Mister Madras

As far as the hotel scene in Tamil Nadu, apart from Chennai, is concerned, Sangam is a known and trusted brand for years. As someone who is accustomed to this brand since childhood, I have personally had a lot of my friends and family members stay in different hotels of Sangam over the years. The hotel is very well known among foreign tourist who looks for luxury accommodation in towns that are tourist hotspots such as Thanjavur, Trichy and Madurai.  I, on the other hand, got to stay in this hotel quite recently when a friend’s engagement was planned in a nearby village. The groom’s side didn’t want to know more about the groom’s friends and they decided that a room far away from the engagement hall is the best way to save any trouble because of us. So, long story short, after attending the function, we travelled all the way back to Thanjavur city where we put ourselves behind the closed doo...

Yelagiri is one of my go-to places for a quick weekend getaway and while I have travelled umpteen times over the last few years to this small hilltop, this trip was one among the first ones there. I tried this hotel called Zeenath Taj Gardens which is just a few minutes away from the town’s Nature Park.      Zeenath Taj Gardens is one of those hotels that look more beautiful on the outside than inside. With a long private path that takes you to this stay that also doubles as a parking lot, this place is located amidst total greenery that transcends into the compound aesthetically. The buildings inside this place are well-spaced and everything in between them is filled with greenery. There is even a forest right behind the hotel that can be accessed through a small gate.    Inside though, it’s a different story. The bed is large and comfortable but the rest of the room has taken a beating over th...

Now this one’s going to be quite a long post. The reason? Well, this was my last ride in my Classic 500, also my first solo ride across states, my first REunion and also the ride that cleared my dilemma and made me buy an Interceptor. A couple of months after this ride, I sold my 500 and got the Incy and a year after this ride, here I am, stuck in quarantine thanks to COVID-19 and penning down my final post as a rider of the beautiful Squadron Blue Classic 500.  Itinerary As you can see in the map, it’s evident that I didn’t plan on getting to Coorg directly. With ample time in hand, I decided to touch Kerala with a stop in Bangalore for a night before I head to Coorg to attend the REunion of 2019. I started on 13th of March 2019, reached Bangalore in about four hours, met a couple of my friends and crashed there for the night. The next day, the 14th, I started at around 6:30 am and reached Wayanad by 12, right in time for lunch. Then after a night at Wayanad, I s...

A ride to Kodaikanal was pending for quite a long time considering that a very close friend who is also a fellow rider has a guest house in the hill station. I was not able to accompany him on his previous visits by car to Kodai, so when the next trip was planned as a bike trip, I just couldn’t say no. Itinerary After covering large chunks of distance with overnight stays, the routine gave us the confidence to get to Kodai without a major stop. Apart from breakfast, lunch and a couple of tea breaks, we didn’t want to stop unnecessarily. Or at least, that was the plan. We reached Kodai in about 12 hours despite it being something we should’ve covered in less than 10 hours. What happened? Read on! Kms covered I started off from Chennai at around 25,082 and when I got back, my odometer read 26,317. The total distance I covered in this ride was approximately 1235 km.   What’s new Usually, I fill this space with something new I got. In my last post, I spoke about this ...