[hserus]

Well yes, G for General and P for Patters. Not one in ten people is going to remember that LB Road and Lattice Bridge Road are the same either.

If you got to the side of express avenue you have to take a right into a small lane that takes you back onto mount road and then turn from there, thanks to the one way on Whites Road.

Originally Posted by Prowler

Some time back I asked for directions to 'General Patters Road" - to a Traffic Sarge on the side of Express Avenue. He pleaded that he had never heard of such a road in Madras and one of his constables approached him and said 'he is asking for GP road sir'.

Yes. I am one of the few left who continue to call the cities and streets by their original names. BTW, GP road is still called as General Patters Road as per the corporation name board there.


Sorry for off topic rant.

[bottle]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

How is the fog situation right now for early morning drives? . Are the hills near Gudiyattam and Palamner known for fog?

I drove from Chennai to Bangalore on 26th Jan and there was heavy fog from Ponamallee after Motel Highway junction till just after Vellore when I started at 5AM Visibility wasnt 0 but quite bad

Originally Posted by NPV

3. Any recommended/trusted petrol pumps nearby in Alwarpet ? I remember an IOC near Woodlands hotel and a BP on Luz Church Road (probably this one will be closer to Ethiraja ?)

Woodlands IOC is recommended , they have been honest for 20+years while some of the BP pumps in the area have had issues some time back.

[NPV]

Thanks @hserus and @narayans80 for your timely responses, had a good trip.

Started at 2:50am and reached the wedding hall at 8:40am (no breaks en route), in good time to attend the 9:30-10:30 muhurtham

Encountered very light/negligible fog en route, traffic was sparse, almost no private car traffic till Kanchipuram bypass, it was just trucks mostly. From 7:30am, the factory & office traffic started from Kanchipuram bypass and continued via Sriperumbudur, Poomnamallee bypass, Porur, Mount Poonamallee road and Mount Road till our destination.

There was a HP petrol bunk right opposite Ethiraja Kalyana Nilayam on Mowbrays road, but was crowded. The car had enough fuel, so filled up while returning to Bangalore at the BP bunk on Kanchipuram bypass.

Reached Hosur only at 5pm, so went via NH 207 to reach near Banaswadi around 7:30pm, much better than crawling on Hosur Road and in Koramangala, Indiranagar.

Stopped at Murugan Idly Shop after Kanchipuram for a break. They have another outlet nearby on the opposite side of the road, tried this for the first time and was good.

[aquarian1502]

Originally Posted by narayans80

NICE-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Kanchipuram 76th km exit-Military Road-Walajabad-Chengalpattu-Mahabalipuram. This is the shortest route Google will take you through. Check the previous page for kdadi's post-trip update (post 3097).

Hello Narayan, Thank you. I haven't driven much on this route before. Can you please help me on what is 76th KM exit-Military road ? Is it the same what gmaps shows ? Will be driving this weekend.

(Mods, please feel free to remove this query below if you think is not relevant here)

Need some guidance on Chennai. We will be staying at Mahabalipuram and wifey wants to do some shopping around T-Nagar area. Any suggestions where can we park nearby ? Or would it be a better option to park in a mall nearby and hire a auto-rickshaw ? Please advice as I am not from Chennai.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by aquarian1502

Need some guidance on Chennai. We will be staying at Mahabalipuram and wifey wants to do some shopping around T-Nagar area. Any suggestions where can we park nearby ? Or would it be a better option to park in a mall nearby and hire a auto-rickshaw ? Please advice as I am not from Chennai.

Mahabalipuram is a resort and historical town some one and a half hours from south Chennai. After which you have another 40 minutes before you reach T Nagar. T Nagar doesn't have as much parking as you wish, but you can find some.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by aquarian1502

Can you please help me on what is 76th KM exit-Military road ? Is it the same what gmaps shows ?

Yes, that's what GMaps shows. You first get out onto SH143 from the NH48, then onto Military Road. All this basically bypasses Kanchipuram.

wifey wants to do some shopping around T-Nagar area. Any suggestions where can we park nearby ?

If it is for Pondy Bazaar and if you get there by 1000-1030, you should find parking on the main road itself. Shops open only around that time.

Another spot is near Panagal Park. I've sometimes have to go around 1-2 times to find parking here.

These are the easiest spots I can think of that are of walkable distance.

I got to tell you, driving here in evening hours is suicidal

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by narayans80

If it is for Pondy Bazaar and if you get there by 1000-1030, you should find parking on the main road itself. Shops open only around that time.

With the "smarter Chennai" initiative, the pondy bazaar road has effectively become a 1+1 carriage way. The sidewalk work isn't complete and is a mess.

If lucky, one may find parking spots on northern side roads of pondy bazaar

[aquarian1502]

Thank you Narayan and Swissknife.

Is there any mall nearby so I can park there and hire a rickshaw for few kms ?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by swissknife

With the "smarter Chennai" initiative, the pondy bazaar road has effectively become a 1+1 carriage way. The sidewalk work isn't complete and is a mess.

The stretch between Sivaprakasam Street and Sivagnanam Street (that is between Ambika Appalam Depot and TNagar head post office road) is untouched (for now). The rest of the road is a mess.

The key is timing, you have to visit when shops just open for the day, and the rest of Madras goes to office. I wouldn't even pass through this section anytime beyond 11 am.

By northern side roads, you mean those behind Holy Angels School? That's the only area I could think, where roads are wide enough and free, it also means additional walk.

Originally Posted by aquarian1502

Is there any mall nearby so I can park there and hire a rickshaw for few kms ?

'Malls' in this area are from the 80s without huge car parking in mind. Few big shops have their own parking areas like Saravana Stores, Pothys.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by aquarian1502

Thank you Narayan and Swissknife.

Is there any mall nearby so I can park there and hire a rickshaw for few kms ?

There aren't any on pondy bazaar. There are other shops such as Nalli, Kumaran, Pothys, Saravana etc that have parking (some with valet) around Panagal park. One point to note is that their parking is free if you make a purchase with them. The parking ticket is to be endorsed at the cash counter.

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by aquarian1502

Thank you Narayan and Swissknife.

Is there any mall nearby so I can park there and hire a rickshaw for few kms ?

If you enter Venkatnarayana Road from Nandanam junction which is on Mount Road (as known as Anna Salai), you can park in the 3rd or 4th bylane off Venkatnarayana Road and hire an auto to Panagal Park in TNagar from there (< 1 km). Just ensure that you park in the bylanes and not on Venkatnarayana Road itself. There are no malls close enough to park. Nearest ones are at least 3-4 kms away and not worth it in traffic.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by narayans80

By northern side roads, you mean those behind Holy Angels School? That's the only area I could think, where roads are wide enough and free, it also means additional walk.


.

I was referring to Raja Bather street from Muthulaksmi road till Srinivasa road (the road parallel to pondy bazaar opposite the Andhra killi shop).

[hserus]

Originally Posted by swissknife

I was referring to Raja Bather street from Muthulaksmi road till Srinivasa road (the road parallel to pondy bazaar opposite the Andhra killi shop).

That is a bit narrow and also sees frequent Tata ace and load auto traffic from Rathna Fan House (which has massive parking by the way). Street parking there poses a risk of developing scratches.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by hserus

That is a bit narrow and also sees frequent Tata ace and load auto traffic from Rathna Fan House (which has massive parking by the way). Street parking there poses a risk of developing scratches.

Not near Ratna fan house. The place I mentioned is after the cross road, behind balaji bhavan etc.

[BenjiRoss]

I've had some horrendous traffic jams when entering Chennai via Poonamallee on the way to annanagar. Today I got stuck for about 30 minutes each in 2 placers. Is there any alternate route.