Hmmm..I still like to believe that I am still a 'rider' at heart although I have had a long standing passion for cars.I still feel for my Bullet and am desperately planning a decent ride soon (as my metal baby has been in deep slumber for quite some time now...) But more on that later.
At the moment I am on a high after doing my first major Long-Drive in my car (a rather recent acquisition). The event was my cousin's engagement in Chennai. And the moment I was informed of it, I knew that it was certainly going to be a road trip or nothing at all.
After much anticipation, finally the day arrived. 26th of October was our day to travel from Bangalore to Chennai (roughly 355 kms) And approximate time (including breaks) would be 6.5 hrs. one side.
But since this was the first time I was visiting chennai by road, I was a little apprehensive about the route to take, especially after entering the city. That was a total blank. And moreover I had to take a planned detour from the highway into Vellore, to pick another person up, and drop him in Chennai.
Because of the Vellore detour, I decided to take the Bangalore-Hosur-Vellore-Chennai Route (NH-7 which eventually merges into NH-4, a.k.a the 'Old Madras Road').
Thanks to crazy commuting times to and from work, we could not keep our schedule of starting at 6:30 am and eventually started from home around 8:00 in the morning.
1st pit-stop, as usual, was "The Five Star Family Restaurant" on Hosur Road, adjacent to the HP Petrol Pump. After breakfast, we tanked up on fuel and drove off, to set the roads on fire. Man, after crossing the humdrum of Bangalore, and deeper into the highway, the traffic cleared and we had miles and miles of asphalt beckoning us to enjoy the drive! And since the car was fresh out of service, it was just waiting to stretch it's legs, which it seldom can, in Bangalore City Traffic :-)!
And it got its fair share of stretching. Infact I pushed it past the 140 kmph mark, for about 200 metres, and man!!!, it was an exhilirating experience. It has to be done to be believed. But then I quickly came back to the 100-110 range, which is ideal for an Esteem. Because at 140 the vehicle begins to tremble and it is very risky to drive at that speed from the control point of view.
We took our detour to Vellore around 11:30 am and then merged back with the highway in about 35-40 minutes, after picking up the person.
We were enjoying the ride to the fullest, but then our joy was shortlived, the moment we touched the entry point to Chennai. It is the Poonamalle high road. Now there were two routes, one was through Poonamalle and the other was the Poonamalle Bypass. And to admit, honestly, based on past experience and a very generic expectation that "bypasses are meant to do just that.....'bypass' the main route", we took the bypass.
And that was the worst judgement of the whole trip. There was drizzling rainfall and the road on the bypass was in shambles. And to top it all it was a 'two lane - no median' road. And the last straw was a 3 km long jam with vehicles of all shapes and sizes, predominantly trucks and heavy vehicles. That last 3 km stretch took more than 1.5 hrs to finish and it washed away all the deja-vu of the previous 330 odd kms that we covered in sheer exhiliration.
But finally we crossed it and the nightmare was over. And we reached our destination with tonnes of telephonic support from my cousin.
Lesson Learn't: Avoid the Poonamalle bypass, when going to Chennai. Take the Main Poonamale instead!
Finally our purpose of the visit was a success and the function went off smoothly (out of place to mention here).
And on the 28th Morining we started our return Journey. And this time we were determined not to be fooled by the "bypass" promise. And we did the route through the Poonamalle High road. The road was equally bad, but the travel time was less, as we had started around 7:15 am - a very ideal time to begin a road trip (IMHO). We crossed Poonamalle and hit the highway in good time.
Now one good thing to lookout for, when on a highway is the Reliance Petrol Pump which also
houses the "A1-Plaza". This is a new concept initiative by Reliance and I must say that it is a very nice experience. The A1-Plaza is a one stop shop for food, refreshments and ofcourse fuel!
They have paid toilets and showers and it is very neat and clean, maintained 24 x 7. ANd the food is cheap but hygenically prepared and the surroundings are clean. The pic shows the A1-Plaza car parking lot.
Slowly but surely, the Indian highway hotels are acquiring an international feel to them and the A1-Plaza is a step in the right direction. Given this type of roads and such facilities on the highway, the day is not too far, when I would easily do a Bangalore-Delhi by road :-). Atleast the idea doesn't seem all that far fetched.
After Breakfast, we hit the highway again and this time we had Heavy Rains to drive in. The rains made the drive even more challenging. I almost got a feeling that I was driving on some international freeway. Once again we did good speeds byt at some stretches, the rain slowed us down. Very less pics this time because the main event was not the road - trip. The trip just happened to be by road so we made the most of it.
I strongly recommend that if it is a distance of 500kms or less, and if you have the time, the best way to do it is by road, as there would be lots of beautiful sights to see and it is definitely not boring, like a train or plane journey, where you have to sit in a corner and read a stupid book all the time. :-)
We reached Bangalore only to be greeted by mode heavy rains, The rains were caused by some storm build up in the bay of bengal. And finaly hit home around 3:00 pm completely exhauseted but with a great feeling of exhiliration and a high, which you get only when you do something absolutely exciting.
I am scheduled to go to Chennai again in February next year. But after this drive, I am seriously tempted to do a Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore a couple of more times in the very near future (hehehe).
Two more pics, which we took from the running vehicle....which would give a good idea of how the view was....
Route: Bangalore-> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> (Take a left turn from 2nd flyover) -> Vellore ->Poonamalle -> Chennai City.
At the moment I am on a high after doing my first major Long-Drive in my car (a rather recent acquisition). The event was my cousin's engagement in Chennai. And the moment I was informed of it, I knew that it was certainly going to be a road trip or nothing at all.
After much anticipation, finally the day arrived. 26th of October was our day to travel from Bangalore to Chennai (roughly 355 kms) And approximate time (including breaks) would be 6.5 hrs. one side.
But since this was the first time I was visiting chennai by road, I was a little apprehensive about the route to take, especially after entering the city. That was a total blank. And moreover I had to take a planned detour from the highway into Vellore, to pick another person up, and drop him in Chennai.
Because of the Vellore detour, I decided to take the Bangalore-Hosur-Vellore-Chennai Route (NH-7 which eventually merges into NH-4, a.k.a the 'Old Madras Road').
Thanks to crazy commuting times to and from work, we could not keep our schedule of starting at 6:30 am and eventually started from home around 8:00 in the morning.
1st pit-stop, as usual, was "The Five Star Family Restaurant" on Hosur Road, adjacent to the HP Petrol Pump. After breakfast, we tanked up on fuel and drove off, to set the roads on fire. Man, after crossing the humdrum of Bangalore, and deeper into the highway, the traffic cleared and we had miles and miles of asphalt beckoning us to enjoy the drive! And since the car was fresh out of service, it was just waiting to stretch it's legs, which it seldom can, in Bangalore City Traffic :-)!
And it got its fair share of stretching. Infact I pushed it past the 140 kmph mark, for about 200 metres, and man!!!, it was an exhilirating experience. It has to be done to be believed. But then I quickly came back to the 100-110 range, which is ideal for an Esteem. Because at 140 the vehicle begins to tremble and it is very risky to drive at that speed from the control point of view.
We took our detour to Vellore around 11:30 am and then merged back with the highway in about 35-40 minutes, after picking up the person.
We were enjoying the ride to the fullest, but then our joy was shortlived, the moment we touched the entry point to Chennai. It is the Poonamalle high road. Now there were two routes, one was through Poonamalle and the other was the Poonamalle Bypass. And to admit, honestly, based on past experience and a very generic expectation that "bypasses are meant to do just that.....'bypass' the main route", we took the bypass.
And that was the worst judgement of the whole trip. There was drizzling rainfall and the road on the bypass was in shambles. And to top it all it was a 'two lane - no median' road. And the last straw was a 3 km long jam with vehicles of all shapes and sizes, predominantly trucks and heavy vehicles. That last 3 km stretch took more than 1.5 hrs to finish and it washed away all the deja-vu of the previous 330 odd kms that we covered in sheer exhiliration.
But finally we crossed it and the nightmare was over. And we reached our destination with tonnes of telephonic support from my cousin.
Lesson Learn't: Avoid the Poonamalle bypass, when going to Chennai. Take the Main Poonamale instead!
Finally our purpose of the visit was a success and the function went off smoothly (out of place to mention here).
And on the 28th Morining we started our return Journey. And this time we were determined not to be fooled by the "bypass" promise. And we did the route through the Poonamalle High road. The road was equally bad, but the travel time was less, as we had started around 7:15 am - a very ideal time to begin a road trip (IMHO). We crossed Poonamalle and hit the highway in good time.
Now one good thing to lookout for, when on a highway is the Reliance Petrol Pump which also
houses the "A1-Plaza". This is a new concept initiative by Reliance and I must say that it is a very nice experience. The A1-Plaza is a one stop shop for food, refreshments and ofcourse fuel!They have paid toilets and showers and it is very neat and clean, maintained 24 x 7. ANd the food is cheap but hygenically prepared and the surroundings are clean. The pic shows the A1-Plaza car parking lot.
Slowly but surely, the Indian highway hotels are acquiring an international feel to them and the A1-Plaza is a step in the right direction. Given this type of roads and such facilities on the highway, the day is not too far, when I would easily do a Bangalore-Delhi by road :-). Atleast the idea doesn't seem all that far fetched.
After Breakfast, we hit the highway again and this time we had Heavy Rains to drive in. The rains made the drive even more challenging. I almost got a feeling that I was driving on some international freeway. Once again we did good speeds byt at some stretches, the rain slowed us down. Very less pics this time because the main event was not the road - trip. The trip just happened to be by road so we made the most of it.I strongly recommend that if it is a distance of 500kms or less, and if you have the time, the best way to do it is by road, as there would be lots of beautiful sights to see and it is definitely not boring, like a train or plane journey, where you have to sit in a corner and read a stupid book all the time. :-)
We reached Bangalore only to be greeted by mode heavy rains, The rains were caused by some storm build up in the bay of bengal. And finaly hit home around 3:00 pm completely exhauseted but with a great feeling of exhiliration and a high, which you get only when you do something absolutely exciting.
I am scheduled to go to Chennai again in February next year. But after this drive, I am seriously tempted to do a Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore a couple of more times in the very near future (hehehe).
Two more pics, which we took from the running vehicle....which would give a good idea of how the view was....
Route: Bangalore-> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> (Take a left turn from 2nd flyover) -> Vellore ->Poonamalle -> Chennai City.
