This is going to be quick, I apologize. But I am attempting to create a Youtube account thing (WATCH HERE) through which you can see all the videos of places I have been and things I’ve experienced. So here we go!
40 rupees can get you a lot here, but my favorite is a trip to this part of the beach. (the exchange rate here is about 60 rupees per US dollar). One sunny day we went on an excursion up the hill by us to a park owned by the Visakha Urban Development Authority. While the park was nice, carefully manicured grass and the whole nine yards, what I loved was the part where the park ended: the beach. There were tide pools everywhere, caves, rocks, and waves crashing on all of them. I was in love.
I started scampering over every rock formation I could get my foot on. My friend has the pictures of me on the tops of the ‘crags’, so these are the best I could do. A local villager came while we were walking around these pools and he climbed into the pool right behind me, turns out it is about 8 feet deep. If the water wasn’t so polluted, it would be a very tempting dip.
A red moon over the sea: something that is nearly impossible to capture. We took a trip to Bheemily one day and as we were walking to the beach we saw the most incredible moon. It rose, low and red, over a rapidly darkening bay of black sand. Magical.
One of my mehandi masterpieces. Foot model: Jamie.
Vizianagram. Home of my favorite festival. There is no way that this festival can be done justice in words. The day started with us piling in the rental car in our best sarees and driving to a small town, Vizinagram, to meet up with a doctor that we know (who also happens to be the royal astrologer to the Maharajah). We spent some time with him and then we made our way to this building that faces the main road where the festivities happen. People started packing in below us. Anticipation weighed the air down more than the steady drizzle. Three hours after we arrived at the top of the room, the festival began! 
The worship and pooja of this particular festival involves a member of an important family strapping himself into a chair attached to the end of a 40’ pole. The said pole is attached to a rolling cart which makes its way from the temple to the fort three times (a total of 5 km). Not only does he have to stay in this chair, but he has to do so while bananas are being pelted at him from all sides. If you throw bananas at this contraption, you are making an offering to the goddess being celebrated (no extra points if you hit him). Really, it was a pretty good day!
Meet Raju. He is an 8th class student in Vizag who’s father is a fisherman, a trade Raju has already taken to like a fish to water. This kid has a great smile and even better sense of humor! He was regaling us with stories of his swimming far out in the sea to go fishing. We impressed him with our vast knowledge and command of the Telugu language. All in all, a lovely bit of communication.
Bathing in the river is apparently a common occurrence here. We saw this when we went on a YSA conference trip to a nearby city. As we were getting out of our bus to go and see the two old bridges of the city (one of it’s only attractions) we were joined by another group of people, all in red, getting out of their bus. Once we got down there we noticed that half of the other bus was in the water bathing! It is a religious act and one that is VERY India!
Here are the two bridges that we saw. The one on the right is the old bridge and on the left is the new. I love the juxtaposition of traditional and modern! Steel versus brick.
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