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At the outset, would like to mention that this is my first travelogue. Having enjoyed numerous travelogues written by many people, i could really feel the pain of penning down. I admit that it is very difficult to write a travelogue and to write one after a month is all the more difficult. Request you to tolerate the lengthy narration and thanks for your time.
Though i have done Ooty trip in 2011, this was the only hill station left in South India which i have not covered by Car. Further, purchase of Duster 10 days before also makes a good reason to make this trip.
This was a 3 nights- 4 day trip. Though wanted to escape from the last week heat of May in Chennai, the plan to start on 28th May could not be done as i need to accommodate my colleagues leave. Hence it was postponed to 1st week of June starting from 3rd to 7th June. Finally on 2nd June, it was decided that i will be taking leave for 4 days. Hence hotel booking was done at 10pm on 2nd June wherein we need to start next day 5am.
Day 1 - 3rd June - Chennai - Tindivanam - Ulundurpet-Salem Bypass NH68 - Attur - NH47 - Perundurai - Avinashi - Annur - Mettupalayam - Kothagiri - Ooty - Theetukkal
Odo reading at 224 kms at the start of the journey.
It was me, my wife and our 8 year old son were about to leave by 5am however got up only at 5am and left at 6.15am. Got the opportunity to use 5th gear in NH45 between Airport and Chromepet for the first time in 10 days. Though there are couple of chances to apply 6th gear but was not very sure how to apply it as this was the first time am driving a car with 6 forward gears. Did try crossing Paranur Toll Plaza NH45 where the traffic was thin and was elated with the engine response. There was instruction in the user manual not to go beyond 2500 rpm for first 1500 kms and hence my eyes automatically switched to MID as when gears were changed. To my surprise, in 6th gear when it is between 110-120 kph, rpm is around 2400 and could feel smoothness in the engine which i have not experienced in my petrol swift whenever rpm crosses 2200 mark. The engine was smooth however maintained around less than 100 in most of the stretches.
Reached Melmaruvathur Balaji Bhavan around 7.30am and stopped for breakfast. Breakfast was good at Balaji Bhavan and i can rate it as above average. The service was also fast inspite of more people coming in. This is part of the same group which operates Balaji Bhavan in Pondy Bazaar in T.Nagar. Started from Melmaruvathur at 8am after clicking some pictures of the garden maintained by the restaurant management. As it was a working day, the traffic was becoming thin when you drive further southwards in NH45.
Garden at Balaji Bhavan, MelmaruvathurReached Melmaruvathur Balaji Bhavan around 7.30am and stopped for breakfast. Breakfast was good at Balaji Bhavan and i can rate it as above average. The service was also fast inspite of more people coming in. This is part of the same group which operates Balaji Bhavan in Pondy Bazaar in T.Nagar. Started from Melmaruvathur at 8am after clicking some pictures of the garden maintained by the restaurant management. As it was a working day, the traffic was becoming thin when you drive further southwards in NH45.
NH45 with minimal traffic
Took a right turn after crossing Ulundurpet Toll plaza on NH45 and the time was 9.30am. Stopped the vehicle to the left and pulled out MapMy India Zx350 navigator. It was pretty hot outside however AC at speed 2 was sufficient to keep it cool inside the cabin. Wurth Sunfilm for windshield was pasted as part of free accessories, hence the difference. NH68 seems to be a mix of 2 lane and 4 lane roads and do watch for sign boards carefully about these changes . One needs to be careful while driving in this stretch. The trafffic was thin in this stretch too.
Few pictures on NH68
Wanted to have a coffee break and could not find good restaurants for almost 1 hour. There was a board of Hotel Saravana Bhavan (this is not part of the HSB Group in Chennai) appeared suddenly and we stopped. However this one seems to be an average one. Stopped at 11.15am and started at 11.30am within a couple of kms could find other Saravana Bhavan where we could find lot of vehicles outside and the hotel was looking bigger. We told ourselves that next time when we take this route, we would be stopping at this one instead of the earlier one. On nearing outskirts of Salem, extreme left lane to be taken to get on to the flyover to turn into NH47 however i missed that one and had to drive ahead for another 3 kms to take a U turn. Though navigator was providing appropriate information to stay extreme left, it was completely my mistake to ignore. The traffic was comparitively high on the outskirts of Salem in NH68. With the help of navigator was able to take a flyover on the left which took us promptly onto NH47. It was around 11.30am we got into NH47 and it was a breeze driving in this part of NH. Mostly it was 3 lane with minimal traffic. Reached Sankari around 12.30pm and stopped for lunch. Remember stopping at this place while coming from Guruvayoor in Oct 2012 and the food was good. The food plaza having Saravana Bhavan is on to your left on the NH47.
As we were having an earlier experience of meeting with an accident in Sawantwadi- Nipani Ghat road route in December 2013, was driving cautiously and was using horn at every turn. Initially, the Kothagiri road was narrow for first 10 kms and was getting wider further ahead. The tarmac was smooth and was looking freshly laid. You need to be careful about the trucks / lorries which are coming in the opposite direction as they squeeze space in the turns / curves. Reached Ooty around 5.30pm. It took almost 2 hours to reach Ooty. Took a detour towards Fernhill Theetukkal where Deccan Park resort was located however signal of the navigator was lost once again. To be precise, we did not get signal in most parts of our drive on the kothagiri route. Took me almost 30 mins to reach the resort due to this detour which was just a straight 5kms road adjacent to Udhagamandalam Railway station. Finally reached Deccan Park resort, Fernhill, Theetukkal. There was a steep climb and a turn again a steep climb was awaiting to get into the resort. The resort was very spacious to walk around and the parking lot was also large.
The room was excellent and very spacious, with a sit out and hot water was available though it was around 6pm in the evening. Ordered dinner from the room and my head started spinning looking at the bill as the rates were similar to the rates of a 5 star hotel. As the night progressed, temperatues were going down and it was becoming chill. There was a heater available in the room however could not use it for more than 30 mins as we all were feeling suffocated due to limited ventilation in the room. Drove for 570 kms on Day 1 with a mileage of 15.4 kms per litre.
Started at 1pm and was driving ahead in NH47 with the help of navigator. Further down, could find sign boards about speed brakers on 6 lane NH47. Could vaguely remember my return trip from Guruvayoor where i took numerous diversions due to road widening work on this part of NH47. Though the widenig work has been completed unable to understand the reason for placing speed brakers on this clean stretch. Suddenly after 2pm near Avinashi, i was getting repeated message to take a U turn on the next left from MMI navigator. Took a left turn on the Service Road, drove for around 2kms and checked with someone wherein i was told to drive back on NH47 and to take 2nd exit on the service road which was almost 5kms away, could not remember the location where i missed the route. This was due to navigator losing signal in that location. Experienced the same in that stretch while coming back too. Checked with a sweet stall on the Service Road on NH47 near Avinashi and took the Service Lane on the left and went under NH47 to take Annur - Mettupalayam Road. This is a two lane Road and was pleasant to drive due to trees on both the sides. Just before Annur, filled diesel to the brim (26.78) litres. Reached Mettupalayam at 3.30pm. Checked with the tempo drivers on which route to be taken, either via Coonoor or Kothagiri. Heard stories about Coonor route that there were frequent traffic jams. The tempo driver informed that the difference between two roads would be just 1 hour. The distance to reach Ooty via Coonoor is 50 kms whereas via Kothagiri it would take additional 20kms. Suddenly decided to take Kothagiri route as it is a longer route and the vehicular traffic would be minimal to avoid jams.
As we were having an earlier experience of meeting with an accident in Sawantwadi- Nipani Ghat road route in December 2013, was driving cautiously and was using horn at every turn. Initially, the Kothagiri road was narrow for first 10 kms and was getting wider further ahead. The tarmac was smooth and was looking freshly laid. You need to be careful about the trucks / lorries which are coming in the opposite direction as they squeeze space in the turns / curves. Reached Ooty around 5.30pm. It took almost 2 hours to reach Ooty. Took a detour towards Fernhill Theetukkal where Deccan Park resort was located however signal of the navigator was lost once again. To be precise, we did not get signal in most parts of our drive on the kothagiri route. Took me almost 30 mins to reach the resort due to this detour which was just a straight 5kms road adjacent to Udhagamandalam Railway station. Finally reached Deccan Park resort, Fernhill, Theetukkal. There was a steep climb and a turn again a steep climb was awaiting to get into the resort. The resort was very spacious to walk around and the parking lot was also large.
The room was excellent and very spacious, with a sit out and hot water was available though it was around 6pm in the evening. Ordered dinner from the room and my head started spinning looking at the bill as the rates were similar to the rates of a 5 star hotel. As the night progressed, temperatues were going down and it was becoming chill. There was a heater available in the room however could not use it for more than 30 mins as we all were feeling suffocated due to limited ventilation in the room. Drove for 570 kms on Day 1 with a mileage of 15.4 kms per litre.
To be continued....
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