Restaurant: Kadamba: Iyengar cuisine on iyer(higher) p(a)lates

On Bangalore Mysore road there are several joints and one of my friends (Siva Kumar) suggested this joint as a "safe" veggie joint.

Maddur Vada

Truly interesting concept near Maddur/Chennapatna and this place is definitely worth a visit

They serve puliyodhare - a traditional iyengar rice based dish and several others too. (Apart from Iyengar Yoga cuisine is famous too)

Just so you can spot it easily, (its on the left of the road when you go from Bangalore to Mysore)

Statutory warning: No offenses meant to Iyers or Iyengars

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Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary : Part 2 : What do you get to see?

I have split this travelogue to Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary into 2 parts - Part 1 : Getting there and Part 2: What you can see there. This is Part 2

Part 2: What you can see there

The bird sanctuary is essentially a large lake (about 30 acres) with trees (mangrove type). The best season to visit is Nov - Mar . I went in Dec 26th and there were thousands of birds. (How to get to Vedanthangal bird sanctuary: Part 1)

 Essentially, you get to be in a long walkway around the lake (around 2~3 kms on either side of the entrance).

The birds are around 200 ~500 m away and on a clear day you wont have trouble seeing them. It is preferable to carry your telephoto lens or binoculars if you are keen on having a closer look.

There are two watch towers too from where you get to see the birds and the view is very scenic from there.

Water spout in the form of a bird (and when I captured it - looked like it was catching the man!!!)

Link to part 1 : How to get to Vedanthangal bird sanctuary

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Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary : Part 1 : A road trip guide with tips for those travelling from Chennai to Vedanthagal

I have split this travelogue to Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary into 2 parts - Part 1 : Getting there and Part 2: What you can see there

Part 1: A road trip guide with tips for those travelling from Chennai to Vedanthangal

The trip to Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is as interesting as the sanctuary itself. In this part I will cover 2 key parts - A)How to get there B) FOOD, Scheduling your visit and Logistics

A) How to get to Vedanthangal by road?

Distance from RA Puram (Generally considered 0 milestone as it is the center of the universe) to Vedanthangal - 75 kms

Take the GST road via Thambaram - Chingleput and when you are about 12-14 kms from Maduranthagam, you will see lots of boards pointing to Vedanthagal). Take a right and the road off the highway is pretty well paved too. Just so you know you are on the right track, I have excerpted the key boards and buildings close to the right turn - so you dont miss it.

About 12 kms from Maduranthagam - For those who do not know tamil prev board has English

Take right turn here

Well paved road throughout till Vedanthangal

You have arrived! if you see this board! - Go on for 2 kms

B)Timing your visit, FOOD and logistics:

If you leave early morning on a holiday (like 8 or 9 AM) you may want to do a "heavy" breakfast at Ananda Bhavan in Pallavaram or Balajee Bhavan in Chromepet (Both before Tambaram)

You will need about an hour or hour-and-a-half at the sanctuary (if you are not a avid bird (feathered type) watcher) - excluding Bajjee eating and Panan Kazhangu (Avicha or steamed and Raw)

The vertical stacks are panam kazhangu (Palm seeds steamed)

Then on your return , you can eat at the Mahindra City food plaza that has Archana and Dhaba express around 2 PM. There are no restraunts at Vedanthangal , just a few roadside shops.

The best season to visit Nov-Mar and the place is open 6 am to 6 pm.

More pics here

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Madurai to Munnar by road : A travelogue and some tips

This is a scenic 180 kms ride. The typical route is Madurai-Theni-Bodi-Pooparai-Munnar (via Madurai Kamaraj University) ,however since the tourist taxi did not have RTO permit we had to take the Theni-Kumuli-Thekkady-pooparai-munnar route adding approximately 70 kms of Ghat section - we did not mind since the route is very scenic. (Tip: Please ask a tourist operator to get the permit earlier to go via Bodi - a shorter route)

From Munnar

From Munnar

The route is reasonably laid out with only the last stretch of 25 kms from pooparai to Munnar being a single lane damaged road. Several places you have to negotiate turns with oncoming traffic. The route is very scenic and dominated by estates of Tata Global Beverages (Kannan Devan Tea aka Tata Tea)

Kumuli is a good place to eat on the way. (Travel tip - If you plan to leave Madurai early morning you can do a short Thekkady trip too and still reach munnar before night. (We could not as we do not know what early morning on a holiday))

From Munnar

The last stretch of the route Pooparai to Munnar , about 30 kms, is a single lane with poor roads and oncoming traffic makes it precarious - If you are self driving.... all the best.

From Munnar

-

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What to see in Madurai: Thirumalai Rayar Palace, Famous Jigarthanda and Madurai Meenakshi temple and Mariamman tank (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of 2 of the trip to Madurai - Link to Earlier post (Part 1)

The evening visit to Mariamman tank was pleasant - actually that is the Chennai beach equivalent in Madurai. People generally land up at the tank to relax.

From Madurai_Palace_JigarThanda_Temple

There is a avicha kazhangu there - tasted quite nice.

From Madurai_Palace_JigarThanda_Temple

Finally the next morning e visited "THE" Madurai Meenakshi Temple. A quick tip - take the Rs 100 ticket - thats a no brainer but more important is that most people dont know that the ticket is valid for both Sivan and Meenakshi sannathis. That makes it really worthwhile and fast.Also there is a parking lot near the main entrance to walk down to the gopuram via a side street (The now famous HC case!)

From Madurai_Palace_JigarThanda_Temple

1000 pillar hall

From Madurai_Palace_JigarThanda_Temple

Some sculptures...

From Madurai_Palace_JigarThanda_Temple

From Madurai_Palace_JigarThanda_Temple

This is Part 2 of the trip to Madurai - Link to Earlier post (Part 1)

As I started this post Madurai got famous for all the wrong reasons for its Mutt/Adheenam ;-)

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Tall trees is a great place - review and photos

Where to stay in Munnar ?  I stayed at Tall trees and found it to be a great place



This is a very nice place. Nestled inside a near 70 acre forest greenery and a little away from the Munnar town (approx 4 km) 


They offer beautiful cottages that overlook a green forested hill side. The campus is tastefully done and the staff is helpful. Its very peaceful..... note that I did not say silent - the cicadas and birds and frogs go all day long but I am sure you dont mind it ;-). The cottages are well done and furnished / maintained well.

Reception

 They have a small shop that sells knick-knacks too - chips, ceigarettes et al.

 The  way to the restaurant

 Brooks inside the campus....

 Glass roof dining at the restraunt .... very nice ambience and very friendly staff

They have a restaurant "Hill spice" that served Buffet Dinner and Breakfast. Very unique setting with glass ceilings. The only downside is that you need to walk up a hill (by city people standards) about 300-600 m to reach the restaurant .... well it builds up an apetite

There are lots of things for the children to do too - TT/Carrom/Rock Climbing/Play area/Shuttle and for some grown up types too - Ayurveda , Fitness walk

They help you hire an auto or a car to to to town or sight seeing in Munnar respectively.

(PS: I even heard Edavapathi movie is being shot in Munnar when we were there. Wonder what the movie name means!)

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What to see in Madurai: Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal Palace, Famous Jigarthanda and Madurai Meenakshi temple and Mariamman tank (Part 1)

Madurai - Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal or Palace, Famous Jigarthanda : What to see in Madurai:   (Part 1)
(Also referred as Thirumalai Naicker or Nayakar Mahal)

Many of us have solved the travelling salesman problem  but the same is faced by nearly every tourist (especially when faced with triple constraints of time wife and kids ;-) [See my earlier post on how to get to Madurai by bus]

So for those who want to spend a day in Madurai and dont want to strain yourself (i.e. want to nap in the afternoon and only do visits in the morning and evening)

Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace - Nice large hall worth visiting and will take about 2 hrs. I was pleasantly surprised with the the tamil language has evolved - it was quite a simple script with much reuse (modular language ;-))

As you finish the Palace and are feeling quite hot - head out to the "Famous Jigarthanda" - yes... thats the name of the shop. The Jigarthanda drink out here is amazing.

Its as good as the stuff thats available at Chennai Murugan Idly albeit the ice cream is filled with ice flakes

<<End of Part 1>> see Part 2



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Travel: Chennai to Madurai by road - Bus

Chennai to Madurai by road - The omni-bus ride! (My experience and some tips) 

 We did the Chennai Madurai by road using a speacial bus from Chennai CMBT (Koyambedu) - Man! what a nightmare of a jam. The bus was full and he left at 11:20 and reached Madurai at 7:30 - about 8 hrs. You will hear a lot of tales of 6 hrs of travel, but I think safe reasonable time for 560 hrs is 8 hrs While it was a good "Volvo" bus, and had only one stop over at Tiruchi, could have been a lot better had he started someplace else. (Perungalathur being too far)

 Please make sure that you get down at the Periyar bus stand (there is also a mattu thavani stand but I think its a little outside town)

 BTW some tips for going on the long distance bus from Chennai :
1. Parking at CMBT for a drop: Follow the general melee of buses and theres a way for cars too to drop you behind the KPN /Parveen stall
2. They do give you water and blanket in "Volvo" bus (Parveen) 
3. Carry night blinders and a pillow if possible
4. Book on kpn web site or parveen website. Just check the cancellation fees . I think its 10% for upto 12 hrs before travel. Book seats in front but not the first row if you can avoid it (The first row is next to the driver and lights from oncoming vehicles are a pain till the curtains are drawn -usually after perungalathur)

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Prague: A visit in pictures : September - Beautiful end of summer photos

The place is a must visit again

201108_Prague

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From Mylapore to Rudrapur: Chennai to Pantnagar UTK: Travel experience

Best way to Travel:

• Chennai to Delhi by Flight
• Delhi to Rudrapur by Raniketh Express

Return the same way.  The best way from the airport to Delhi (DLI) or Old Delhi railway station is via metro - take the airport express to New Delhi station (NDLS) and take the yellow track metro to Chandni Chowk and walk up to old Delhi station. (20 mins from airport to NDLS and another 30 to DLI and a 10 min walk to the station) . Also note, the metro operates only from 6 AM to 10 PM - so plan your travel carefully

In case you dont get a ticket in the Ranikheth express- do the road -  but it is most painful. There are 2 traffic snarls - one in Rampur (about 50~60 kms) where there is a train crossing, second is near Gajrauli. Best places to eat en-route on road - McDonalds or Moga restraunt near Gajrauli. The journey should take you about 7 hrs but can take as much as 9~13 hrs depending on traffic!!

Stay: Hotel Sonia is a good place to stay. I found it to have ample space nearby and a small mango garden. The staff are courteous and most helpful. Radisson and Ginger are also there in Pantnagar though I did not stay in them. There breakfast is ok, the rooms and bed are neat and clean.

Things to see: None - do not be fooled by the google maps which puts Nainital and Jim Corbett national park closeby. They are about 80~120 kms (2~4 hrs) and Pantnagar/ Rudrapur in itself has nothing to see.

Here are some pics of the road from Pantnagar to Delhi

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Trip from Chennai to Bangalore by Road - A distance of about 350 kms - Tips, Places to eat and road guide

I am publishing this post mainly for people who want to travel Chennai to Bangalore by road  and are driving this route for the first time

Distance : Around 350 kms
Best route: Chennai (RA Puram - Poonamallee - Vellore - Vaniyambadi - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore) NH4 - NH46 and NH7
Key route markers and turns: Ensure you turn right after Krishnagiri (under a flyover onto NH7) - remember the left takes you to Dharmapuri and Salem.
Start time: 7 AM (From Chennai)
Reached at: 12:30 PM at Koramangala and 1:30 PM at Richmond Circle Woodlands Hotel

Best places to eat  breakfast or lunch depending on when you leave -
If you leave at 7 AM from the city (like RA Puram or T Nagar) you will reach
1.  Jains Hotel in Poonamallee (opposite Tirupati cutting) on the left side of the road. This is a great place for breakfast at around 8 AM . (There are 2 hotels that look alike  - take the one that is marked as Jains)
2. Alternatively you could drive till Kanchipuram around 8:30 AM and eat at Arasuvai Arasu there.
3. Around 10:30 you will be at Vellore - Just before the second flyover on the highway you will see a board that says "Katpadi". Take the feeder road leading to Katpadi and under the flyover turn right - in the large circle. (You will see several boards that say Way to VIT (Vellore Institute of Technology) - you will know you are on the right track if you see them). There is a place called Aryas right there in the circle itself - you cant miss it. where you can eat here. Good decent food. There is also a AC wing in this restraunt. We prefer this to Saravan Bhavan since it is right on the highway unlike Saravana Bhavan which is inside the city. This place, Aryaas also has good parking - ask the security guy.

Things to watch out:

• The Ambur Vaniyambadi towns are on the highway and there is significant bus traffic. So slow down in the city
• Arcot bridge people come in the opposite direction
• Expect traffic snarls in Hosur and Koramangala onwards.
• After Atibele take the elevated expressway to reach Madivala. Thats the fastest way to gain entry into Bangalore - takes less than 40 mins from there. Dont overspeed on the elevated expresssway (80 kmph is speed limit) as there are cops and speed guns all over.