There were no lights anywhere. No electricity and hence no sounds. The only sounds were the sounds of the jungle around us. The trees on both sides of the winding road that went up and down the terrain looked eerily beautiful, silhoutted against the moonlight. The soft rains added to the calm serenity of the night. It was an enchanting evening.
The clog in the wheel though was the clutch kit. It was a two year old Eicher mini bus that we had hired and it had broken down 60 kms from the nearest town of Rajahmundry and the gorgeous Godavari. With Khammam, the next big town still 150 kms farther off in this naxal prone area, we didn't have much time to enjoy the enchanting evening. I and Moiz were drenched in the rain, looking for a mechanic, looking to hire a vehicle back to Hyderabad and back to our then beloved Monday morning.
Somehow we managed to flag a Luxury Bus on the highway and managed to get into the already full bus. The gals somehow managed in the available seats and we guys were left to experience the "Dil Chahta Hai" journey with nothing but a newspaper between our butts and the bus floor. Moiz, Chaitanya and Bhavik were sitting in the cleaner's seats behind the driver with Moiz trying to test the alertness of the driver by repeatedly falling over him. The driver too responded by averting a few close shaves. Dilip experienced the full wrath of Mahakali as he woke up to find a foot pressed upon his chest. After trying to learn Telugu, listening to Telugu music all night Naiya eventually understood "U r my chocolate". Dimple started with praying in our mini bus and ended up cursing all and sundry responsible for our fate. Sated she managed to catch a wink. Parita talked for some time and eventually succumbed to sleep.I being my excitable self wasnt able to sleep and hence occupied myself with trying to lull Madhav and the Moiz to some rest in my lap. Dipika probably spent the night dreaming horrid naxalite dreams because of the fright that Madhav had given her earlier in the evening. Kunal, in a vest, wrapped in a shawl to protect himself from the unusually cold morning looked very much the cute teddy. The mood was sombre, so much so, that even Shilvi was silent.
Eventually after one rather long pit stop we reached on the Hyderabad highway near Uppal cross roads from where we managed to get another dreaded mini bus back to Secundrabad station. Our Vizag adventure finally came to an end as bleary eyed, battered bodied we reached our homes that morning.
What we did in Vizag .... comin up ..........
The clog in the wheel though was the clutch kit. It was a two year old Eicher mini bus that we had hired and it had broken down 60 kms from the nearest town of Rajahmundry and the gorgeous Godavari. With Khammam, the next big town still 150 kms farther off in this naxal prone area, we didn't have much time to enjoy the enchanting evening. I and Moiz were drenched in the rain, looking for a mechanic, looking to hire a vehicle back to Hyderabad and back to our then beloved Monday morning.
Somehow we managed to flag a Luxury Bus on the highway and managed to get into the already full bus. The gals somehow managed in the available seats and we guys were left to experience the "Dil Chahta Hai" journey with nothing but a newspaper between our butts and the bus floor. Moiz, Chaitanya and Bhavik were sitting in the cleaner's seats behind the driver with Moiz trying to test the alertness of the driver by repeatedly falling over him. The driver too responded by averting a few close shaves. Dilip experienced the full wrath of Mahakali as he woke up to find a foot pressed upon his chest. After trying to learn Telugu, listening to Telugu music all night Naiya eventually understood "U r my chocolate". Dimple started with praying in our mini bus and ended up cursing all and sundry responsible for our fate. Sated she managed to catch a wink. Parita talked for some time and eventually succumbed to sleep.I being my excitable self wasnt able to sleep and hence occupied myself with trying to lull Madhav and the Moiz to some rest in my lap. Dipika probably spent the night dreaming horrid naxalite dreams because of the fright that Madhav had given her earlier in the evening. Kunal, in a vest, wrapped in a shawl to protect himself from the unusually cold morning looked very much the cute teddy. The mood was sombre, so much so, that even Shilvi was silent.
Eventually after one rather long pit stop we reached on the Hyderabad highway near Uppal cross roads from where we managed to get another dreaded mini bus back to Secundrabad station. Our Vizag adventure finally came to an end as bleary eyed, battered bodied we reached our homes that morning.
What we did in Vizag .... comin up ..........
Posts
1 comments:
The global economic meltdown has taken its toll on almost all the industries across the globe. Developing countries like India badly suffered in the wake of inflation and recession. Business, that was coming in from the developed countries particularly in the field of IT dropped down drastically triggering off a series of reactions in related industries. Along with business travelers, the number of leisure tourists also dwindled partly because of the sagging economy and partly because of the horrifying attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai. Places of cultural and historical importance like Vishakhapatnam that tourists used to frequent, saw a crucial drop in the number of leisure travelers recently and the occupancy rate of the hotels also went down. Even the start up hotels in Vishakhapatnam, in spite of lowering their rates are witnessing a low occupancy rate. The occupancy rate of the budget hotels in Vishakhapatnam as with the rest of the country has seen as high as a 30% fall in the occupancy rates. Known as the “Jewel of the East Coast” Vishakhapatnam is a very important industrial hub apart from being a tourist destination. In addition, it is very well connected to the capital of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad which is one of fastest growing IT hubs of the country. It is only natural therefore that there are quite a many top class business hotels in Vishakhapatnam. However, the current economic condition has changed the complete scenario and has affected the hospitality industry also.
Post a Comment