map of east coast of usa You can also make your own way there from Hyderabad or Vijayawada. From Hyderabad, take a bus to Nag

Masala map of east coast of usa INDIAN $$ (Signature Towers, 1st fl, Asilmetta; mains 60-180; h11.30am-3.30pm & 7-11pm) map of east coast of usa Near Sampath Vinayaka Temple, Masala does out-of-this-world Andhra, tandoori and Chinese. Try the chepa pulusu (Andhrastyle map of east coast of usa fish; 130).

You can also make your own way there from Hyderabad or Vijayawada. From Hyderabad, take a bus to Nagarjuna Sagar (from 85, four hours). From there, it s a 10 shared rickshaw to Pylon, and another 10 to the boat launch. The nearest train station map of east coast of usa is 22km away at Macherla, where buses leave regularly for Nagarjuna Sagar.

910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its vast archaeological and karmic wealth. But the state is packed with impressive ruins of its rich Buddhist history. Only a few of Andhra map of east coast of usa s 150 stupas, monasteries, caves and other sites have been excavated, turning up rare relics of the Buddha (usually pearl-like pieces of bone) with offerings such as golden flowers. Nagarjunakonda and Amaravathi were flourishing Buddhist complexes, and near Visakhapatnam were the incredibly peaceful sites of Thotlakonda, and Bavikonda and Sankaram, looking across seascapes and lush countryside. They speak of a time when Andhra Pradesh or Andhradesa was a hotbed of Buddhist activity, when monks came from around the world to learn from some of the tradition s most renowned teachers. Andhradesa s Buddhist culture, in which sangha (community of monks and nuns), laity and statespeople all took part, lasted around 1500 years from the 6th century BC. There s no historical evidence for it, but some even say that the Buddha himself visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely disciples of Bavari, map of east coast of usa an ascetic who lived on the banks of the Godavari River and sent his followers map of east coast of usa north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma really took off in the 3rd century BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct stupas enshrined with relics of the Buddha. (Being near these was thought to help progress on the path to enlightenment.) Succeeding Ashoka, the Satavahanas and then Ikshvakus were also supportive. At their capital at Amaravathi, the Satavahanas adorned Ashoka map of east coast of usa s modest stupa with elegant decoration. They built monasteries across the Krishna Valley and exported the dharma map of east coast of usa through their sophisticated map of east coast of usa maritime network. It was also during the Satavahana reign that Nagarjuna lived. Considered by many to be the progenitor of Mahayana Buddhism, the monk was equal parts logician, philosopher and meditator, and he wrote several ground-breaking works that shaped contemporary Buddhist thought. Other important monk-philosophers would emerge from the area in the following centuries, making Andhradesa a sort of Buddhist motherland of the South.

Vizag s train station is on the western edge of town, near the port. Visakhapatnam Junction station is on the Kolkata-Chennai line. The overnight Coromandel Express (sleeper/3AC/2AC 333/881/1199, 13 hours) is the fastest of the five daily trains running to Kolkata. map of east coast of usa Heading south, it goes to Chennai (sleeper/3AC/2AC 310/817/1112, 14 hours). Frequent trains head to Vijayawada including 2717, the Ratnachalam Express (2nd-class/chair 108/477).