Chennai-Thalaivasal-Chennai:500km:One day trip..

[Ford_madhan]

Hi Guys,

Though it was an en-expected trip from my side [Had to drop my MOM in my native place], it made me so happy to take my ikon for a long trip.

The sad part is, i keep on bugging @nitrous for a meet, and everytime i had to change my plans.

The trip started at around 8PM from my house in Tambaram. Me,My Friend and My MOM are the passengers. I am @ driver seat.

After reaching the GST road, i let the car fly.. Man,how silent the car is now.. Sometime back i was having humming problem with my car and i was cursing the MRF tyres for that. Later i had to change three of the four wheel bearings and the car is so silent..

Only thing i was worried is, i have to complete the entire trip with LPG as my ikon faces some problem running in petrol which neet to be rectified yet.

After crossing Vandalur, the car is going between 100 to 140kmph..
Man, all of a sudden a white color premier padmini overtook me. I just smiled as our first car was a padmini and we still have it in good condition.

Think about it guys, you are doing around 120kmph and overtaken by a padmini. The confident that guy would have got might be due to the POLICE stickers pasted all around the vehicle.

Then reached the toll gate and paid Rs30 with a return pass. Worth paying as the road was really well maintained till Dindivanam. After the end of this stretch, there was another toll booth where there is no proper road after that. But they insist me to pay the toll there. Another 30Rs. Great.. 60Rs for a 100 to 120km stretch..

Reached Vilupuram by 10o'clock and had our breakfast. I took the front passenger seat and my friend took over the driver job.

After Dindivanam you have to face the oncoming traffic. Especially after Vilupuram, it was really heavy.

Finally managed to reach UlundurPet @11.15AM. Man, after that, you have to come and see the road condition, there are pot holes where you can park your car inside..

Apart from these, we managed to go at good speed.

Reached Kallakurichi @12PM without any incident.

I dont know how people learnt driving in rural areas though basically i am also from there. Those guys are simply crossing the road without even bothering to look the oncoming traffic. We just missed hitting a two wheeler, as that guy all of sudden took a right turn without a signal or an indicator. We cursed that guy and carried on.

Reached home @12.30PM @Thalaivasal which is in Chennai-Salem NH. It is exactly 250kms from Tambaram. We managed to cover the distance by 4.30hrs with 30mins breakfast time.

Onething i sadly miss in my ikon is a good ICE. The kenwood cassete unit with all 4 kenwood co-axial speakers failed to satisfy me. Need a step by step upgrade due to budget constrains.

Had lunch with my Bro and Dad [Nice home made fish curry.. yummy]. I am meeting them after one month. Kind of a family re-union. We spoke about 30mins and time to start the return journey.

We started from Thalaivasal @2PM. I was in the driver's seat and my friend was taking a little nap. I drove @ constant 80kmph till Elavasanur kottai. We had the first cigarate of the trip as my mom was not with us now.

Then My Friend took over the driver seat and started towards chennai.
I was a bit worried now as the car have problem running in petrol and only two green lights are glowing in the LPG indicator. I am not sure about the LPG bunks on the way so do the people i checked with.

We were struck in a railway crossing @Vilupuram for an hour. Man my precious time was being wasted in a stupid railway gate.

Finally, managed to reach Dindivanam around 5PM. Had a teabreak and Cigarate. I cleaned the windshield using Formula1 glass cleaned and some tissues as the night is approaching. My worry about the fuel is increasing.

Reached Melmaruvathur @6PM and what a relief, there is an IOC autogas bunk. Filled up the tank. 45 litres of GAS went in. Since it is a 60 litre capacity tank, i could have gone another 150kms without a refill, but i didnt want to take a risk here. Paid the amount and got the bill, cleaned the windshield and started towards chennai peacefully.

Managed to reach Tambaram @8PM due to some heavy traffic in between.

The entire trip made me so happy, but onething i felt bad is i missed the mini-meet in chennai.

The summary is like,

Car - Ford IKon with LPG alone.
Distance- 500 kms - with full AC

One more point is the savings cost by LPG. For Rs1700 tank fill, you can cover 600kms with full AC in a Ford ikon. Thats really cool guys, IMO though.

Thats it guys. I am done as of now. This is my first Travelogue. So just shoot your comments.

Madhan..

[hvkumar]

Why is the Ulundurpet-Salem road always in a bad condition? I thought they had carried out some repairs recently, but from your account looks like it is biz as sual - bad roads.

And is the road widening work between Tindivanam and Ulundurpet going on at good pace? Any bets on completion dates?

[Ford_madhan]

Ulundurpet to Salem stretch work is just started.. But GOD only knows when it will be completed..