Team-BHP > Travelogues


Reply
  Search this Thread
16,191 views
Old 4th July 2016, 14:19   #1
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

In my short 11 months of ownership of the Taurus (Fiat Punto) as well as my previous ownership of various cars and bikes I do understand there is no single vehicle which is perfect. My Punto isn’t perfect as well nor were any of the cars or bikes that I have owned or rode. Each vehicle has its own strength and weaknesses and one slowly accepts it. You learn to work around its strength, bypassing its weakness and connect with your vehicle.

My connection with Taurus too has grown stronger with each passing day. One thing that stands out with Fiats is that it plasters a wide grin on your face every time you are behind the wheel. The urge to just drive your Fiat is like no other. I have loved all my vehicles before this as well but none has come close to Punto as a driver’s car. The more you drive it the more you want. As a driver’s car Fiats surely will be up there with the best in world.

We have had 5 trips now in the first eight months since Taurus came home. Three of them were close to 2.5 K kms trip. Such is the joy while driving this car that we have been finding excuses to plan a trip each time there is a holiday. The only thing that stops us from making more trips is Vitamin M. My first travelogue is already posted in the forum and can be found here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ern-ghats.html

I do hope it’s as useful to others as various other travelogues of the esteemed members have been to all travel crazy TBHPIANs.

This particular trip was done during the republic day long weekend. We started on 24th Jan 2015 and came back on 27th Jan 2015. Before I move on the customary route and trip stats.

Route Map

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-route.jpg

We took the highlighted route and the roads are brilliant throughout. This route is close to 800 Kms and touches NH9 for about 80 Kms and then around 220 Kms on SH2 and the rest 500 kms on NH5 and NH45. The SH2 is a state highway and is laid out well but is a little narrower than highways. But maintaining speeds is pretty easy. Lots of villages and human settlements though tend to bring down the speeds.

I knew about ECR road connecting Chennai and Pondicherry but took the NH45 both the times. What I didn’t know that it’s one of the most scenic roads in India along the east coast. In order to save some time I took the NH45 both the times. I came to know of this after the trip was over. Regret not taking the ECR at least while coming back. May be some other time but felt sad that I didn’t take that route. I should have googled about ECR before.

The trip stats

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-hyd_pon_hyd.jpg

Distance Covered: 1779 kms
Travel Time (In car): 32:07 hours
Average Speed: 55 km/h
Mileage: 14.9 km/l (MID)
Mileage: 14.2 km/l (Tankful Method)
Total Diesel Consumed: 125 liters approx.

So my observation that MID shows a mileage which is in the range 0.5-1.0 km/l more than tank full method proves true again.

Well I know these stats really aren’t great for MJD and that too for a highway trip. As they say stats hide more than they reveal. The average speeds seems very humble but these have been bought down really because of the in city drive within Pondicherry which bought both the average speeds as well as the mileage. If I take out the city drive the average speeds would be closer to 80 km/h. The learning's that I took from my previous trips was to drive the best possible speeds the car and the driver can manage.

It’s always better to be at your destination before dark sets in. No point taking all the stress with your loved ones by your side. I choose to be a lot more attentive during the day time and drive at the best possible speeds as possible. It’s a little difficult to maintain good speeds after evenings as it gets darker. I have now developed this habit of doing all these calculations in my head and keep up the pace. But being a FIATIAN and member of this esteemed community I make sure that my drive doesn’t cause any problems whatsoever to fellow riders on the road.

Last edited by nibedk : 5th July 2016 at 20:32.
nibedk is online now   (8) Thanks
Old 4th July 2016, 17:27   #2
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Jan 24 2015 - Day 1

Start Early, Drive Sensibly and Reach on Time

That’s the mantra we have been following since the late night driving experiences. We planned to start before 4:00 AM this time but with a kid it’s never really easy. They behave exactly opposite of what you expect them to when required. We had done all our pre travel preparations before evening the previous day. I worked from home the day before and we retired by 8:00 PM. We had made sure that our daughter doesn’t sleep in the afternoon but still she kept us awake until after 10:00 PM. We woke up around 3:00 AM and it was not until after 5:00 AM that we started our trip.

Start of trip pic

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030383.jpg

It’s still sleeping time for my princess

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030387.jpg

We started our trip at 5:20 AM and its really smooth route towards Vijayawada, Chennai etc. from ECIL side of the city. With the ORR now open from Ghatekesar other destinations like Bangalore, Srisailam etc. is also stress free now. When we did the Pondicherry trip though ORR was still not operational. We took the Warangal Highway, touched NH9 for some distance before taking the SH2. The roads were pretty good throughout. Once you hit NH5 it’s all smooth till you hit Pondicherry.

It was still dark when we touched NH9 and as soon as there was light on the horizon the climate changed completely. It became extremely foggy and stayed like that till 7:30 AM in the morning. It was difficult to maintain speeds and the narrower SH2 didn’t help either. With human settlements along the way one had to very attentive and careful.

Few early morning pictures

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030390.jpg

Visibility was very low due to the fog

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030392.jpg

That’s the sun

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030404.jpg

We had already crossed NH9 and were on SH2 when the fog finally gave way to bright sunlight.

Our first break somewhere on SH2

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030415.jpg

Few scenic snaps on the way.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030426.jpg

The roads were great though narrow when compared to NH

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030430.jpg

With sun shining in all its glory maintaining speeds were much easier now

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030432.jpg

Green

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030441.jpg

A temple on top of some hill

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030451.jpg

We usually pack our breakfast to save some time. Pity we can’t pack it for beloved Taurus. Break @ Ongole to fill up Taurus

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030453.jpg

Finally we hit NH5 towards Chennai

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030461.jpg

Kept the engine on boil throughout till we reached Chennai. Plan was to much as much miles as possible as the visibility was great throughout the day

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030463.jpg

NH5 is pretty scenic as well

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030466.jpg

Being a long weekend we encountered thick traffic as the day went on

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030479.jpg

Whenever we found empty stretches we increased the pace. Wife has been sharing the driving load since we bought Taurus. This time too it wasn’t any different. As we neared Chennai the climate became a little more likeable with clouds gathering over.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030488.jpg

One more break for Taurus. Isn’t he quite a poser?

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030489.jpg

Touched Chennai around 2:00 PM and stopped for lunch. Pure veg restaurant and we had special Thali. I am a hardcore non veggie who loves South Indian thali as well.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030496.jpg

The stats till Chennai

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-hyd_chn.jpg

We could have saved at least an hour if not for the heavy fog earlier in the day. Good speeds, good enough mileage. I have stopped bothering about mileage after our trip to Kudremukh. The goal is to reach the destination at the earliest. We were on track to reach Pondicherry before its dark.

The upcoming long weekend made sure we were held up due to heavy traffic. We took the bypass and never actually got into Chennai but still the traffic was very heavy and it took us quite a while before we touched NH45.
nibedk is online now   (6) Thanks
Old 5th July 2016, 14:44   #3
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Artificial bird. My daughter has a knack up picking up unusual stuff when we do such trips

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030497.jpg

We took a quick tea break at around 5:00 PM

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030500.jpg

As we kept getting closer to Pondicherry the sun was going down the horizon

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030506.jpg

Finally it retired for the day and we were pretty close to our destination by then.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030517.jpg

It was around 6:30 PM when we touched Pondicherry. We reached our destination around 7:30 PM. Traffic was very heavy in Chennai and Pondicherry. The long weekend had many revelers from Chennai and Bangalore converging @ Pondicherry. It took us close to an hour to cover around 8-10 kms within the city to reach our destination. I will share the pictures of our stay later in the thread.

Chennai to Pondicherry Stats

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-chn_pon.jpg

The traffic while exiting Chennai and after entering Pondicherry really screwed up the stats. The speeds were way off the mark. I am pretty sure if I exclude Chennai and Pondicherry in city driving the speeds would be around 80 km/h mark. The only upside is slightly better FE.

Stats for the whole day

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-hyd_pon.jpg

Pretty acceptable figures for a drive of more than 800 kms. We had ample time in hand before we retired for the day. Roads were good for around 95% of the drive. It was only the drive inside Chennai and Pondicherry which was a little stressful due to bumper to bumper traffic. NH45 drive was a cautious one too. Too many vehicles due to folks from nearby cities coming for an extended weekend to relax and unwind made sure one had to be attentive throughout the course.

One we touched the NH45 keeping the speeds up was not a problem at with wide roads. We stayed at a relative’s place. All had a filling dinner and there was no fatigue after the drive. We retired for the day 11:30 PM as we wanted to start early the next day.
nibedk is online now   (5) Thanks
Old 5th July 2016, 19:38   #4
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Jan 25 2015 - Day 2

The day started at 7:00 Am. We got ready and had a princely breakfast. The start was delayed as we waited for everyone to get ready. We had our uncle and aunts joining in for the city tour. Taurus for the first time was loaded to brim. We were 5 adults and a kid.

First we went for the Paradise Beach. You have to go to Chunnambar beach house and take a boat to Paradise beach. We reached around 10:00 AM and could not even find a place to park our car. Waiting there would have delayed everything so we put off our plans for the next day. We straight away headed for the Ousteri Lake.

Pretty peaceful and picturesque.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030539.jpg

A boat in Ousteri

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030542.jpg

Lakeramma …

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030571.jpg

Taurus resting in the shade

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030572.jpg

The sun was pretty harsh that day and everyone wanted to go back for a quick lunch after which we planned to visit Auroville.

Daughter in playful mood near Auroville

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030577.jpg

Discs used in Matri Mandir

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030583.jpg

Matri Mandir

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030594.jpg

I had been to Pondicherry before as well during my bachelor days as well. Auroville is such a calm and peaceful place. It felt so soothing inside Matri Mandir. I wanted to sit there for a long time. Mind was feeling so uncluttered. The sound of birds chirping, sounds of leaves rubbing against each other due to wind. I just loved it. It was pretty busy the last time I went there along with friends. But this time around it felt awesome.

It was already 5:00 PM when we left Auroville. Wife and aunts wanted to do some marketing. Finally we went back home by 8:00 PM. I used the time in evening discovering the house (rather palace). It was such a lovely place. French architecture all around and I got to admit every stuff was handpicked with lot of care. Each piece of furniture complimented each other and the house as well. It even had a swimming pool. It was nothing less than a 5 Star hotel. I can guarantee that any one will think so unless told that this place is personal property. Staying here made our trip a lot more memorable.

Few pictures of the house

Bulls on the wall

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030869.jpg

Open dining area

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030870.jpg

Tastefully done ….

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030872.jpg

An Italian among the French … Vespa

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030873.jpg

Swimming pool

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030880.jpg

Swim & Swing …

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030881.jpg

Guest Area

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040026.jpg

Solid wood work every where

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040028.jpg

Brilliant Paintings all around

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040030.jpg

Stairway

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040031.jpg

Our bedroom … Look at the woodwork and painting

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040034.jpg

This is all I could capture before we retired for the day. We needed to start early next day as we had a lot of things left to be covered. We needed to be on time for Paradise so that we do not have to wait for boat, parking etc.
nibedk is online now   (6) Thanks
Old 5th July 2016, 20:03   #5
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Jan 26 2015 - Day 3

We woke up by 6:30 AM and got ready by 8:00 AM. We were at Chunnambar by 8:30 AM and were among the early ones to be there. Got into the first boat of the day. You get a lot of boat options there including speed boats as well. The view is very scenic on the way to Paradise beach

Back waters

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030621.jpg

Bridge as seen from the water

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030622.jpg

Cormorants

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030625.jpg

Greenery all around the water bodies

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030627.jpg

See Papa … I can row too

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030634.jpg

Sea & Sand Scape

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030640.jpg

Papa Beti bonding ….

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030669.jpg

On to the beach now

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030693.jpg

Child’s Play

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030725.jpg

Panorama … Sometimes they don’t stitch well … The best I could get

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030741.jpg

Few more back water pictures.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030775.jpg

Coconut Trees

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030782.jpg

Blue Sky … Greenery & Dark waters

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030792.jpg

We headed to Serenity beach next.

Somewhere on the way to Serenity

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030800.jpg

Temple near the beach

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030803.jpg

Taurus enjoying sea breeze

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030804.jpg

Its me … Look @ the cloud patterns

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030820.jpg

Colorful boats

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030848.jpg

Touring partners

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030854.jpg

There were some more beaches along the same road. We chose not to visit anymore. It was getting hotter and the breeze blowing from the shore was becoming hotter. We got back for lunch and were back to 5 on board again.

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030882.jpg

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030889.jpg

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030894.jpg

Toy Train Ride @ Pondicherry Botanical Gardens

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030967.jpg

Nemo & Marlin

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030925.jpg

@ Pondicherry Botanical Gardens

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030969.jpg

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030970.jpg

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030973.jpg

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030976.jpg
nibedk is online now   (7) Thanks
Old 5th July 2016, 20:24   #6
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030985.jpg

Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030988.jpg

Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1030989.jpg

It was getting darker and we dashed to the Navagraha temple. It’s in the outskirts of the city and difficult to find as well. Google maps directed us to a wrong place and after asking locals for direction we found it after quite some time.

Camera wasn’t allowed inside and this is all I could muster.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040002.jpg

The temple was very clean inside.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040003.jpg

While coming back we also visited Shani Temple before going to Auro Beach (Promenade). I remember this place from my last visit and it was pretty calm back then. Now it’s completely commercialized. The rock beach doesn’t look natural now with vendors and some building around. The place was very busy and we had short stay there for about 30 minutes only.

Gandhi Status @ Promenade

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040010.jpg

Nehru Statue @ Promenade

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040020.jpg

French War Memorial

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040022.jpg

It was 8:30 PM when we had delicious Local Pizza. It was very tasty and we ate to our fill. We had covered almost everything that we planned.

Stats within the city

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-city.jpg

Pathetic to say the least. Speeds had to be especially within the city but I just couldn’t believe the fuel efficiency. We were 5 full grown adults all through within the city limits and I thought it may have been the reason is what I thought. I dropped everyone off at home. Then I went to get the car ready for the return journey. Filled him up to brim and then checked the tire pressure.

Then I realized that I had not checked the tire pressure since starting the trip. I usually fill him up and get the tires pressure checked before a trip. But this time I didn’t do it as there was ¾th the diesel left in the tank. I had filled up the car once at Ongole but they didn’t have air pressure machine working. All tires had around 25-26 PSI and I got them back to 33 PSI. Low tire pressure and 5 adults on board and the fuel efficiency took a dip. I usually keep my tires around 32 PSI. For highway drives with luggage its 33 PSI that I prefer.

Full stats till now

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-hyd_chn_pon_city.jpg

The in city travel screwed up stats completely. Average speeds were seriously down and fuel efficiency went down considerably. With all set for the return trip we all retired around 11:00 PM.
nibedk is online now   (7) Thanks
Old 5th July 2016, 20:31   #7
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Jan 27 2015 - Day 4

We were all set by 7:00 AM to restart our journey back home to Hyderabad. I aimed to do the return trip back within 10 hours. We took the same route while coming back as well.

Early morning drive

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040040.jpg

Tea break on NH45

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040049.jpg

NH5 Weather was better during return

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040081.jpg

A short break

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040084.jpg

We had our lunch around 12:30 PM and continued our journey. It got hotter as the day progressed.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040098.jpg

Hanuman Statue

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040104.jpg

Back on SH2

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040133.jpg

The sun finally bid goodbye

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-p1040132.jpg

I thought that we could do 800 kms within 10 hrs and we almost did it. We were almost on track till it was dark. The traffic increased considerably and was difficult maintaining speeds after that. Our average speeds were around 83-84 km/h and came down considerably once we neared Hyderabad. We reached home around 7:40 PM. The stats were pretty good except the FE.

Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto-pon_hyd.jpg

We had a great trip no doubt. We stayed at a nice place and had gracious hosts. We covered almost everything that we had planned to. Taurus performed admirably doing great speeds still being pretty efficient. It might have been more efficient if not for less pressure in the tires. All in all a very satisfying trip and much more satisfying drive.
nibedk is online now   (12) Thanks
Old 6th July 2016, 07:29   #8
Team-BHP Support
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 17,683
Thanked: 76,287 Times
re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!
Aditya is online now  
Old 6th July 2016, 11:01   #9
BHPian
 
Doc_nikhil's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Coimbatore
Posts: 151
Thanked: 492 Times
Re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Your sightseeing was quite extensive, to say the least. I've been in Pondicherry for the last 3 yrs and I've never seen all the places you've seen. We have to cross chunambar boat house on the way to the college everyday and it is always crowded and haphazardly parked vehicles make it all the more unattractive, so till date I have not set foot into it. �� But have seen it now with your pics. And pls do tell us if your relatives will allow us to have a peek inside their house? We are gathering ideas for our new home and would love to be inspired by their house, especially the swimming pool area, it looks so relaxing..!!
All in all, a great travelogue. Let me know when you visit pondi the next time, I'll suggest you the places to eat and places not to eat too Do keep crunching more miles..and may your taurus's average speed remain high.
Cheers..!!

Last edited by Doc_nikhil : 6th July 2016 at 11:02. Reason: Additional info
Doc_nikhil is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 6th July 2016, 23:53   #10
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
Re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc_nikhil View Post
Your sightseeing was quite extensive, to say the least. I've been in Pondicherry for the last 3 yrs and I've never seen all the places you've seen. We have to cross chunambar boat house on the way to the college everyday and it is always crowded and haphazardly parked vehicles make it all the more unattractive, so till date I have not set foot into it. �� But have seen it now with your pics. And pls do tell us if your relatives will allow us to have a peek inside their house? We are gathering ideas for our new home and would love to be inspired by their house, especially the swimming pool area, it looks so relaxing..!!
All in all, a great travelogue. Let me know when you visit pondi the next time, I'll suggest you the places to eat and places not to eat too Do keep crunching more miles..and may your taurus's average speed remain high.
Cheers..!!
Thanks DocSaab for reading through. I guess that's human nature. Everyone tries to explore things which aren't accessible easily. I have been in Hyderabad for close to 3 years now and have not been to more than 60% of the must see places. But have had 10 outstation trips totaling more than 20 K Kms.

Yes you can have a look at my relative's place for ideas. They are extremely warm folks. I would connect with you surely the next time we visit there. This time it was pretty hectic. The next one would be a leisurely one.
nibedk is online now  
Old 7th July 2016, 13:42   #11
BHPian
 
bordeaux's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 301
Thanked: 1,252 Times
Re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Wonderful coverage. A place we want to visit for so long now. Will probably try to hit it on the next long weekend.

Also, I think you are way too obsessed with stats even while driving. Happens to me all the time. Since my car doesn't have an average speed calculator in the MIDI, a chunk of my brain is always calculating the average speed I totally hate doing that but I just can't stop doing it.
bordeaux is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 7th July 2016, 14:30   #12
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 181
Thanked: 558 Times
Re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Quote:
Originally Posted by bordeaux View Post
Wonderful coverage. A place we want to visit for so long now. Will probably try to hit it on the next long weekend.

Also, I think you are way too obsessed with stats even while driving. Happens to me all the time. Since my car doesn't have an average speed calculator in the MIDI, a chunk of my brain is always calculating the average speed I totally hate doing that but I just can't stop doing it.
Thanks @Bordeaux. Its feels wonderful when fellow bhpians read through your posts and travelogues and have something to good to say about it. All the effort put in putting together the post feels worth and gives you a kick to keep writing.

Heartfelt thanks to every individual who took time to go through the thread.

Well the obsession really isn't about the stats like speed or mileage. But it’s more of an effort to put whatever possible so that fellow travelers gain something out of it. I usually skim through TBHP and TFI travel threads before any trip and gather as much info possible. They are pretty helpful in planning my travel. It’s my way of giving it back to the community in whatever small way possible. It enriches everyone's experience on the community and my way of thanking fellow TBHPIANs.

Secondly these stats help me a lot when planning my future travels. Last time we did HYD-BBSR in one shot in little over 16 hours. We have been on that route twice earlier and it never looked like we could do that route in a day. But with proper planning based on previous trips we were successful this time round. Earlier I used to drive faster to achieve these speeds but these stats have helped me understand the characteristics of the car better. I could achieve average speeds of 70 km/h driving @ speeds close to 140 km. Now I never cross 120 km and still able to achieve speeds closer to 70 km/h and sometimes even higher.

With 40 k kms in a little over two years I have just managed a FE of 16 km/l that too with close to 70% on highways. So if I was obsessed with stats I would have had FE ranging above 18km/l not what I have actually achieved. As they say stats hide more than they reveal. For me stats is a way of improving my driving and being more efficient on trips.
nibedk is online now  
Old 7th July 2016, 15:08   #13
BHPian
 
bordeaux's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 301
Thanked: 1,252 Times
Re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Quote:
Originally Posted by nibedk View Post
Well the obsession really isn't about the stats like speed or mileage. But it’s more of an effort to put whatever possible so that fellow travelers gain something out of it. I usually skim through TBHP and TFI travel threads before any trip and gather as much info possible. They are pretty helpful in planning my travel. It’s my way of giving it back to the community in whatever small way possible. It enriches everyone's experience on the community and my way of thanking fellow TBHPIANs.

Secondly these stats help me a lot when planning my future travels. Last time we did HYD-BBSR in one shot in little over 16 hours. We have been on that route twice earlier and it never looked like we could do that route in a day. But with proper planning based on previous trips we were successful this time round. Earlier I used to drive faster to achieve these speeds but these stats have helped me understand the characteristics of the car better. I could achieve average speeds of 70 km/h driving @ speeds close to 140 km. Now I never cross 120 km and still able to achieve speeds closer to 70 km/h and sometimes even higher.

With 40 k kms in a little over two years I have just managed a FE of 16 km/l that too with close to 70% on highways. So if I was obsessed with stats I would have had FE ranging above 18km/l not what I have actually achieved. As they say stats hide more than they reveal. For me stats is a way of improving my driving and being more efficient on trips.
It was a nerdy compliment. And I can't agree more on the not-having-to-drive-faster to achieve higher speeds part. I personally restrict myself to 110-120 KMPH irrespective of the highway or traffic. Going any faster just spoils the fun as your focus on safety and control increases exponentially thereafter.
bordeaux is offline  
Old 7th July 2016, 17:08   #14
BHPian
 
Doc_nikhil's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Coimbatore
Posts: 151
Thanked: 492 Times
Re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Thank you so much for the offer to visit the house, I'll be looking forward for your next visit to pondi now. please do plan soon
Doc_nikhil is offline  
Old 28th September 2016, 00:48   #15
Team-BHP Support
 
bblost's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 10,991
Thanked: 15,255 Times
Re: Pun-toured: Tour De Pondy! Nagaram to Puducherry in a Fiat Punto

Lovely travelogue. I have no idea how I missed this gem for so long.

Thanks for sharing. Read it all in one go.
bblost is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks