Southern Spice

This is from where we depart.

Reached Sheshadri home stay at 7. 9.30 at Padmavathi temple. Having breakfast at 10.56.
Leaving for Tirumala now at 11.10.

Petrol 111 Rs litre here at Tirupati. Damn. 5 RS more costly than Maharashtra. Petrol at  Korramenungunta.  Rs 4700.

At alipiri the check was done.

In the queue for Darshan at 1 pm. 2 pm was out . It was the delay for Laddu Prasadam which caused concern and miscommunication by us that Aditya was unable to find us. In the process we lost precious time and some consternation took place so the tense situation lingered till Reached home stay.

Leaving for Chennai now. Snacks Time Mathura. Reached Chennai at 11.50 pm. On the way Aditya was tired because of lack of sleep. Eyes had become heavy and were getting shut due to the glare of the vehicles from the opposite direction. Thrice he stopped to wash his face and wet his eyes to avoid the sleep and it was a kind of marathon to reach the hotel Mount City, near the US consulate, Chennai.

It was very difficult to get out of bed. 8.30 was the time when I put my feet on the floor. Bell boy requested to remove the car. Did it and then had tea. Left at about 10.30 for Thanjavur, a historical place , about 300 kilometres far Marina beach was just a couple of kilometres away from the hotel hence decided to head for it. On the way to Chepauk. Kanishk wanted to see it as he is a die hard fan of CSK...! Snapped him at the gate of the stadium. Then began the journey to MaMalappuram. A monument built in stone.  Just on the sea shore. Shore Temple.
Left for Thanjavur at 3.30 pm. This is 7.30 pm when I am writing this and Thanjavur is 144 kms away. Mal shows a time of 3 hours. Road is great but the traffic is as thick as the tar on the road.

Dinner here at 8 pm. Hotel Aariyaas.

Reached Thanjavur at 11 58. It was a re-run of yesterday. The hotel Abis Inn. Parking was full and had to park just adjacent to gate.Room number 206 on the first floor was a flat of 2 bed room, Kitchen and hall. Went to bed at 1 am.

Got up at 6.45 and then after ablutions went for breakfasts just below the flat. Bonda, Pongal, Idli, Sandwich, Sheera and coffee. Rs 788. Kanishk wants to empty his stomach. 

Left for the Big temple. A huge monument with a sprawling area called Brihadehwar temple. It took two hours of tour inside. Tiring one.

Towards Madurai. Reached at 3 pm. Directly in the queue for Meenaxi temple. We three waited outside and the ladies went in.

Ladies exited at 7.30 pm. It was the most boring evening today in the temple. Useless management and third class people.

Reached hotel M3 Boutique. Not so great. Went to bed straightway after having a light lunch at the restaurant below.

Towards Dhanushkodi. Last point of India. One can see the shores of Sri Lanka from that point. Kanishk not so well with a bout of loose motions. After Dhanushkodi came to Rameswaram. Checked in the hotel Duwarika. A modern day Choultris. Kanishk having loose motions. Contacted Dr Kubde and asked her advice. She preferred tablets which were bought and given to Kanishk.

Got up and headed for Kanyakumarri.Reached at about 4 pm. Checked in the hotel Sri Devi. Later went to Bhagavati Amman temple, Sunset point, Vivekanand memorial. Came back to the hotel at 8 pm.

Towards Vivekanand Rock Memorial. Now at 9.34 am. In the sea. Returned back to the shores when Aditya got a call from the hotel to check out. We hurried back to the hotel and after putting luggage back in the car left towards Trivendrum after taking lunch around 2pm. Reached Shirish's home at 5.30 pm.

Towards Guruvayoor. Aditya has to be ready.
Guruvayoor is 305 km. Reached at 7.30 pm. Checked in at Prayag. Good Hotel.

Left Guruvayoor at 6.45. Reached Trivendrum at 4 pm.