Day-6.
Return from heaven.
Day-6 early rise and got ready for the descend. I was planning to go straight all the way to Chennai with lunch break at Salem. Nearly 600 kilometers. However, my wife had other plans and as usual she won. We stopped at Salem and spent the rest of the day at Salem. Next day morning we left Salem and reached our home at Chennai for Lunch.
Here is the car seen from the Lobby of the hotel.
Here is my beauty standing majestically in the Parking Lot.
Here my first wife all strapped up in my second wife, ready to set off.
We started from the hotel at exactly 8:50 am.
4kms to Ooty town descend when we crossed Ooty town, it was 9:00 am.
We took the Coonoor route for descend. While coming down just we realized that we took the safest route for mountain driving. When we took the Kotagiri route we ascended anti-clockwise around the hills and I was driving most of the time near-hill and oncoming vehicles were on the valley side. While descending, we took the Coonoor Route, again I was on the hill-side most of the time and up-coming vehicles were on the valley-side. It is not that driving on the valley side is dangerous. But, when you have such a choice why not you utilize it to your favor.
Very slow and steady descend and we were at the plains just before Mettupalayam at exactly 10:15 am.
Running hours: 1 hr 15 Minutes.
We took the Mettupalayam – Annur – Avinashi – Salem route and were at Salem town at exactly 12:30 pm.
Running Hours: 2 hrs 15 Minutes.
Total Distance Covered: 220 kms.
Total Running time: 3 hrs 30 minutes.
We checked in Hotel Salem Castle, as I did not have any booking nor did any research of good hotels in Salem. I never had the plan of staying in Salem in the first place. Not a good hotel to stay, but for one night manageable.
Took a quick nap, Went for a small shopping at nearby Murugalaya’s and Dinner at Adayar Ananda Bhavan. Retired for the day.
Next day morning started from Salem at around 8:30 am.
Salem-Dharmapuri-Krishnagiri-Ranipettai-Chennai.
Non-stop, reached Chennai at around 1:00 pm.
Running hours: 4 hrs 30 minutes.
Distance: 365 Kms.
Hope you all enjoyed the trip along with us.
Total Trip Summary:
Overall Distance: 640+585 = 1,225 kms
Total Gas: 74 Liters.
FE (Do you really need to know?) = 16.55
Near Misses: 2.
Near Miss-1: On the way from Salem to Coimbatore, after Avinashi, there were 2 Long car carrier trucks and a bus were going in front of me. I was behind them. Once I see no vehicles coming on, Tried to overtake all three long trucks and just after passing 2 trucks, another truck came in opposite direction, forcing me to squeeze between the first truck and the bus. The truck guy anticipated this and gave me space. Speeds weren't dangerous, but if the oncoming truck were at some insane speeds, he wouldn't have had time to slow down on time, resulting in a head-on.
Near Miss-2: On Return, after Krishnagiri towards Ranpettai, road was not that busy, an Eicher, empty was driving insane zig-zagging merrily on the wide road, caring the least of vehicles coming behind. I found space and was overtaking, at that moment he came a bit dangerously close to my car,but I thrust past him. A split second of Adrenalin rush.
Other than these, it was a safe drive, (As we say in the middle east, Humd-Ul-Lillah - Thank God.)
Signing off , with a few final pictures of the Betel-nut trees (Paakku Maram in Tamil), just at the foothills before Mettupalayam.