Coast to Coast 2021: Visakhapatnam to Puri

Last night I get a lot of suggestions from Vaishali. Where to buy the best ‘Potherekelu’ (A sweet item made in Andhra Pradesh) on the way and she also tell me to watch out for Dolphins in Chilka lake when on my way towards Puri on the boat. I register all of it in my mind and begin my today’s journey.

I am all set for the road at 6 am sharp. The first stop is INHS Kalyani, the hospital where I was born. I am desperate to have a glimpse of it having missed visiting the place last time during my GQ ride back in 2019. I managed to cover the rest of the places back then but due to time constraints, that time had to skip it.

The weather is all pleasant and cool and I am all charged up to see that iconic building. It’s bright everywhere and sunrise is about to break cover. With minimal traffic, I push forward. Google says the distance is around 17km which will take roughly 33 mins.

Visakhapatnam is one of the biggest Naval bases of India and as I drive, I get to see all the things related to ships, submarines, etc. There are these huge buildings lined up along the road and at one location I see this big entrance of the Naval DockYard. Up ahead, I see these beautifully painted various classes of submarines on the compound wall of the Navy quarters with their motto written just below it, “Training unto Perfection”. Being an Armed Force area the roads and the general infrastructure surrounding it are well maintained.

I reach the entrance at around 6:30 am. I see a barbed wire fence compound with Naval officers in a white dress standing by the gate. I am still sitting on the bike and call one of them and explain what I want to do. He rejects my plea right away and also tells me to switch off the camera. I try to sell him my story but to no avail. Civilians are just not allowed inside without any reason. My out-of-the-world attire too which might have made him a little spooky! Seeing no solution further, I take a u-turn and chart my new course towards Bhimili, the next city out of Visakhapatnam. I am blessed to visit the most beautiful sunrise ever. The small patch of cobbled road shakes me up and it’s time to head further in the trip but first, I need to find tea or coffee!

I pass through RK beach and stop to pay a visit at the 1971 “Victory at Sea” memorial which stands right beside the road. I spend some time going around the place, though entry inside is barred as there is a lock on the gate. After reading the plaque at the entrance and clicking mandatory photos, I am on the road again. It is still early morning and the RK beach road is closed to public traffic. All I can see are people on their morning walks and jogs. To the right is the beautiful beach and it just reminds me of my young days when I used to come to the beach along with my uncle. Though, I hardly remember anything now.

Before I find a tea shop, I set my eyes on the same coffee brand shop which I tasted last night. I brake hard. The gentleman along with his wife is still readying the stall and it takes a while for me to get my cup of coffee. My taste buds get blown on the first sip. Such is the taste that I order a 2nd cup immediately, the only thing, that this time it’s made double strong as recommended by the owner considering my long journey ahead. I take time to finish the 2nd cup.

My first stop now will be Bhimili village which is close to around 20kms from here. The roads run parallel to the coast with the sun beaming brightly over the waters. It’s a beautiful sight to see with light winds hitting me from the coast side. The beaches are rock-strewn which indicates why the fewer amount of people can be seen. I stop ahead at one of the villages to capture the beautiful sight.

The time is around 8:15 am and now I mark my next checkpoint on the road ahead which is at Kandivalasa. It’s roughly around 60 km from my current place. I will be joining the NH16 highway again.

I pass through the quaint village of Bheemili. I see women going on with their daily chores. I see some of them carrying water through buckets. The roads take me through the very interior part of the village. They are a mix of cement and tar but the quality is good. I see school-going children riding bicycles and other than that there’s hardly any traffic on the small road. I catch a glimpse of a person riding a Royal Enfield bike. I pass through one of the bridges whose sides are painted in vivid colors. The best I have seen to date. I exit the village and rejoin the highway. My speed now increases as I head towards Kandivalasa.

At Kosta, I miss the underpass to take a right and instead head straight, only to turn back again and drive on the wrong side. I ditch the highway NH216 and instead take the SH160 which runs closer to the coast. I enter the village roads and the scenery completely changes around me. Thatched rood huts can be seen on both sides and toddy palm trees dominate the landscape. The sandy land has a shade of brown. I now head towards a village called Ajjaram.

Just before Kuppili, I stop at one of the Shrimp farms to see how they harvest the produce. I had been seeing them for a long now over this trip but, curiosity overtook me. The people are catching the shrimps in a large net and pulling up to the bank. They then fill the catch in plastic bins which are then loaded onto temperature-controlled vans to be taken to a processing facility. A kind gentleman who is overlooking all this patiently answers all my idiotic questions. I take one of the shrimp in my hand and they are huge. Almost all the good ones are exported, that’s what the gentleman tells me. I thank him for the info and push towards Srikakulam. The time is 9:47 am.

Navigating the small country roads, I reach Srikakulam city by 10:45 am. It’s high time for breakfast as my stomach growls. With great difficulty, I locate one of the breakfast shops only to find that the lady sitting at the counter doesn’t understand Hindi. Few boys having breakfast there help me with the menu and I order what is left at this point of hour. I have puri bhaji along with cold Idlis. The breakfast is tasty and gives me enough energy to push further. I put my next checkpoint for Palasa where I am gonna enter the city to buy the famous sweet of Andhara. The time is 11 pm and I weave through the heavy traffic of Srikakulam. It takes a while and rechecking on Google before I rejoin the main highway.

There’s not much change in the landscape as I cruise along at 80kmph on the NH216. Mostly, paddy farms can be seen on both sides and palm trees are scattered along the landscape. The roads are well paved and that helps me to maintain a constant speed. I get hardly 1-2 diversions off the highway on account of road construction work. At 12:45 pm, covering almost 100 km since breakfast, I enter the town of Palasa in the search of the right shop for the sweet by taking a diversion from the main highway. It’s 2 km inside.

I stop at one sweet and I am directed towards Sri Laxmi Sweets which seems to be famous. The temperatures are high it makes me sweat from the inside. I put the marker on google which says a drive of around 2kms. As I near the location, I get frustrated as I am unable to locate it. The heat adds more to the frustration. Finally, I take the help of a local shopkeeper who directs me correctly. It seems that someone has wrongly marked the sweet shop location on google. Apart from that, I see many Cashew wholesale traders shop along the road. Palasa, it seems, is a big hub for trading Cashew nuts.

I see the shop and get happy. Its located a few feet inside the main road. I park the bike and head inside. My demands are quickly met and I am ready with 3 250gms boxes in my hand. I set my eyes on the badam milk which they seem to offer. To cool off, I gulp down 4 bottles of them. I rejoin the main highway around 1:15 pm.

Just around Korlam, I decide to take the interior village roads which will take right up to the ‘Google’ indicated border of Brahmapur. I set my checkpoint on google accordingly. Since morning, I have felt the village roads to be more scenic and pleasurable to drive. Highways are meant just for reaching fast. Here, I want to explore things as I pass by. The time is 1:40 pm.

The first roadblock is off the railway crossing as I have to wait for quite some time for 2 trains to pass. Going further, I really thank google for helping me come out of the maze-like interior roads. Had google been not there, I would have gotten completely lost as no human being can be seen. It’s just me and mother nature. For a moment, I think I am in some lost city where nature has taken over! At one point, I find myself riding over loose sand for 2-3 km and nothing but small shrubs dot the landscape. It’s really a frightening scene for me and I think that I might have overdone myself in choosing this particular road. ‘Bike Breakdown’ thoughts encircle my head.

A few km of driving ahead and I find some movement and get relieved. I regain my confidence as I ride myself to rejoin the NH216 highway just ahead of Lodaputti. The time is 3 pm.

Just a few km rides and I come across a board saying “Welcome to Odisha”. I stop to take a photo of it with my bike in the frame. Just then, a guy on a motorcycle stops in front of me and asks all sorts of questions regarding the trip. He is amazed by replies and wishes the same for him one day. I wish him the best of luck with his travel dreams.

The last ferry to cross Chilika Lake leaves at 5 pm. The words said by “Vaishali” constantly echo in my head. It’s like an alarm clock that rings every half n hour. The place name is Janhikuda from where the ferry will begin. The distance is 114 km and I have less than 2 hrs to reach there. It’s gonna be a rush for me. I would really need to pull this feat and reach there at any cost. The only means to cross it is via water.

Right after Humma, I ditch the highway and take the lake road towards Janhikuka. It’s a race again time and even though it’s a single-lane road, I try to keep up the speed above 60kmph. The good thing is that the traffic is none to less. The time is 3:52 pm with a little more than an hour to go.

Just when I think that I will be able to make it, the low petrol indication lights up. The light is blinking constantly which means that the bike is really low on fuel and demands immediate refueling. I swear myself for missing to fill the tank on the highway. Now, with such roads and surroundings, I feel that a petrol bunk will not be there and I fear the bike giving up even before I reach the place. I stop quickly and ask a local and he assures me that there’s one located right ahead. I double race against the time now covering up for my time which will be wasted during the petrol filling. The time is 4:06 pm and Janhikuda is still 44 km to go.

I find the petrol bunk and rush to get my tank filled. I am in the queue and take some minutes of the deadline before my turn comes up. There’s literally nothing I can do. Initially, I fill the tank with petrol of only 200rs just to check his UPI payment is working or not as then once I get the confirmation that’s it working, I fill up of another 500rs, double wasting my precious time. I still reassure myself that I will catch the public ferry service boat.

While petrol filling time, the attendant assures me that there are many private boats which run after 5 pm, so it’s not the end of the road for me. He says the large public ferry is mainly to carry big vehicles and for bikes, there are thousands of options and tell me not to worry. My burden is relieved to quite some extent but still I push for the 5 pm deadline.

It’s neck-to-neck competition against time but eventually, I lose. I am almost 2 mins late and the ferry has left the pier. I can see it is fully loaded and moving further in the lake. Even my shouting won’t bring it back. I ask the local and he tells me about many private small boats waiting at the adjacent bank waiting to ferry passengers to the other side. I quickly turn my bike towards it.

The ferry cost only 20 mins for a 45 min journey and now I would have to pay almost 20 times more amount. I arrive at the bank and can see the small boat tied up at the shore. I greet the boatman and pay him 400rs. Looking at the boat size gives me goosebumps but the boatman assures me of safe travel. He quickly locates a plank and gets ready to load the bike on the boat along with luggage. The bike is moved into gear while the front and rear tires are secured to the boat with the help of ropes. The rocking of the boat makes the bike move front and back giving me a mini heart attack. The bike is tied perpendicular to the length of the boat.

The boatman loads a few people and starts the engine. The noise is so powerful that it almost contrasts with the silent lake. I miss spotting dolphins which Vaishali had told me to do so. Just then, the moment is right behind me. The sun is setting giving the sky varied hues of orange and blue and reflections on the lake. It’s a perfect moment, like Zen and for a moment the engine noise doesn’t even bother me. I feel like everything until now was connected. All the sequences led me to experience this beauty. Had I not filled petrol, the scenario would have been totally different than what I was experiencing now. I thank God for my fate. In the end, everything happens for the right reason.

I reach Satpada, which is the side at around 5:42 pm and we wait for passengers from another boat to alight themselves. My heart is in my mouth when I see my front tire dropping straight into the waters as it gets skied from the wooden plank. Nearby people rush to lift the front end. No damage has been done and I am relieved. They help me push the bike up the sandbank and I am again ready to hit the road with Puri less than 50 km away.

My booking has been already been done by my Bhubaneshwar friend in one of the railway quarters guesthouse which is located just to the shores of Puri. It’s the same guesthouse where we had stayed back in 2019 during our GQ ride. My friend ‘Sashi’ works with Indian railways and hence the benefits. I thank him for showing courtesy and helping me out this time too. The sun has set by the time I hit asphalt as I power on my aux flood lights on the bike.

The roads are mostly narrow and there is huge traffic of 2 wheelers on the road. It’s about to get dark and bugs start hitting on my helmet windshield. The whole screen is painted with them. I thank my Aux lights for saving me in this darkness as the stock headlights are unable to provide the illumination on the road. Had the Aux lights not been there, I would have been forced to open up my windscreen and bugs would have made riding for me impossible. The speed is slow and adding to the worry is a large number of cattle standing freely on the road. They don’t even move on the sound of the horn as I am forced to make my way around them. At one point, I stop to clean the windshield as the bugs have not left a single area for me to see through. I push on further, my speed is reduced due to the various abnormalities present on the road!

On my way, I meet 2 bikers from Kerala who are on an ‘All India Ride’. We stop for a moment to get to each other and wish good luck. I continue further as Puri is just around the corner.

Entering Puri gives me the feeling of a crowded Mumbai railway station. People are running everywhere on their bikes. The city seems like it’s morning time. I recheck my Google Maps and the guesthouse is around 3km from my current location. I stop to replace the dead battery on my GoPro and then proceed.

After a few minutes of riding, I come to the right place where I had been 2 years back. The building looks as it is only the caretaker is different. I tell him about the booking and he happily guides me to my room. It’s a lavish room, which can easily accommodate 10 people. Later, I bring all my stuff from the bike and get freshened to go to the market in the city.

I go to the market to buy the famous ‘khaja’ of Puri, the sweet which I like the most back in my hometown. I try to understand from the people which will be the best shop to purchase it from. It takes a few asking and questioning until I find the right shop. I purchase the required qty. I give a call to my best friend who hails from Odisha and as per her request, I buy more other ‘sweet’ stuff. Later, I go and meet one of my dad’s friends who served with him in the Indian Navy. It is not far from my current location. I get to the house and they welcome me. They tell me the last they had seen me when I was a little baby! Sweet stuff, which I don’t like much is being served to me, the iconic Rasgulla. We take a group photo and then later bid them goodbye as I have dinner waiting for me at the guesthouse.

Back in the hotel, I get Chicken curry for dinner which I relish happily. The time is around 10 pm and I get ready to sleep and as per my original plan should end the journey tomorrow at Bakkhali, West Bengal. The last point on coastal India. Excitement runs through my body as well as a bit of nervousness as the trip nears its end. I leave the packing to be done early morning tomorrow and set an alarm for 5 am!

The last leg of the journey beckons me.