Vishakapatnam is located in Andhra Pradesh, on the shores of the Indian Ocean. While beautiful, this shore in Andhra is not quite as beautiful as the Arabian Seashore in Goa. It’s touristy, but more for Indian tourists, rather than foreigners. It is therefore, filled with trash. Also, (and I assume tides etc are to blame for this) there is a lot more junk washing up onto the shoreline, not just trash, but kelp, seaweed, etc. When walking on this beach, one wishes to go home and bathe. It’s not exactly the place you want to go and take a refreshing sea dip. (And being more of an Indian-style town, people would be horrified if you stripped down to a swimsuit anyways…)
Nonetheless, the views from the cliffs of Vizag are spectacular and the seafood is amazing! I took the early morning train from Rajahmundry to Vizag and met with my cousin Prashu and his man of business, Ashok. I would be taking the night train to Kolkata that evening, but this would give me a chance to see Prashu once more and to visit his building site just outside of Vizag.
Girl in View from Amulya Residency
This one is named after my goddaughter, Amulya Melissa. The Amulya Residency is in the construction phase and we went up to the roof of the building and looked around.
After seeing that site, as well as another plot Prashu bought for future development, we went to have lunch at a restaurant right near the seashore. It’s a small little shack, but it’s really famous for their shrimp curry.
Cousins
Prashu, Ashok, and their friends also took me to some places around the area, such as as the site of the ruins of an old Buddhist monastery and some spectacular viewpoints from the cliffs that overlook the sea.
Me on the Cliffs
In the evening, I got on the train which would be an overnighter to Kolkata. I was looking forward to this because I love to sleep on trains. There is something very soothing about the motion of the train travelling on the rails that rocks me to sleep. It makes me happy…even just hearing the sound of trains since childhood has reminded me of this feeling. It’s great.
On this trip, I was sitting in a compartment across from a family who was headed to Kolkata, on their way back from a family member’s wedding in Andhra. They were very thrilled to find out that I spoke some Telugu (the mom, in particular, as she didn’t speak any English). Only the son, who just finished his high school spoke relatively fluent English. They were very happy to ask me every detail about my life (Indians consider this conversation, more than an invasion of privacy). So, much of the train ride was taken up with awkward, basic-vocabulary conversation or sleep. I had a window seat, though, and took a few pics through the window of the scenery as we went by, which I had wanted to do. I had a great time, overall, and arrived back in Kolkata the next midday. I had booked a hotel and headed there via taxi, my South India tour finished.