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Chennai is a unique place in summer. I agree that there are hotter places elsewhere in India, but Chennai deserves a special mention.
Even the evening air is hot. Not to mention humid. It's assumed already.
Hence, Yercaud; a hill station about 360 kms from Chennai where a person can expect cool evenings and peaceful nights.
The route was decided after consulting Chennai XBHPians and it turned out to be ~740 kms round trip.
I almost had 2 more xbhpians with me - gmagesh14 and Da1AndOnlyHermit; when their busy schedules didn't allow them to continue.
Hence, a solo ride. (again.
)
The plan was to start early morning on Saturday and return by Sunday evening. But, on Friday night my colleague from office called me to inform that
Ulundurpet-Attur stretch is under maintenance phase and is currently not in a good condition.
So, I modify my itinerary in a jiffy. (Plz ignore the watermark..)
This route increased the overall distance by ~40 kms.
Anyways, I packed my stuff after re-checking everything possible again and again. Not to mention, this was my first trip where I'd to stay overnight elsewhere.
My bag became unusually heavy due to extra clothes, towel, 5 litres of water, glucose box, googles, camera, bike papers and what not!
I tried sleeping early at around 10 P.M, but I simply couldn't. Somehow, I slept at 1 A.M and got up at 3 A.M. I completed all early morning chores and was ready by 3:45 A.M. Rechecked everything again and...... SLEPT!!!!
Sometime later, I woke up and thought I'd slept for a long time. But I'd lost no time. It was 4:25 A.M. Washed my face an thanked god for not letting me sleep after so much preparation.
I was off by 4:30 A.M and was enjoying the not-so-hot air in Chennai. It was in no means cold air, I swear!
Taking the Poonamalee road, I hit Sriperumbudur in no time. Somewhere between Sriperumbudur and Kanchipuram, I saw that the traffic ahead was moving very slowly. I creeped in through 4 wheelers to see the horrific sight; 3 trucks and a car - all mashed!!! It was a big accident.
I thought that this was an indication from above to ride safe. I continued.
I was kind of testing my endurance levels; i.e, how many kms can I ride before the first butt break? Previous best was 100 kms, this time, it was 145!
My first break after crossing Vellore.
I found a roadside dhaba to answer my growling stomach. Then continued.
Next butt break at Krishnagiri. At this place, I began recalling my college days in Bangalore and thought of going there itself. But, later senses prevailed over imagination and I turned towards Dharmapuri.
I simply stopped for 2 mins at Dharmapuri for drinking water and stopped for my last butt break only at the ghat section before Salem.
The roads are very well laid and this would be my first time in the ghats. The roads towards Salem are on a downward incline, hence one must be careful.
I happily hopped upon my bike and started taking corners at ~60 kmph. Man, the first corner was scary. It was a wide corner and the apex was well within sight, but the downhill was like. I almost fell of my bike!
Then I realized I'm no Rossi and continued slowly. I reached Salem and asked the route towards Yercaud and in another 40 mins, I was searching for a hotel/motel/lounge/dorm atop the hill.
Chennai to Yercaud done in 6 hours flat and no fuel stops in between. (Refilled 12 litres the previous night)
Picture time.
Now, I needed a place to stay overnight. I heard Yercaud is called 'Poor man's Ooty'. No sir, not anymore!
Charges were exorbitant to the tune of Rs 4500 per night per person.
I somehow managed to find a lodge for 600 rupees per person per night, dinner included! Wow....
Details:-
Jayamurugan Holiday Inn,
139/1, Nagaloor Main Road, Yercaud - 636602 (Salem district)
Ph - 04281-222133, 9688818620
Paid the rent in advance and went to have a bath. Man, I loved it.
Cold water bath! Reminded me of my village when the ground water from the tube-well used to be cold in all seasons....
Thereafter, I paid a visit to the deer park and fish aquariums!
Angry birds, lol!
Aha, something interesting here... A girl!!!
This is what she was taking pics of!
This fish reminds me of a certain Mr. Bean movie...
Are these sharks??? All aquariums were unnamed...
Then, I thought of paying a visit to the waterfalls.
Errr, poser...
I was not alone...
Descend starts here (the falls are accessible after you climb down for about 2 kms)
What, where is the water in the falls????
It'd dried up!
This is what was remaining....
Return journey - uphill... Needless to say, I was pissed and so were others.
Badly constructed stairs didn't help either... Reached atop somehow.... Was panting like a dog...
I needed something to eat. Gorged on 3 dosas and 2 litres of water.
Came back to the lodge and slept, dejected.
Got up at 5 P.M for sight seeing, and sights I saw!
Ummm....
The famous Yercaud lake...
People boating in the lake.
By the time I returned, it was night already...
It was then I realized that I was too tired and I needed to sleep.
Got 3 egg rolls parceled and returned back to the lodge.
As soon as I reached the lodge, I changed into my night wear and finished all egg rolls. Gosh, I was hungry...
Slept like a baby thereafter.... Got up on time... Damn IT industry. 5 A.M without an alarm. Anyways, got fresh and took bath.
Checked out from the lodge at about 6 A.M.
[I had to reach Chennai by 3 P.M at any cost, else I'd have preferred checking out at 10 A.M to avoid the Chennai heat. Damn office commitments]
Some more pics. (Return leg of the journey)
Here's a video I took of the downhill twisties...
Camera mount - My neck.
Do check it out...
Yercaud_twistiesHD.MTS - YouTube
In case bandwidth is a problem, here's a compressed format of the same video.
Yercaud_twisties(compressed).mp4
Then, the same route back home. Refilled the tank near Vellore.
Total travel - 853.0 kms, exact! Mileage - ~47 kmpl.
Reached home by 1 P.M when the sun was at its scorching best...
Reached office at 3 to submit my file for Monday presentation and came back home by 5...
Then what???? Good night!
Cheers....
Even the evening air is hot. Not to mention humid. It's assumed already.
Hence, Yercaud; a hill station about 360 kms from Chennai where a person can expect cool evenings and peaceful nights.
The route was decided after consulting Chennai XBHPians and it turned out to be ~740 kms round trip.
I almost had 2 more xbhpians with me - gmagesh14 and Da1AndOnlyHermit; when their busy schedules didn't allow them to continue.
Hence, a solo ride. (again.
)The plan was to start early morning on Saturday and return by Sunday evening. But, on Friday night my colleague from office called me to inform that
Ulundurpet-Attur stretch is under maintenance phase and is currently not in a good condition.
So, I modify my itinerary in a jiffy. (Plz ignore the watermark..
)This route increased the overall distance by ~40 kms.
Anyways, I packed my stuff after re-checking everything possible again and again. Not to mention, this was my first trip where I'd to stay overnight elsewhere.
My bag became unusually heavy due to extra clothes, towel, 5 litres of water, glucose box, googles, camera, bike papers and what not!
I tried sleeping early at around 10 P.M, but I simply couldn't. Somehow, I slept at 1 A.M and got up at 3 A.M. I completed all early morning chores and was ready by 3:45 A.M. Rechecked everything again and...... SLEPT!!!!
Sometime later, I woke up and thought I'd slept for a long time. But I'd lost no time. It was 4:25 A.M. Washed my face an thanked god for not letting me sleep after so much preparation.
I was off by 4:30 A.M and was enjoying the not-so-hot air in Chennai. It was in no means cold air, I swear!
Taking the Poonamalee road, I hit Sriperumbudur in no time. Somewhere between Sriperumbudur and Kanchipuram, I saw that the traffic ahead was moving very slowly. I creeped in through 4 wheelers to see the horrific sight; 3 trucks and a car - all mashed!!! It was a big accident.
I thought that this was an indication from above to ride safe. I continued.
I was kind of testing my endurance levels; i.e, how many kms can I ride before the first butt break? Previous best was 100 kms, this time, it was 145!
My first break after crossing Vellore.
I found a roadside dhaba to answer my growling stomach. Then continued.
Next butt break at Krishnagiri. At this place, I began recalling my college days in Bangalore and thought of going there itself. But, later senses prevailed over imagination and I turned towards Dharmapuri.
I simply stopped for 2 mins at Dharmapuri for drinking water and stopped for my last butt break only at the ghat section before Salem.
The roads are very well laid and this would be my first time in the ghats. The roads towards Salem are on a downward incline, hence one must be careful.
I happily hopped upon my bike and started taking corners at ~60 kmph. Man, the first corner was scary. It was a wide corner and the apex was well within sight, but the downhill was like
. I almost fell of my bike!Then I realized I'm no Rossi and continued slowly. I reached Salem and asked the route towards Yercaud and in another 40 mins, I was searching for a hotel/motel/lounge/dorm atop the hill.
Chennai to Yercaud done in 6 hours flat and no fuel stops in between. (Refilled 12 litres the previous night)
Picture time.
Now, I needed a place to stay overnight. I heard Yercaud is called 'Poor man's Ooty'. No sir, not anymore!
Charges were exorbitant to the tune of Rs 4500 per night per person.
I somehow managed to find a lodge for 600 rupees per person per night, dinner included! Wow....
Details:-
Jayamurugan Holiday Inn,
139/1, Nagaloor Main Road, Yercaud - 636602 (Salem district)
Ph - 04281-222133, 9688818620
Paid the rent in advance and went to have a bath. Man, I loved it.
Cold water bath! Reminded me of my village when the ground water from the tube-well used to be cold in all seasons....
Thereafter, I paid a visit to the deer park and fish aquariums!
Angry birds, lol!
Aha, something interesting here... A girl!!!
This is what she was taking pics of!
This fish reminds me of a certain Mr. Bean movie...
Are these sharks??? All aquariums were unnamed...
Then, I thought of paying a visit to the waterfalls.
Errr, poser...
I was not alone...
Descend starts here (the falls are accessible after you climb down for about 2 kms)
What, where is the water in the falls????
It'd dried up!
This is what was remaining....
Return journey - uphill... Needless to say, I was pissed and so were others.
Badly constructed stairs didn't help either... Reached atop somehow.... Was panting like a dog...
I needed something to eat. Gorged on 3 dosas and 2 litres of water.
Came back to the lodge and slept, dejected.
Got up at 5 P.M for sight seeing, and sights I saw!
Ummm....
The famous Yercaud lake...
People boating in the lake.
By the time I returned, it was night already...
It was then I realized that I was too tired and I needed to sleep.
Got 3 egg rolls parceled and returned back to the lodge.
As soon as I reached the lodge, I changed into my night wear and finished all egg rolls. Gosh, I was hungry...
Slept like a baby thereafter.... Got up on time... Damn IT industry. 5 A.M without an alarm. Anyways, got fresh and took bath.
Checked out from the lodge at about 6 A.M.
[I had to reach Chennai by 3 P.M at any cost, else I'd have preferred checking out at 10 A.M to avoid the Chennai heat. Damn office commitments]
Some more pics. (Return leg of the journey)
Here's a video I took of the downhill twisties...
Camera mount - My neck.
Do check it out...
Yercaud_twistiesHD.MTS - YouTube
In case bandwidth is a problem, here's a compressed format of the same video.
Yercaud_twisties(compressed).mp4
Then, the same route back home. Refilled the tank near Vellore.
Total travel - 853.0 kms, exact! Mileage - ~47 kmpl.
Reached home by 1 P.M when the sun was at its scorching best...
Reached office at 3 to submit my file for Monday presentation and came back home by 5...
Then what???? Good night!
Cheers....
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