Beaches of Vizag

Yarada

If one proceeds south from the main city, 20kms along NH5, there lies one of the best beaches of east coast. The way to the beach is superb. A kucha road takes you up the hill where there are few Naval Quarters. The view from the hilltop is awesome. If you are lucky, you can actually see some Tollywood movie shooting.
There are private beaches available at this place. A km away from the beach is the famous Dolphin nose point but one has to take prior permission to visit the place which is under the surveillance of Indian Navy. There are few eco friendly huts, a small park for kids and a small nice restaurant situated here.

Rushikonda
Arguably the best beach of the beach city, it’s around 15km north to the city. It’s flat, safe and is constantly watched by coastal guards. Coconut water is a must have if you come to this hot destination. Daytime temperature can soar up to a whopping 40 C. For lovers of swimming and water sports like skiing and wind surfing, Rushikonda is an ideal destination.

Kailashgiri
Not exactly a beach, it’s more like a natural guarding tower for the beach city, two ways to get to the top of Kailashgiri – Kailash Mountain; by road or by the ropeway. The view of the city from atop is beautiful. While all this makes the ambience suitable for hang out, the presence of huge idols of Shiva-Parvati makes the place worth seeing for the devotes. The Titanic view point, manicured lawns and flower beds, food court, a jungle trail, souvenir shop, telescopic viewpoint and many more make the spot more exciting.

Marine Drive
The drive till Bheemli, also known as Bhimunipatanam is exciting. Once upon a time, the place was headquarters/port of the Dutch, the second oldest municipality in the country. The famous red mud hills are also situated on this route. There is an SEZ which is coming up near Bheemli but one can enjoy the scenic beauty/ rocky beach at the east coast.

PS: Don’t try this at any other beach

PPS: Not only beaches, the only hill station of A.P. – Araku is also situated at a 3hrs drive from Vizag. One can checkout the Burra Caves, Waterfalls, Valleys at Araku. India’s only sub-marine museum is also situated in Walteir. Visakhapatnam, also known as the city of destiny; you will land here at least once in your lifetime, even if you don’t want to.

Daman

On the 31st night, 2008 we decided to make our new year a more memorable experience. Tickets for Vapi were available. The plan was, 6 of my colleagues, and 2 of my MBA friends, were supposed to meet up at Borivali station at 6. My doctor friend, a Manager with a Pharma company. The other one is with an MNC bank. In the Mumbai khitpit, my doctor friend who was supposed to board the train at Bandra at 5.40PM missed it. So, we were 7 now. We all boarded the train. But Praveen never left hope. He intended to come to Daman at any cost. He booked the next train, the Flying Ranee – though he only had 170 bucks – why? That’s a long story. Later he told us how he got into the AC comp and bribed the TT with 150. Anyhow, we reached Vapi at 8.30. Doctor finally reached 8.40. Fighter Jet!!! Vapi is apparently the world's 4th most polluted city, thanks to the industrialization. Daman - our destination is around 12 kms from Vapi. Taxi service is available 24x7 to n fro.
Taxi will cost you 120 per trip. So, the more people you can push inside, the cheaper it gets. We hired 2. Reached Daman around 9.15.The city of booze. A whisky peg is cheaper than chai. We had a light dinner, bought some snacks for the New Year booze party. Also managed to get our hands on some high end premier liquor. Most in the group were non-drinkers. Yet we had bought over 2 ltrs of alcohol. We reached the most famous beach of Daman - Devka. Low tide had taken the sea out of sight on that bright night. It’s a rocky beach. All of us settle down on a set of huge rocks. There were multiple resorts in the backdrop. Each one was having its own New Year bash. In spite of this, the atmosphere was good and surroundings peaceful. We boozed like there was no tomorrow.
At 12, our New Year celebrations started with answering and making few phone calls and ended with kicks on backs and friendly human rides. Party was over around 2. We were feeling kinda sleepy. Mr D however had different plans. As the night passed by, the water level came closer and closer. D was so drunk that he wanted to check the water level at the farthest visible rock at low tide. In short, he wanted to commit suicide. Even Mr P went to give him company. P and D are roommates and Jai-Viru type dost. Anyhow, we managed to save both of em, however D’s cellphone died that night.

Luckily, the still-in-senses-guys managed to get hold of an auto. Miraculously, all 8, managed to squeeze into that thing. We reached Vapi at around 3.30 AM which left us with only 3 odd hours to sleep. Our return journey was at 7 – Flying Ranee. We reached Borivali at 9.30 and attended work on that day.