7 state driving trip : On the 14^th of November 2013 (at more or less the same time in the afternoon ) Tasneem and I took off on a drive. Quite a long drive actually; we covered a total of 8670 km, traversing seven different states over an 18 day period. It was a fascinating experience especially when we would drive into the evening in one state, watch the daylight slowly fade away, and then find ourselves in a different state, often with very different weather , topography and vegetation when the sun rose the next morning.

Today my post will be on the 1^st leg > 1000 km from Bangalore to Vishakhapatnam. We set off around 4 pm in the evening, heading towards Chittor on the old Madras road, the on towards Tirupati and then towards Nellore where we got onto the superb east coast road (NH5). Till Nellore its quite an effort, narrow road ( the 4 lane highway ended about 100 km out of Bangalore ) , heavy traffic towards Tirupati & lots of bends on the ghats. Once on NH5 driving was a pleasure, and with us taking turns at the wheel while the other slept on the long bench seat at the back we made excellent progress during the night , passing Vijayawada, and reaching near Rajahmundry by sunrise.

Shot from the car near Rajahmoundry

Near Vizag 

We clicked a few pictures from the moving car, and stopped for breakfast at one of the small roadside eateries of the kind we soon got comfortable with on the trip. Then it was on to Visakhapatnam, reaching our hotel by 11 am. 5 hours later, rested and well fed we headed out towards the beach which was just 3 kms from the hotel where we stayed.

Heading to the beach 

We parked the car and walked along the beach promenade and were pleasantly surprised to find a 90 feet long submarine on the shore looking a bit like a beached whale. On closer observation, we found out that we had stumbled upon the “INS Kursura Submarine Museum” the 1^st submarine museum in SE Asia and the No. 1 attraction in Vizag according to redoubtable tripadvisor.

 We could not resist the temptation to take a look, and after looking at some of the attached pictures you will get some idea of what it felt like to be there. The navy men were quite enthusiastic showing us the different parts of the submarine and answering questions and it was dark by the time we got out. We rushed back to the hotel, where I was going to meet my XLRI classmate Subbarao after a gap of almost 25 years. He took us out to dinner and then for a drive in his car and took us to the Ramakrishna beach which was totally deserted. We walked around and took a few pictures but unfortunately were chased away by cops patrolling in a jeep.

Fortunately, we had Subba with us, and they became quite friendly once he told them he worked for BHPV. Our last stop was for some icecream before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep before the 2^nd leg of our trip ; to Chilka lake and then on towards Puri where we were scheduled to stay two nights at a beach side hotel.

About this blog

My upbringing as the son of an army doctor is probably the source of my wanderlust. Right through my childhood we moved from one place to another every year or two. This had the plus that I am always comfortable being in new and unknown territory, but had the minus that I never bothered to make too many friends during my childhood: what’s the point when you know you will move on in a short while?

This childhood experience made me determined to give my children stability in their growing years: something that I had never experienced myself. But plonking myself in Bangalore for the last 19 years led to feeling of ennui within me with the wanderlust remaining caged within, until I developed the coping mechanism of taking several short breaks each year.

Travel for me is invigorating and enjoyable right from the moment when the plan to travel is made. I can hardly sleep the night before a trip and usually wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed in two or three hours; rearing to go.

For me the journey is as important as the destination. I enjoy the experience of traveling and watching the scenery change as you move along. That’s why my preferred mode of travel is by road which gives you the freedom to make frequent stops to experience things first hand for yourself , rather than have them pass you in a blur while looking out from a train, or miss them altogether while cruising at 30,000  feet in a plane.

Splashing through a stream @ Satkosia Tiger reserve. Pic by Tasneem. 

Leaving aside the initial training my father gave me on his ancient Yashica ( which took incredibly good pictures ) I was not much of a photography enthusiast until the age of digital camera’s dawned. While I enjoyed the sharp pictures we took with our Panasonic Lumix ; deep down I yearned for a D SLR ; a dream which came true in 2013 when my wife got us a Cannon 1100D. This was a whole new experience, which led to us taking a lot more photographs, and taking a lot more trips so as to take photographs. I was still very much a keen amateur photographer until we attended a workshop by Toehold where I learned the “science part” of D SLR photography. Since then I have become a passionate photographer, and the results have been improving steadily as well. I think I still have a long way to go as a photographer, but then; journeys have always fascinated and excited me…..

A boatman in the Mahanadhi river. Picture taken  with the maximum 250mm telephoto zoom I had at the time, and cropped to bring the subject into the foreground. 

A brook in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Orissa. 

My friends and family have often suggested that I write a travel and photography blog to share my experiences with like-minded people. For long I was overwhelmed by the technology and the thought of writing and posting on a regular basis, but with steady prodding by my wife and some help from a friend with the blog layout I have finally taken the plunge.