Weekend-Hyderabad

Visakhapatnam Trip – Part 1

By

After enjoying the setting sun and jhaal muri on beach, we went to Kalimatha Temple which was decorated for Kali Puja on 28th i.e. Diwali for non-Bengalis. Then we went to the famous CMR shopping mall as my parents have never been to a shopping mall before. But it was a disappointment compared to the real shopping malls like those in Pune.

Read More

Nostalgic Chronicle of Tirumala-Tirupati (Lord Balaji Darshan)

By

It is maintained as one of the safest and tidiest Hindu temples in the world. Tirumala is under control of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam i.e. TTD trust formed by AP government.
Many devotees go to Tirumala from Tirupati by Footpath way through steps.
We reached Tirumala and as we were feeling hungry we spotted the counter where free Upma prasad was given to devotees. We relished the hot Upma and felt satiated.

Read More
The Gol Gumbaz

A Deccan Odyssey

By

On the final day we visited the Tunga Bhadra dam in Hospet which is a multi-purpose dam for irrigation and electricity generation. The dam which was completed in 1953 is a source of prosperity for farmers in Koppal and Raichur Districts.

Read More

Beauty of the caves of AJANTA

By

The train was on time and I reached Aurangabad around 10 am. I took breakfast near bus stand and then caught a straight bus to Ajanta. Ajanta is around 90 kms from Aurangabad and situated en-route Aurangabad-Jalgaon. Bus services are very frequent on this route.

Read More

Exploring AP – Nagarjun – Suryalanka – Vijaywada

By

My favorite, never take the route back which you take to reach a destination, thus maximizing the opportunity to explore and know more. There are so many places in AP to Visit, so it was a week long plan to make a trip. I had 3 days in spare and almost 700-800km or budget based on my car’s milage. We were longing for Suryalanka beach from long, its the nearest beach from Hyderabad, not much advised in summer but still a beach is my attraction. We listed down, bora caves, bellum caves, warrangal, vijaywada, srisailam, nagarjun sagar, suryalanka, vishakhapatnam and many more. Finally, friday afternoon I decided for Srisailam, a piligrimage with just 200 odd km away from my home in Hyderabad. So, I texted my wife and my brother in law (he was on a short visit to our place) that pack your bags we are going to “Suryalanka”… that was an inadvertent mistake. Which I did not realize until I reached home from office. I was surprised to know that my family was apparently happy to know that we are going ot Suryalanka. I spoiled their excitement admitting the mistake.

Read More

Go Goa Gone !

By

Places to eat:
Viva Panjim: The best Goan food ever. Period
Brittos: Amazing desserts.
Nick’s Place: Baga
Curlies: Anjuna: Sea food wood fired pizza, Hookah’s and Grilled Fish.
Suaza Loboz: Calangute: Good sea and Goan food.
Infantaria: Baga: For breakfast. Sandwitches and Pan cakes are worth the money spent.
A small desi joint just before Baga beach: For breakfast of stuffed paratha’s, masala omellete and tea/coffee.
Food court near calangute: For 24*7 Multicuisine food. Not bad, not good.

Places to Visit/Things to do:
Beaches:
Baga for a touristy feel, and watersports. Watersports are quite affordable here, and you can get a package deal of Parasailing, Jet ski, bumper, banana rides for rougly Rs 12-1500 per person.
Mandrem: For calm, quite and relaxation.
Curlies: Tip, go post lunch as by evening theres a lot of rush which everyone might not like.
Arambol/Ashwem: For a firang goan feel.

Places:
Old Goa: Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old portuguese colonies.
Chapora/Dil Chahta hai Fort.
Any of the casinos in Panjim.
LPK @Candolim or Club Cubana @Arpora for discs.
Manchester United Cafe @Baga if you are into sports and follow the team.

Read More

Sankaram and Kotturu

By

Andhra was a bastion of Buddhism for at least a thousand years. It was a centre of learning and Buddhism spread out to Sri Lanka and South East Asia through its ports. The stupas and monasteries provided the architectural models for the more famous Buddhist shrines in the rest of the world like the famous Borobodur in Indonesia. The Buddhist phase lasted for nearly a thousand years till the rise of Shaivism in the 7th century CE obliterated Buddhism from this region. It is sad that while these places attract visitors from all over the Buddhist world, Indians are not aware of the existence of these places.In this series, I am retracing the footsteps of those distant ancestors of mine.

Read More

Hilltop monasteries on the seaside

By

What Jawaharlal Nehru had said about India is equally applicable to my hometown, Visakhapatnam, better known as Vizag. It is a young city with a history that goes back to the prehistoric period. In this series, I shall revisit the footprints left on the sands of time in and around Vizag by the early Buddhists.

I shall start at Thotlakonda, a 130 metre high hillock overlooking the famed beaches of Vizag. The Buddhist settlement was accidentally discovered in 1988 by Naval personnel were carrying out an aerial survey for setting up some facility.

Read More