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Vijayawada trip - Part 2

 On the third day morning of our trip we were much energetic and ready to take on the day after a largely rested night. By 8:30 an we came down to the reception and was soon followed by Raju garu. He first took us to the restaurant near Vijayawada SP office for breakfast. This again was similar to the yesterday's, self-service, get your dish and eat it as you stand. As the crowd was less we for a table to place the plate. Had two maida poori, ghee dosa and coffee here for less than Rs.200. 

Our first place today was the Kanaga Durga temple. Its in the middle of the city on top of a small hill. The entrance charges Rs.50 for the car. Mobile phones are not allowed inside the temple. The queues to the darshan was very huge. With the help of Raju garu we connected to one of the person inside the temple. He took us through the Rs.500 ticket queue, near to the Goddess Kanaga Durga for a much blessed darshan. In turmeric kaapu the was glowing. The temple inside was very well decorated and looked similar to that of the Thirumala. We bought laddoo prasadam and came out. 














From this temple we can see the magnificient Krishna river and the Bhavani island right in. This is the USP of this city, we can't escape the presence of Krishna no matter where you go around the city. We went to the Haritha resort from where the boats carry passengers to the Bhavani island. There are villas in the island where we can stay and enjoy many adventure sports. But as the Krishna was overflowing due to the rains for the past couple of days the boat service is on hold. Luckily for us its not raining now so we are available to do sight seeing with the pleasant weather. 






Next we drove to the place where the Krishna and Godavari meet, this sangamam spot shows the colors of these rivers. Godavari is muddy where as Krishna crystal clear. Then we went to the area gives a good glimpse of the might Krishna river. People can site on benches and enjoy the site of the flowing river here. One could witness the river brimming like a ocean at that moments. So small boats near the shore were down in water due to the floods. 














Our next site seeing was at Kondapalli fort. A ruined fort, this had interesting exhibits and remaing of for on a small mountain. Climbing up this mountain is a fantastic drive and was possible only bacause of Raju garu. So went all way to the street where kondapalli toys are sold. The small wooden toys painted in contrasting colours were our companions during the childhood. The excitement went down the drain when we saw the same toys coming with high price tags. Just got 3 dolls for Rs.1000 and left the place. 







After shopping it was time for lunch. We had planned for having food at Kakinada Subayya Gari. We devoured the typical Andhra meals here. For Rs.260 per person this was very delicious. We were exhausted by the end of lunch to decided to take a break. Went back to our accommodation, had an hour of nap and started back by 5:30pm.






























In the evening sojourn, we first went to Ambedkar statue. Having been built by the previous government, this wonderful monument is not under good maintenance. Called the statue of social statue, the bronze statue stands 200 feet tall. This monument covers the life of Ambedkar, in a two storeyed building. The campus is covered with garden area,  numerous plants and lightings to enhance the view. Its a must visit place.


From here we went to the near by Besant street, the happening market of Vijayawada. Here again the parking is for Rs.50. After a stroll across the market, we went through the Prakasam Barrage, witnessing the light works and the river over flowing.  We bid bye to Raju Garu and went back to Narmada grand. In the morning we started back to Chennai. With a brief visit to Nellore for a lunch at Komala vilas, we reached Chennai to 5 pm via the amazing NH16.





Until we hit the roads again..
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Location: Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India

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