In last week of May we decided to make a trip to Coimbatore. Our friends there have been calling us to their city for a long time now. On a Thursday early morning we left Chennai in car. We had breakfast at Madhurandhagam. From there we went all the way to Coimbatore with just a tea break at a Salem toll. All the way from the place of entry to Coimbatore to hotel we saw many educational institutions, mainly the PSG institutions, their Arts college, engineering and medical colleges. Just shows the importance Coimbatore gives to education.
On reaching Coimbatore we were blown when our fab hotels booking was turned down at the hotel. Fab hotels online partner seem to mess up bookings. Our friend came to rescue by suggesting MK Lodge. Tucked in the busy Gandhipuram area of Coimbatore, it was a humble accommodation. Just one room available in the 3rd floor with no lift option we were set up for a good exercise for the next few days of our stay. Air conditioned room with good connectivity ticked off your minimum required. But for that was a simple room. Car had to be parked in the street right outside the building, no separate parking lot provided. The service was good, house keeping was up to the mark and they even got us food whenever we requested for. Though not luxurious we felt comfortable with the stay here.
Gandhipuram is busiest area of Coimbatore. One can draw parallel to Chennai's T.Nagar. Many of the popular clothing shops like - ShriDevi textiles, Chennai Silks, PSR, Pothys are here along with Jewelry showrooms - Prince, kalyan, Pavizham. The area which looks deserted till 10 in the morning, faces heavy traffic till 10 at night in spite of the fly overs. Its like hell to drive your car in this area. We found it very difficult to drive from Gandhipuram to our friends' places in Kalapatti, Avinashi, Saravanampatti. Google maps just doesn't support you, making you navigate through roads not meant to drive through in car.
On Thursday after checking in to the hotel we got the hotel service to deliver us lunch from Subbu mess - mutton biryani and Annapoorna - veg lunch. Both were good, we tasted Coimbatore food years during transit to be excellent and it remains the same. After much needed nap post lunch we took a stroll around the MK Lodge. Gandhipuram main road along with housing the major showrooms also entertains platform shops which were equally busy. We were surprised to see food items like Poli (sweet & savory) sold on the road. Some how we did not like the tea which was served here, be it at a restaurant or a small road side tea stall. There are numerous snacks selling shops. We had dinner at Subbu's mess near the Gandhipuram fly over junction. It was a good eatery, since it was beyond 9pm we had less options to choose from. Food and its price was nominal. We walked back to our stay; this was the main pro of staying at this place, one could get food at walkable distance.
On Friday we walked in the morning to Hotel Annapoorna for a delicious breakfast. Their dosa is a not to be missed roast. We also had rice sevai - lemon flavored. The outlet is well maintained with clean infrastructure, paper towels provided to clean hands. Price is on the higher side like Chennai but no complaint on the taste and quality.
Marudhamalai
From here we walked back to our hotel, then drove all the way to Marudhamalai. Google maps pulling your leg here again, had to reach the hillock abode with the help of locals. Being a Friday the temple was quiet crowded. We had a good darshan of Lord Murugar in Sandal Kaapu and shining stone jewelry. We took Rs.20 special ticket to jump the queue and get a faster darshan. The view from this hillock was mesmerizing. We saw peacock here, Murugar's vahanam. The temple sits on the small hill amidst lush greenery of the hill. Bharathiyar university campus is just in the foot of this hill. Tamilnadu Agricultural university is on the way. With the sun behind the cloud, our visit to the temple gave a serene look. As we came down the hill we took the turn near Vadavalli to go to Koval Kuttralam.
Koval Kuttralam
This is a water falls along the Siruvani hills. It took us around 2 hours to reach Kovai Kuttralam. It was a scenic drive way. Here again we saw Karunya institution campus. On reaching the Koval Kuttralam site we have to park our vehicle and get the entrance ticket. Then the forest department's bus takes us inside the forest area for 1.5 kms. After the bus drops us we have walk for another 1.5 kms to reach the spot. Take few steps down to look at the waterfalls. Its a scenic one but being the summer holidays time it was heavily crowded. There is not much space to get oneself to enjoy the waters. Thick forest gives the waterfall a nice cover. Its all greenery with monkeys jumping tree to tree. The walk to the waterfall is quiet difficult. The path is uneven and rocky. After few minutes we left the place. Walked back to the bus pickup point. People thronged to buses cutting the queue. So after letting go two buses we got the third bus. Each bus took long time to reach the spot. Eatables are sold at the entrance. We are allowed to carry any plastic items into the forest. We drove all the way back to Coimbatore and had food at 4 PM in Hotel Annapoorna.
Gandhipuram to Kalapatti
By evening we set out to Kalapatti to our friend's house. Owing to the evening traffic and mess up by Google map we reached there in 1.5 hours. On the return we could get back to our stay in 15 mins. This gave us an insight into the amount of traffic possible in Coimbatore. It was no less then Chennai in this part in spite of the fly overs running over this city.
Comments