[Throtttle]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

For lunch, you can try Hotel Arunachala - Karur,

Originally Posted by ajithbr

For Hotel Arunachala.. see my posts #26 and #27 here:

Tried Arunachala, great find, few meters from NH7, quick access to & fro, huge parking with guard, chilling A/c, clean bathrooms, spacious, quick service, wide menu, decent ambiance and good food. THANKS!

Originally Posted by arun_josie

This one(Ammaiyappar) has actually replaced Vybhav Laxmi at the same location, but this was closed as well. Not sure, why google map is showing a different location though.

I see. Yes, Ammaiyappar was what only appeared prominently around Vybhav Laxmi location with google map navigation. It was closed still.

Originally Posted by Throtttle

Thalapakatti(eminent chain), Batlagundu, have credibility for breather pit-stops

Edit interval elapsed. Missed update about quick exploration stop at this. Thus appending. Tried this Thalapakatti, want to unrecommend this one eating my earlier words, AC section was very small, was stuffy due to inadequate AC, fraught with non-veg stench. Washroom was old style, uninviting and not up to the mark.

[Freon911]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Fastag update on the Bangalore - Nagercoil/Kanyakumari/Trivandrum stretch.

Arun, Thanks for sharing and good to know that you saved time. Seems Fast tag had 50% utilization on this route also considering the one where you got a free pass .

Hope this eventually increases. They should have merged with BETL RFID tag system than ask for a separate one. I remember the BETL officials told me that their RFID tag can be used at Attibelle too. Is that correct?

[arun_josie]

There is a saisangeet near thoppur A2B now, along with a IOC bunk and CCD. I think this was sangeetha restaurant before.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

There is a saisangeet near thoppur A2B now, along with a IOC bunk and CCD. I think this was sangeetha restaurant before.

Wow, this is good news and pleasant surprise
One much needed in NH7 and good to have more options around Thoppur area apart from A2B.

-Ravi

[NPV]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

There is a saisangeet near thoppur A2B now, along with a IOC bunk and CCD. I think this was sangeetha restaurant before.

This is good. Earlier there was a Rajabhojanam here which closed down then Sangeetha hotel came up and closed down rather quickly!
There is a CCD also here. Is Sai Sangeet in the new building that has come up in the campus ? Last I heard that was planned for a KFC I think.
Biggest disadvantage for the location of this place is that there is no proper ad/signage after you cross the toll plaza so most of the crowd ends up going into the Bharat Petroleum campus and A2B that appears first and has very prominent signage.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by NPV

Biggest disadvantage for the location of this place is that there is no proper ad/signage after you cross the toll plaza so most of the crowd ends up going into the Bharat Petroleum campus and A2B that appears first and has very prominent signage.

Very true. A signage board before and after toll will pull in more crowd. A2B board is visible well in advance and also we will be at a lower speed since its not far away from the toll.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

A signage board before and after toll will pull in more crowd. A2B board is visible well in advance and also we will be at a lower speed since its not far away from the toll.

There is a huge signboard for Sai Sangeet (board says hotel is 2Km from here) before the Thoppur toll plaza when coming from Salem side towards Thoppur/Bangalore direction

We stopped for breakfast at Sai Sangeet en route Sathyamangalam.
Food was yummy, just loved the place

Entry is from the store (called Search) on the ground floor and restaurant is in the first floor. There is an elevator to help elderly folk. They also have an ice-cream place on the ground floor. Restaurant is very tastefully decorated and can seat about 35-40 people. Expecting this to become the de-facto stop for folks on this route.
On the return journey we stopped at A2B for a coffee and I haven't seen that place deserted like this in a long time, there were just 4-5 cars!

The old building in the same IOC bunk campus had a Rajabhojanam that closed down to make way for Sangeethas that didn't last long. Now, that building seems to be taken over by the CCD which is probably expanding (they had a small outlet in the front of the building).

Sharing some pictures here:
Sai Sangeet and the Search store


CCD seems to be expanding its space, renovation underway

[pypkmsrikanth]

Somehow I like the original Sai Sangeeth near Walajah. The one near Ambur is good but has become a very pricey option compared to the Walajah, by the look of it even the Thoppur one seems to be closer to Ambur one in terms of ambiance and pricing

[realactivex]

Friends
Planning to travel tonight from bangalore to kerala (malapura) using a zoom car rental.. what is the best way for me.. bit important hence would like to travel as much as possible..
many thanks for a quick response..

[bobbyvictor]

I'm planning to drive down to Trivandrum with family tomorrow - i hear there are restrictions on KA vehicles going through Tamilnadu - mainly from the safety perspective - is this true - does anyone know or have done this route in the last couple of weeks?. secondly what are the good alternative routes i have ? road conditions ?. Im a little unsure about us being able to go this at one stretch with a kid and my mother in law in the car any suggestions on a good place to stay which is not exorbitant - lastly any suggestions on a good start time etc and timing of the stop over - I haven't done this route earlier so pardon the multiple queries - I normally do the Bangalore - salem - dindigul- tirunelveli - trivandrum and take about 11 hours on that route.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by bobbyvictor

I'm planning to drive down to Trivandrum with family tomorrow - i hear there are restrictions on KA vehicles going through Tamilnadu - mainly from the safety perspective - is this true - does anyone know or have done this route in the last couple of weeks?. secondly what are the good alternative routes i have ? road conditions ?. Im a little unsure about us being able to go this at one stretch with a kid and my mother in law in the car any suggestions on a good place to stay which is not exorbitant - lastly any suggestions on a good start time etc and timing of the stop over - I haven't done this route earlier so pardon the multiple queries - I normally do the Bangalore - salem - dindigul- tirunelveli - trivandrum and take about 11 hours on that route.

I returned from Nagercoil today in my KA registered car and didn't face any issues. They didn't even check/stop at the border.

But my onward journey was through KL route and its better to avoid this route. It took 20+ hours.

For stay you can look at Madurai. If you start around 4:00AM, you can reach Madurai around 10-11 AM.

[MinivanDriver]

Hi arunjosie, in your post, which border are you referring to? The Kerala - TN border? Kindly confirm. I need to travel back to Bangalore from Trivandrum. Wanted to make sure we will not be turned back at the Kerala - TN border. Also did you notice other KA registered vehicles in TN roads? Did you travel during night or day time? Kindly share details. Thanks in advance

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Hi arunjosie, in your post, which border are you referring to? The Kerala - TN border? Kindly confirm.

I am sure he is referring to KA-TN Border and not any other border.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Hi arunjosie, in your post, which border are you referring to? The Kerala - TN border? Kindly confirm. I need to travel back to Bangalore from Trivandrum. Wanted to make sure we will not be turned back at the Kerala - TN border. Also did you notice other KA registered vehicles in TN roads? Did you travel during night or day time? Kindly share details. Thanks in advance

Yes, it was the KA-TN border and I took the standard route via Madurai-Salem-Hosur. The first KA vehicle that I spotted was after Krishnagiri only.
I started at 10:30AM from Nagercoil and reached Bangalore by 7:00 PM.

[neutralgrey]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Yes, it was the KA-TN border and I took the standard route via Madurai-Salem-Hosur...

Any idea if cops are still stopping KA vehicles trying to travel into Tamilnadu?