B'lore to Pondicherry & back: 800 km weekend road trip in Kia Seltos

We drove down to the city in our car just to have a meal at a very specific cafe that my brother told us about.

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A dinner at Moorthy Cafe

After returning from Hyderabad on Wednesday, I did a quick 800 km weekend trip to Pondicherry-Chidambaram and back.

My co-brother has spent a lot of his childhood in Chidambaram. The foodies that we family are, he has always told us stories about Moorthy Cafe, a small restaurant in the town which is heaven for the taste buds. So much so that when me and my wife had been to Tranquebar in 2023, we took a detour to Chidambaram to have lunch there. Alas, the place was closed on the day we went and we were left disappointed. Then brother suggested that we go over a weekend to check out Moorthy Cafe. That plan had been brewing over months and regularly stirred up by him. It was brought up again last week and we all took the plunge. Booked a night's stay in Pondy (the family wanted a visit to the French town as well) on Friday and we were set to start on Saturday.

Picked up my brother and family by 7AM and we left. Per Google's suggestion, we took the Sarjapur-Attibelle road and then Krisnagiri-Tiruvannamalai-Gingee-Tindivanam-Pondicherry. One breakfast break at Murugan Idli and then we reached White Town by 1PM. After a rather heavy breakfast, we chose to skip lunch and retired for a quick afternoon nap.

Street parking in White Town. Feels good to be able to see your car from your room

The hotel was setup at an old French building and had some interesting furniture

Most buildings around have a similar minimalistic and yet beautiful look

Then started again at 4:30PM for Chidambaram. We took the new road which bypasses Cuddalore and it was a smooth drive. First, we went to the Thillai Nataraja temple. We were right on time and got to witness the evening arati. Then we spent some more time there before stepping out.

Then at 7:30PM we went to Moorthy Cafe. The place is near the West gate of the temple and a 5-minute drive. Having arrived early, I was expecting it to be empty but boy was I wrong! Most of the tables were occupied and by 8PM, the place was packed.

Finally!

The local boy placed all the orders and the rest of us just waited in anticipation. Kadhai Chicken, full fried chicken pakoda, Fish 65, parotta and some brownie later, we are converts now. That driving down for a meal at Moorthy Cafe is one of the best ways to spend the weekend!

The Kadhai chicken and the parotta combo were too good!

Just too full, drove back to Pondy and reached by 10:20PM. While everyone crawled into the beds, I walked over to the beach nearby and spent half an hour strolling along it.

End of day 1

Street smart!

Next morning, woke up leisurely and got ready. After checking out and loading our bags in the car, we walked down to the Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar temple. After returning, we had some of the famous hibiscus tea, the lemon paneer soda and then drove away.

For lunch, we couldn't figure out a good option on the way and ended up entering Tiruvannamalai to dine at Darling Namma Veedu restaurant. It was late, my nephew was hungry and impatient. And yet when we reached the place, there was a huge queue of people waiting for a table. 20 mins later, we got a table, 35 mins later we got our meals, biryani, sodas and ice cream. An hour and a half later, we were back on the road. Rear passengers were busy sleeping, brother was tracking the Ind-NZ match which I punched through the busy highway.

Last break was near Hosur, for some karupatti coffee, gulkand butter bun and rose milk. Retraced the Attibele-Sarjapur road again and reached home by 7PM after dropping off my brother's family.

One tankful of diesel had lasted from Shadnagar to Bangalore to Pondicherry, returning 18.32 kmpl over 835 kms. Next one is half used up after to & fro to Chidambaram and returning to Bangalore.

Sun was shining bright almost through the trip. Yet everyone sat and slept peacefully without any discomfort. Even walking into the car when it was parked under the sun for long, my wife could feel Coyote wasn't as hot/warm as she had expected. The verdict was unanimous, the film was an expensive investment but was doing an impressive job. I realized I could drive on a bright afternoon without desperately looking for my sunglasses. But I also felt my headlight to be weaker than earlier and a slight glare from oncoming traffic on single undivided roads. I am hoping to get used to it.

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