Week 12
Day 78
Saturday 14th September 2019
Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) to Vaitheeswarankoil.
The thunder storm had passed and we set off after a particularly bad cup of coffee.
We had been offered a meal in a restaurant the night before by a guy who allegedly used to work on the QE2 for “the family”. We were so tried we turned it down as it was a trek across town - but he did organise some pasta which was a nice change from the curry.
Trichy is a busy town and having negotiated the early morning traffic we followed a lovely route along side a river and wetland area. We soon found ourselves in a very rural area with houses with reed roofs and water coming from a series of standpipes (it always seems to be the women queueing to get the water)! We passed bananas crops and a series of weirs and dams. It was very hot and humid so we stopped regularly for tea (always sweet) and water. The Indian people are (on the whole) incredibly courteous, curious and polite - however in this part of India we have had a number of men ride (on scooters) along side us staring - we can be slightly disconcerting! I think we are just an unusual sight and they can’t quite believe it. However they do get a bit too close sometimes . We do on occasions point this out not always politely!
We finally arrived in Vaitheeswarankoil having managed to avoid the bat poo in the dark as the days are getting much shorter which impacts on riding time! We are heading for Chennai- hope to be there in 2 days for a day off!
Day 79
Sunday 15th September 2019
Vaitheeswarankoil to Edakalinadu.
Woke in the monastic cell that was our hotel room on a plank which was my bed. Headed for breakfast which was served prison style on a tin tray. The food however was great and we both over ate which given the state of my digestive system was not a good idea. We set off riding passing amazing Hindu temples and a few miles in we saw a shop purporting to be “only coffee”. We ordered two black coffees without sugar. One coffee with sugar and two milks arrived. We ordered a second coffee without sugar - one with sugar arrived. We thought we’d try tea. We ordered two black teas without sugar. Two white teas (with the milk skin on top) with sugar arrived- we gave up.
We had arrived at the coast and had glimpses of the sea as we traveled north towards Chennai. It was incredibly hot and humid now the monsoon is ending. We stopped for lunch at a busy restaurant and fuelled with more curry we navigated the traffic in Cuddalore. Suddenly we found ourselves in a traffic jam - it turned out to be a protest with the protesters sitting on the road stopping all of the traffic. We carried on through Pudcherry which is a busy and quite cosmopolitan city. We saw one women wearing jeans!
We then found ourselves in a bit of a no-man’s land searching for a hotel. Finally found the #mangroveresorts which is lovely and which professes that we will “take home memories” - I’m sure we will!
Day 80
Monday 16th September 2019
Edakalinadu to Chennai.
We left the lovely #mangroveresorts after the obligatory photo with the manager and headed along the coast road towards Chennai (formerly Madras). We crossed wetlands looking out for birds and caught glimpses of the sea. We also passed some spectacular temples and strangely, theme parks.
It was incredibly hot to the point we simply couldn’t stand in the sun - at least riding resulted in a breeze which made the temperature with its humidity almost bearable. The traffic got very busy as we headed into Chennai- we saw a motorbike hit a cyclist (we have seen a number of crashes in India) - everyone was ok. Crashes seem inevitable in the traffic mayhem. We stopped to wash Alice at a bike/car wash - the dirt of India having accumulated over 3 weeks of riding - especially in the Monsoon. We had to stop the car washers spraying water into her bearings.
Arrived at Hotel Victoria in the centre of Chennai- Alice has been locked up and hidden under blankets with pot plants arranged neatly around her.
We are eating curry (for a change) in the restaurant opposite the hotel and watching the world go by. Day off tomorrow- the first full day off in India after 3 weeks of riding. We are both weary and looking forward to a bit of R&R.
Day 81/ 82
Tuesday and Wednesday 17th and 18th September 2019
Chennai to south of Gudur.
Day 81 was a day off in Chennai (formerly Madras). After a bit of bike maintenance and “jobs” we met up with the lovely Simon and Adrian fellow cyclists from Canada
