Our wanderings and perceptions

Chennai to Hyderabad Having heard about Hyderabad from the IT folks and social media riots on Hyderabad food, wanted to witness this city in person for a long time. At last this November we decided to take the trip. With some help from the online flight booking which came to 13K INR for 2 persons, to and fro we took the encouragement to go ahead.  The spice jet flight started at 7 am from Chennai Airport and flew us to Hyderabad by 8:30 am. It was an on time and smooth flight journey. On landing at the Rajiv Gandhi Airport at Hyderabad we were in awe. Just could not be compared to the Chennai Airport we started from, this was much posh; no wonder its the third best Airport in the country. From the Airport we can avail taxis through booking counters or book through apps too. We got Ola cab booked and an OTP number was assigned. As per the directions given we reached the Ola cabs parking area and took the first cab in line giving the OTP. Our accommodation was  at Tree...

This time we planned for a long trip taking advantage of the long weekend combining the puja holiday and Gandhi Jayanthi falling on consecutive days. Instead of making it in one shot we decided to break at Madurai and follow it up on the next day.  Chennai to Madurai We decided to take the Porur toll road this time as out fast tag is enhanced to Fasttag 3000. Starting from here around 5 am, we crossed Chengalpattu and reached Manoj bhavan@ Mamandur for breakfast around 7:30 am. Our next break for tea was at 11:00 am and by 12:30 pm we reached Madurai. Our stay was at Kalyan residence. For Rs.1600 we had a decent room with complimentary breakfast. After a quick check-in we went to the near by Hotel Saravana for lunch. A simple meal, in the food famous Madurai. After that we relaxed for the rest of the day at the hotel.  Meenakshi Amman Temple The next day we decided to start early to avoid crowd at the temple. Starting at around 5am, we reached the temple's multi level parking ...

 Tiruvananthapuram A little late in the afternoon we reached  Tiruvananthapuram. A quite city, this seems to be both traditional and modern. The road journey from Kanyakumari to reach here was challenging and a new experience. The service roads from the National Highway here are not flat, one needs climb up and down steep roads.  Treebo West Fort Divine We booked our accommodation at  Tiruvananthapuram before Chennai at Treebo. With amble parking space and wonderful ambience this was such an instant hit with us that we immediately decided to extend our stay here for one more day. With spik and span room we had a fantastic 2 days stay at this place. This is near the west gopuram of the temple hence the name.  Padmanabaswamy temple The temple opens at 3:30 am in the morning with Vishvaroopa darshan and closed by 8 pm at night. So woke up at 2:30 am and walked bare foot to the temple's west entrance. Men had a separate queue while women went their entrance faster d...

On the next morning at Kanyakumari we witnessed the glorious sun rise at the view point early morning. It was with a large set of audience we saw the sun coming up while the coast guards brought their flag up. Walking past the crowd after this event was a daunting task. After reaching the hotel we got ready and came out for breakfast. At a mess nearby we had appam, 1 set contains 3 appams and priced at Rs.45. The sambar here is not be called so, chutney seems to be much better.  Tirparappu Falls This was our first place of visit today. With the help of google map we took an almost empty state highway to reach the spot in an hour.  The plots near falls are turned to parking spaces by the property owners who charge Rs.50 per vehicle. Steep and curly roads provide less respite to the drive. The path to the falls is adorned by shops selling playing items to eatables. At the entrance they charge Rs.20 per head and Rs.150 for camera. The falls is at its peak as its the monsoon seaso...

 On the third day morning of our trip we were much energetic and ready to take on the day after a largely rested night. By 8:30 an we came down to the reception and was soon followed by Raju garu. He first took us to the restaurant near Vijayawada SP office for breakfast. This again was similar to the yesterday's, self-service, get your dish and eat it as you stand. As the crowd was less we for a table to place the plate. Had two maida poori, ghee dosa and coffee here for less than Rs.200.  Our first place today was the Kanaga Durga temple. Its in the middle of the city on top of a small hill. The entrance charges Rs.50 for the car. Mobile phones are not allowed inside the temple. The queues to the darshan was very huge. With the help of Raju garu we connected to one of the person inside the temple. He took us through the Rs.500 ticket queue, near to the Goddess Kanaga Durga for a much blessed darshan. In turmeric kaapu the was glowing. The temple inside was very well decorate...