Visakhapatnam - The City of Destiny

What about love? Many people have walked away from someone that might have been "the one" for various reasons. May be you met the girl or guy of your dreams but weren't able to commit and lost out. That's destiny slipping through your fingers. Fate can only do so much... it's up to you to act on it. I read this quote that said "many people are in relationships that are over, but haven't ended". Staying stuck is a choice; we can always choose a different destiny.

If you don't have the love you want in your life, you need to take action to find it. Put yourself out there, be open to new possibilities and actively seek your own destiny! With life asking all questions, i just reached Visakhapatnam to find answer for those questions. Visakhapatnam (also known as Vizag) is the largest city in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, it lies between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of  Bay of  Bengal. Apart from being known for the numerous industries, having the country's oldest shipyards and being the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, Vizag is also known as the "Jewel of the East Coast".

Lodging into one of the most luxurious stays, Hotel Daspalla offers unmatched hospitality and is a business hotel for many. Equipped with a roof  top swimming pool and located in the city center - Jagadamba  its one of the hot spots of Vizag. Within 4 km from the hotel, is the Rama Krishna Beach, you can go by walk and explore the coastal region of the sea. At the Entrance of the beach, you have a park with a sculpture looking like Ashok Chakra, walking along the beach, you can find a number of people beach enjoying some relaxed moments in this beautiful beach. To pamper our taste buds there are a number of roadside restaurants around the beach offering the best seafood which everyone should definitely try.Heading straight along the coast, you can find other attractions like the INS Kurusura Submarine Museum and the Aircraft Museum.

INS Kurusura is a submarine constructed by Russians in the year 1969. It reached Visakhapatnam in 1970 via the Baltic Sea and since then served the Indian Navy. The submarine served the Indian Navy for 31 years and then it was decommissioned and turned into a museum in 2001. It is the first submarine turned into a  museum in the whole of Asia and second in the world. The museum showcases the life inside a submarine and hardships faced by the submariners in the sea. Opposite to the submarine museum , is the TU 142 Aircraft Museum - is a preserved Tupolev Tu-142. This aircraft served 29 years with the Indian Navy  and is a anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft equipped with sonobuoys, ant-submarine mines and torpedoes. The aircraft operated from March 1988 to March 2017 and were replaced  with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft.

TU 142 Aircraft

From the Ramakrishna beach, you can experience the another attraction is the Dolphin Nose. It's a hill between Yarada and Gangavaram Port  and the hill is name Dolphin's Nose because it resembles a dolphin's nose. Its a natural wonder of Vizag and has a light house and falls under the Indian Navy Base. The view from the light house especially  is breathtaking.

Possessing a fantastic architecture that deserves high praise, the Simahachalam Temple is beautifully decorated with extremely detailed stone carvings that make the overall structure look even more spectacular. With a square shrine mounted on the top of the tower, the interior and exterior design of the temple adds charms to its excellence. The temple offers holy and mystical vibes to the devotees of Lord Narasimha and has an exceptionally calm atmosphere to help us de-stress our  inner soul and look forward to daily chores. The temple boasts of an excellent hilltop location with lush greenery all around the place. The magical environment allows you to forget everything as soon as you step inside the temple and the backdrop of the beautiful landscapes  make the overall setting look even more amazing.

Back down the hills to Vizag,  is the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park.  Surrounded by the Eastern Ghats on three sides and set in the laps of the Kambalakonda Forest Reserve this park is spread over a luxurious 625 acres and is home to almost 80 species of wildlife. With the Bay of  Bengal nearby, the location of this park makes it an ideal spot for spotting several exotic bird species too. The weather and the climatic conditions of this area have allowed the fauna in the zoo to flourish and create a salubrious home for the animals. En-routing myself to the Kailasagiri Park situated on a hilltop offering a panoramic view of the surroundings that every nature lover craves for.  The major attraction of  Kailasagiri is the 40 feet tall statue of Shiva and Parvathi.

The experience of taking a rope way while enjoying the breathtaking view of the city is something that everyone should cherish. There is also toy train ride, which also offers picturesque views of the city. One must visit in  the night to get the view of the lighted city in the dark and calming waves of  the sea.

The journey through the curved roads down the hills leads to the Rushikonda Beach. Known as the one of the virgin beaches of South India, Rushikonda beach is no doubt one of the best beaches in Vizag. With its vast stretch of waters, this beach is surrounded by nature lovers and adventure enthusiasts enjoying some beautiful moments amidst the scenic view of the beach with cool breeze caressing them.

Beach View from Kailasagiri Hill

From the beach, on a long marine drive with  Eastern Ghats on one side and Bay of  Bengal on the other. Its a 40km long drive along the Vizag with a long line of  Bay of   Bengal. Vizag is also famous for its food like the Alpha Biryani and the Pot Biryani. When one thinks of authentic Hyderabad Biryani in the city, its brings to mind the Alpha Hotel. Long-grained rice flavored with exotic spices, such as saffron, layered with flesh and a thick gravy, makes one tempting to have. The city also offers a good traditional meal from the Nellore Vari Meals for the veg-lovers. With its rich culture in food and the places, everyone would like to move to this city to make a permanent residence.

What should i choose? How should I act? What is it reasonable for me to do? Human life is full of questions like this. But they only make sense if we have "free will", the capacity to make free choices.

I believe we are in full control of choices and that our actions, in response to what fate offers us, matter. We are here to learn lessons and the hard decisions we have to make are what helps us grow as humans. Our destiny is not something we can sit by and let happen to us.

" The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson