Today's journey of 410 km from Vizag to Guntur was simply a step in the direction of Chennai. Another jump tomorrow will take us there (Kolkata to Cuttack was the hop of the hop-step-and-jump).
Why Guntur? To answer this would require the same level of wit and presence of mind as answering the question: Why Cuttack? Well, last time we had broken journey at Vijaywada and didn't want to repeat it. Could have been Amaravati also, or Suryalanka, but Guntur seemed a big enough city with a decent hotel on the NH16.
Our POA was mapped out. Leave at 7.00 am after a sip of the bright-and-early, break for brekker around 9.00 am, break for tea at 11.00 am, break for lunch at 2.00 pm, reach hotel at 4.00 pm. Good planning? Periodic refreshment and blood circulation ensured. We will see how that went. Meanwhile, here are a few pics of us on the way. We crossed two big rivers today - Godavari and Krishna.
Breakfast at roadside (9.02 am)
I have always maintained that the best breakfast, especially in the south, is available at the micro stalls run by families. The lady of the house is the prime mover, and in this case, ably assisted by the young daughter Bharathi, who is quite comfortable speaking in English, thank you kindly! Lovely plate of idlis, with Panna splurging on some bondas as well, all for a princely sum of Rs 60/-.
Coffe at Araku Coffee (10.55 am)
We realised after stopping here - purely by the clock, I assure you - that this was the exact place we had stopped during our monsoon_mahayatra on the way to Vijaywada! They serve lovely filter coffee; Araku Valley coffee is quite famous of course. An energising break indeed.
Lunch at Relax Food Court (2.12 pm)
This was a hep-looking joint which looked like it was serving all manners of cuisines, and pretty upmarket at that. But guess what we ended up having? Not our fault that they were serving an authentic Diwali Andhra thali for just Rs 189/- (see menu below). Seriously, who can resist something called 'Tomato Pappu'? This trip, I have thoroughly revised upward my opinion of Andhra cooking. Nice tiny samples, starting with gunpowder and ghee, and ending with payasam. We had ordered some spicy prawn as well, but packed it up for dinner.
Pardon me friends, for talking so much food today, but on some days, these are the only memorable things that happen.
Hotel Atlantis Resort & Spa @ Guntur (4.10 pm)
We had chosen a hotel away from the main city, almost on NH16, so that we can be prepared for a quick getaway in the morning. Nice neat place, where we checked in, dived into bed, and refused to move. Dinner in the room, as usual.
Tomorrow we leave for Chennai.
Meanwhile, wishing everyone Happy Diwali from Guntur (never thought I will say such a thing!)