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
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