8th Feb 2017
Surekha, Shyamala and I boarded the Cocanadu Express at 8:30 PM from Secunderabad Station. Actually, Madhavu also had to join us but she fell sick and opted out in the last moment. The train was quite comfortable and neat.
We reached rajahmundry early morning at 6. A gentleman from Punnami travels came to pick us up and we were taken to the boat. We stopped on the way to freshen up and have tea. We then proceeded to Punnami Tourism office where we were given our tickets. It took almost 1.5 hours to reach the boat. We had to carry our luggage and walk to the boat. On the top floor, we had some performances and an emcee who engaged everyone with their jokes.
On the way, we saw GandiPochamma temple on the banks of the river Godavari. We had breakfast on the boat - idli, upma, wada and tea.
At 1 PM, vegetarian lunch was served on the boat. Food was very fresh and tasty. On the way, we saw Papikondalu (a hill) in the middle of river Godavari.
Next, we saw Lord Shiva temple in river Godavari. It was very nice. We also went to a waterfall, we had to trek to reach there. There were no steps.
At around 3PM we reached Kolluru huts. After getting down from the boat we had to walk on the sand for about half an hour. It was very hot, Shyamalas sandal broke. A boy named Akhil Goud from Adilabad gave her his slippers, and the boys carried her luggage too. After seeing the bamboo huts we were very disappointed. It was just like a refugee camp with no fans, no internet and no mobile network.
Evening was very pleasant. We met a lot of families who were visiting the place too. We had chicken and fish for dinner. It was very very cold at midnight.
9th Feb 2017
Our boat arrived at 3pm. It took us nearly four hours to reach. The music was very loud which I dont enjoy much, so I sat down on the other end of the boat with my legs hanging out and getting wet in the river.
The sunset was mesmerising. Once we reached the river shore, we were brought back by us to half the distance and then a jeep dropped us to the station. We had dinner at a nearby hotel, waited for sometime in the waiting room and then boarded the Godavari Express.
The train journey was comfortable and I had a sound sleep. We reached Secunderabad station at 6AM, took an RTC bus and came home.
This was a very different experience but overall was nice!
P.S - These are excerpts from my beloved mother's diaries and journals. Hope you find them useful. Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.