BHPian sachinpk recently shared this with other enthusiasts: Just got back from a Bangalore-Poovar-Kanyakumari trip, and thought of jotting down a trip summary. As I had mentioned in my earlier post, I could only start my journey towards Poovar (in Thiruvananthapuram Rural District, Kerala) in the afternoon, due to other social commitments. My initial plan was to start by 2:00PM, but that got pushed to 3:30PM thanks to the heavy traffic jam at Chandapura area (Saturday market). I had scouted for more options to take night rest somewhere between Salem and Madurai. Finally I zeroed in on Hotel Sanu International which was on a main road connecting Namakkal town proper and the four lane highway. Not a fancy hotel by any means, but it had all the basic stuff needed for a quick rest for the night. There were two more options available at Rasipuram, but both were fully booked *. Pulled into this hotel by around 7:30PM. The next day I got the second rude surprise; a flat tyre. Luckily I had the spare tyre and the battery operated tyre inflator to pump it up as well. Some where between Namakkal and Karur found a truck workshop who also fixed punctures. The puncture fixer was surprised to note that the punctured tyre already had a history of 4 more punctures before this one. I then gave a “study class” to him on the quality of Bangalore roads etc. On the way had lunch at Hotel Temple City, which seems to be a newly opened one. I had taken the new Hosur-Rayakottai-Palacode-Thoppur highway during both legs of the journey. So between the starting point of the new highway at Rayakottai town suburbs all the way till Kanyakumari it was all good highways. In Madurai-Tirunalveli-Kanyakumari stretch there are new road over bridges coming up so we had to use the service lanes there. Rs. 1060 (one way) was my donations to NHAI in the form of tolls. * I have the habit of booking hotels in advance, even if it is for a very short stay. Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.
