Journey to Pondicherry in my SAIL !!!

[stevie]

Hi guys

At last i found time to actually sit down and write to you about my drive to pondicherry. Though i have been there several times before it was a first time for my 'Corsa Sail'. I was double minded about the whole trip since i was taking into condiseration factors such as the 'condition of the roads' and of course 'fuel efficiency'. well both Surprised me!!!!

i think the road is not at all bad except for the last few days of heavy rainfall....a few of the potholes have turned into 'wells'!!!!!!(literally)

well to my astonishment my corsa sail gave me a fuel efficiency of 14.6kms to a litre of petrol (Shell station on Vittal Mallya road, bangalore).
i used the usual IFTEX clean system-G, as recmmended by GM.

the road to pondicherry is a pure display of the typical tamil nadu village scene along with some awesome breathtaking sights of temples, hills, forts and of course, the coast, once your on ECR.

most of the road. lets you comfortably do the 90-100 kmph. Not to mention the hosur - krishnagiri - chennai deviation which tempts you to do much higher speeds. (safety was prime for me so it was the riskless driving that i opted for, not forgetting to buckle-up).....(i highly recommend that all BHPians use their seat belts and drive wisely....talking from an experience that nearly took my life!)

the ECR road from Pondy to Mahabalipuram is aweome too.beautiful hideaways are something that one must discover by driving into private fishermen community lanes....these places open out into breathtaking coast lines.....and if your lucky enough, you can actually see some of the catch arriving to shore(usually the 3:00 to 4:00 PM types). It was amazing to observe the auctioning of fish by local agents and the fresh fish being loaded into trucks for immediate despatch.

I am really not into yoga and meditation centres so the auroville and ashram experience was not my cup of tea, though i saw most of the places.I still wonder why the french and loads of 'firangs' frequent this place! Is it just the meditation, ashram, organic food, simple lifestyle or is there more to all this!!?? (maybe someone here can tell me why!)

i have uploaded a couple of pics i took on my phone(nokia 6681).please excuse the clarity

i plan to drive down to pondy in about two weeks from now.will keep you updated on more experiences.








more pics coming up tomorrow!!!

[Surprise]

Good report

Whats the distance between Bangalore and Pondy. Is it a non-stop travel, when did u start from Bangalore and when did you reached Pondy.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Good report

Whats the distance between Bangalore and Pondy. Is it a non-stop travel, when did u start from Bangalore and when did you reached Pondy.

I rode by bike from Bangalore - Pondy thru NH7 - NH46. It is about 310 km from Silk board to Pondicherry Gate. I did that in about 7 hours including 1.5 hrs of breaks.
The Mahabalipuram route to pondy is about 50kms more. It should take lesser time by car as you will not take many breaks.

Abhi

[TSEA]

Is the hosur - krishnagiri - chennai route throughout a divided one?

[souravbasu]

Thanks for the nice post. I am also planning to make similar trip to Pondy sometime during winter season. The ECR roadway is too good to drive - all along the east coast beach; the road is also nicely maintained by private party.

The road between Bangalore and Chennai are in good shape now because of the ongoing Golden Quadilateral Project. Mahabalipuram should be a must visit if we can spare 1 days time.

[souravbasu]

Originally Posted by TSEA

Is the hosur - krishnagiri - chennai route throughout a divided one?

Yes they have divider all through the route, and road is broader too... thanks to Golden Qualdrilateral Project (connecting all four metros). Only thing that I dont like are unplanned U-turns and crossings at commercial junctions - these are annoying for many people, during long drive... you will find villagers and cattles encroaching the road and even going with their vehicle in reverse direction.

[stevie]

i left bangalore at about 6.30.was at silkboard junction by 7.15(since i live in the north of bangalore), and i reached pondicherry by 2.45pm- with a breakfast break at sarvanabhavan, hosur and a pit stop at tiruvanamalai(tender coconut walla on the highway).

my return jouney was nicer.i left pondy at 7.45 and reached biocon, hosur at exactly 2pm but then it took me a whole hour and half to get home from there because of the 'awesome' traffic.