvaneshwar and Kolkata? We plan to make stop at Bhubaneswar on the onward journey but on the return thinking if it can be chilka.