[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by mah45

Hi, any good Petrol bunks to fill in normal Petrol near Madurai or on the way to Thoothukudi on the highway.
Thanks.

The Madurai bypass has a couple of pumps where you can fill fuel. I filled up at this place just off the Kariapatti bypass https://maps.app.goo.gl/VDVMoqaTpdjNPxu9A the measurement was fairly accurate. On my way back I filled up at the Freedom station on the Madurai Central Jail Campus, New facility with accurate measure once again. https://maps.app.goo.gl/baZVa8b4FN8bTYWj7 Am not sure if you have any work in Madurai city area though.

[mah45]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

On my way back I filled up at the Freedom station on the Madurai Central Jail Campus, New facility with accurate measure once again. https://maps.app.goo.gl/baZVa8b4FN8bTYWj7 Am not sure if you have any work in Madurai city area though.

Thanks for the update on the bypass, will take note.

No, while returning will drive down from Tirunelveli to Chennai.
So, don't plan to get into Madurai town.
Thanks

[narayans80]

There is a BPCL COCO few kms north of Madurai towards Melur. It has an A2B attached. If you need an IOCL, there is an IOCL COCO on the opposite side of the above BPCL COCO.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by mah45

Any tips for Tiruchendur to Mukkudal/Ambai route ?
When I checked last it was showing a route from Srivaikundam without touching Tirunelveli.
But now GMaps shows to go via Tirunelveli.

Any suggestions on which is the better route from Tirunelveli to Ambai in terms of road condition, thanks.

Road works, to be precise, culvert works are going on in the Seranmahadevi route at many places. So please use Suthamalli, Mukkudal route to Ambai from Tirunelveli.

For petrol pump, I fill the tank at IOCL COCO at Madurai outer on the highway and it will come till I return to BPCL COCO as Narayan mentioned. Generally I don't fill in Tirunelveli or Ambai. If you need to fill, there is a HP pump near Kallidai (first one from Ambai side) which is okay.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by narayans80

There is a BPCL COCO few kms north of Madurai towards Melur. It has an A2B attached. If you need an IOCL, there is an IOCL COCO on the opposite side of the above BPCL COCO.

Both of these are good options as well.

[mah45]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Road works, to be precise, culvert works are going on in the Seranmahadevi route at many places. So please use Suthamalli, Mukkudal route to Ambai from Tirunelveli.

For petrol pump, I fill the tank at IOCL COCO at Madurai outer on the highway and it will come till I return to BPCL COCO as Narayan mentioned. Generally I don't fill in Tirunelveli or Ambai. If you need to fill, there is a HP pump near Kallidai (first one from Ambai side) which is okay.

Thanks for the update.
I need to go to a place called Pappangulam which is somewhere near Mukkudal.
Honestly I am not very sure about the exact location.
It is a small village near Papakudy (there is one more Pappangulam apparently
So, may have to anyway take the Sermaadhevi route, but will check with locals whether it can be reached thru Suthamalli route.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by mah45

Thanks for the update.
I need to go to a place called Pappangulam which is somewhere near Mukkudal.
Honestly I am not very sure about the exact location.
It is a small village near Papakudy (there is one more Pappangulam apparently
So, may have to anyway take the Sermaadhevi route, but will check with locals whether it can be reached thru Suthamalli route.

I might be late in responding as you might be traveling now. Nevertheless, I own a homestay in the Ambai area (Alwarkurichi specifically) and have been frequenting the place for the last 3 years. I believe you are talking about the Pappankulam near Kallidaikurichi. If that is the case, then you have to take the Cheranmadevi route. Road widening is in progress, but manageable now compared to what it was couple of years ago.

While returning back, do note that you have to go through some part of Tirunelveli town whichever route you take.

[careind]

Originally Posted by luvurride

I believe you are talking about the Pappankulam near Kallidaikurichi. If that is the case, then you have to take the Cheranmadevi route. Road widening is in progress, but manageable now compared to what it was couple of years ago.

While returning back, do note that you have to go through some part of Tirunelveli town whichever route you take.

My family diety ( Sadaiudayar) is in Pappankulam and I have been visiting it for the past few years.

I undertook the journey in March this year . I generally stay in Janakiram and go by google suggested route, which was through melathediyur. That route was really rough on my Rapid as the roads were getting laid and was very cratered in many places.

When I returned, I took the mukkoodal route which was fairly ok but with narrow roads and speed breakers.

Please do keep me posted on the route options as I plan to go there in December.

[mah45]

Weekend trip to Tiruchendur/Tirunelveli

Thanks for all your inputs, just returned from a short trip to Tiruchendur and Tirunelveli from Chennai.

Started at 6:40 and took the Thiruporur - Chengalpet route.
Reached Manoj bhavan at Mamandur at 8 and stopped for breakfast.
Food was Ok-ish but Service was good and Restrooms were clean.

After driving along, stopped at a Juice joint just before the A2B Ulundurpet on the left.
They have a unique way of sweetening juice with Sugarcane juice or Tender coconut instead of sugar. This tastes really good.

For lunch we stopped at Susee bhavan in Melur.
This seemed to be a relatively new joint, so thought of trying it.
It was pretty clean.
Food options were very limited though, but decent.

Refuelled at IOCL COCO in Othakadai.
Took a while to cross Madurai due to lot of vehicles heading to an event.
Felt there were too many Toll booths in and around Madurai - not sure why.

Madurai - Thoothukudi highway was very good with hardly any traffic.
Reached Thoothukudi around 3:30 but from there until Tiruchendur, the roads were bad with heavy traffic.
Reached Tiruchendur by 4:30 and stayed at VKP Residency.
Rooms were Ok, nothing special but good AC and bed.
Had dinner at Mani Iyer restaurant.
this was a big let down.
I felt the dishes were overpriced for the ambience and watery sambar/chutney that they serve.

Decided to start early morning on Saturday and have breakfast at Janakiram Tirunelveli.
This turned out to be a very good decision and Janakiram did not disappoint at all.
Love their Idli vadai and chutneys, they have been maintaining same quality for years now.
Wonder why can't the restaurants in Chennai do that.

Bought alwa at Santhi sweets and Lakshmi Vilas near Old bus stand.
The Pappangulam we had to go is near Papakudy along Pottalpudhur route.
So, went through Nellai town, visited Nellaiappar temple and bought some more Alwa at another place called 'Visakha sweets'.
Since Iruttu kadai is open only in the evening, this one is a good alternative with similar texture like Iruttu kadai alwa.

Road condition until Pappangulam was good, although until Pettai it was just narrow lanes.
Took the Cheranmagadevi - Pottalpudhur route and road condition was decent.

On Sunday 29th, we started early again by 6:30 and I felt the roads from Tirunelveli to Madurai were the best among the ones during entire trip.
Was able to maintain very good speeds, and had breakfast at Temple city after Virudhunagar.
I guess the place was Sevarakottai.
Pretty good breakfast and decent restrooms.

Lunch was at Hariharans in Tindivanam.
Until Trichy, the traffic was minimal, but after Ulundurpet it got busy.
So, from Chengalpet took the Thiruporur route once again and reached home by 3:45

[thanixravindran]

Drove from Madurai to Chennai last week. Since I started from Kochadai area, ended up taking Natham, thuvarankurichi route instead of Melur route as I lost way in Madurai town. It is a pleasant surprise as the road is complete and encountered butter smooth tarmac with almost nil traffic with the long Natham flyover in Madurai as icing on cake. Toll plaza is set-up but toll collection is yet to start. Trichy needs a proper bypass or flyovers rather than those bridges for small villages.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Drove from Madurai to Chennai last week. Since I started from Kochadai area, ended up taking Natham, thuvarankurichi route instead of Melur route as I lost way in Madurai town.

If you are starting from within the city, taking the Natham route on any day is much better than coming via Melur

[pypkmsrikanth]

Travelled to Villupuram yesterday. The Kooteripattu flyover was open for traffic towards Villupuram though there's still some work getting done. Maybe the holiday traffic may have forced the police to open one leg. Looks like in a couple of weeks time both arms may be open.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Returned on Sunday from Villupuram, traffic was sent over the flyover though we had to cross over from the up to down lane on top of the bridge. The down traffic towards Villupuram was using the service lane. Another couple of weeks Kotteripattu will be a breeze to cross

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

Returned on Sunday from Villupuram, traffic was sent over the flyover though we had to cross over from the up to down lane on top of the bridge. The down traffic towards Villupuram was using the service lane. Another couple of weeks Kotteripattu will be a breeze to cross

I guess you are talking about Kooteripattu in both your posts.

How is the south Villupuram bypass flyover?

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by narayans80

I guess you are talking about Kooteripattu in both your posts.

How is the south Villupuram bypass flyover?

Villupuram South bypass flyover was operational a couple of weeks back itself. I think I had mentioned in the other thread about Kumbakonam. Villupuram bypass is not a huge pain like it was a few months back. South of Tindivanam up to Ulundurpet should be a breeze by Pongal