Hyderabad to SuryaLanka Trip

Recently drove down to SuryaLanka beach with couple of friends. Although it was a miscalculated journey where right from the travel time to "what's there" was incorrectly assumed/judged by me, but on the whole it was worth it. The calm beach, scenic road, negligible traffic, great company covered up for all the miscalculations.

About Suryalanka:

• A remote beach in a remote location ,which even google maps will show remotely
• One of those rare beaches of AP where the govt has stake in it. ( They own the only resort available)
• Around 425 Kms from Hyderabad. ( Hyd - Vijaywada - Guntur - Bapatla - Suryalanka)
• It's more of a Romantic destination and less of an Adventure destination. ( Although it doesn't score highly in either case)

What's Exciting:

• The resort of APTDC is pretty scenic. ( Haritha Resort)
• You practically wake up to the sounds of Sea waves crashing
• Given the monopoly , APTDC could had made this worst and got away with it , but they exceeded expectations.
• If you are travelling from Hyderabad , app 80% of road is 4/6 lane
• Defining the Bay of Bengal Logic , the beach slope isn't steep,
• Almost the whole journey is scenic and you don't feel anything urban
• Although more from a formality perspective, but water sports are there.
• The Sunrise is "Not To Miss" , given the BoB location constraints , sunset isn't at all photogenic
• In spite of my "Apprehensions" , it's safe , pretty safe.
• The speed of your travel majorly will be governed by your car and risk appetite and not by traffic. 

What's Killing:

• Just two hours there and you are like , "Oh Shit That;s All"
• Your Mobile will work, so you aren't away from work :-(. 
• Crabs, Crabs, Crabs, Mother crab, Father Crab, Baby Crab. All sizes and nationalities will greet you.
• 7:00 clock and it's all closed , back to rooms.
• Don't have that romantic notion of walking in a private beach in the moonlight. It's not happening.
• Language barrier, if you don't understand the language then both waiter and sign boards are from Mars for you.

Some Do's and Dont's

• If you do not get the Haritha Beach resort booked , DO NOT GO.
• Take Hyd - Vijaywada highway only.
• It's the company that will matter and not the beach. It's Ok at best.
• Carry your own GPS equipment , dont rely on signboards.

Pics by Rahul Sinha.

Trip to Mrigavani National Park

Mrigavani :

Was looking for a nearby wild life destination in Hyderabad. Came across Mrigavani , the park seems pretty exciting on paper. So thought of giving it a visit. However looks like wildlife guys messed up a bit in terms of keeping something pure by keeping it away from human civilization and at the same time Shouting "Look I am here".  So you end up going there with Great Expectations and come back looking for a next Venue.

•  It’s a 900 Acres National park , opened in 1988 near Hyderabad
• App < 25 kms from here , pretty good approach road. ( Near chilkur Balaji)
•  It is a restricted area so you actually feel like  being in a Jungle.

Pros:

•  Flora:  Pretty Impressive.
•  Pretty cheap. ( Safari 50/- rs only)
•  A decent safari ride. ( bus)
•  Lush green.
•  Limited crowd.
• It is one of the “to visit places” near Hyderabad ( courtesy APTDC)

Cons:

• Fauna: Deers , Hare , Woodpeckers , Pea cock . Pea Hens ,Butterflies. ( The one I saw)
•  One hour inside and you are like , anything left L
•  Majority of the part is restricted and you cant go inside.
•   Just one food shop that too bare min.
•  They have guest house but it can’t be booked on the spot.
•   They claim to have snake shows , Educational tours , Jungle walks , But nobody knew how to get     . them done. Even APTDC guys were not sure about them.

In short much ado about nothing.