Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Annavaram Temple


Annavaram Temple from the main entrance

Tuesday, July 14, 2009






Five of us traveled by car (Santro) from Hyderabad to Kakinada. Being the month of January, the weather was cool and pleasant all through. Since this was my first trip by road, I checked out on Google Maps but it suggested a route via Vijayawada. But I knew there was one more from Khammam and I decided to try this one our. We started early in the morning from Khairatabad at about 5:00 AM mainly to beat the traffic and also with an idea to reach Kakinada early. The total distance to cover was about 480 KM.

1. Hyderabad to Suryapet: Distance: 135Km
We covered this distance in two and half hours. We reached Suryapet by 7:30AM. There are several dhabas dotting either side of the road while entering this town. We stopped for our morning cup of coffee. From here one has take a diversion to Khammam.

2. Suryapet to Khammam: Distance: 80Km
This is a neat stretch where we hardly encountered any traffic. Road is pretty good, well maintained, and a pleasure to drive. One can average easily about 70KM per hour on this strech.

3. Khammam to Ashwaraopet: Distance 114 Km
Since we were making good time and hardly feeling the pressure of driving single handed, we continued our drive and planned to reach Rajahmundry early for our lunch. We carried lots of snacks to skip the breakfast and directly have lunch. Kids were enjoying the countryside and the eats to make them last till the lunch hour.

4. Ashwaraopet to Rajahumundry: Distance 90KM
We reached the next major town Rajahmundry by 12:30PM and directly drove into Hotel Anand. This is a decent hotel and they serve tasty vegetarian food.

5. Rajahmundry to Kakinada: Distance 62KM
The drive on this road is real cool and we reached Kakinada by 2:00PM.

We also happened to drive down to Annavaram from Kakinada. The distance was about 60KM and the drive time about one and half hours. Lord Satyanarayana Swamy temple is famous in this part of the world and the "Prasadam" is simply delicious!