User talk:(WT-en) Amit.k.mukherjee

Bangalore to Pondicherry on Car
Maps don't tell the ground realities. I found that out on my road trip to Pondy and Mahabalipuram. I have documented my experience in my blog with pictures of landmarks that fall along the way. The description is written here in detail. If interested visit my TRAVEL BLOG.

Pondicherry Ahoy!!

We were planning for this trip for quite a while and then it happened. This blog would be very useful to all those who intend to drive from Bangalore through Pondicherry to Mahabalipuram and back.

Good Friday morning. Sleepy and tired after a long week, we (my wife and myself) woke up at 3 am and by 5 am we were ready to hit the road. I decided to wait for another 30 mins as I was reluctant to drive on highway in the dark.

At 5:30 am, it was still dark but we started.

Car: A-star VXI. Tacho: 4890 km (Second servicing done a day ago). Fuel: HP Petrol normal. (Full tank) Tyre pressure: 38 PSI. A/C: ON with regulator at 2 except for the first 60 km on NH 7 at dawn. (It was quite warm thereafter).

Took Madiwala route, turned left on Total Mall, tool Silk Board Flyover, went up E City flyover, and hit NH 7 at 5:40 am.

Sleepy-eyed but wide awake, I wasn't trying to zip. The engine had to do a lot of kilometers and I wanted it to perform well.

As usual, NH 7 was silky smooth. We were doing around 90 km/h.

Sunrise as we approached Krishnagiri. I was looking forward to an early break as I knew there there would not be any restaurants available of NH 66. After traveling for around 60 km on NH 7, we stopped at Sri Krishna Inn/ Cafe Coffee Day. 'Twas needed.

Ten minutes break and we headed towards Krishnagiri Toll gate.

Paid Rs 35 and then wife started reading to me the map. From toll gate we went for 4 km. We could see the second flyover from the toll gate. Went below the second flyover and turned left onto the NH 46. After one kilometer, I turned right onto NH 66.

I did not expect much from NH 66. I had read blogs and knew that NH 66 was not good. There were lot of pot-holes. Lot of patch-works and even more pot-holes. Speed came down from 110 km/h to around 80 km/h. Still I found cars shooting ahead at over 120 km/h at least. I played safe, as I did not want a puncture or a broken wheel or suspensor.

Just kept driving on NH 66. This is the only straight route to Pondy.

Arrived at Samalpatti railway crossing (140km from Koramangala). The gate was closed, had to stop behind approximately 15 vehicles. But no sooner had I stopped, than gate opened and we went ahead.

After another 40 km approx, we reached Chengam. There wasn't any good restaurant or dhaba on the wayside. At least none that caught my eyes. We carried on our way.

Temple town of Tiruvannamalai:

From Chengam, we travelled east for another 36 km to arrive at the temple town of Tiruvannamalai. I never knew that this town was so famous. There were lot of Europeans in this town.

Caution: NH 66 is under construction and you will have to take a de-tour before the Arunachaleshwara Temple. When you see the temple ahead, you will have to take a right and then take left to re-join NH 66. Drive carefully. Roads are very congested.

This picture was taken on our way back from Pondy.

You should be crossing Tiruvannamalai in 2 km. Tiruvannamalai railway crossing would be the last landmark at the east end of the town.

Gingee: We reached Gingee in another 25 mins. On the right, we saw Gingee Fort pass by. Didn't stop.

Entry into Tindivanam: Tindivanam is the last town before you arrive at Pondicherry. Be very careful as you enter Tindivanam. NH 66 divides in two. Take the left road to proceed towards Pondy. The straight road is one way and you will see only on-coming traffic. I made a big mistake in taking the straight road and got mouthful from the sabjiwala, bus drivers, bikers and police. Again, the flyover at the end of Tindivanam was very confusing for me. An auto driver pointed out the right direction to me.

West gate of Pondy should be another 40 km approx from Tindivanam. The stretch of NH 66 from Tindivanam to Pondy was again under construction and we had to take frequent diversions. I hit two hard bumps on the way as the newly laid road and old road were not seamlessly integrated. There was a height difference and at 115 km/h, small difference in height on the surface of the road can result in a nasty jerk.

Pondicherry: Reached the West Gate of Pondy at 11:45 am. The city traffic was bad. I am used to city driving but I would have to say the Pondy traffic was really bad. People just didn't care about indicators and they didn't stop even after adequate hand signals. City traffic signals were set at 20 seconds. So if you are not lucky enough you will have to stop at the same signal twice.

Hotel Surguru: S.V. Patel Road - East Coast Road Junction. Ordinary hotel. Tarriff a bit high. Double Bed: 1600 INR per night. Amenities: A/C, TV, Hot/ Cold water, etc. (very basic). Remarks: It was neat and clean. Restaurant: Veg. (This was a let down). Parking: Ample available given the size of the hotel.

The hotel was right on S.V. Patel road and you just couldn't miss it.

Enough parking space inside the hotel. You wouldn't have to worry about your car.

Hotel Surguru Restaurant: All veg. Rates moderate. Tasted ok. Nothing exceptional.

After a shower we headed for the beach. The weather was very uncomfortable but we braved the heat and the sun to see the Pondy beach. Rocky beach was again a big let down. We were there for hardly 5 mins before we decided that it was best to take rest and come back in the evening. Headed for the hotel.

Rocky as it could get...

View of Goubert Road... The one that travels along the beach.

The hotel room was clean and cool. It was tempting given the hostile climate.

In the evening, we were back on the beach. Entire Pondy population was on the beach with us. Visited Aurobindo Ashram. Unfortunately could not take any snaps. Not allowed to.

Sights and sound surrounding the Aurobondo Ashram:

Ganesh temple near Aurobindo Ashram.

Elephant inside Ganesh Temple.

Sunset... but no relief from the heat.

We really missed sandy beach....

Gandhi Statue and lot of people monkeying around it...

Day 2: Saturday:

Had breakfast and started for Mahabalipuram. East Coast Road was good. Paid Rs 35 as toll. For the next 94 km, the road was really smooth. It took us about an hour and twenty minutes to reach Mahabalipuram. I did not push to car too much because I was on this road for the first time and was not really sure about the turns. There were quite a few turns and you just would not be able to make those curves and stay on road at 120 km/h (at least not in A-star), so be careful.

Some moments on ECR:

Mahabalipuram: 94 km on ECR and then we took right diversion towards Mahabalipuram. A world heritage site and just as we were about the enter, a man came running from the side of the road and stopped our car. Took Rs 20 (for what I never found out). And we proceeded towards shore temple.

I was recollecting the chapters from the history books of eight and nineth standard. Happy that I was about the see the piece of history that I had read years ago.

Parking: Rs 20. Restroom: Rs 5. (The most expensive public lavatory that I have been to. Probably it is a price to pay for relieving at a world heritage site.) Shore Temple Entry Fee: Rs 10 (for Indian) and Rs 250 (for foreigners). The sign board looked Racist to me.

And then .....

The first ray of the sun rising from the Bay of Bengal enters the Garba Griha through this east facing gate.

At last we found a sandy beach. And it was right beside the shore temple. We headed straight for the beach... We didn't have any change of clothes, what a pity. Bathing was ruled out. It was very sunny and warm and humid... we had to cut short the beach saunter.

Mahabalipuram beach with the Shore Temple in the backdrop...

Lost in thought...

The heat was getting too uncomfortable and we headed straight for a beach resort ...

We found some shade... the resort was green and had all the amenities but we were only looking for a restaurant. It was called Pongamiya.

Lunch was served at 12:30 pm. We had eaten our fill (and our fill wasn't much) by 1 pm and by 1:30 pm we were headed for Pondy. The return journey was surprisingly fast. Probably I had got a hang of ECR. We covered 94 km in just about an hour.

Evening at Pondy was pleasant. We took a rickshaw and went to the French Colony... the stone road was nostalgic...

We spent some more time at the beach munching ground nuts...

Pondy lighthouse... could not get in.

Wife wanted to shop... and we headed for some handicraft stores...

Sunday morning and our holiday in Pondicherry was in its last leg... I wanted to have lunch and then start for Bangalore but wife insisted on starting early. (There can only be one winner in this kind of an argument.)

We finished our brunch, packed couple of sandwitches and started for Bangalore at 10:30 am sharp. Drove non-stop until we reached Cafe Coffee day on NH 7 at 2:45 pm. Driving for 270 km without a break, was the worst part of the journey.

NH 46: We travelled for one km on NH 46 before taking a right turn for Bangalore on NH 7.

Reached Koramangala at 4 pm.

Vehicle looked very dirty. Cleaning it up would be a hard job but will do that later. I was satisfied at its performance. No mechanical problems.

Total journey: 900 km approx. Milage: 22 km/ liter with A/C on at level 2 throughout the journey. Fuel price in Pondy: A mouthwatering Rs 46.15.

PS: All en-route snaps were taken by wife. I was occupied with driving. She doubled as my on-road photographer and navigator.