We had a great time at Vizag. This port city on the Eastern Coast of India has some of the most beautiful beaches. Its surprising why this place has not made it to the tourist circuit. The place has three names - the official name is Visakhapatnam, the name used at the airport. The British always found that a mouthful and the city is affectionately called Vizag. An old name for the place is Waltair - the railway station goes by that name.

The main beach runs along the city for miles and beyond. There are several beaches which are untouched and unexplored. We used to go for a morning walk along the main Vizag beach. A very well maintained beach. Early morning sees a whole army of cleaning women in their colourful uniforms sweeping the whole place clean. The beach is not very wide, and not suitable for swimming. We did go into ankle deep water and did manage to get our knees wet but that was that. The continental shelf drops off quickly and the sea becomes deep just a short way from the beachfront (Thats where the ships are anchored while they wait for their berth at the port). We saw the submarine museum - an old submarine has been brought on the beach and holes cut in the hull to let you go in and see. A excellent feel of what the life in a sub is like. There is a cramped little space where a navy guy explains the stuff.He told us that some 30 odd bunks have been removed to make this little space where we are standing! Really cramped feeling there. When out at sea, the guys cannot bathe for months together. The only guy permitted a daily bath is the cook.

There is also a beautiful aquarium with a good collection of fish and turtles from around the world. We thought the space for the fish was a little cramped but the fish did not seem to mind.

Then there is the beach park - a little way along the beach at a slightly elevated place. The view is beautiful. We went to this place every day for our evening walk and to get our whiff of the cool sea breeze. Further down the road is the Rushikonda beach - a heavenly place still untouched by civilization. This beautiful golden beach is only 8 km from the city centre. The civilization seems to be catching up fast with an Engineering Complex just outside on the road and a couple of movie studios coming up just off the beach.

We went up to a place called Bhimli - a 30 km drive along the sea. The city was built by the dutch and was a bigger town than Vizag till a couple of decades ago. Industry did not catch up there and it is a small fishing village now.

While in Vizag we went to the port twice - once was to see the ship called Doulos. This is a 1914 vintage ship (it doesn't look that old), owned by a German charity whose name means "Good Books for All". DOULOS tries to promote international understanding and world-wide education through its many programmes. Its hold has place for 50000 books and the swimming pool has been converted into an on-board book fair. 6000 titles - many of them for children. It was a unique experience.

The second visit was to see the shipyard. Its great to see huge ships in the dry docks being "manufactured". A number of ships come for repairs also. There was a submarine under reairs in the dry dock but we didn't venture inside (we had seen tha submarine museum already).

One place which will remain in the mind's eye is the lighthouse on the hill called dolphin's nose. we went right up to the top, saw all the lights and the prisms and stepped out for a breathtaking view of the Bay of Bengal. The port, the fishing boats out at sea the ships still miles away - it was a beautiful view.