Tiruvannamalai & Chennai are pleasantly warm in winters. I say “pleasantly” because I was freezing in Chikkaballapur & Ahmedabad earlier! 😊 I enjoyed my two-week holidays in this region in mid-January. As it happened a day before Pongal – a big Tamil Nadu festival, I drove into Chennai from Thiruvannamalai via the NH 77. I started at about 7 AM.

A lot of regions put a lot of importance on Makar Sankranti, essentially the harvest festival of India. In Tamil Nadu it is celebrated as Pongal in a big way. I read that the roads leading OUT of Chennai were jam packed. Thankfully the entry was reasonably empty. Maybe even emptier than usual, I wouldn’t know because I have never driven into Chennai before this 😊

It was a smooth ride. And I reached my destination in T Nagar by 12.30pm. I was not too happy with the food stops that came on the way. I did take a food stop at Manoj Bhavan. More than the food, I think the sitting was nice and probably the bathrooms were clean (I didn’t use, but they looked clean from outside). The food was so-so. I had a idli plate, dosa and juice.

Food recommendation: Best to eat in Chennai or TVM at a restaurant of our choice rather than rely on highway eateries on this route.

Fog & Low Visibility While Driving

The surprise on this drive was the fog. Right from Thiruvannamalai there was some fog… but mild enough to ignore. However, later it really increased, and I even stopped by the roadside for a bit wondering whether it would clear up in few minutes. Because the visibility was significantly impaired.…This is my first encounter with fog like this on the road. 🤔 Three action points,

• Stop by the roadside somewhere safe, with enough side space, and see if the situation seems to be subsiding.
• All vehicles will drive slowly in such low visibility
• Many of us kept our blinker lights on.

Apart from dangers of low visibility, it is also eerie to not see any of the passing by scenic vista… rather be surrounded by dense white cloud like that.

Well, travel brings new experiences. This was one for me!

Have you driven through fog? How was your experience?

Road Quality NH 77:

It was good mostly, there were some potholes however they were not huge. So, it was fine to go fast speed. Occasionally, a pothole would be nastier than the rest, but with empty roads one can veer a little to avoid.

Places to See on the Way

Gingee (pronounced as Senji) has a nice fort

About 7 kilometers after Senji, there are some Jain temples as little way out. Would be a short detour to explore those.

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is also enroute quite close to Chennai

Any others you would recommend?