Sorry guys, i know i am writing it too late. bt better late than never. I was dependent on Arun, who was supposed to write this blog and publish however after waiting for him like 2 months i had to publish this. This blog is though not complete, being a detailed on day1 evenig and fun of day 2 is totally missing. Photos of this marvellous trip can be find on this link (http://picasaweb.google.com/mangatrai/PondicherryTrip#)
The Bloody Coupe
Pondicherry or Puducherry as it is called now, is close to 300 Kms from Banglore. After Mangat’s (http://www.blogger.com/
So we had close to one week to plan the itinerary. I was to take care of the Accomodation, Manesh to handle transportation and others to make sure that we are doing things as planned. He He. We had a look at few of the hotels (obviously online) and inquired with few of our friends. Finally we decided to get to Pondicherry and book the hotel, rather than booking it online. Transportaion was pretty easy as Manesh agreed to bring his Benz C-Class (well, it is actually Wagon R).
The D-Day and The Coupe Was Sloppy
October 16th, 2009 – Well we all were very excited about the trip. However we had to go to office. All of us were working late as our shifts were pretty late. To be frank, I didn’t have much work and by 07.00 in the evening, I was free. I was feeling pretty tired though, well the reason for that is very interesting. There was a beautiful new gal in the gym and I worked out a bit more than usual. I was too tired after the workout; tired in such a way that I was feeling sleepy. So I was waiting for Manesh to leave so that we can get to our room ( Manesh’s flat ) and sleep. To my shock, Manesh was gonna get late…. However I was lucky to know that Gaurav was going to Marathahalli. So i thought of going to cousin sister’s house and sleeping there till Manesh comes from office. Gaurav had to purchase 3/4ths for Pondy trip. So we both left office and reached Marathahalli. Now guess who purchased the most, I did. But it took as a long time to get over with the shopping spree. After that Gaurav dropped me at Cousin sister’s flat and i slept there for few hours.
Manesh came around 12.00 from office and we reached our room around 12.20 and slept by 12.30. So we were not able to leave that night. But we were determined to get up in the morning around and leave by 04.30 from Bangalore. So as planned me and Manesh reached Mangat’s room around 04.30 and we left Bangalore by 05.15 AM. Datta was at Mangat’s house and we picked Gaurav on the way. Although late, we started our trip to Pondy. All of us were feeling so so sleepy and Mangat was little angry on all of us. But that was understandable. Then i told, Better late than never.
The Search for ECR
We planned to take the following route: Bangalore – Hosur – Krishnagiri – Tiruvannamalai – Villupuram – Pondycherry. Both me and Datta had been to Pondy before this. And we had the glimpse of the ECR in our mind. How ever we didnt know if it s gonna be en-route to Pondicherry. But we told everyone that we will be entering ECR and it is gonna be great ride as the road is too good. So everyone was eagerly waiting to see ECR.
Now let me shed some light on the journey from Bangalore. The travel from Bangalore to Hosur was not that bad, considering the fact that the construction of the Express Highway is in progress. We reached Hosur in 35 minutes and then the road was too too good; no pot holes, no irregular surfaces. The best thing that i appreciate about TN is the roads. The NHs are properly mainained. The drive from Hosur to Krishnagiri was great. The scenic beauty, the sun rise, the great road and the rocky peaks on either sides of the road just added the perfect blend to the great start that we had. We had breakfast at a restaurant in the one of the Indian Oil Petrol Bunks (well before Krishnagiri and much after Hosur). Manesh was driving till then and after breakfast it was my turn to test my driving skills on the C-Class.
After Krishnagiri toll booth, you have to take a left turn from the Second Fly Over; the road towards Chennai. After travelling for 1 Km on that road, take a right from the first signal. And then, it is a straight road to Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Pondicherry. The road from Krishnagiri to Tirvuannamali is not that great. We coevered the entire distance in 6 Hours, even after taking couple of halts in between. We reached around 11.30 AM, and that too straight to the beach road. We planned to check in at any of the hotels, get fresh and then have our lunch.
The Princes’ Stay
We had to find a nice place to stay. Since we were already on the beach road, we just wanted to have a room there itself. The temperature was a whopping 34 degrees. We checked out 4 places.
Ajanta Sea Side – For a double deluxe sea facing room, they were asking 3000 Rs. And with extra beds it came to 3800.00.
Ajanta Guest House (next to Ajant Sea Side Hotel) – A/C Sea Facing Double room with extra beds was costing around 1900.00 and Non Sea Facing room was costing around 1600.00. We thought of checking out other options.
Hi-Design – The cost well, 5000 and above. So I am not gonna write more about that. The rooms are too good and the ambiance is great.
Mother Sea Side Restaurant – They didnt have double rooms and they had an executive suite room to offer. It was costing around 4000.00
Eventually we planned to rent a room at Ajanta Guest House. So we got a double room with two extra beds at a cost of 1600.00 Rs. The room was normal with a cup board, TV and cable connection, a table and a chair and A/C. The bathroom was big enough, but had no ventilation. The best thing about the hotel was that it was hardly 150 mts from the beach.
