Hi lancersfx,
I am so glad I saw this thread.
It brought up many memories for me as between the years 1992 to 1998, I have worked in most of the areas which you drove through to reach your destination. (But not Rameshwaram / Kanyakumari). I also have lived in Madurai and Ambasamudram and frequently did the road to Rajapalyam, Tirunelveli, and beyond. I lived and worked in Palani between 1997-1998.
I was a regular to Tuticorin between 1992 - 1997, and have driven there twice (from Bangalore) - once in a client's Contessa and once in my Maruti 800.
When I was based in Palani (1997-98), I used to drive up and down from Bangalore every 2 weeks. First in my M800, and later I had a Contessa with the Isuzu 1.8 petrol, which I bought second-hand in Palani. Your route (Thoppur - Mettur - Palani) was the route I used to take, and at that time I knew this road like the back of my hand! And I always drove alone except sometimes when there was a "Veerappan moving around" warning (near Mettur).
So this was very interesting for me, thanks so much for reviving my memories!
I have some questions, hope you don't mind!
1) I would have thought the NH via Salem - Madurai - Tuticorin would have been better. I see you joined up near Tirumangalam, so would NH have been more direct or better? Haven't been that side for a long time, so this is just a query out of curiosity
.
2) Can you give more details on the Thoppur - Mettur - Perundurai road conditions?
3) What about the return - from Tiruchi to Bangalore?
and finally, question 4) : can I know more about those Hellas? I own an Ikon too and suffer endlessly from "hi-beamers", the worst breed being the TATA ACE / SUMO vehicles.
Thanks again for a trip down nostalgia lane!
Regards,
Damu