Who isn’t waiting for this COVID scenario to end? Thankfully though, life is slowly getting back to normal with safety measures. Happy faces are again visible albeit behind masks. Travellers are cautiously coming out for post-lockdown vacations.

With the travel restrictions lifted, my husband and I finally braved to plan a long road trip to Vizag. This was a much needed escape into the lap of nature to fill up our lungs with some fresh air.

So, we finally hit the road from Delhi, crossing state borders of UP, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and finally reached Vizag. We loaded most of the eatables from Delhi to avoid social contacts wherever possible.

A Pit Stop at Seoni, Madhya Pradesh

We had pre-booked a small guest house named as Motel for our first halt at Seoni in Madhya Pradesh. After an 11-hour long drive from Delhi, our stay was relaxing owing to the quietness of the place. We relished delicious home-made food and local delicacies like Bhopali ghosht korma. The guest house had all safety measures in place. The next morning we left Seoni early with our breakfast packed for the way.

Admiring the Scenic Beauty on the Go

While crossing the state borders, we caught glimpses of beautiful landscapes which rekindled our long lost excitements of vacations. We came across lush greeneries, shining roads, blue skies and clean water bodies which we had been missing throughout the lockdown.

Vizag – A Traveller’s Paradise

We reached Vizag in the midnight of day 3 and checked into ‘The park’ hotel, where we already had a booking. The location of the hotel on the RK beach, at the heart of the city, was perfect for a relaxing vacation. We were pleased by the hospitality and the safety measures maintained by the staffs there. Apart from the beautiful green gardens and classy amenities, the hotel was equipped with a clear turquoise swimming pool and other lavish settings to chill around.

Exploring the City of Destiny – Vizag

We finally started exploring our destination on the fourth day. We were mesmerised by the famous beaches, pretty cafes, tourist spots and mouth-watering local foods.

We savoured on some famous Andhra biriyani, which is a go-to food for the local people. The city is filled with different biriyani corners and cosy cafes, few of which also offered flavourful drinks.

It is truly a tourist’s paradise with a bunch of pristine beaches and clean roads. Although the local crowd finds it difficult to communicate in Hindi and English, they do comprehend the languages partially. We visited some tourist places like RK beach, Rushikonda beach, Varkala beach and Dolphin hills (for which you need naval base permission as the area comes under Indian navy).

We discovered a few swanky cafes like Tap the bar, The iron hill and Spaghetti monster cafe where we spent some time partying.

If you are a traveller like me who enjoys long road trips covering multiple cities, I have a few tips to share with you keeping in mind these pandemic days:

• Don’t forget your hygiene anywhere, as this is not the time to play easy.
• Keep all your safety stuff, like mask and sanitizer, handy.
• Carry ‘pee safe’ with you because you need to use public toilets on road trips.
• With precautions you can make your travel more like before or even better, as people are becoming more aware about cleanliness these days.
• Do check the travel guidelines of every state you are visiting or transiting.

So don’t wait up. Pack your bags and GO HIT THE ROAD!