Andhra coast

alouise

Over 6 months ago I started a thread on Srikakulam and received only a few replies, mostly rather negative. So I'm starting this thread now after having visited Srikakulam, where I found nothing like the primitive infrastructure and cultural isolation I'd expected to encounter as a foreign visitor.

The state of Andhra Pradesh is one of those places in India that most foreign travellers associate primarily with a big urban centre(in this case, Hyderabad) and there seems this general reluctance to explore further. But 2000 years ago it was a different story. Andhra Pradesh was a vibrant cosmopolitan centre of Buddhist scholarship and trade between the Roman Empire, China and the countries of South East Asia. So many places in India, not just Andhra Pradesh, share this sort of modern-day obscurity as their legacy for having been THE place to be seen in the ancient world.

But none more so than Srikakulam. Just 20 km away from this now "ghost town hub" of the ancient world stood the Buddhist university of Salihundam, where Buddhist missionaries hopped on ships to spread the teachings of Buddha to the countries of South east Asia. But being far from Hyderabad and on the border with Orissa, the Srikakulam disrict now hardly rates attention as an interesting destination. It's not in Lonely Planet, for starters.

This might explain why I did not spot a single foreign tourist crossing from Orissa to Andhra Pradesh, nor in Srikakulam, nor at the ancient port of Kalingapatnam, nor at the old Dutch East Indies port of Bheemeeli, nor further down the coast to Vizag, nor inland to Vijayawada, nor further inland around the really ancient Buddhist ruins of Amaravati etc. etc. In fact, NOWHERE in Andhra Pradesh did I see anyone like me, of foreign extraction! But then I didn't go to Hyderabad. Somewhat ironically, it seemed that I was venturing into the sort of Lonely Planet experience that nowadays just doesn't happen if one follows the travel advice in Lonely Planet.

How lonely? There was lots of staring everywhere I went. In need of some fellow traveller comaraderie, on one occasion I almost embarrassed myself by imagining that I could readily walk across a restaurant and initiate conversation with a total stranger, the dark-haired "German-looking" gentleman, whom on closer inspection turned out to be albino and hiding the fact with some jet-black hair dye!

But everywhere I went in Srikakulam district I was treated with wonderful hospitality and genuine warmth .. as opposed to the more obsequious attentions reserved for "walking wallets" in places on the tourist route. Hotel Nagavali was like a home away from home. This was one of the best hotels I stayed in during my visit to India - very clean, comfortably furnished room with a lovely view of the Nagavali River. The restaurant was great, room service prompt and the friendly staff helped with all travel needs ... including wanting to make sure that my Christmas visit came with Mass at the local Catholic Church. As it turned out , what with my hectic itinerary of ancient sites, I ended up receiving blessings in the inner sanctuary of the Surya temple in Arasavalli on Christmas Day. I was allowed into the temple and treated no differently to others there, ven though I was not a Hindu.

Hotel Nagavali arranged all my transport needs, and at more reasonable prices for all-day taxi hire than I was to later pay elsewhere in Karnataka, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. On Boxing Day I went in hired taxi to visit the Buddhist ruins at Salihundam and Kalingapatnam.

This was one of those situations where nobody understood each other but trusting one's instincts to trust and going with the flow improved the experience. My driver, surprisingly, did not know the turn off to Salihundam and at first we started climbing the opposite hill, which as it turned out was the site of a notoriously bleak Tantric temple. My twentysomething driver had reluctantly joined me in this ascent, after much insistence. I'd insisted for safety reasons : the place seeemed really remote, there was a pack of dogs nearby, and the path was overgrown, showing little sign of previous use. But near the top my driver became agitated and physically blocked my path. He made it clear that there was no way he was going any further, and he seemed genuinely fearful for my safety as well. We exchanged plenty of sign language and he was nodding when I said the words "dangerous" and "snakes". I initially thought he was trying to warn me that he'd seen something like a cobra up up ahead ahead on the path. There was no snake, the poor boy was apparently afraid of some shakti stirring in this dangerous tantric climb and that somehow he'd end up being ravished - it was hard to convince him I was not interested, so we had to give that temple visit a miss.

Salihundam, on the next hill, was much better anyway. The site itself preserves only the brick foundations of a couple of stupas and some walls. However, the view of the lush river plains below is spectacular and there are some very fine sculptures in the small museum at the site.

At this point we picked up two more boys for the taxi ride to Kalingapatnam. Naturally I was a bit wary of this new development, feeling as I was now slightly outnumbered as we set off for the even more desolate expanse of Kalingapatnam beach. But there was nothing to worry about. The boys were too busy playing with their mobile phones, taking holiday snaps of each other and ramping up the volume on their favourite pop tunes. That is, when they weren't running towards the "baby surf" to warn me that I'd drown if I went out any further into the deep, like say just above my knees.

Kalingapatnam is a vast beach, which takes at least 15 minutes to walk across in order to reach the shoreline. After that, though, the waves are small and the paddling is very tame. Being vast and fairly remote, it is also a rather clean beach compared to most in this state. That includes the popular tourist beaches such as Bheemeeli and Rushikonda, both of which were covered in rubbish and unsanitary nasties, and all up, were not at all beckoning for a paddle, much less a swim.

Still, it is a beautiful coastline and the coastal road to Vizag was one of the highlights of my trip. As for the supposedly backward state of infrastructure, things have evidently developed in coastal Adhra Pradesh. Yhe highways are relatively new, well surfaced (not potholed) and have dual carriageways. Overall, what I saw of coastal Adhra Pradesh was impressive ... I just wouldn't swim there (some things are slow to change)

Indizen

Interesting write up.
Did you spend time in Vizag and make the trip to Arakku valley?

dominoes

Great report!!!
I love reading people who have really gone off the beaten track.
Some friends did this area 2 or 3 years ago but were stymied by their lack of specialised knowledge and the fact that most of the locals they approached had no idea of the history of the ruins nearby!!

delhiwala

Which is this Tantrik Temple you are referring to.....

__________________
Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone. - The Dhammapada

Nick-H

Fascinating report.

If you asked, I'd say that I haven't been to Andhra --- and yet I have been to Hyderabad! Far from think Andhra, think Hyderabad, I tend not to associate them, but think of Andhra in terms of villages that my Telugu friends come from.

Makes me wonder if the Metros don't have an identity of their own, and that I might not feel the same about Chennai, if I was familiar with more of the rest of TN!

There are two places by name of Srikakulam. There is the coastal city, but there is also a tiny village further inland. I know a family that lives there, and one day will get around to accepting their invitation.

How did you get on with language, alouise? Here it is so easy with English that my laziness is confirmed.

alouise

No, Indizen, I didn't make the trip to Arakku valley, although I have heard that it is spectacular and perhaps one day I will check it out. I didn't spend much time in Zizag. I was visiting the Buddhist ruins on the way there and then catching a sleeper to Viyayawada to explore cave temples and the Amaravati area. Perhaps if I'd stayed longer in Vizag I may have come to appreciate its charms more than I did. Bedbugs struck, in the Hotel Sri Devi, near Vizag train station. I'd hoped to stay in a railway retiring room, but no such luck - booked out, like most places near the train station. So, itching like crazy, I was not too unhappy about departing Vizag.

alouise

Yes, dominoes, I found that too. It was a curious thing, locals not quite knowing much about their ancient monuments.... they were fine re. old Hindu temples, but the ancient past for this area was more Buddhist than Hindu. Hiring a driver was not the same thing as hiring a guide. I had to work out the route and provide directions, which was not too difficult and probably spared me from a lot of price haggling. If you work out the distances, stops and travel time estimates before hiring, it's a better bargaining position and easier all round I've found. You have to be very clear, though, that it's your way or no way. I also had to wonder about the depth of knowledge re. the guides/caretakers at the very small museum at Salihundam. Few of the very old Buddhist sculptures were labelled or catalogued, and my queries on the dating of individual pieces usually ended up with me suggesting the date of the sculpture and the guide agreeing. I'm getting much better at stylistic dating of Indian sculptures, but I doubt whether I was that good! At Totlakonda,too, I found myself answering these sort of questions for small groups of Indian tourists - although this happened in a few places beyond AP too.

alouise

Sorry delhiwala, the name escapes me right now but I think it was about 9th century ... I'll have to search through my notes.

alouise

And I have not been to Hyderabad, Nick, but I plan to because unfortunately that's where most of the antiquities are housed, not in the small site museums. It's a real shame concerning Amaravati, which really does merit a proper museum rather than having the best of the excavated material in Hyderabad. I really felt for the superintendent archaeologist there, who'd dug the site and nearby ancient river port town but was left only with wall-to-wall copies and touristy "tackorama". We bemoaned this careless state of affairs over lunch, with him recounting what he'd found from excavations - ie. what I might have seen had they not been locked up in Hyderabad!!! Amaravati is still worth a visit, though, because the smaller 3-roomed museum of sculptural finds situated around the corner holds some exquisite sculptures.

I wasn't aware of an inland Srikakulam... how far is it from Arasavalli? You see, at first I thought you meant Srikakurman, but that's even closer to the coast, not inland.

I don't speak Telegu, so it was sometimes rather difficult and I found myself becoming a very quiet person under the circumstances. Getting places was easy enough - I'm a front seat sort of person in taxis anyway, and here I could point to signal where to turn or stop. Also, the receptionists at Nagavali Hotel spoke very sophisticated English (not "Hinglish", or whatever that mixed combination is called ?) and so were tremendously helpful as translators and for organising transport. But if I were staying longer in this part of AP I think I would definitely need to learn Telegu.