A Road To Cliffs, Green Terrain, Blue Skies & Water
Road trips have always been and still a classic Indian pastime and I certainly do not see these amazing driving adventures go out of style anytime soon. I guess that's because there's no other way to experience the rugged cliffs, breath taking mountain views and waterfront villages that dot India's varied landscape than from behind the wheel of an automobile.
When I go for a road trip, I would always prefer my all-time-favorite Toyota Prius. For this road trip, I'm gonna take the newly launched Toyota Prius V for it's outstanding features on road. Here's some snaps of my road trip beast.
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| Mid Right View - Toyota Prius V |
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| Right View - Toyota Prius V |
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| Left View - Toyota Prius V |
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| Mid Left View - Toyota Prius V |
Who will accompany me? Who else it's gonna be, other than my all-time best buddies Saravaneswaran, Navin Kumar, Sudharsan, Vijay Kannan and Raghu Ram Reddy.
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| First Row (From Left) - Saravaneswaran, Navin & Sudharsan, Second Row(From Left) - Raghu, Vijay and Me (Deepan) |
Without any one of these fellas, my road trip cannot be perfect. Every one of my best buddies are unique by their characteristics. Saravaneswaran is funny (old habits die hard kind of a person, a teetotaler and a photo freak), Navin (The smart chap in our gang who is highly conscious about his looks, a teetotaler), Sudharsan (Road side Romeo), Vijay Kannan (I just cannot describe this guy - The most unpredictable I've ever met in my life) & Raghu (The dare-to-go, spicy & angry young man from Andhra Pradesh).
Plan : Palani - Savarikkadu - Kodaikanal - Munnar - Amaravathy Dam - Pollachi - Monkey Falls - Udumalpet - Palani
Not to forget these super cool Road-Trip Stuffs:
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| My friend Saravaneswaran will definitely kill me - If I don't carry my SLR |
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| Swiss Military Multi Purpose Kit - A must-have in my road trip kit |
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| My friends hate staying at hotels and resorts - The camping kit should be all set before we start our road trip |
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| Though we are very familiar with the roads, it's always good to have this baby (Garmin GPS) - Because you never know my friend Vijay would like to take us into an unexplored forest |
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| Well I guess I don't have to tell you why we need this? :-P :-P I am a teetotaler by the way :-O |
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Cricket (The most favorite game for all of us) - Playing cricket in the small lawns on mountains has always been a pleasure and gives us a lot of adrenaline rush
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Well. I guess you all would expect me to come to food. What's so fun in packing up food and going for a road trip? My friends and me would like to eat each & everything we see on the roadsides. The route we've picked up is known for some delicious food recipes. Check out the album below to find out more.
We've been to all these places 'n' number of times, but they still remain our favorite. Every time we go to these places, we find something new and interesting. Even if it is my dream road trip, I would still prefer these places and explore the never-before-unexplored areas. I've travelled across the country but there's nothing like driving the Western Ghats, and a trip along the Kodaikanal - Munnar - Pollachi Highway is a road trip everyone should embark at least once in their lifetime. The highway spans nearly 350 Kilometres of the Western Ghats, but I've narrowed in on the 150 kilometres stretch that winds along the Western Ghats from Palani - Kodaikanal - Munnar for its rich mix of landscapes.
Though we've seen almost all the places mentioned in our plan, we've never been to all these places at once. My dream road trip would be, to cover all these places at a stretch and to have a lifetime memorable experience with my friends. Here are few snaps taken in bits and pieces during our short road trips along with creative common images. Please excuse the clarity. Some of these photos were taken before I bought my smartphone :-)
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| My Beautiful Hometown (Palani) - Known for Lord Muruga Temple - Just Sizzles After 7 PM - You can see the western ghats behind the beautiful temple (mountain) |
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| The Breath Taking View of Palani - Kodaikanal Road |
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Savarikkadu - Our All Time Favorite Hangout Zone
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When we cross Savarikkadu, we never forget to taste Ladle (Karandi) Omelette in the road side shops. We used to eat a minimum 4-5 Ladle Omelettes each, every time we go there.
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Ladle (Karandi) Omlette - Savarikkadu Special - A Not-Miss-Forever Snack
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| The Un-named beautiful falls - A must watch while crossing Melpallam (Palani - Kodaikanal) |
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| Another Breath Taking Aerial View (Palani - Kodaikanal) |
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| We will face a minimum of 60-70 Hair Pin Bends on our way from Palani - Kodaikanal - Munnar . These bends always give us a kick. Few puke too :-P ( Orange Candies - Not to be missed) |
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| A Misty Evening - Melpallam (Palani - Kodaikanal) |
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| The fruit shop when we cross melpallam cannot be missed - There are some delicious fruits which we can find only on our way to Kodaikanal |
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| Berijam Lake (Restricted Zone) - A must explore place (With permission from Forest Officials) |
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| There are something in this world I would die for - Mango with sat and chilly powder is one among those - A not to miss snack close to Kodaikanal Lake - You will see plenty of mango cut designs over there |
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| A must visit place (Kodaikanal - Munnar Road) - Must be very careful towards the edge - Security Prone Area |
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| Tea Estates on our way close to Munnar - An eye pleasing experience |
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| Driving through Tea Estates and Lake (Munnar) - A must-have experience for anyone in their lifetime |
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| Amaravathy Dam - On our way down from Munnar - Pollachi |
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Crocodile Park (Amaravathy Dam ) - These crocodiles desperately need some food
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Monkey Falls - A must visit - On our way (Pollachi - Udumalpet)
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| Gigantic Wind-Mills on our way from Udumalpet - Palani is always a pleasure to watch |
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Varadamanadi Dam (10Kms Away from my Hometown Palani) - If we still feel hungry for a visit reaching our hometown after such a long road trip
Now, is there anyone who would like to join with me and my friends in this road trip?
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56 comments :
Wow. That is just an amazing road trip. You just visualized your entire road trip in my mind. Good Luck for this to happen soon.
Lovely pictures and neatly written.
Thanks a lot Krishna Kumar & Karizma.
Excellent photographs. All the best for your trip
Thanks for sharing your plan. I can go ahead with my road trip now. Hehe. Just Kidding. Nice blog and photos.
Thank you Raj & Deeraj.
@RajSanthosh1988 - You can use my plan if you really like it :-)
Beautiful piece of writing. I don't mind joining your road trip. Who will miss a chance to drive with Deepan?
Amazing blog and pictures. I was able to see kodaikanal and munnar in front of my eyes. I've always wanted to visit berijam lake but never happened.
One of the best blogs you have written so far. Superb photos and aptly compiled!!!
I never knew that you can write such a beautiful article. Lift your hand above your shoulder, pat it slowly on behalf of me. Good job.
Never took my eyes off while reading this blog. Nice pictures and write up. Appreciate it :-)
Just fell in love with your Road Trip. The Mango picture deserves a special mention. Yumm it is.
This is gonna be fun-tastic trip Deepan. I wish for this to happen soon
@Sush31 - Yes you can :-)
@Vidya - Next time, don't forget to visit Berijam Lake. You will love it.
@Vinay - Thanks a lot :-)
@Thameem - Yes I did..
@Chandru - Thanks a lot for your compliments :-0
@Kritika - Same pinch :-P
@Mohini - Thanks a lot :-)
The ladle omlette pic was yummy. Would love to have one in this climate.
Deepan - Nice blog and photos
Creative and marvelous piece of blog!
Cool location, pictures and writing. Congrats for the contest.
Wow that is really a wonderful road trip
Toyota Prius is one of my most favorite automobiles. It is indeed amazing looking at the match in our tastes. Mango with chilly powder, Prius, Crocodiles and a lot more. Interesting isnt it?
@Sirisha - You bet that is. Will get you one, if you join my road trip :-)
@Debashish - I'm not sure if I'm a good blogger but I'm a decent photographer :-P Thanks a lot. You are one of the very few to have appreciated by photographic talent. I'm working on it.
@Shrenika, @Devi - Thanks a lot.
@Karthik - Thanks dude. Would you like to join us?
@Rashmi - Is it? I'm quite surprised.
Was wondering if Munnar is that close to kodaikanal? Forgive my ignorance as I am very bad with geo
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog. In fact, it made my mind fill with loads of fresh air and mist. Beautiful..
Super cool photos. Touch wood, i felt kodaikanal close to me while reading this blog :-)
Wonderful places with spell bounding pictures. Must be an amazing trip.
Neatly written blog
Lovely post and completely indulged into the mist while reading....
Enjoyed reading every bit of it. Have always wanted to visit these places but no getting time. The mist, flowers, water, mountains are one of my most favorite things ever.
Beautiful post and photos. Luved reading it :-) All the best for the contest
Canon SLR, Prius, Garmin, Ambipur are some of my favorite brands too. Is this a coincidence?
It was such a lovely post Deepan. I totally enjoyed reading it. All the best for the contest.
Thanks a lot for your kind words :-)
Is it? That was quite surprising :-)
Thanks a lot :-)
You should :-)
Thanks a lot Ashish :-)
Thanks a lot Shilpa :-)
Thanks a lot for your kinds. Definitely it's gonna be amazing :-)
Thanks a lot for your kind words :-)
Thanks a lot Javed :-)
Yes it is. Around 100Kms I guess. You will love your journey from Kodaikanal to Munnar :-)
Wow. That was really interesting :-)
Thanks a lot Karthik :-)
Thanks a lot Devi :-) I hope..
Thanks a lot for your kind words Shrenika :-)
Thanks a lot dude :-)
You must try it once in your lifetime :-)
Thanks a lot Mohini :-)
Oooh.. Thanks a lot Kritika :-)
Thanks a lot Chandru :-D
Ha ha. Thanks dude :-)
Thanks a lot Vinay Garu :-)
Thanks a lot for your kind words Vidya :-)
Very nicely put together! The photos are amazing! Makes me want to zoom off to Munnar! Best of luck for the contest! :)
Thanks a lot for your kind words Mam. It's always a pleasure to hear from inspirations like you :-)
very nice pics by the way what is the elevaton of savarikadu
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