[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Bangalore - Pallakkad on 29th December 2009. Heard there is a bandh on that day. What precautionas to be taken? Is it safe to drive through in a KA registered vehicle?

There are two options.

Option 1. Buy a big garland; put it on the bonnet. Make out a fairly big poster, and wite "marriage" on it. Stick teh poster on front of your car, somewhere on the windshield.

OPtion 2:- Beg / buy / steal / find from your wardrobe a black piece of cloth. Proportion does not matter. FInd a 2 - 3 feet tall piece of stick / pipe / tube to be used as a flag post.

Put the cloth on the stick / flag post which should be somewhere in front of the car. Make sure that the black cloth is visible from afar.

Option 1 is for light footed drivers.

Option 2 is for heavy footed drivers.

[hvkumar]

Carry spare fuel - petrol stations will be closed too.
Carry your own food - no restaurants will be open.

[rajesh1868]

@hvk
thanks a lot for your south indian trip log. It was really useful for my Bangalore- Ernakulam trip 2 days back

[Wind]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Bangalore - Pallakkad on 29th December 2009. Heard there is a bandh on that day. What precautions to be taken? Is it safe to drive through in a KA registered vehicle?

Since bandhs have been outlawed in Kerala, it is called Harthal. This particular one on Dec 29th is a 12 hour one (6:00 AM to 6:00 PM). If you plan your start from Bangalore in the afternoon, you should be able to reach Palakkad after 6:00 PM and beat the Hartal. Surprisingly, this particular Harthal isn't listed in the official Harthal almanac.

Harthal Schedule- - www.harthal.com


IMHO Harthal enforcers in Kerala tend to have a pan India outlook and treats all vehicles the same irrespective of the state of origin. Due to Sabarimala pilgrimage season there are going to be quite a lot of outside state vehicles in Kerala and this is one more hardship the pilgrims will have to endure.

-- Wind

[nairrk]

The Regn number may not make much problem here as now-a-days one can see more number of KA,AP,TN regn vehicles on road due to Sabarimala season.
However other than usual problems (no petrol pump, no shops/hotels etc), there can be trouble from antisocial elements (stone throwing, roadblocking etc) which one cannot predict-when/from where it comes?
As suggested by @wind, better you arrange your pragramme as such that you will enter in kerala border only in the evening time when the normal life will return?

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Option 1. Buy a big garland; put it on the bonnet. Make out a fairly big poster, and wite "marriage" on it. Stick teh poster on front of your car, somewhere on the windshield.

Option 1 is for light footed drivers.

Option 1 for me. Come to think of it I am going for a wedding so I am legally allowed too

Originally Posted by Wind

This particular one on Dec 29th is a 12 hour one (6:00 AM to 6:00 PM). If you plan your start from Bangalore in the afternoon, you should be able to reach Palakkad after 6:00 PM and beat the Hartal.

Ah... great. So now I enter Kerala after 1800 hours. Till then I will roam around in Coimbatore. As I am a slow driver (80-90 kmph) I think I will leave in the morning and have a relaxed drive instead.

Originally Posted by nairrk

there can be trouble from antisocial elements (stone throwing, roadblocking etc) which one cannot predict-when/from where it comes?

And thats the concern. With a baby and 2 ladies on board I dont want to get into any mess. Thanks for the heads-up. I will surely enter Kerala by late evening.

Thanks guys for the replies. Appreciate it. Have a wonderful day and a Happy New Year.

[jkdas]

Changanacherry - Kottarakkara - Trivandrum. Some bad patches now and then. NH is better compared to this.

[trrk]

Hi,

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Option 1 for me. Come to think of it I am going for a wedding so I am legally allowed too

The people on the ground rahther the goons may not have read that statement made by their leaders.

Drive in post 6PM for better peace of mind.

Please expect a huge jam in Walayar.

[TomRider]

Took the Salem route this time. The distance is 39 km more compared to the Mettur route, but the travelling time was less.

Next time its going to be Omalur-Sankagiri route, bypassing Salem.

[kutlee]

blore-mysore-gundulpet-sultan battery route is in good condition. the gates at bandipur is congested and hold up 30 mins of time. Sultan battery kannur route is ok with bad patches and the ghats are in bad condition. once the ghats are over, roads turn good.

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by TomRider

Next time its going to be Omalur-Sankagiri route, bypassing Salem.

Can you please provide the landmarks near the turn off at Omalur towards Sankagiri ? Is it a major junction ?

[linoos]

Did a Bangalore Edathua(Alapuzha) trip on 19th Dec'09.
Route: Bangalore--> Hosur-->Krishnagiri--> Dhramapuri-Thopur-Mettur-> Bhavani--> Avanishi--> Walayar--> Thrissur-> Edapally-> Vytila-->Alapuzha-> Mapazhakeri-> Kalangara-Edathua.
Time Taken: 13 Hours with a 45 min and 30 mins break.
Road Condition: Throughout very good except some bad streches between Thopur--> Bhavani.

Return planned on 2nd Jan via Kumily--> Dindigul--> Salem --> Bangalore
Can anyone suggest the turns, landmarks, hotels and the condition of the roads..
estimated times also?

Cheers,
Linoos

[coolclouds]

I finished Kochi - airport - Kothamangalam - Kottayam - Kochi - Trichur route just now. Didn't face any kind of issue on the entire stretch and there were lot of cars & two wheelers on NH 47 even though it was a Harthal.. expecting the same till boarder

[TomRider]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Can you please provide the landmarks near the turn off at Omalur towards Sankagiri ? Is it a major junction ?

Tough Call. I did not have a plan to take that route this time, so did not observe completely.

Omalur comes after 25 kms from Thoppur (after ~4 kms from Salem Airport, which is on left hand side if you are travelling from Bangalore to Coimbatore). You need to take the deviation from there onto SH which will take you to Sankagiri. New NH47 construction is going on in Sankagiri and you need to take mud road for a few hundred meters to join NH47 at the end. I am not crystal clear about the land marks or deviations. I can update after 9th Jan.

[linoos]

For a change wanted to try a new route... for TVLA--BLR

Wanted inputs and advice on the route

Thiruvalla--> Kumily--> Dindigul--> Salem --> Bangalore

on the basis of route ie turns and landmarks and condition of roads

Also suggest on the by-passes available at Salem, Dindigul etc...