Weekend visit- INS Vikrant (20 Nov, 2011)

November 20, 2011

Weekend visit- INS Vikrant (20 Nov, 2011)

INS Vikrant (formerly HMS Hercules was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.She was launched on 22 September 1945.

Inside the ship

View from outside

Vikrant was India's only carrier for over twenty years, but by the early 1990s she was effectively out of service because of her poor condition. She was formally decommissioned on 31 January 1997. Following her decommissioning, Vikrant was marked for preservation as a museum ship in Mumbai, although a lack of funding has prevented progress on the ship's conversion for this role.. Vikrant is open to the public by the Indian Navy for short periods. She is the only World War II-era British-built aircraft carrier to be preserved as a museum.

Cousin and Dad

Me with Niece

We went to see her today. A big thanks to my cousin who did all the driving to Ballard Pier, despite an upset stomach! The ship's majestic. There was a long queue for getting the tickets. The Navy staff did a good job of controlling the queues that were gathered outside the dock. It was extremely hot and humid today. I sweated it out just to get an experience on how it would be on an actual ship. Normally, we only see them at a distance, while they are at sea. So i thought it was cool to go inside a warship of yesteryears. She's still regal. But I am sure that the whole look would improve with some more Govt. funding for this museum. The queue to enter the ship was so damn long that I really wished that I had done some other activity on a Sunday morning. But we kept our cool in all that heat. Once inside, there's a lot of history about the ship that's displayed on boards, prototypes of the ship, information about different sea routes, instruments etc. There are souvenir shops, food stalls, ice cream/ soft drink counters and a canteen within the ship itself. Niece and I were exhausted with all the climbing that we indulged in, while within the ship. We took some snaps in that heat. Most of it came dark as Mr. Sun wasn’t too kind and he was in his brightest moods. But I have put up a few of the ones that were taken within the ship. We ate ice-cream while at the deck. It didn’t help much to cool my burning skin but something is better than nothing.

We finished our sightseeing and decided to go home directly. So there were no stops at nearby cafes or hotels. Niece was very disappointed. I promised to take her out during the next weekend. Sigh! Kids!!!