After 10 long years - Mahabalipuram & Pondicherry

arindamray · 28th July 2010, 15:18

26th July, 9:30 pm - fatigued after a long drive manouvering the potholes of NH66 still fresh in mind from the 4 day refreshing travel...

27th July, morning, afternoon, evening - spent hectic hours in office catching up with things happened during 2 days of absence

27th July, 11:00 pm - flipping through the albums of my last trip to pondicherry and mahabalipuram.

Not able to recollect quite a bit of things about the last trip - how did we travel? whether we visited Mahabalipuram first and then to Pondicherry or the reverse? Where did we stay? And not even when exactly we travelled? Keeping other parameters in mind I can narrow down the timing between March 1999 and May 2000, but not further. So was just wondering a 10 year period can do so much to one's memory.

So what are the differences between that trip and this one (with a 10 year gap) -

Then - it was a group of six friends
Now - it is family - Parents, me & wife, and the little angel

Then - most probably travelled in a bus
Now - Drove down

Then - Shore temple was within a small enclosure
Now - It has got large enclosure, and manicured lawns

Then - Did the trek up to the base of the lighthouse in Mahabaleswar
Now - Given the heat outside, skipped the same

Then - Missed Arjun's Penance and other attractions by the side of it
Now - Gave the museum a miss

Then - There was not much vehicle in the Promenade in Pondicherry
Now - There was no vehicle, as it is blocked in the peak time of the day

Then - Auroville Matrimandir was under construction and casual visitors were allowed
Now - It is done, and you need prior appointment to go in (for meditation)

Then - I used to weigh much less :(

ampere · 28th July 2010, 15:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by arindamray

Then - I used to weigh much less :(

Poor Car! Let us see the snaps to figure out how much did it sag?

As a wise man said:

I am walking economy.
Hairline is in Recession,
Stomach in a state of inflation,
And together they are causing me a depression.

SafeDrive · 28th July 2010, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

I am walking economy.
Hairline is in Recession,
Stomach in a state of inflation,
And together they are causing me a depression.

^^That's a good one.

Bring on the post and the pictures.

arindamray · 28th July 2010, 16:56

Before I start off with the travelogue, let me thank
navan49 for answering my PM on weather
DigitalDragon for giving thumbs up to my accomodation booking at Mahabalipuram
Damu for suggesting the hotel in Pondicherry
and numerous other travelogue writers on these two places.

Thanks to you got vital information on routes (what to watch out for like confusing turns at Kanchipuram, Chengelpet; traffic in Tindivanam, Tiruvanmalai, potholes in NH 66, so on and so forth), things to see, to do, hotel recommendations - almost everything.

So, when did it all start?

arindamray · 28th July 2010, 22:22

before somebody points out that the travelogue is more than 6 hours old, and still without picture, here are quick glimpses

After 10 long years - Mahabalipuram & Pondicherry-img_1242a.jpg

After 10 long years - Mahabalipuram & Pondicherry-img_1330a.jpg

After 10 long years - Mahabalipuram & Pondicherry-img_1421a.jpg

arindamray · 28th July 2010, 23:46

After coming back from kolkata in June beginning - 3rd trip to home town in as many months for different family commitments - realized that none of them were really a vacation. And thus the urge of going for a holiday trip was brewing.

me: one of my cousin is in Goa, and will be there till Aug 1st week.
wife: hmm
me: shall we plan for it towards July end?
wife: how long is the travel?
me: 10 hours
wife: out of question, she is too young to do it.
me: what's the upper limit?
wife: something of the range of 5 hours.

Now the search started for places between 250-300 km started, and most of them as guessed were already covered, and few places multiple times. Pondicherry, both of us, had gone seperately and was not there in the 'to-do' list hence. But ultimately that became the winner.

We wanted to take 2 days off to spend time with our daughter and thought it will be too many days in Pondicherry and hence thrown Mahabalipuram in.

The decision on the dates between the week-end of 24-25 Jul or 31Jul-1st Aug was finalized just a week back, only to make me realize that it is not so easy in getting accomodation in these two places, especially on Saturday nights.

We have to rejig our itinerary, to do Mahabalipuram first and then Pondicherry because of the same, and still could not get the intended acco (St James Beach Resort) in Pondicherry. More about the acco details later.

So the plan is set -
23 Jul: Bangalore - Mahabalipuram, Leave around 0600, Night stay at Mahabalipuram
24 Jul: Mahabalipuram - Pondicherry, Leave around noon, Night stay at Pondicherry
25 Jul: Night stay at Pondicherry
26 Jul: Pondicherry - Bangalore, Leave after lunch

arindamray · 29th July 2010, 00:39

So it was her first long trip, if we ignore the short run to chikka tirupati (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-tirupati.html).

And oh boy, was she happy? And this was just after reaching Mahabalipuram.

After 10 long years - Mahabalipuram & Pondicherry-img_1230.jpg

TaureanBull · 29th July 2010, 01:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by arindamray

Then - I used to weigh much less :(

.

But everything you mentioned shows that preferences and priorities change with age.

The angel looks so sweeeet! Pure, simple bliss.

Damu · 29th July 2010, 07:50

Hi Arindam,

Nice teaser with good pics. Looking forward to your Mahabalipuram experience as we want to go there sometime soon. Please give advice and your recommendations too in your report!

Nice pics there!

sami316 · 29th July 2010, 09:53

Hi Arindam,

Good teaser to start with. Your angel is so cute. Masha Allah.
Waiting for more.

arindamray · 29th July 2010, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

Poor Car! Let us see the snaps to figure out how much did it sag?

As a wise man said:

I am walking economy.
Hairline is in Recession,
Stomach in a state of inflation,
And together they are causing me a depression.

ampere, that is hillarious and I can very well relate to it

Quote:

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Bring on the post and the pictures.

SD, it has started rolling - the only problem I do not have the pictures in office laptop, so the pictures will come in only in the evenings/nights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

.
But everything you mentioned shows that preferences and priorities change with age.
The angel looks so sweeeet! Pure, simple bliss.

More than age, I think it is with the status change - marriage, parenthood, etc.
Thanks TB.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damu

Hi Arindam,
Nice teaser with good pics. Looking forward to your Mahabalipuram experience as we want to go there sometime soon. Please give advice and your recommendations too in your report!
Nice pics there!

I am definitely going to cover them - your travancore travelogue added one more place in my to do list

Quote:

Originally Posted by sami316

Hi Arindam,
Good teaser to start with. Your angel is so cute. Masha Allah.
Waiting for more.

Thanks Sami.

arindamray · 29th July 2010, 12:45

So the D-Day arrives, we planned to start at 6:00 am, much later than the start times of pre-parenthood days. We thought she will be asleep and we can start our journey in between. However she decided not to miss the preparation for the trip and was wide awake, and it delayed the start

. We finally rolled out of the parking lot at 6:50.

Instead of taking Sarjapur - Attibele, this time we decided to take the Silk Board - Electronic City - Attibele route, as all the flyovers are complete. It was a smooth run and within 40 minutes we were at Attibele toll gate. That too, after a 5 minute break, for changing the baby and searching for the camera from the luggage to keep it handy.

NH7/NH46, being part of GQ is very smooth, though due to late start we encountered trucks and local buses around Hosur, we could cruise nicely. Though we thought of taking a breakfast break at A2B before Krishnagiri and also feed the Safari (didn't do the tankful at Bangalore previous night, as fuel is cheaper in TN); we skipped that as the baby was sleeping blissfully.

She woke up around 9:15 and we saw signage of petrol pump ahead with facility for food, and decided to stop there. However the eating joint was not attached to pump, but just by the side of it, and none of them were any great. But we needed to stop to feed the baby and took the opportunity to fuel the car and ourselves.

As soon as we rolled out of the place, we were at Pallikonda toll gate (the PP was about 2.5 km before the toll gate). We shortly passed Vellore, and Samudram toll gate, and took the diversion towards Kanchipuram. There has been some travelogues where people have lost their way inside Kanchi, so I kept the lonely planet book handy which had a map of the town, and also asked couple of guys on the way, and was able to come out clean

Shortly we were at Chengelpet/Chenglepet/Chengalpattu. Here we took a wrong turn, actually misguided, and lost around 15 minutes, and drove extra 6-7 km to come back to track. A small tip, continue straight as the road goes, you will reach a T-junction, which shows Chennai towards left and Dindigul towards right. Take left towards Chennai, after 500 meters you will find a circle where right turn will lead to Mahabalipuram (SH 58). At Tirukalukundram, you have to leave SH58, and take a left turn (well marked) toward Mahabalipuram.

Just before we were entering Mahabalipuram, we came across the toll gate for ECR which had options only for Chennai or Pondicherry. Even for going to Mahabalipuram, I had to give him a toll which would enable me to go to Chennai.

Called up the resort, and asked for direction and was adviced to take ECR towards Chennai, bypass Mahabalipuram town and will find a IOCL petrol bunk on RHS. With direction to the dot, reached the IOCL pump, and the second call to the resort indicated it's the third property after that pump, we rolled down slowly and found the writing at the wall - if you are coming from Chennai, you will see the english writing first, from Pondicherry side, the tamil one. So here we are, at the resort reception at 1:25 pm, doing the check-in formalities.

ranjitp1 · 29th July 2010, 13:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

Poor Car! Let us see the snaps to figure out how much did it sag?

As a wise man said:

I am walking economy.
Hairline is in Recession,
Stomach in a state of inflation,
And together they are causing me a depression.

Amp,I couldnt stop laughing reading this one,

Good start to the TLogue Arindam.Loved the teaser picture.keep them coming

ampere · 29th July 2010, 13:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by arindamray

That too, after a 5 minute break, for changing the baby and searching for the camera from the luggage to keep it handy.

Nice one Arindam! Could not stop laughing!

Those snaps are amazing! Treasure the black and white one !

arindamray · 29th July 2010, 14:22

Log for the onward journey:

28th July 2010, 15:18	#1
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	After 10 long years - Mahabalipuram & Pondicherry 26th July, 9:30 pm - fatigued after a long drive manouvering the potholes of NH66 still fresh in mind from the 4 day refreshing travel... 27th July, morning, afternoon, evening - spent hectic hours in office catching up with things happened during 2 days of absence 27th July, 11:00 pm - flipping through the albums of my last trip to pondicherry and mahabalipuram. Not able to recollect quite a bit of things about the last trip - how did we travel? whether we visited Mahabalipuram first and then to Pondicherry or the reverse? Where did we stay? And not even when exactly we travelled? Keeping other parameters in mind I can narrow down the timing between March 1999 and May 2000, but not further. So was just wondering a 10 year period can do so much to one's memory. So what are the differences between that trip and this one (with a 10 year gap) - Then - it was a group of six friends Now - it is family - Parents, me & wife, and the little angel Then - most probably travelled in a bus Now - Drove down Then - Shore temple was within a small enclosure Now - It has got large enclosure, and manicured lawns Then - Did the trek up to the base of the lighthouse in Mahabaleswar Now - Given the heat outside, skipped the same Then - Missed Arjun's Penance and other attractions by the side of it Now - Gave the museum a miss Then - There was not much vehicle in the Promenade in Pondicherry Now - There was no vehicle, as it is blocked in the peak time of the day Then - Auroville Matrimandir was under construction and casual visitors were allowed Now - It is done, and you need prior appointment to go in (for meditation) Then - I used to weigh much less :( Last edited by arindamray : 28th July 2010 at 15:22.
	() Thanks

28th July 2010, 16:56	#4
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	Acknowledgments Before I start off with the travelogue, let me thank navan49 for answering my PM on weather DigitalDragon for giving thumbs up to my accomodation booking at Mahabalipuram Damu for suggesting the hotel in Pondicherry and numerous other travelogue writers on these two places. Thanks to you got vital information on routes (what to watch out for like confusing turns at Kanchipuram, Chengelpet; traffic in Tindivanam, Tiruvanmalai, potholes in NH 66, so on and so forth), things to see, to do, hotel recommendations - almost everything. So, when did it all start?
	() Thanks

28th July 2010, 22:22	#5
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	teaser pics!!! before somebody points out that the travelogue is more than 6 hours old, and still without picture, here are quick glimpses
	() Thanks

28th July 2010, 23:46	#6
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	The start before the start! After coming back from kolkata in June beginning - 3rd trip to home town in as many months for different family commitments - realized that none of them were really a vacation. And thus the urge of going for a holiday trip was brewing. me: one of my cousin is in Goa, and will be there till Aug 1st week. wife: hmm me: shall we plan for it towards July end? wife: how long is the travel? me: 10 hours wife: out of question, she is too young to do it. me: what's the upper limit? wife: something of the range of 5 hours. Now the search started for places between 250-300 km started, and most of them as guessed were already covered, and few places multiple times. Pondicherry, both of us, had gone seperately and was not there in the 'to-do' list hence. But ultimately that became the winner. We wanted to take 2 days off to spend time with our daughter and thought it will be too many days in Pondicherry and hence thrown Mahabalipuram in. The decision on the dates between the week-end of 24-25 Jul or 31Jul-1st Aug was finalized just a week back, only to make me realize that it is not so easy in getting accomodation in these two places, especially on Saturday nights. We have to rejig our itinerary, to do Mahabalipuram first and then Pondicherry because of the same, and still could not get the intended acco (St James Beach Resort) in Pondicherry. More about the acco details later. So the plan is set - 23 Jul: Bangalore - Mahabalipuram, Leave around 0600, Night stay at Mahabalipuram 24 Jul: Mahabalipuram - Pondicherry, Leave around noon, Night stay at Pondicherry 25 Jul: Night stay at Pondicherry 26 Jul: Pondicherry - Bangalore, Leave after lunch
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 00:39	#7
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	So it was her first long trip, if we ignore the short run to chikka tirupati (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-tirupati.html). And oh boy, was she happy? And this was just after reaching Mahabalipuram. Last edited by arindamray : 29th July 2010 at 00:47.
	(1) Thanks

29th July 2010, 07:50	#9
Damu BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 222 Thanked: 64 Times	Hi Arindam, Nice teaser with good pics. Looking forward to your Mahabalipuram experience as we want to go there sometime soon. Please give advice and your recommendations too in your report! Nice pics there!
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 09:53	#10
sami316 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 484 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage	Hi Arindam, Good teaser to start with. Your angel is so cute. Masha Allah. Waiting for more.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 12:45	#12
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	The journey onward So the D-Day arrives, we planned to start at 6:00 am, much later than the start times of pre-parenthood days. We thought she will be asleep and we can start our journey in between. However she decided not to miss the preparation for the trip and was wide awake, and it delayed the start . We finally rolled out of the parking lot at 6:50. Instead of taking Sarjapur - Attibele, this time we decided to take the Silk Board - Electronic City - Attibele route, as all the flyovers are complete. It was a smooth run and within 40 minutes we were at Attibele toll gate. That too, after a 5 minute break, for changing the baby and searching for the camera from the luggage to keep it handy. NH7/NH46, being part of GQ is very smooth, though due to late start we encountered trucks and local buses around Hosur, we could cruise nicely. Though we thought of taking a breakfast break at A2B before Krishnagiri and also feed the Safari (didn't do the tankful at Bangalore previous night, as fuel is cheaper in TN); we skipped that as the baby was sleeping blissfully. She woke up around 9:15 and we saw signage of petrol pump ahead with facility for food, and decided to stop there. However the eating joint was not attached to pump, but just by the side of it, and none of them were any great. But we needed to stop to feed the baby and took the opportunity to fuel the car and ourselves. As soon as we rolled out of the place, we were at Pallikonda toll gate (the PP was about 2.5 km before the toll gate). We shortly passed Vellore, and Samudram toll gate, and took the diversion towards Kanchipuram. There has been some travelogues where people have lost their way inside Kanchi, so I kept the lonely planet book handy which had a map of the town, and also asked couple of guys on the way, and was able to come out clean Shortly we were at Chengelpet/Chenglepet/Chengalpattu. Here we took a wrong turn, actually misguided, and lost around 15 minutes, and drove extra 6-7 km to come back to track. A small tip, continue straight as the road goes, you will reach a T-junction, which shows Chennai towards left and Dindigul towards right. Take left towards Chennai, after 500 meters you will find a circle where right turn will lead to Mahabalipuram (SH 58). At Tirukalukundram, you have to leave SH58, and take a left turn (well marked) toward Mahabalipuram. Just before we were entering Mahabalipuram, we came across the toll gate for ECR which had options only for Chennai or Pondicherry. Even for going to Mahabalipuram, I had to give him a toll which would enable me to go to Chennai. Called up the resort, and asked for direction and was adviced to take ECR towards Chennai, bypass Mahabalipuram town and will find a IOCL petrol bunk on RHS. With direction to the dot, reached the IOCL pump, and the second call to the resort indicated it's the third property after that pump, we rolled down slowly and found the writing at the wall - if you are coming from Chennai, you will see the english writing first, from Pondicherry side, the tamil one. So here we are, at the resort reception at 1:25 pm, doing the check-in formalities.
	() Thanks

29th July 2010, 14:22	#15
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	Log for the onward journey:
	() Thanks