Visakhapatnam/Vizag – The Jewel of the East Coast! Being surrounded by the Eastern Ghats on three sides, the breathe taking Beach Road, the playful beaches, the moment of pride when you visit INS Kursura Submarine Museum, the dolphin’s nose, the hill and the valleys. This city gives you every thing.
Visakhapatnam is one amazing city where you should definitely visit. I visited this city during February end along with my better half. It was a sudden 2-day trip which was filled with relaxation and fun but the journey to reach the beautiful city was quite hectic as we had two stopovers (Vadodara – Delhi | Delhi – Hyderabad | Hyderabad – Visakhapatnam)! We took off from Vadodara at 7:20AM and reached Visakhapatam around 8PM! yes, the journey was definitely long but at the end, we really had a great time with each other and the city.
We checked-in at Novotel Varun Beach which is one of the most beautiful property in Visakhapatnam. It is right in front of the Bay of Bengal which has a mesmerising look when you see the great ocean from the room window! We actually felt so tiny in front of the Bay of Bengal. It was an amazing feeling at the same time we felt terrified too as we remembered the Hudhud Cyclone which caused a disaster to this city of dreams during October 2014. Nevertheless, things were restored soon and life moved on
And therefore, here we are standing in front of the huge glass window of Novotel facing the huge ocean.
As we had checked-in into the hotel in the evening, we toured in the hotel itself. Had dinner at one of the restaurants within the hotel and later had ice cream by the infinity pool. That day being a Shivratri (Hindu Festival of Lord Shiva) the RamaKrishna Beach which is right in front of Novotel was busy and chirpy all day and night. The local people were out with their families and enjoyed at the beach eating and having fun as it was a 3 day long holiday (Fri-Sat-Sun).
We woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning with the sun rays breaking our sleep and waking us up with a marvelous sun rise. It was a view which we gazed for a long time without a blink. I don’t think a picture could ever define the beauty it showed! Within minutes the sun was up shining bright and we realized that we had to leave our cosy bed and come back to reality! We freshened up and got ready for the long amazing day that waited ahead of us. Soon after finishing with our complimentary breakfast we stepped into the city for experiencing the amazing sights it had to offer!
We hired a scooter for a day from a local agency and drove our way at the length of the breezy and open Beach Road. A drive on that road feels like a dream. Our first stop was at Kailashagiri Hill which is a hilltop park which faces the wide sea. It is spread across an area of 380 acres, and has landscaped gardens, numerous viewing points and gigantic marble statues of Shiva and Parvati. We also had a toy train ride which circled the hill and we got to see the city in 360° and that was definitely a breathe taking view. We had a rested in the park along with light snacks as we had a heavy breakfast at the hotel.
We then began to drive once again on the Beach Road which took us to a calm, serene and peaceful Bheemili Beach. We sat on the beach side by side watching the sun that woke us up heading to the other half of the world. It was an awesome sight seeing the sun for such a long time and then finally drowning into the deep sea. The day had come to an end, but we still had the night ;).
Once again we began our drive heading towards our stay…the gigantic Submarine Museum was near the hotel and so we decided that we would visit it once we got back. So here we were in front of the enormous INS Kursura Submarine Museum which is Asia’s First Submarine Museum! It was a moment of pride seeing the nation’s pride right in front of us in the City of Dreams. Just a few days back, we had watched the Bollywood movie named “The Ghazi Attack” and I was really eager to step into the submarine and experience how it feels. INS Kursura was India’s fifth submarine which was commissioned on 18 December 1969 and was decommissioned on 27 February 2001 after 31 years of service in the Naval Army. She participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, where she played a key role in patrol missions. She later participated in naval exercises with other nations and made many goodwill visits to other countries. Despite being a decommissioned submarine, she still receives the navy’s “Dressing Ship” honor, which is usually awarded only to active ships. This museum is not to be missed when you are in the city!
We retired back to the hotel with memories to cherish life long regarding the sudden visit we made to this amazing city! Thou we did not see much, but we will definitely come back and leave many sights checked in our wanderlust list. We did venture into some cafes and restaurants in the city for some snacking and dinner for that night.
“Travelling…It leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller.”
– Jessica Pancholi