[Red Panda]

History has it that to rescue Sita from the captivity of Ravana, lord Rama ordered Lord Hanuman to build a bridge which could carry his army across to Sri Lanka. And it is from Dhanushkodi that he crossed India.
It is believed that till date, the bridge a.k.a Ram Setu exists under water. Though there are many theories and debates regarding this matter, let's not divert ourselves. You may find several facts and articles of ancient Ram Setu all over the World wide web.

Dhanushkodi, an abandoned town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is also the last point, where driveable road ends.
A dream run for many driving and riding enthusiasts. It was also on my wish list for many years.
Finally my wife and I made up our minds that we will drive to Pondicherry and Dhanushkodi during Durga puja. The year was 2022 and it was now or never.

Started with the planning process, with ten days in hand, came up with a do-able itinerary. I familiarised myself with the entire route and made the necessary hotel reservations.
Our primary destination was Pondicherry. So we booked our hotel in advance. For the remaining hotels, we decided to book as we proceed.

Our route map


After our Kolkata to Goa trip in the year 2017, we did Maghalaya, Zuluk, Gangtok, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Bara Mangwa, Puri trips over the years.
But this 4000 kms round trip is our second. If you have not read the Kolkata to Goa or the Kolkata to Meghalaya travelogues, click the links below.

Kolkata to Goa: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...uti-swift.html (Swiftly Goa! Kolkata to Goa in a Maruti Swift)

Kolkata to Meghalaya: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...meghalaya.html (A swift journey from Kolkata to Meghalaya)

Ok, so let’s carry on with the remaining journey.

Day1, 28th September 2022: Kolkata to Vizag
Total Distance: 871 Kms

Excitement, Anticipation, Anxiety, all kicked in like the Avengers. A silent beauty sleep before the trip disintegrated into thin air.
However, I tried to sleep/calm down myself with whatever little time I had but that was not enough.
With our luggages, water bottles, food bags etc. loaded, we managed to start our journey from Kolkata by 9pm, hoping to reach Bhubaneswar early in the morning.



Heard from fellow travellers and also read in travel groups, about the bad road surface and diversions that lie ahead enroute Bhubaneswar.
I was mentally prepared but driving at night was a different ball game altogether. It was exhausting to say the least. The road condition improved after Bhadrak and so did my mental state.

Day 2-29th September: Vizag

Drove through the night and reached IOCL Coco Badachana at the break of dawn. Took a much needed halt , refuelled for the next part of the journey.

The first sip of morning tea


The weather was beautiful and we proceeded towards Vizag following NH-16. Our drive was uneventful. Stopped occasionally for much needed bio breaks and refreshments along the way.

Beautiful Andhra road welcomed us




We reached Vizag at around 4:00 pm. freshened up, had late lunch from a nearby restaurant and slept till late evening. There is an excellent fast food joint named Sai Ram Parlour near the Diamond park area.
Quality and taste of food is very good. The filter coffee… just amazing. The only drawback is that there are no seating arrangements, but it is highly popular.
I am sure there are many more famous restaurants and take-away joints nearby, but we didn’t explore much. This place was the closest to where we were staying for the night.

In the evening, took a stroll around, ate dinner and went to bed early. Vizag to Chennai was a whooping 815 Kms drive and as per Gmap, it would take us 15 hrs. It took almost 17hrs.

Day 3-30th September: Vizag to Chennai
Total Distance: 815Kms

We started around 3am.Topped up and cruised through the highway. Roadwise, no issues faced. Driving on Chennai highway was phenomenal.

Somewhere on Chennai highway


Though we were very excited and thrilled to drive on this stretch of the highway, we kept our speed under constant check.
After a second refueling somewhere near Nellore, we stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant. CR Family Dhaba if I remember correctly. Nothing spectacular, but the quality and quantity of the food was satisfactory.
With almost 147 Kms remaining and Google map showing an ETA of 3hrs, post lunch drove nonstop to reach our hotel in Chennai. Finally reached our hotel at 8:30pm, navigating through chaotic traffic.
We booked Zaras Inn for the night, which is located very close to Marina beach. Tired and exhausted after a very long day of driving, the only thought echoing in our mind was to hit the bed as soon as we can. During dinner, we planned our next days schedule and called it a day.

Day 4-1st October: Chennai to Pondicherry
Total Distance: 149 Kms

Slept like babies and woke up later than usual since Pondicherry was not far from Chennai and we were much relaxed about it. Got ready, checked out by 9 a.m. and on our way, stopped by Marina beach for a quick sneak peek.

Easy going breakfast


Enjoyed the cleanliness of the beach and organised parking. My wife and I both took turns to drive through East coast road (ECR) and visited Mahabalipuram.





Parking near the temple was crowded and almost full. Took some time to figure out but managed to get a shaded spot in a paid parking area.





The weather was hot and humid. After couple of hours of roaming the place, snacked on some juice and fruits before heading towards Pondicherry.
Road was good and our drive was smooth and relaxed. Reached around 4pm.



Villa Meena in Suffren Street, White Town is where we stayed. Location wise it was perfect. Right beside a very famous restaurant, named Cafe des Arts. Tourists flocked the place from early morning till late evening.
Clicking mandatory pictues in front of their graffiti wall. We were no exception.

Entrance to Our Homestay



Upon arrival, I found out that the hotel did not have its own parking space. Most of the cars and two wheelers were parked beside the road which was quite normal.
The owner guided me to a small open space 200 meters behind the hotel, which was managed by the Municipal Corporation.
With just 50 rupees per day, my parking got sorted for the next four days. As long as I carry the valid receipt, I am free to use the parking at any time of the day and night.

Spot the Panda
.

Evening went by roaming around and familiarising the area.

Day 5-2nd October: Sightseeing In Pondicherry

Our morning started with a visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram and having breakfast at their dining room located near Bharathi Park. A very quiet, peaceful ashram, very well maintained.
The experience was humbling and rejuvinating for us.



Next, we headed towards Aurovile. The place was crowded and most of the area was closed for tourists. I had high hopes of roaming the area after watching lots of YouTube videos.
But we got to see a sort of promotional video in a theater and soon after that we walked till the Matri mandir to get a glimpse of it from a distance.

MatriMandir


All anticipations, time and energy devoted was just not worth it. We got very tired and returned as quickly as possible. Grabbed some refreshments from the overcrowded cafes and headed straight to our car.
To balance out our tiring experience and grumpy mind, we had pizza lunch from Tantos Pizzeria. The place was very busy and full during that time of the afternoon.
Had to wait for a decent amount of time to receive our order. But, the pizzas were good enough to stop us from complaining.



With our hunger satiated, we returned to our hotel, quickly freshened up and took rest for while to restore our tiring feet and body. We again had our dinner at Aurobindo Ashram.
One needs to buy tickets for an entire days meal which costs only Rs. 50 per person. It includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
After completeing our dinner, the evening went by without much activity because by then, we were already preparing ourselves for another 8 hour journey to Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi.

Started exactly at 11pm from Pondicherry. Road was good and also very much busy during that time of night. Saw lots of tourist buses.
Probably all of them were headed towards Rameshwaram. Didn’t have any problems driving.

Day 6-3rd October: Pondicherry to Rameshwaram and back
Total Distance: 439 Kms One way

Followed Viluppuram, Tiruchirappalli route and drove through the night. Stopped on the Pamban bridge and like quintessential tourists, clicked selfies.



Didn't know what to expect and to save some time, we skillfully changed to fresh ethnic attires somewhere before Pamban on road itself. Since it was very early morning, roads were pretty much empty so we were at ease.
Brushed and freshend up for our temple visit. Kept our jeans and t-shirts aside for later.
We reached Rameswaram on 3rd October morning and as per our initial calculations, we were more or less bang on time. Took a while to navigate and figure out the scenario.
Roads were crowded and narrow to some extent but with guidance from a police personnel and locals, drove to the parking area which was a large field. Ample space, parking was a no-brainer. Walked down from there towards the temple.





I was just awestruck to see the architecture of the temple from outside as well as inside. The architectural precision was mind blowing. With due respect to the authorities, we didn't click a single photo while we were inside the temple.
After our visit to the temple, we finished breakfast, headed to the parking lot, again skillfully changed back to western clothes and drove to Dhanushkodi.



Again, we faced massive tourist crowd with lots of traffic. Cars were not allowed to drive till the roundabout point and everyone was parking their car or bus beside the road. Luckily, I got a space wide enough for our Red Panda to tuck in.



Walked down towards the end point. Clicked some photos. A great sense of achievement ran down my body. At one point I was pinching myself realising how far we have come.




These peopple in white dhoti were overwhelmed to see a West Bengal registration car. While I was returning and backing out my car through the crowd, they stopped by and asked "You have come all the way from West Bengal?" With a smile in my face, I replied "Yes!"

Priceless Selfie


Totally satisfied with our accomplishment, we started our drive back to Pondicherry exactly by 12 noon.
The road was good, stopped once or twice to catch a break and move on. Didn’t face any setbacks during the entire journey.
We completed our to and fro journey successfully and reached Pondicherry on 3rd October at 9:30pm. I was very tired but the feeling of a mission accomplished made me really happy. I cannot justify my feelings in words.
Our long pending wish to drive to the end of the driveable road of India was finally fulfilled. To celebrate, we ordered a Large Pizza from Hope Cafe just beside our hotel (sadly, didn't click photo). What a classic way to end the day. Lip smacking.

With all events falling into place, we still have one last day in Pondicherry to roam around and relax before we start our journey back home. Easy peezy!

[Red Panda]

Day 7-4th October: All day Pondicherry sightseeing

The last day in Pondicherry and we purposely kept it free. With very minimum riding and sightseeing, our plan was to relax and energise ourselves.
Woke up late, got ourselves a Vespa and rode to Murugan cafe for breakfast. Then headed to Sai Ram Coffee parlour for some wonderful filter coffee.









Later, we visited Paradise beach, Serenity beach and Pondy Marina. Spent the evening roaming and snacking.

Hope Cafe just beside out hotel


Our lady of angels church



Came back to our hotel, repacked and organised our luggages for the return trip back home. By now, my body had adapted itself for driving 800 and more kilometers per day hence, I felt more confident and relaxed driving towards homefront. The last leg of our journey was easy for me. The highway was familiar and technically straightforward. We decided to check out late the next day, hence took it slow and easy.

Day 8-5th October: Return to Vizag
Total Distance: 972 Kms

Pondicherry to Vizag is a pretty long distance to cover. But we had to reach Kolkata by the 8th of October somehow .
Hence decided to drive directly to Vizag. Now as I think of it, we could have extended our trip for one more day. Sigh!
Our target was to reach Vizag on 6th October by 8 am, so that we can have the whole day to re-energise ourselves.
Started approximately around 11a.m following Gmap and the same route via ECR. But only this time, we bypassed Chennai by taking the Chennai Outer ring road.
Munching miles, we crossed one place to another, only halting for stretching ourselves and bio breaks.

Lunch near Mahabalipuram


Dinner halt

Day 9-6th October: Vizag

Drove all day and through the night. At the break of dawn, we entered Visakhapatnam.





Breaking Dawn


Reached at 8:39 am, parked and headed straight to our room for a power nap. Spent the afternoon sleeping post lunch.
In the evening, we went to the beach, snacked on some local street food and simply enjoyed the sea.



Mother-Son moment


Approaching Rain


Unfortunately, our relaxing moment was cut short by rain and we ran back to our car and headed towards our hotel. Just then, the rain stopped too. So we again got out for an evening stroll around the neighbourhood, followed by dinner and off to sleep.

Major Goof up: Initially recharged an amount of Rs. 3500 from Kolkata and started my journey. While I was topping up fastag during my return trip, I was taken aback to find out that there is a recharge limit of Rs. 5000 per month, since the card is not connected to the bank account. (I have an Axis bank Fastag but I don't hold an account in the bank).
Hence the recharge amount was capped. I could recharge only till Rs.5000. Anyway, on our return journey, after the entire amount in my tag got exhausted, I had to pay double the amount for the last 5 tolls. That was a big sore point for me.

Total Toll expence for the entire trip was Rs 6,100/-

Day 10-7th October: Vizag to Kolkata
Total Distance: 871 Kms

ByeBye Vizag




Open road





After a whole day of driving, I was so determined to reach Bhubaneswar before sundown that skipping lunch and take the next big halt there for food at a decent place seemed like a good idea. Entered Bhubaneswar at closely around 5:30p.m After some searching, I noticed Yummies Dhaba near Phulnakhara along the highway.



Food was good, the ambience was good too but the price was exorbitant. Anyways, we were super hungry and wanted to take a break. This place was a quick option.
Soon after, we again started for Kolkata by 7pm, trying to cover the smooth stretch of the highway as fast as we can before facing inevitable diversions and bad road. After crossing Bhadrak, I had to pay extra attention due to the diversions and rough road surface.
I am no superman, but the high beams from oncoming traffic is definitely my Kryptonite. It was depleting my energy fast. Furthermore, to add to my woes, the Fast tag balance reached zero after Panikoili Toll Plaza and I was paying double toll. Just as we were closing in towards our destination, and the urge to reach home was gaining warp speed, we came face to face with a massive truck traffic from Kolaghat. Speed reduced drastically.
I was overtaking every single one of them, as if it was a racing simulation. My brain and body was screaming from inside. I wish I could just teleport from that place.

Finally arrived at our door steps by 4 a.m. My mother was already awake and waiting for us. Seeing her after a long gap was enough to forget about all the tiredness.
In no time, we freshened up, had some home cooked food and finally slipped into our bed for a much needed sleep. Pure bliss.

Here is a small information I would like to share. The values are mostly acurate, just rouded off for convenience. Also, distance from google maps are approximate. May and most certainly will vary from person to person by few digits.
Trip info


This 4719 Kms long trip tested us physically and mentally. It was predominantly driving, which made us immensely tired. Despite that, we enjoyed every aspect of it.
The experiences and memories we gathered will always be inspirational and something to discuss about.

I am extremely grateful to my wife and son, who equally puts up with this stress but still supported me in every possible way. Without whom this trip wouldn't have been complete.
We have completely adapted ourselves to travel and enjoy in sync with one another and I stronly believe we can keep it this way.
As for our Red Panda, we completely rely on its potentials now.

Red Panda: Our trusted companion


I hope to continue exploring more and share our adventures through this excellent community.

Just as I feel very inspired by the traveloges shared here by the members of this group, I certainly wish to do so for others as well.

Thank you everyone. I hope you have found this travelogue enjoyable and infromative. Apologies for the poor quality of the photographs, as I have used only my phone this time.

Until next time.
Cheers.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Red Panda

Day 7-4th October: All day Pondicherry sightseeing

I was also in Pondicherry, going with my car from Calcutta. Stayed at Park Guest House of Sri Aurobinda Asram from 29th January this year, till 31st. Two pictures from my side. Like you, I went there with my wife and daughter.


Regards,
Rahul Biswas,
Cossipore, North Calcutta.

[Krishna sankar]

Nice travelogue. Enjoyed reading. Driving continuously through the night with headlights beaming from trucks and buses will be tiring and you were able to complete it without any issues. Hats off. Take care and wishing you many more such fun drives.

[Bonemechanic]

Wow, what a fantastic trip! It was you and your family's determination that made this trip possible. Even though I am from Kerala, Rameswaram is still just a dream for me. I hope I can fulfill this dream very soon.

[Red Panda]

Originally Posted by Bonemechanic

Wow, what a fantastic trip! It was you and your family's determination that made this trip possible. Even though I am from Kerala, Rameswaram is still just a dream for me. I hope I can fulfill this dream very soon.

Yes you are right. Our determination made it possible. Hope you fulfill you dream soon.

Originally Posted by rahul4640

I was also in Pondicherry, going with my car from Calcutta. Stayed at Park Guest House of Sri Aurobinda Asram from 29th January this year, till 31st. Two pictures from my side. Like you, I went there with my wife and daughter.
Attachment 2432835
Attachment 2432836
Regards,
Rahul Biswas,
Cossipore, North Calcutta.

Wow! Thats lovely dada. Hope we can meet someday. I would love to hear your travel stories.

[ABHI_1512]

Wonderful travel Red Panda, your travelogue brings back so many memories. Going by the pictures, it seems that you all had an amazing time. Pondicherry is any foodie's delight and the white town part is straight out of some textbook of heritage structures. I wonder whether you visited the Baker's Street bakery or not, to me they serve some delightful French savories. The Fastag fiasco could have been surely avoided I guess but then the amazing travel probably more than made up for it. Wishing you many more such travels,

Regards.

[Red Panda]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Wonderful travel Red Panda, your travelogue brings back so many memories. Going by the pictures, it seems that you all had an amazing time. Pondicherry is any foodie's delight and the white town part is straight out of some textbook of heritage structures. I wonder whether you visited the Baker's Street bakery or not, to me they serve some delightful French savories. The Fastag fiasco could have been surely avoided I guess but then the amazing travel probably more than made up for it. Wishing you many more such travels,

Regards.

We did not visit this bakery in particular, but we triedcakes from other shops. As for the Fastag issue, I will speak with the bank regarding the matter. and be alert for my next trip.

[TN20CQ5187]

All the way from Kolkata down to Danushkodi, could you have extended the trip for a few more days and visited Kanyakumar as well? Just a thought!

Nice pictures and lifelong memories to cherish!

[Red Panda]

Originally Posted by TN20CQ5187

All the way from Kolkata down to Danushkodi, could you have extended the trip for a few more days and visited Kanyakumar as well? Just a thought!

Nice pictures and lifelong memories to cherish!

We wished that too. But we were limited with the number of days in hand before schools reopened. Hope we can do Kanyakumari trip some other time in our life.

[mukeshc18]

What a journey. I felt like travelling virtually with you. It is an achievement to do this in Swift.

I have been planning a North East trip from Bangalore via Kolkata. Such vlogs give hope that one day it will happen.

[Samfromindia]

Woah finally a RedPanda TL after a span of 4 yrs Had a memorable experience in Pondicherry a decade ago while on office work @Chennai. You captured the city beautifully and provided all the details that will be helpful for travelers in a super nice & detailed way Rated *****

[Red Panda]

Originally Posted by mukeshc18

What a journey. I felt like travelling virtually with you. It is an achievement to do this in Swift.

I have been planning a North East trip from Bangalore via Kolkata. Such vlogs give hope that one day it will happen.

Please go ahead with your plan. It will be a journey to remember.

[Red Panda]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Woah finally a RedPanda TL after a span of 4 yrs Had a memorable experience in Pondicherry a decade ago while on office work @Chennai. You captured the city beautifully and provided all the details that will be helpful for travelers in a super nice & detailed way Rated *****

Thank you for your appreciation. Yes finally another TL I have done many places in between but I got lazy and didn't give enough time to write them. This one too, took me many day to accumulate and post. Hope I will write more for my future endeavours.

Take care
Cheers