The ride from Chennai Egmore to Rameswaram
Having reached Chennai a little after 11am on a Wednesday, it was time to look for a lodge in the vicinity of Chennai Egmore station. There are no easy ways to approach the local station to take a local towards Egmore. Perhaps autos taking you to the local railway station would be handy. A taxi ride to the lodge is the other option as autos are nowhere to be seen in the vicinity of the airport. A taxi ride to Anna Salai was all we could manage when the weather was humid and taxing.
Stayed in Hotel Ammu Palace, located in Bootha Perumal Street, Anna Salai. With meals taken from Sangeetha restaurant the train ticket to Rameswaram was procured from Chennai Egmore. In the LIC Mount Road Wellington Plaza where the lodge is located there is a Coffee House which serves one of the best teas in the city. As for the snacks at the airport being carried in a cart it was a big relief as it was not that pricey and good in taste.
At the Chennai Egmore station there are no porters and to approach platform six and seven isn't that easy. Came across Mohammad Shah Alam selling samosas in Egmore station. Hailing from Barauni in Bihar Alam has had the opportunity to visit his home state every second or third month. He had a word of praise for the administration in the state of Tamil Nadu which has had a handy template to settle cases with alacrity.
The train ride from Egmore
According to wrist watch the train starts at 5.05, stops to start again at 5.10pm. Goes past Madras Christian School at 5.15, Coovam river 5.17, ST. Thomas Mount 5.24, Pallavaram 5.27, Tambaram 5.35, Vellimmai engineering college 6 and SRM University 6. Between 5.35 and 6 pm the train has a slow speed, fairly good speed after 6.
At 6.02 Kottaghuthur station and around 6.14 after a large lake few houses amidst greenery can be spotted. At 6.15 Chengalapattu Junction with a lake in the background
After AG Church there is a fair degree of greenery. Around 6.21 it has begun to rain. At 6.26 we can spot a lady in a blue saree holding a green torch. There is lush green after this followed by rich paddy fields and not that fertile land. At 6.34 there is a yellow coloured temple looking resplendent. Between 6.20 and 6.35 it has slow speed followed by a fairly good speed after 6.35.
At 6.40 we are in Madurakantam station, at 6.45 in Melmaruvathur, a fairly clean station with a railway personnel in a safari suit holding a green torch. The train goes past a station at 6.55 with the name starting with letters Tozhu, a fairly clean station,at 7 Olakar, again a clean station, at 7.10 Tindivana station and at 7.45 Villupuram. Here the halt is for over 20 minutes. At 8.15 comes Tiruven. Somewhere in the middle of the night come Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram. A polite man from CID with one of his relations reveals that dhoti in Tamil is called something close to Kelly. His son-in-law till recently reported for work in the machinery section in the Middle East. The Sivaganga man is heavy and some of his associates would have recommended him to reduce weight. Both are bound towards Sivaganga. At 4.12 am we are in Rameswaram almost half an hour before scheduled arrival.
At Rameswaram station i lay on the bench for almost an hour as 24-hour checkout would have meant to vacate the room at this odd hour. Karthik the auto man agrees to drive around the town looking for lodges. A lodge opposite Queen's Palace is all i could manage with the manager showing his willingness to give accommodation for two days with advance for the same paid at the counter at entry time itself. There are lodges across town which have their own set of demands with some insisting no rooms when the signboard suggests otherwise; some coming out with the rationale that booking is there from evening as big parties are coming and rooms at the most can be availed for 10 hours or so. Securing a room in the temple town is not a smooth affair as the law and order department has set out rules which makes it increasingly difficult for single person to secure rooms. No room for single person or take room at a higher tariff is quite unreasonable.
One change we came across was the Rameswaram-Kanniyakumari bus leaving from RMM bus stand a little after 11am; earlier only early morning or late evening buses used to depart for Kanniyakumari.
Having reached Chennai a little after 11am on a Wednesday, it was time to look for a lodge in the vicinity of Chennai Egmore station. There are no easy ways to approach the local station to take a local towards Egmore. Perhaps autos taking you to the local railway station would be handy. A taxi ride to the lodge is the other option as autos are nowhere to be seen in the vicinity of the airport. A taxi ride to Anna Salai was all we could manage when the weather was humid and taxing.
Stayed in Hotel Ammu Palace, located in Bootha Perumal Street, Anna Salai. With meals taken from Sangeetha restaurant the train ticket to Rameswaram was procured from Chennai Egmore. In the LIC Mount Road Wellington Plaza where the lodge is located there is a Coffee House which serves one of the best teas in the city. As for the snacks at the airport being carried in a cart it was a big relief as it was not that pricey and good in taste.
At the Chennai Egmore station there are no porters and to approach platform six and seven isn't that easy. Came across Mohammad Shah Alam selling samosas in Egmore station. Hailing from Barauni in Bihar Alam has had the opportunity to visit his home state every second or third month. He had a word of praise for the administration in the state of Tamil Nadu which has had a handy template to settle cases with alacrity.
The train ride from Egmore
According to wrist watch the train starts at 5.05, stops to start again at 5.10pm. Goes past Madras Christian School at 5.15, Coovam river 5.17, ST. Thomas Mount 5.24, Pallavaram 5.27, Tambaram 5.35, Vellimmai engineering college 6 and SRM University 6. Between 5.35 and 6 pm the train has a slow speed, fairly good speed after 6.
At 6.02 Kottaghuthur station and around 6.14 after a large lake few houses amidst greenery can be spotted. At 6.15 Chengalapattu Junction with a lake in the background
After AG Church there is a fair degree of greenery. Around 6.21 it has begun to rain. At 6.26 we can spot a lady in a blue saree holding a green torch. There is lush green after this followed by rich paddy fields and not that fertile land. At 6.34 there is a yellow coloured temple looking resplendent. Between 6.20 and 6.35 it has slow speed followed by a fairly good speed after 6.35.
At 6.40 we are in Madurakantam station, at 6.45 in Melmaruvathur, a fairly clean station with a railway personnel in a safari suit holding a green torch. The train goes past a station at 6.55 with the name starting with letters Tozhu, a fairly clean station,at 7 Olakar, again a clean station, at 7.10 Tindivana station and at 7.45 Villupuram. Here the halt is for over 20 minutes. At 8.15 comes Tiruven. Somewhere in the middle of the night come Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram. A polite man from CID with one of his relations reveals that dhoti in Tamil is called something close to Kelly. His son-in-law till recently reported for work in the machinery section in the Middle East. The Sivaganga man is heavy and some of his associates would have recommended him to reduce weight. Both are bound towards Sivaganga. At 4.12 am we are in Rameswaram almost half an hour before scheduled arrival.
At Rameswaram station i lay on the bench for almost an hour as 24-hour checkout would have meant to vacate the room at this odd hour. Karthik the auto man agrees to drive around the town looking for lodges. A lodge opposite Queen's Palace is all i could manage with the manager showing his willingness to give accommodation for two days with advance for the same paid at the counter at entry time itself. There are lodges across town which have their own set of demands with some insisting no rooms when the signboard suggests otherwise; some coming out with the rationale that booking is there from evening as big parties are coming and rooms at the most can be availed for 10 hours or so. Securing a room in the temple town is not a smooth affair as the law and order department has set out rules which makes it increasingly difficult for single person to secure rooms. No room for single person or take room at a higher tariff is quite unreasonable.
One change we came across was the Rameswaram-Kanniyakumari bus leaving from RMM bus stand a little after 11am; earlier only early morning or late evening buses used to depart for Kanniyakumari.
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