A jaunt down south - tree lined boulevards and freeways

No posts for a week as I was in Bangalore for a business trip followed by a trip to Madurai and Kovilpatti to visit our folks. Bangalore was a welcome relief temperature-wise, as Hyderabad had started warming up again after a break in the monsoon early September. The tree lined streets with orderly - if heavy - traffic is a huge contrast from the chaotic roads of Hyderabad.

There are a lot more vehicles on narrower roads, but the roads actually have walkways for pedestrians leaving the entire breadth of the road to be available for motor vehicles. In the ubiquitous traffic lights, auto-drivers switch off the engine and wait patiently as opposed to feverishly jockeying for position to scream out of the gates. And the best part, they stop on red. Oh well, some day in Hyderabad..

From Bangalore to Madurai by air and then the customary 95 km drive to Kovilpatti to see my folks in my in-laws' Hyundai Santro. The big difference this time was that I drove on an (almost) uninterrupted 4-lane freeway that took an hour and 25 minutes instead of the usual 2 hours. They are finally finishing the 4-laning of roads connecting major cities in Tamilnadu. The last 2 years were painful as the roads were in even worse shape during the construction phase - but the end is in sight.
You barely notice Tirumangalam and Virudhunagar as you zoom past them on the bypass. Even if you go through the edge of a city, the neighbourhoods adjoining the now widened roads are virtually unrecognizable including the approach to my own home town. I completely overshot Kovilpatti and had to make a U-turn to get back. Hopefully they will install exit signs soon.

Otherwise, the drive was rather enjoyable and would have been more so only if the Santro had shown a bit more enthusiasm beyond 100kph. I need to work my way up the auto food chain and try this road with my FIL's Ford Fiesta next time.

- R. Balaji