Recap of my trip and some memories

Its been a week since i wrote anything on my blog. the last and final leg of trip from kanchipuram to tirupati and finally back to Bangalore is still pending on me. 

Hopefully i should be able to finish that this week. We are planning to take a trip to Shravanbelagola-Belur-Halebeedu and return via either shivasamudram or just get back to bangalore. there has been lot of traveling, especially in 2013, but it has been fun.

The previous trip from bangalore-vellore-kanchipuram-tirupati-bangalore was fun. across 3 days, we really witnessed some great temples of south india, visiting three states, starting from karnataka then entering tamil nadu, followed by AP and back to Karnataka.

Here is a recap of the posts which you may find interesting to read through, to get complete idea on the trips:

1. Getting ready for the trip 
2. Live blog updates from the road 
3. Trip report from bangalore to vellore and visiting vellore temples 
4. Trip report from vellore to kanchipuram, and visiting Kanchipuram temples 
5. Information about how much Toll you would pay traveling from bangaore to Vellore to Kanchipuram to tirupati to bangalore 

 What did you like about the trip? have you done a road trip similar, if so share your thoughts/stories. every roadtrip has its own fun and share of stories.

 

© SAURABH MITTAL
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Toll information- bangalore- vellore- kanchipuram- Tirupati- Bangalore

Date	time	Odo	Landmark/place	remarks
Bangalore to Vellore (Via krishnagiri-chennai road) Read details here
27/07/2013	6:00 AM	380	start
27/07/2013	6:24 AM	403	Electronic city toll	40.00
27/07/2013	6:38 AM	417	Attibele toll	25.00
27/07/2013	7:12 AM	453	A2B for tea. 20 min break
27/07/2013	7:50 AM	472	KTP toll	55.00
27/07/2013	8:33 AM	524	KW toll	70.00
27/07/2013	9:18 AM	576	pallikonda toll	70.00
27/07/2013	9:40 AM	605	GRT Vellore checkin
Vellore to Kanchipuram (Via the main chennai road) Read details here
28/07/2013	8:33 AM	671	walehahpet toll	30.00
	9:05 AM	712	GRT Checkin
Kanchipuram to Tirupati(Via tirutanni)
29/07/2013	8:28 AM	849	Tirupati-alipiri toll	15.00
Tirupati to Bangalore (Via chittor bypass- KGF- mulbagal)
There were 2 toll booths on the toll road, but not functioning yet.
Total distance covered	755		Total toll paid	305.00

PS: I want to make a special mention about the information that i gathered on the road conditions especially towards tirupati and for this trip, i am really thankful to theautomotiveindia forums and folks around there for helping me out.

Enchanting Temples of india-Day 2 of Bangalore-Vellore-Kanchipuram- Tirupati- Bangalore

Route Traveled: Bangalore- Vellore-kanchipuram-tirupati- Bangalore
Day/Leg 2: Vellore-Kanchipuram.
Read about leg 1(day 1) here.

Road recommendation and details:

• Route: the route is straightforward. you need to continue to Chennai for Kanchipuram. the distance is approx 70 kms to kanchipuram. from the main road, there is a signal to turn inside for Kanchipuram, from where it is 10 kms.
• Road condition:  This is a gem of a road. we could get to the national highway in exact 1 min after leaving GRT sameera. This road falls under the golden quadrilateral and is amazing cruiser. we were starting around 8:30 am and the traffic was quite low. the amount of diversions though continued. once your turn into kanchipuram, the roads aren't best, but within the city again the roads are good.
• Stop overs: we didnt stop on the way, however, i learnt later that the huge temple we saw on the way, was  the famous temple of Ratnagiri. recommend you to stop over there. while there are a lot of tea shops and small hotels, i didnt notice any good hotels on this stretch.
• Travel time: from Vellore to Kanchipuram, the distance of 70 can be easily done in around 30-40 mins of casual driving. 
• Fuel: ample fuel stations on this stretch. i am in love with the NH7 and the golden quadrilateral for all such aspects.
• Options to eat: On the way, i didnt see much happening,  but kanchipuram is a modern city now. it has almost everything which you may need while traveling there. from famous stores, eateries to shopping, and of-course its world famous silk Sarees.
• Options to stay: Here too, we stayed at GRT regency. the place was decent, though a little aging. its on the Gandhi road, and it is very easy to miss it, since the opening on the front is small. i felt for the price it is still average, and noticed much better hotels around. though, as a Brand, i can still trust GRT. the quality of the building is nice, though as i mentioned, it is not that contemporary as GRT sameera was, or as i felt some other hotels were. the buffet was included in the stay, but that also looked very average. note, we didn't eat here but took some for my daughter. 

Misc Tips:

• GRT had 24 hours room service. that was very nice.
• while it seems quite modern city, we had difficulty finding a pizza hut/dominos for my daughter. the map took us into a unknown place and after 30 mins of searching and driving around, we gave up.
• The temples close by 12:30 and normally open by 3:30 pm. plan accordingly if visiting a temple.
• Photography at temples is a huge confusion.  at temples like Tirupati, or golden temple, the devices are not allowed to enter the complex, but everywhere else it is different. Most of the temples, they don't let you click if they see you but everyone takes pictures. so, take a call accordingly.
• You should plan atleast 2-3 days for Kanchipuram. there is so much to see, that one day wasn't enough by any means. of-course more time will help in visiting much more places, peacefully. we could only do 5 temples. the 5th one was absolutely on the edge of its closing time, so we had to rush through the temple.
• Drink lot of water during moving around. it is normally hot around kanchipuram and you could get dehydrated quickly with moving between temples and sun. carrying caps, sun lotion is highly recommended.

Places visited: 

• We visited the  Kailasanatha Temple  first in the morning. got ready after arriving at GRT. the lady at the reception gave us a map with 5 top temples to be visited. we chose kailasanatha temple first. this turned to be my favorite. find the details of the temple here.  We were just enchanted by the detailing and how it has aged through the times. truly timeless. another aspect which i loved about kanchipuram was that most of the temples and places were heavily crowded, so its much more relaxed experience. kailasanatha temple was no exception that. Time taken to see it: 1 hour. amenities near by: small shops nearby else very close to the main town, so doesn't pose any particular issue.
• Next we went to the  Ekambaranatha/ekambareshwar Temple. the temple was going to close soon, so rushed. it has some ground to cover before you could reach the main temple premise. another very beautiful and large scale temple. while Kailasanatha is an old and frail temple, this is massive in size and has so much to see from inside. took us good 2 hours to explore this place. It has a 3000 years old mango tree, and then so very powerful deities as per the locals.Time take to see it: 2 hours. amenities near by: the temple is in kanchipuram village, all surrounded by colony so no issues finding what you want.
• Other places visited:- After we came out of the temple, we knew that this time of the day, most of temples would have closed down. hence, we just headed for a nice lunch at Adiyar anand bhawan. the lunch variety wasnt huge but the taste was good. after that we went back to the hotel. in the late afternoon, we started and covered kamakshi amman temple, and hurriedly towards the late evening covered varadhanraj perumal temple. a long day, ended up in search of a good eating joint, and a nice 14 mini idly meal at sarvana bhawan, kanchipuram. it was time to head back to hotel, and next day to tirupati, but i was still enchanted by the beauty and history of kanchipuram, and was feeling that i could stay here for couple more days and see much more, but then with this thoughts, i went to bed, preparing for the start early morning towards tirupati.

One of the deities at the ekambarnatha temple. serene temple.

Kailashnatha temple. from the parking on the street, from my phone camera.

ganesha blesses morning breakfast hall at GRT Sameera

Kailashnatha temple from a distance, where nandi sits at the entrance.

Kailashnatha temple and its beautiful temple.

 

Insides of kailashnatha temple.

Ekambarnatha temple and its entrance. inside, i didnt click much since if seen, they forbid to take pictures. but strangely at the temple entrace, charge for a camera fee.

Pond inside the temple-ekambarnatha temple.

While entering the temple. ekambarnatha temple.

Ekambarnatha temple entrance.

Insides of kamachi amma temple. very beautiful and surreal.

Read about leg 1(day 1) here.

© SAURABH MITTAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
If you would like to buy this photograph for commercial use or would like to buy rights to this photography, contact me at quitefar@gmail.com for further details.
Use without permission is illegal

Temples of south india: Bangalore-Vellore- kanchipuram- tirupati- Bangalore. Part 1.

Finally it happened, and i hope you were reading or checking on my blog.

as i wrote earlier, this was interesting because we were planning to cover some interesting places on the way. secondly i was planning  to do some live blogging while being on the road.

live blogging started but i couldn't do it post second day, for multiple reasons.

1. the blogger app sucks.

2. the trip timings were tight. i was driving around and very little except nights where we would stop and have some time.

Anyways, it was still a good experience trying out those things. Hopefully things will be better for my next trip. maybe there is a better app for blogger, or may be i should integrate twitter with blogger to keep all the updates on the blog.

Here is how i am going to write about the three places i covered- Vellore, Kanchipuram and tirupati.

For each of the places, i would cover, Road recommendation and details, tips for the travel, places to visit, and lots of photos.

hence keep glued here.

Route Traveled: Bangalore- Vellore-kanchipuram-tirupati- Bangalore

Day/Leg 1: Bangalore - Vellore.

Road recommendation and details:

• Route: the route is simple. take the electronic city elevated highway towards Hosur and this road takes you towards Tamil Nadu. at Krishnagiri, watch out since you don't want to continue down to Salem, but instead take a left turn towards Chennai. once on Chennai road, there is no stopping until Vellore.
• Road condition: the condition is brilliant. until krishnagiri, the road is great with few patches where construction work is underway. after Krishnagiri, the road gets even better, but with much more diversions. the best part is the labeling of diversion is so well done that driving becomes easier.
• Stop overs: the distance isn't much but if you want to stop, there are lot of good places on the way. A2Bs, macdonalds, hoards of Cafe coffee days throng the sidelines. i recommend the Vadas, tea and breakfast at A2B.
• Travel time: from Bangalore to Vellore, the distance of 212 can be easily done in around 3 hours or a little more than that based on your stops on the way.
• Fuel: on this road, you don't have to worry about fuel availability since there are plenty of fuel stations. although finding a shell may need 'Google maps'.
• Options to eat: At Vellore, there are all types of options available for food. from A2B, sarvana bhawans, to all sorts of Bengali restaurants(due to huge number of Bengalis in Vellore #CMC) and all types of uptown places like pizza huts, etc are available. we had food at the GRT Sameera and the buffet was impressive, in terms of spread of food. our breakfast buffet was equally good there.
• Options to stay: we stayed at GRT Sameera, which is exactly on the national highway. i saw other hotels too lined up near by, like river view, etc. the major benefit is to be able to drive out of hotel and hit the highway in 2 mins. the downside was that in the rooms there was still a bit of noise coming from the road, which could be bothersome. the hotel was very contemporary and very good in all guest comforts. the staff helpful except couple of instances.
• Misc Tips:

1. There are multiple tolls on the way. in-fact you shell-out a lot of money in toll taking these roads. be ready with the change and cash while traveling.
2. I have always tried to start earlier in the day, since it helps dodge lot of unwanted traffic during the day. this tip should influence your travel time.
3. the temples close by 12:30 and normally open by 3 pm. plan accordingly if visiting a temple.
4. Photography at temples is a huge confusion.  at temples like Tirupati, or golden temple, the devices are not allowed to enter the complex, but everywhere else it is different. Most of the temples, they don't let you click if they see you but everyone takes pictures. so, take a call accordingly.
5. The golden temple is closely 7-8 kms from the main Vellore city. Pls plan your conveyance accordingly. 
6. also, at the golden temple, the Shorts/Barmuda are not allowed. though also to note is the fact that you can buy/rent dhotis at the spot. planning is useful.

• Places visited: we had planned to visit the fort, Jalakandeswar temple and the golden temple. 

1. At the fort, there is nothing much to do. there are outer walls of the fort with nothing much inside the fort happening. there are police quarters and the famous jalakandeswar temple, hence i would recommend not really taking time for the fort. for photos, you could do a quick walk through, but nothing to be excited about.
2. The jalakandeshwar temple was a beauty. all the temples of this trip were beautiful and timeless. some great architecture at work and fine art works on display.

Road near krishnagiri. beautiful weather and long views of roads. intermittently, you get obstructions as well, like a truck crosses the road here.

But over a very peaceful stretch on NH7. mountainous beauty surrounds you.

One more from the road.

Lunch at GRT Sameera was a treat. the buffet i guess had costed around 550 but had elaborate menu on offering. It was a mouthful. Also, may be in my imagination, i was expecting this kind of option at a city like vellore, but surely it changed my mind about vellore. my VIT friends who passed out from here 8 years ago, may have missed such a nice place to eat at :-)

The rooms were beautifully done, and the complete design of the hotel was very contemporary. the staff was pleasant, and except couple of instance it was nice experience. the resturant 'gingee' is tastefully done, and the overall feel of the hotel is very spacious.

A wall decoration on the theme of local art work and fort theme.

vellore fort. gave it a sepia treatment, since to my eyes it went very well with the feel of ancient temples and forts. brings that timeless feel to the photos.

Someone really toiled to have their love life recorded on the stone walls of the vellore fort. :-)

Outer walls of the fort.

Jalakandeshwar temple in its full glory, as seen from the fort wall.

© SAURABH MITTAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
If you would like to buy this photograph for commercial use or would like to buy rights to this photography, contact me at quitefar@gmail.com for further details.
Use without permission is illegal

George Washington monument-Date with american history.

It was a beautiful day. from the cold winters, the weather was getting much more soothing. however, there was still some chill in the wind. But, today was different. I drove new jersey, and reached earlier morning at washington. Heard so much about it, i was raring to go around the city. The map, directions from friends and internet, everything all set. i had my hotel reservations confirmed, and was going to live close to the capitol building. I had started my tour of DC on foot and covered the capitol building first. washington monument was an amazing sight. the way it has been maintained, the park around it, the proximity to all the key places like the capitol, white house etc, makes it an amazing monument. its enormous size also is such a huge mark for american history and their independence. I leave you with some pictures which show different perspective f it. do tell me your thoughts on the pictures.

Washington monument from lincoln memorial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument
see my other post on washington capitol building here.

Washington monument through the reflection pond.

a plane swirls past the monument

from the park between monument and captiol

© SAURABH MITTAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
If you would like to buy this photograph for commercial use or would like to buy rights to this photography, contact me at quitefar@gmail.com for further details.
Use without permission is illegal

Trip- Bangalore- Vellore- Kanchipuram- Tirupati- Bangalore

The trip through the belt Bangalore- Vellore- Kanchipuram- Tirupati was a success. here is a teaser and a photo from the trip. wait for the report to come soon. hope you followed my live blog. time to share some details and more photos soon.

live blog feed from roadtrip- day 1 of bangalore-vellore-kanchipuram-tirupati-bangalore

Welcome to my live feed blog where I willfantastic ic Welcome baexperielovedirectly from the road and places I go around the leg of the journey from Bangalore - Vellore - Kanchipuram-Tirupati- Kanipakkam-Bangalore.

26th July:23:47 pm- just finished the preparation. Camera battery n gadgets charging. Packing all done. Not feeling the best since morning due to light cold n fever but hoping to get through it. Target to start from CV Raman nagar at 5 am and beat any traffic. Vehicle fueled up n all set. See you in the morning.

27th July:10:16 am- Reached and checked into GRT Samera, Vellore. beautiful hotel for the place. Rooms are crisp, though the fittings and few things probably are not upto the mark. Check-in was not quick but good. the staff seems very courteous and the overall feeling of the hotel is very contemporary.
We started late as usual. from the target of 5 am, we could only push back, or should i start, rev engines by 6 am. the drive was smooth through the way. Especially after the turning from Krishnagiri, towards Chennai, the roads gets much better. the only down side is that they are building lot of flyovers, so there are multiple diversions, but extremely well labelled, and cordoned off. i was very happy with the amount of information display.
We had taken a brief stop over at A2B for a great cup of tea on the road. More updates soon.

On the road. tamilnadu roads are beautiful. the weather has been nice to but the mercury is expected to rise to 37 degrees during the day.

Diversions on the way

Typical tea cups of A2B, though the amount of tea is a little less for my taste. loved the aromas. had some hot vadas, at A2B as well, which were sumptuous.

another beautiful stretch

Weather is so beautiful in bangalore that going out bangalore and expecting better conditions look difficult. clouds looming over the highway.

Leaving Bangalore

11:30: Grt sameera. Decent siZed rooms. Well equipped to handle all types of customers.took a short nap and now refreshed. Should start for sightseeing now. First should be the fort.

Grt rooms and usage of local art work is fantastic and refreshing.

2:46 pm: visited the fort and the jalakanteshwara temple. the temple was closed and re-opens at 3 pm. The fort was uneventful. Absolutely. On the periphery the walls and water surrounding it is there. Apart from that There Is nothing much really happening. Also it was quite warm for everyone.

walls of the fort and the path way.

watch points of the fort.

view of temple from the fort.

Lunch at GRT Samera. sumptuous buffet. absolute recommendation.

4pm: left for the temple again. While the fort was a dissappointment the temple wasnt. A beautiful temple with some interesting sculptours to be seen.we spent around 2 hours exploring and appreciating the temple. 65 various forms of shivas is interesting. below is photo of the parvaty, deity of the temple.

27th July: 6pm: we drove and reached sripuram golden temple. Its a little far from the main vellore cenrer point approx 8 kms. The mobile phones, bags etc are not allowed at the temple. Even shorts at not allowed. I was wearing those so i 'rented'  a lungi for 30 rs, for the visit.

28th july. 7 am: Good morning. Breakfast and 7:55:  news paper.

newspaper delivered.

buffet at GRT samera.

28th july: 9:05: checked into grt regency, kanchipuram. Nice hotel. Not that contemporary as grt sameera, vellore but still worth a stay.

I couldnt continue updates for two reasons. the blogger app really sucks, when it comes to updating or formatting content. i also had a packed schedule with lot of driving around making it difficult to continue updates.

watch out for the travel tips, and report coming frward with lots of pics.

Getting ready for the road trip & Live blogging from road

Well the trip is round the corner and I am excited about my live blogging concept, for two reasons.
I haven't done it before and secondly it is a great feeling tbloe to write experiences from the 'place'.
Of-course I will do a proper trip report with photographs etc but on the go will try to give you major updates from the roadtrip perspective and some pics as possible.
I will be covering around 650 Kms during this loop.
Gear for this purpose:

1. Blogger app on my reliable Samsung s2 over my 3g connection and its nice camera. Hopefully during the trip it should work well.
2. My official photography gear- my canon 400d with 11-16 tokina, 50 mm and 70-200 f4l lenses.

Keep a watch on the blog. This post is being written over the blogger app which seems to be working ok right now.
I will be starting a new thread for each of the days so keep reading and checking back.

PS: i want to make a special mention about the information that i gathered on the road conditions especially towards tirupati and for this trip, i am really thankful to theautomotiveindia forums and folks around there for helping me out.

Share any Any advice, words of caution-any of your favorite stopover points, any favorite songs for the drive, or any observations which could be useful.
The live blogging is happening here