24th Jun 2011 (Friday)
Woke up a bit early to get to office early so that I could leave early :)
Eventually left around 16:30 from office on bike. Came home in about 15 mins. It was drizzling - not a very good sign when going on a long journey. Anyways, packed up & started from home around 17:00. Noted down the odometer reading & the journey began.
Within about half-an-hour, I was on the KR Puram hanging bridge & on my way to Tirupati. At around 18:00, realized I need to fill up the fuel tank within the city itself. Those in the villages couldn't be trusted. Within a few minutes, found a decent looking petrol pump. Filled up petrol worth Rs. 300 & continued. Also withdrew Rs. 5k from a nearby ATM; just-in-case. The road up to Mulbagal (Bangalore-Kolar highway) was awesome with 4 lanes throughout. I could test the limits of my bike & I did :D
After about 19:00, it got dark & since there are no street lights on any of the highways in India, it was a bit difficult to drive because everyone was driving with their lights on high-beam. So I did the same. I had to heavily rely on the white striped markings on the road to stay on the correct side of the road & maintain my lane, since otherwise it was difficult to see more than a few meters in the glare of headlights of the vehicles coming from other side of the road.
When I was about to reach Chittoor, noticed in a distance (in the direction I was heading) some continuous lightning, which meant heavy rain. Also, there was the scent of rain in the air. I thought it was 'The End' of my journey. Luckily, I noticed a board that saved me by redirecting onto a bypass road avoiding Chittoor completely! I wasn't drenched.
On the bypass road, when the way seemed to get confusing, I had to ask for directions & got to the right path. At around 20:30 I'd to stop due to a closed railway gate. Tirupati was still about 70km from there. So, took the opportunity to stretch a little & called up my mom to inform that I'm on schedule!
Thankfully not too long after, about 15-20 mins later, the slow train passed & the gates opened. I continued my journey to get to the Alipiri gate before it closes, i.e., before 22:00. Around 21:00 my bike suddenly stopped. It was pitch black. There was cloud cover, so couldn't even see the moon or any stars. I thought I was doomed & started to think of solutions & reasons to why the bike stopped. Was it because I was driving it non-stop for 250km?
Anyways, it struck me it might've hit the reserve. And hey presto! I was right. Somehow the fuel indicator didn't seem to show it & I was fooled. After about 20km, noticed a petrol pump & refueled petrol worth Rs.300 and continued to head to Tirupati.
Finally reached Tirupati around 21:20, but the gate to Tirumala was nowhere in sight. It was a good thing the directions to Tirumala were marked on several boards along the way that led me to the gate by around 21:40. I made it! Still 20 mins to spare. Paid the toll of Rs.2 at the gate & started uphill.
The distance was just 18km, but a board there suggested it'll take about 45 mins. It wasn't too steep & very manageable. But was very dark, there were no lights. It's situated in a national park, so got to be careful of any wildlife. I did notice a 3-foot white colored snake on the road, trampled by the bus that was going ahead of me. Unfortunately I didn't react quick enough (even if I did, I might've lost my balance) & I too went over the poor snake.
Reached the top of the hill around 22:10, but had no idea about the route to Sringeri Mutt - the place where the marriage was taking place. Asked a few people on the road about the route. Most of them were new to the place like me & didn't know. One person knew the route & requested me to drop him on the way. That was probably even better - I too get to help him that way :) Dropped him where he wanted & followed the directions he'd given. His directions weren't that clear, so had to ask a few more people. Finally, made it to the place I'd wanted to go at around 22:25. I'd traveled 283 km.
Parked my bike outside the marriage hall & took out the phone to call mom. Unfortunately there wasn't any signal there! So, went into the hall, scanned around for a while & spotted her! Yippee! I made it & met her. As expected, she was shocked & surprised, became a bit emotional & cried a little.
After meeting a few people there, had dinner downstairs & came back up by around 23:00. Then it was decided we go for a darshan since it seems it wasn't taking much time now. In the morning it'd take 3-4 hours, so better get it done with.
We went to Counter#8 for the Rs.300 tickets. Unfortunately it seems that closes by 23:00 & we'd reached there at 23:25. We asked a policeman there & he suggested we go by the free darshan line itself since it's taking just 1-2 hours! That seemed like a good news & we optimistically went in.
The darshan was over in about an hour like the policeman said. We were coming out & standing in the counters to collect the laddoos by 00:30. And completely came out by 00:45. Went to room by 01:30, slept by 02:30.
25 Jun 2011 (Saturday)
Woke up by 06:45 in the morning. Got ready by 07:30. Had breakfast & began sightseeing on the hill. It was an awesome experience - using own bike, riding on the hill!
First went to Paapa Vinashini, which was about 8-9 km. Didn't go near the water - the whole place seemed very artificial. And with so many people around, didn't even feel like getting down the stairs. Took some pics & started back.
Next went to Akasha Ganga. There as almost no water here. Whatever water was there was stagnant & didn't look neat. So again just took some pics & started to the next place.
Visited a few other places: Venugopalaswamy temple, Srivari paadalu, Sila Thoranam, the dam, etc.
Back to room by around 11:00. I was late already since I was planning to leave to Chennai by 10:30 so as to not be late for lunch! So, ASAP packed up & started by 11:30. Got down the hill & to Tirupati by 12:40. Chennai was still 140km away!
With just 3 stops of couple of minutes each (1st one for Petrol refilling of Rs.200, latter 2 for drinking water), reached Chennai around 14:15. However I didn't know the route to SCK's place. I had a talk to him earlier & it was decided to meet at Spencer (Spencer Plaza, Mount Rd.) since that's one of the very few landmarks I'd easily identify & it's also very close to SCK's office.
After about an hour of searching around, getting lost in the maze of Chennai's one-ways, I finally reached Spencer at 15:20. SCK promptly came there within a few mins after I'd reached. I needed to have lunch quickly so that we don't waste much time. So went to one of the few Domino's. I freshened up a little there & had lunch as quickly as I could. Then went to SCK's place by around 16:15.
SCK had some office work, so he left around 17:00. Since Pondy bazaar was close to their place, I went for a 40 minute walk there to have a look around. I was most interested in buying a mobile - Samsung Galaxy S II. I found a shop who said he'd sell it for Rs.29500. I didn't have that much cash, so thought of coming the next day. Also thought it'd be even cheaper at Ritchie St.
Anyways, came back to the apartment by 18:00. SCK returned by around 18:20. He took bath & checked his weight. It was around 85kgs! I checked mine too. The last I remember checking my weight was when I was just out of IIT. IIRC it was about 72kgs. This time I was 71kgs! Nothing much changed.
Anyways, we wanted to visit IIT & meet some friends who're doing their PhD.s. Called up Trinath & requested him to arrange tickets for the OAT movie for the night.
SCK & I reached IIT in SCK's car around 19:15. We thought of giving Trinath a surprise by banging on his door & barging into the room when he opens it :P Our evil plans didn't succeed since he'd gone for dinner! We had a look around the new hostel, Sindhu. It was a bit claustrophobic & lots of pseud puts (lift system & honey comb structure).
We left from there to OAT by the Sharav route opposite SAC. By 19:45 we were waiting outside the main gate of OAT waiting for Trinath. Trinath had dinner & met us just in time for the movie that started at sharp 20:00 as it always does at OAT.
It was X-Men First Class. I'd seen it before, but didn't mind watching it again, esp. in OAT! It was nostalgic & felt very nice. We sat at the same place we used to sit while we were in IIT - just beside the projector towards the left. There were also the standard "scenes being cut" to either censor or to reduce the movie length. And shouting during prominent scenes, etc.
Met a few other friends whom Trinath had brought along - Rajesh, Chaitanya,...
After the movie, i.e., around 22:30, we went back to get the car - SCK, Trinath, Rajesh & I. First went to the SBI ATM opposite post office beside KV ground & GC - I withdrew Rs.10K & planned to withdraw the rest on next day to buy the phone. Then we went to the CCD that's near GC, DoMS, Sarayu, CenLib.
We had some slight snacks & juices which we treated as our dinner. Then SCK gave Rajesh some driving practice with his car. Around 23:45, we bid goodbye to Trinath & Rajesh, & headed back to the apartment. Reached by 12:30 & slept by 01:00.
26 Jun 2011 (Sunday)
I woke up at 07:30, took bath & was ready by 08:00. Since SCK was still sleeping, I lied down for a while. SCK finally woke up around 08:45 & was ready by 09:15. We went to A2B in Pondy Bazaar, by walk, for breakfast & were back by about 09:45.
The plan for the day was
1. Buy the phone in Ritchie St
2. Go to Besant Nagar beach & have lunch near the beach itself at one of the many good restaurants there
3. Start back to Bangalore. On the way to B'lore, stop at Kancheepuram to visit the temples there. SCK would come upto Kanchi by his car & myself by bike. Once we're both done visiting the temples or any other tourist places at Kanchi, he'd go back to Chennai & I'd return to B'lore.
And so it began - we went to Ritchie St by bike & reached there by about 10:45. Asked around in a few shops & finally bargained in a shop who promised to sell it for Rs.29000. Since that was a good deal, we agreed. He said he had to get it from somewhere else, so asked us to give Rs.1000 as token amount as a confirmation. I gave Rs.500. And told him I'll need to withdraw some more amount & would be back in a few minutes. It was about 11:15 then.
I'd searched around for ATMs. First found South India Bank ATM, but after going near it, saw a notice hanging on the door handle "Out of service". So, tried to look around for another one. Found a Canara Bank ATM. But I guess there wasn't enough cash in it, it declined my transaction. After a bit more walking around, found a SBI ATM but it was closed!
Finally decided to take the bike to scavenge for ATMs in a larger area. So, went a bit further & found Indian Overseas Bank ATM and another SBI ATM, but they both were closed too. Went for another round in an even larger area & finally found a SBI ATM that seemed to be working - given the queue of people standing before the door trying to get in. Parked my bike nearby, tried my luck & I was able to withdraw the balance amount.
I was back in the shop by 11:45, but the phone hadn't arrived yet. It seems someone was getting it from Mylapore & got stuck in heavy traffic. We kept inquiring on where the person is, but the shopkeeper, Ashok Bhai, kept saying the person was still stuck in traffic & would reach in another 10-20 mins. This went on for more than an hour. Then he informed us that the person's bike ran out of fuel & that he was stranded on the road looking for a petrol pump. This was very frustrating & getting ridiculous. Finally at about 13:45, the person arrived & delivered the phone.
The 2 hr delay meant we had to cancel all plans for the day. That is, no beach, no Kanchi, no lunch near the beach!
We went to the same Domino's for a quick lunch, came out by 15:00. Went home, packed up & started back to B'lore by 16:00. SCK led the way to a good petrol pump for me to refuel the bike & later we stopped for a quick bite or some juice. At the best place we could find, I took a 600ml Fanta & gulped down in a couple of minutes! SCK then led me to the Bangalore-Chennai National highway, took the U turn & bid goodbye & left home. It was about 16:30.
It was very windy, so I couldn't drive fast. Accelerating made me feel like the bike was skidding. So, drove at an acceptable speed. Totally made just 3 stops of 2 min each - once for drinking water, twice for refueling. Pretty much drove non-stop for 340km.
Reached Koramangala Sony World Jn by around 21:45. I'd taken the elevated highway from Electronic city to cut thru all the traffic. Not taking the highway would've been very tiring. Though it meant I had to pay Rs.15 to get on the highway, I felt it was worth it in the end. Had dinner at Taco Bell on the Sony World Jn corner by 22:20. Took the Inner Ring Rd. & reached home by 22:45.
In total I'd covered a distance of 896km (Bangalore -> Tirupati -> Chennai -> Bangalore).
Except the mess-up due to the phone that caused disruptions in the plan, it was a weekend well spent. And one I'll probably never forget!
Woke up a bit early to get to office early so that I could leave early :)
Eventually left around 16:30 from office on bike. Came home in about 15 mins. It was drizzling - not a very good sign when going on a long journey. Anyways, packed up & started from home around 17:00. Noted down the odometer reading & the journey began.
Within about half-an-hour, I was on the KR Puram hanging bridge & on my way to Tirupati. At around 18:00, realized I need to fill up the fuel tank within the city itself. Those in the villages couldn't be trusted. Within a few minutes, found a decent looking petrol pump. Filled up petrol worth Rs. 300 & continued. Also withdrew Rs. 5k from a nearby ATM; just-in-case. The road up to Mulbagal (Bangalore-Kolar highway) was awesome with 4 lanes throughout. I could test the limits of my bike & I did :D
After about 19:00, it got dark & since there are no street lights on any of the highways in India, it was a bit difficult to drive because everyone was driving with their lights on high-beam. So I did the same. I had to heavily rely on the white striped markings on the road to stay on the correct side of the road & maintain my lane, since otherwise it was difficult to see more than a few meters in the glare of headlights of the vehicles coming from other side of the road.
When I was about to reach Chittoor, noticed in a distance (in the direction I was heading) some continuous lightning, which meant heavy rain. Also, there was the scent of rain in the air. I thought it was 'The End' of my journey. Luckily, I noticed a board that saved me by redirecting onto a bypass road avoiding Chittoor completely! I wasn't drenched.
On the bypass road, when the way seemed to get confusing, I had to ask for directions & got to the right path. At around 20:30 I'd to stop due to a closed railway gate. Tirupati was still about 70km from there. So, took the opportunity to stretch a little & called up my mom to inform that I'm on schedule!
Thankfully not too long after, about 15-20 mins later, the slow train passed & the gates opened. I continued my journey to get to the Alipiri gate before it closes, i.e., before 22:00. Around 21:00 my bike suddenly stopped. It was pitch black. There was cloud cover, so couldn't even see the moon or any stars. I thought I was doomed & started to think of solutions & reasons to why the bike stopped. Was it because I was driving it non-stop for 250km?
Anyways, it struck me it might've hit the reserve. And hey presto! I was right. Somehow the fuel indicator didn't seem to show it & I was fooled. After about 20km, noticed a petrol pump & refueled petrol worth Rs.300 and continued to head to Tirupati.
Finally reached Tirupati around 21:20, but the gate to Tirumala was nowhere in sight. It was a good thing the directions to Tirumala were marked on several boards along the way that led me to the gate by around 21:40. I made it! Still 20 mins to spare. Paid the toll of Rs.2 at the gate & started uphill.
The distance was just 18km, but a board there suggested it'll take about 45 mins. It wasn't too steep & very manageable. But was very dark, there were no lights. It's situated in a national park, so got to be careful of any wildlife. I did notice a 3-foot white colored snake on the road, trampled by the bus that was going ahead of me. Unfortunately I didn't react quick enough (even if I did, I might've lost my balance) & I too went over the poor snake.
Reached the top of the hill around 22:10, but had no idea about the route to Sringeri Mutt - the place where the marriage was taking place. Asked a few people on the road about the route. Most of them were new to the place like me & didn't know. One person knew the route & requested me to drop him on the way. That was probably even better - I too get to help him that way :) Dropped him where he wanted & followed the directions he'd given. His directions weren't that clear, so had to ask a few more people. Finally, made it to the place I'd wanted to go at around 22:25. I'd traveled 283 km.
Parked my bike outside the marriage hall & took out the phone to call mom. Unfortunately there wasn't any signal there! So, went into the hall, scanned around for a while & spotted her! Yippee! I made it & met her. As expected, she was shocked & surprised, became a bit emotional & cried a little.
After meeting a few people there, had dinner downstairs & came back up by around 23:00. Then it was decided we go for a darshan since it seems it wasn't taking much time now. In the morning it'd take 3-4 hours, so better get it done with.
We went to Counter#8 for the Rs.300 tickets. Unfortunately it seems that closes by 23:00 & we'd reached there at 23:25. We asked a policeman there & he suggested we go by the free darshan line itself since it's taking just 1-2 hours! That seemed like a good news & we optimistically went in.
The darshan was over in about an hour like the policeman said. We were coming out & standing in the counters to collect the laddoos by 00:30. And completely came out by 00:45. Went to room by 01:30, slept by 02:30.
25 Jun 2011 (Saturday)
Woke up by 06:45 in the morning. Got ready by 07:30. Had breakfast & began sightseeing on the hill. It was an awesome experience - using own bike, riding on the hill!
First went to Paapa Vinashini, which was about 8-9 km. Didn't go near the water - the whole place seemed very artificial. And with so many people around, didn't even feel like getting down the stairs. Took some pics & started back.
Next went to Akasha Ganga. There as almost no water here. Whatever water was there was stagnant & didn't look neat. So again just took some pics & started to the next place.
Visited a few other places: Venugopalaswamy temple, Srivari paadalu, Sila Thoranam, the dam, etc.
Back to room by around 11:00. I was late already since I was planning to leave to Chennai by 10:30 so as to not be late for lunch! So, ASAP packed up & started by 11:30. Got down the hill & to Tirupati by 12:40. Chennai was still 140km away!
With just 3 stops of couple of minutes each (1st one for Petrol refilling of Rs.200, latter 2 for drinking water), reached Chennai around 14:15. However I didn't know the route to SCK's place. I had a talk to him earlier & it was decided to meet at Spencer (Spencer Plaza, Mount Rd.) since that's one of the very few landmarks I'd easily identify & it's also very close to SCK's office.
After about an hour of searching around, getting lost in the maze of Chennai's one-ways, I finally reached Spencer at 15:20. SCK promptly came there within a few mins after I'd reached. I needed to have lunch quickly so that we don't waste much time. So went to one of the few Domino's. I freshened up a little there & had lunch as quickly as I could. Then went to SCK's place by around 16:15.
SCK had some office work, so he left around 17:00. Since Pondy bazaar was close to their place, I went for a 40 minute walk there to have a look around. I was most interested in buying a mobile - Samsung Galaxy S II. I found a shop who said he'd sell it for Rs.29500. I didn't have that much cash, so thought of coming the next day. Also thought it'd be even cheaper at Ritchie St.
Anyways, came back to the apartment by 18:00. SCK returned by around 18:20. He took bath & checked his weight. It was around 85kgs! I checked mine too. The last I remember checking my weight was when I was just out of IIT. IIRC it was about 72kgs. This time I was 71kgs! Nothing much changed.
Anyways, we wanted to visit IIT & meet some friends who're doing their PhD.s. Called up Trinath & requested him to arrange tickets for the OAT movie for the night.
SCK & I reached IIT in SCK's car around 19:15. We thought of giving Trinath a surprise by banging on his door & barging into the room when he opens it :P Our evil plans didn't succeed since he'd gone for dinner! We had a look around the new hostel, Sindhu. It was a bit claustrophobic & lots of pseud puts (lift system & honey comb structure).
We left from there to OAT by the Sharav route opposite SAC. By 19:45 we were waiting outside the main gate of OAT waiting for Trinath. Trinath had dinner & met us just in time for the movie that started at sharp 20:00 as it always does at OAT.
It was X-Men First Class. I'd seen it before, but didn't mind watching it again, esp. in OAT! It was nostalgic & felt very nice. We sat at the same place we used to sit while we were in IIT - just beside the projector towards the left. There were also the standard "scenes being cut" to either censor or to reduce the movie length. And shouting during prominent scenes, etc.
Met a few other friends whom Trinath had brought along - Rajesh, Chaitanya,...
After the movie, i.e., around 22:30, we went back to get the car - SCK, Trinath, Rajesh & I. First went to the SBI ATM opposite post office beside KV ground & GC - I withdrew Rs.10K & planned to withdraw the rest on next day to buy the phone. Then we went to the CCD that's near GC, DoMS, Sarayu, CenLib.
We had some slight snacks & juices which we treated as our dinner. Then SCK gave Rajesh some driving practice with his car. Around 23:45, we bid goodbye to Trinath & Rajesh, & headed back to the apartment. Reached by 12:30 & slept by 01:00.
26 Jun 2011 (Sunday)
I woke up at 07:30, took bath & was ready by 08:00. Since SCK was still sleeping, I lied down for a while. SCK finally woke up around 08:45 & was ready by 09:15. We went to A2B in Pondy Bazaar, by walk, for breakfast & were back by about 09:45.
The plan for the day was
1. Buy the phone in Ritchie St
2. Go to Besant Nagar beach & have lunch near the beach itself at one of the many good restaurants there
3. Start back to Bangalore. On the way to B'lore, stop at Kancheepuram to visit the temples there. SCK would come upto Kanchi by his car & myself by bike. Once we're both done visiting the temples or any other tourist places at Kanchi, he'd go back to Chennai & I'd return to B'lore.
And so it began - we went to Ritchie St by bike & reached there by about 10:45. Asked around in a few shops & finally bargained in a shop who promised to sell it for Rs.29000. Since that was a good deal, we agreed. He said he had to get it from somewhere else, so asked us to give Rs.1000 as token amount as a confirmation. I gave Rs.500. And told him I'll need to withdraw some more amount & would be back in a few minutes. It was about 11:15 then.
I'd searched around for ATMs. First found South India Bank ATM, but after going near it, saw a notice hanging on the door handle "Out of service". So, tried to look around for another one. Found a Canara Bank ATM. But I guess there wasn't enough cash in it, it declined my transaction. After a bit more walking around, found a SBI ATM but it was closed!
Finally decided to take the bike to scavenge for ATMs in a larger area. So, went a bit further & found Indian Overseas Bank ATM and another SBI ATM, but they both were closed too. Went for another round in an even larger area & finally found a SBI ATM that seemed to be working - given the queue of people standing before the door trying to get in. Parked my bike nearby, tried my luck & I was able to withdraw the balance amount.
I was back in the shop by 11:45, but the phone hadn't arrived yet. It seems someone was getting it from Mylapore & got stuck in heavy traffic. We kept inquiring on where the person is, but the shopkeeper, Ashok Bhai, kept saying the person was still stuck in traffic & would reach in another 10-20 mins. This went on for more than an hour. Then he informed us that the person's bike ran out of fuel & that he was stranded on the road looking for a petrol pump. This was very frustrating & getting ridiculous. Finally at about 13:45, the person arrived & delivered the phone.
The 2 hr delay meant we had to cancel all plans for the day. That is, no beach, no Kanchi, no lunch near the beach!
We went to the same Domino's for a quick lunch, came out by 15:00. Went home, packed up & started back to B'lore by 16:00. SCK led the way to a good petrol pump for me to refuel the bike & later we stopped for a quick bite or some juice. At the best place we could find, I took a 600ml Fanta & gulped down in a couple of minutes! SCK then led me to the Bangalore-Chennai National highway, took the U turn & bid goodbye & left home. It was about 16:30.
It was very windy, so I couldn't drive fast. Accelerating made me feel like the bike was skidding. So, drove at an acceptable speed. Totally made just 3 stops of 2 min each - once for drinking water, twice for refueling. Pretty much drove non-stop for 340km.
Reached Koramangala Sony World Jn by around 21:45. I'd taken the elevated highway from Electronic city to cut thru all the traffic. Not taking the highway would've been very tiring. Though it meant I had to pay Rs.15 to get on the highway, I felt it was worth it in the end. Had dinner at Taco Bell on the Sony World Jn corner by 22:20. Took the Inner Ring Rd. & reached home by 22:45.
In total I'd covered a distance of 896km (Bangalore -> Tirupati -> Chennai -> Bangalore).
Except the mess-up due to the phone that caused disruptions in the plan, it was a weekend well spent. And one I'll probably never forget!
