#ExplorerSeries : Exploring Vishakhapatnam in two days!

I have been married for a month now and I am usually asked only one question. "How do you like your new town?"

I moved to the port town of Kakinada as the husband is posted here due to his work with a government agency. Quite frankly, I miss Hyderabad for it's fast city life compared to the laid back nascent day to day of a town. Marriage has brought with it a whole plethora of new experiences, the most prominent being trying to figure out my way through the market and the main bazaars. The most exciting task was the one I took up was to transform the house into a home while the husband was away at work all day. Two weeks seemed like no time at all amidst this at the end of which I was well versed with the town and it's ways. Pramod (the Mister) gets weekends off and after the mad two weeks, he scooped me off for a mini weekend vacation in Vishakhapatnam(also known as Vizag). 

Vishakhapatnam is a 3 to 4 hour drive from Kakinada. We chose to travel by road because I am a sucker for roadtrips and the whole way I revelled over how picturesque it was out the window. It being January, the weather also was not harsh and the humidity, bearable.

We drove to the Ramakrishna Beach on Saturday and explored the coastline on foot. As the International Fleet Review was scheduled for the next week, the security arrangements at the beach were pretty strict to get past but I did manage to splash my feet and wade through the terrifying water before the guard blew his whistle at us rather angrily. We did spend over an hour at the beach. Just because. 

Ramakrishna Beach

Right after the beach, sandy feet and all

We were staying over at a cousin's place for the weekend in the Vizag Steel Plant and so the plan was made for us to visit the Appikonda Beach located in the Plant premises. We spent a good half hour here as well and managed to sneak in a few good selfies before we headed back home. 

Pramod and I at the Appikonda Beach

Appikonda Beach, Vizag Steel Plant

Sunday evening, we sped up the car to Kailashgiri Hills. It is a must-go for anyone who is visiting Vizag for the first time. We did not have much time at hand as we had to get on the bus for our return back home. We did a quick tour of the resort in a toy train made for the tourists at Kailashgiri and on it's 20 minute journey, it offers you the most breathtaking views of the city and it's sprawling coastline. 

Looking down at Vizag from Kailashgiri Hills

View!

I explored a new city in the two days I had at hand and left Vishakhapatnam with a resolve to be back and explore it further. 
Until next time!
Cheers!
D

P.S. Unfortunately, I have not shifted my camera and related gear to Kakinada from Hyderabad so the pictures are all courtesy my phone, Redmi Note4G

#ExplorerSeries : To the Zoo

When was the last time you felt like a little kid and went to the zoo? For no apparent reason. Just. My family has a long standing love affair with the Zoo. My uncle, whom I call Nandusa, is a lover of zoo trips. On hardly a minute's notice, he will assemble the people in the house, hop into the car, pick up chips and chocolates on the way and head to the zoo. 

Hyderabad's Nehru Zoological park spreads over an area of over 350 acres and houses scores of different species of animals. My earliest memory of the zoo is of my dad driving a beat Maruti Omni and me and my cousin crammed in the back of the car with the door of the trunk propped open. We packed picnics and lunched out in the zoo park, right next to the lake or the model dinosaurs in the prehistoric park. After, we played with the frisbee and even enjoyed a couple of games of badminton hardly ever getting to beat my mum who was a local champ at the time. Even today, those Sundays spent at the zoo make for a happier time than a feverish trip to the overcrowded mall in the present. Simpler times were indeed the happier times.

And that is why, Nandusa loves to go to the zoo and loves to take us along. To be aware of a simpler happier time, when having fun was a shared lunch with the fake T-Rex. But we haven't been to the zoo in a while now. Our last trip was a couple of years ago and it was him, his brat of a daughter Suhana and myself with the camera. With half the family back home nursing our matriarch back to health, I decided to carry my camera along on the trip to document the trip as the father-daughter explored the zoo. This is also Suhana's first trip to the zoo after she grabbed the concept of animals and learnt to recognise them correctly. 

The following series of photographs are nowhere related to the zoo, it is a photostory of a father playing guide to his awed daughter. 

This is the first of the many posts that will subsequently follow in the #ExplorerSeries 
Would love to hear feedback.
Cheers!
D

Clouds and the Endless Sky

Clouds are one of my favourite things to photograph on any day. Especially the sunset. The orange hues, the burning red, the calm and cool blue tones and the disturbed rainy grey blacks. Silhouettes and Panoramas, everything looks other worldly set against an expansive sky. Here are few of the pictures I clicked over the last few months, spread across the various seasons and solstices, some from my phone and some from the camera. Irrespective of the medium, these images will transport you.

*peace*

Each one of these pictures spell out a moment etched in my head for life. Hope this resonates that.

Love,

D.

#ExplorerSeries Travelogues : Club Mahindra Pondicherry

Everybody dreams travel dreams. Some want to do it alone and for some it is a group activity. Some travel to connect to their inner selves and some travel to escape. To each, their own. As much as I would like to travel places all the time, work hinders all escapades and so small vacays are the best way out.

Mini Vacations are my sweet spot and I can never say no to a trip that breaks the monotony of day to day. Just recently we decided to visit Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu despite the blistering heat. Having heard rave reviews about the Club Mahindra Big Beach Resort, we decided we needed to check them out ourselves. We invested in a weekend and scooted off for a one day detour at the beach resort. And boy, were we dazzled! This is what we were greeted with....

A breathtaking view from the lobby at the Club Mahindra Big Beach Resort in Pondicherry.

The ground staff and the management were warm and cordial. This is just a part of the elaborate setup they do to welcome the guests at the resort.

Flora!

We swiftly checked into our rooms and retired for a relaxed day. We needed to rest because we planned on hitting the private beach at the resort before the sun rose. We were up at 5 am and off we marched to the beach. With my family and my camera tagging along, I jogged along to the shore only to be greeted with clear skies and the bluest sea.

The family chilling by the resort's private beach.

The dirt bike ride on the shore is an added bonus for beach newbies

My washed away tanned feet!

The Resort also has offers a variety of activities for the guests at their clubhouse and arranges entertainment events and galas every night. There's Zorbing and Xbox and Paintball and a whole lot of things that you can indulge in if you are not on the beach too long! My personal favourite is the dirt bike ride across the beach shore. Exhilarating experience. We also bumped into the lovely Navi Parihar in the lobby who was super sweet while we badgered her on about how wonderful Tanu weds Manu Returns was. Honestly, I dont know how actors do it, stay calm and take in all the hyperactivity from their audience and fans. Anyway, back to the vacay!!!!

Look who we bumped into! Navni Parihar!

While the resort is about 30 kilometres away from the main city, we did get a couple of hours to venture out into the city and explore. Sadly, we could not get to Auroville because we had very little time and we had to get back to the resort within a couple of hours. However, our hunger led us to a hotel called Mayura which served the yummiest dosas. The Highlight? This 4 footer dosa that invited tourists from neighbouring tables over to ours only so that they could click a picture and send it to their friends and family on WhatsApp. Needless to say, it was delish!

The 4 feet Family Dosa at Mayura in Pondicherry city!

Back at the resort, we spent a couple of hours talking and being lazy under the starry sky and listening to the sea at a distance. 

Sunset at the resort.

Next day, we were packed and set to leave for Chennai and back to pavilion but we were taking back a lot of memories and telling each other the whole time that Mini vacations are the best. Already making plans for another vacation!

We are definitely going back again soon! Highly recommended! 

If you do get a chance, do visit the resort. It is totally worth your while.

That is all for my short Pondicherry vacay. Do tell me your favourite vacation memory :)

Until next time,
Cheers,
D!