Hey IM Members: TN/Chennai for One Month

sun1 · Jun 4th, 2008, 03:13

Me and my family going to land at Chennai on June 22 11.30 pm. We will in Tamil Nadu for 1 Month.
Plane to visit
Palani temple: Daughter head shave(as my son says)
Need help: Good place to eat,
Transportation for a month to move around in Tamil Nadu,
Places to see with two Kids(Going to 8 & 2),
Best Shopping Place in Chennai or any other part of Tamil Nadu.

Thanks in advace
from Houston
Sun1

pmvelu · Jun 4th, 2008, 20:53

Hey Sun,

Welcome to IM

..

Not sure what is your interests ( I mean Beaches / Wildlife/ Hill Stations/ Temples etc )..

In Chennai, Hotel Saravana Bhavan is the best bet for Veg and for Non-Veg you have many like "Anjappar" Or "Madurai Appu" and so on ..

Shopping place for chennai : Pondy bazaar / T. Nagar Area (Right from Saravana Stores, Pothys, Nalli , upto Prince Jewellery / Lalitha Jewellery etc..).. For "SHopping Experience / High-End Shopping" --> SPecncers Plaza (In Mount Road near to LIC)

And I did Tonsuring for my daughter in Palani few months back.. If at all if this is the first time for you to Palani, The following hints might help:

1) You could Board Dindugal Bound Train (Nellai Express, Kankyakumari express, ananthapuri express, Pandiyan , Vaigai etc); Get down at Dindugal Station and get a Bus to Palani (50+ kms)
2)In Palani, It's quite a walk (650 + steps) to the top but you have options like winch Or Cable Car(?!)
3) You could see the photos I took in our "Forum photos section" and we visited during the "Thaipoosam Festival" week and it was highly crowded at that time
4) From Bus stand you could hire an Auto which will cost around 20 rs (Just 1 km but No metres in Autos)
5) There is no Tonsuring place at the top and there are several places near the base itself... You could do the tonsuring for ur kid there , and could bath her in Lodge and then Go up (We did the same)...

And Kodai Hills (Kodaikanal) is Very near to palani if that interests you !..

Hope this helps..

n kumar · Jun 4th, 2008, 22:30

Hey sun,
Welcome to tamilnadu
Chennnai has plenty of both veg and non-veg resturants.
I always make it a point to have my breakfeast in MURUGHAN IDLE SHOP one of the best place for idly and pongal,near panagal park, Veg meals at AMMAS near pangal park,
Non-veg at ammas, ponnusamy, virudnagar hotel, and the list continues.
Nalli silks, nmkrv or pothys are the best silks and cotton shops in chennai all these shops are fixed prices and no bargaining.
Gold is the speciality in tamil nadu.
The list will go on for shopping in tamil nadu.
As far Palani is concerned I would advise you to stay in Vels Court which is the best hotel in palani, which has opened just 6 months back and the food at meenakshi bhavan.
For any information keep posting.

sun1 · Jun 5th, 2008, 01:18

Thanks pmvelu and n kumar
Our interest Temples, hill station, small villages.
We want to do the road trip mostly.Any help for Car or Mini Van. Best rest area on road trip for food Veg and Non Veg.
Thanks For : shops list in Chennai(pmvel), shopping at fixed price shop (n kumar).

Nick-H · Jun 5th, 2008, 01:25

Nalli, Pothy's and RmKV (which kumar's keyboard mangled slightly) are all in T Nagar, and there are numerous Jewellery shops there too. Nearby are Ranganathan street and Pondy Bazaar for the cheaper shopping.

n kumar · Jun 5th, 2008, 22:42

Hi nick-h and sun1
Thanks for going thru the reply and helping me to rectify the mistake of shop Rmkv.
Hi sun1, could you be more specific like how many days you want to spend from chennai - palani - chennai so that I can give my detailed trip advice.

dhans · Jun 5th, 2008, 23:47

When we were in mahabalipuram we saw couple of just shaved babyheads. Might be a nice place to do this.

Hans

sun1 · Jun 6th, 2008, 06:10

Well guys this is my list
1 Palani
2 Kodaikanal
3 Ooty
4 Madurai(temple)
5 Mahaballipurum
6 Pondy Beache(For my son)
7 Chennai(for shopping) and Beaches too
We are going straight to Karur (in-laws) house form Chennai.

dhans both india with kids and Journal going to help me.

Sun1

Nick-H · Jun 6th, 2008, 13:17

I added to the thread title. People (like me

) often only look at the titles, rater than checking the forum, so it may help to get you more attention.

If you are going to Pondy just for the beach, I would skip it and go to Chennai. There isn't much beech there! You would do better with Chennai's beach, which gives you a decent amount of sand (Elliots Beach at Besant Nagar is nice than the main Marina Beach, and if you come a bit further South to Palavakkam you can find uncrowded sand). Of course, Mamallapuram (I'm trying to get in the habit of using the new name!) has beach too, so also good for your son

sun1 · Jun 7th, 2008, 04:33

Thanks Nick-H for adding the title. Do you know any 24 Hrs restaurant in chennai city?
Sun1

Nick-H · Jun 7th, 2008, 04:53

Possibly the more up-market hotels, especially the big five-stars may have one, or at least a coffee bar serving food, open 24 hours.

To be honest, I've never needed one, so I don't know.

There's a place to get food at the airport; I would expect that to be open 24 hours.

Otherwise, this isn't really a 24-hour city!

snooks · Jun 7th, 2008, 05:09

Hi

Being interested in temples, I can thoroughly recommend the Murugan Temple at Tirupparankundram, just outside Madurai and easy to visit in a couple of hours all in. Along with the temple at Palani, it is (so I am reliably informed) one of the principal Murugan temples in TN.

Of course, this is my humble opinion but I have been there twice and was overwhelmed by it. Nothing on the scale of Meenakshi, but it is built into the hillside and I find the atmosphere amazing. (On a more personal level, being a westerner, it is one of the few temples where I am allowed all the way in and being able to experience that with my Indian fiancee was wonderful)

Some more information is on http://murugan.org/temples/parankundram.htm

Enjoy your trip!

(If you want a good place to eat in Mamallapuram, Mamalla Bhavan by the bus stop is fantastic for veg food. Hotel Guru, which is usually very crowded and very hot, does THE best chicken biryani. Again, in my opinion!)

Jun 4th, 2008, 03:13	#1
sun1 Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 7	Hey IM Members: TN/Chennai for One Month Me and my family going to land at Chennai on June 22 11.30 pm. We will in Tamil Nadu for 1 Month. Plane to visit Palani temple: Daughter head shave(as my son says) Need help: Good place to eat, Transportation for a month to move around in Tamil Nadu, Places to see with two Kids(Going to 8 & 2), Best Shopping Place in Chennai or any other part of Tamil Nadu. Thanks in advace from Houston Sun1

Jun 5th, 2008, 01:25	#5
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,884	Nalli, Pothy's and RmKV (which kumar's keyboard mangled slightly) are all in T Nagar, and there are numerous Jewellery shops there too. Nearby are Ranganathan street and Pondy Bazaar for the cheaper shopping. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Jun 5th, 2008, 23:47	#7
dhans Uru Buru member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,449	When we were in mahabalipuram we saw couple of just shaved babyheads. Might be a nice place to do this. Hans __________________ Tips for trips to India with (young) children: India with kids Stories about our travels in India: Journal Last edited by dhans : Jun 6th, 2008 at 14:18. Reason: taipo

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Jun 4th, 2008, 20:53	#2
pmvelu Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 447	Hey Sun, Welcome to IM .. Not sure what is your interests ( I mean Beaches / Wildlife/ Hill Stations/ Temples etc ).. In Chennai, Hotel Saravana Bhavan is the best bet for Veg and for Non-Veg you have many like "Anjappar" Or "Madurai Appu" and so on .. Shopping place for chennai : Pondy bazaar / T. Nagar Area (Right from Saravana Stores, Pothys, Nalli , upto Prince Jewellery / Lalitha Jewellery etc..).. For "SHopping Experience / High-End Shopping" --> SPecncers Plaza (In Mount Road near to LIC) And I did Tonsuring for my daughter in Palani few months back.. If at all if this is the first time for you to Palani, The following hints might help: 1) You could Board Dindugal Bound Train (Nellai Express, Kankyakumari express, ananthapuri express, Pandiyan , Vaigai etc); Get down at Dindugal Station and get a Bus to Palani (50+ kms) 2)In Palani, It's quite a walk (650 + steps) to the top but you have options like winch Or Cable Car(?!) 3) You could see the photos I took in our "Forum photos section" and we visited during the "Thaipoosam Festival" week and it was highly crowded at that time 4) From Bus stand you could hire an Auto which will cost around 20 rs (Just 1 km but No metres in Autos) 5) There is no Tonsuring place at the top and there are several places near the base itself... You could do the tonsuring for ur kid there , and could bath her in Lodge and then Go up (We did the same)... And Kodai Hills (Kodaikanal) is Very near to palani if that interests you !.. Hope this helps..

Jun 4th, 2008, 22:30	#3
n kumar Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: bangalore Posts: 95	Hey sun, Welcome to tamilnadu Chennnai has plenty of both veg and non-veg resturants. I always make it a point to have my breakfeast in MURUGHAN IDLE SHOP one of the best place for idly and pongal,near panagal park, Veg meals at AMMAS near pangal park, Non-veg at ammas, ponnusamy, virudnagar hotel, and the list continues. Nalli silks, nmkrv or pothys are the best silks and cotton shops in chennai all these shops are fixed prices and no bargaining. Gold is the speciality in tamil nadu. The list will go on for shopping in tamil nadu. As far Palani is concerned I would advise you to stay in Vels Court which is the best hotel in palani, which has opened just 6 months back and the food at meenakshi bhavan. For any information keep posting.

Jun 5th, 2008, 01:18	#4
sun1 Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 7	Thanks pmvelu and n kumar Our interest Temples, hill station, small villages. We want to do the road trip mostly.Any help for Car or Mini Van. Best rest area on road trip for food Veg and Non Veg. Thanks For : shops list in Chennai(pmvel), shopping at fixed price shop (n kumar).

Jun 5th, 2008, 22:42	#6
n kumar Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: bangalore Posts: 95	Hi nick-h and sun1 Thanks for going thru the reply and helping me to rectify the mistake of shop Rmkv. Hi sun1, could you be more specific like how many days you want to spend from chennai - palani - chennai so that I can give my detailed trip advice.

Jun 6th, 2008, 06:10	#8
sun1 Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 7	Well guys this is my list 1 Palani 2 Kodaikanal 3 Ooty 4 Madurai(temple) 5 Mahaballipurum 6 Pondy Beache(For my son) 7 Chennai(for shopping) and Beaches too We are going straight to Karur (in-laws) house form Chennai. dhans both india with kids and Journal going to help me. Sun1

Jun 6th, 2008, 13:17	#9
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,884	I added to the thread title. People (like me ) often only look at the titles, rater than checking the forum, so it may help to get you more attention. If you are going to Pondy just for the beach, I would skip it and go to Chennai. There isn't much beech there! You would do better with Chennai's beach, which gives you a decent amount of sand (Elliots Beach at Besant Nagar is nice than the main Marina Beach, and if you come a bit further South to Palavakkam you can find uncrowded sand). Of course, Mamallapuram (I'm trying to get in the habit of using the new name!) has beach too, so also good for your son

Jun 7th, 2008, 04:33	#10
sun1 Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 7	Thanks Nick-H for adding the title. Do you know any 24 Hrs restaurant in chennai city? Sun1

Jun 7th, 2008, 04:53	#11
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,884	Possibly the more up-market hotels, especially the big five-stars may have one, or at least a coffee bar serving food, open 24 hours. To be honest, I've never needed one, so I don't know. There's a place to get food at the airport; I would expect that to be open 24 hours. Otherwise, this isn't really a 24-hour city!

Jun 7th, 2008, 05:09	#12
snooks Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Poonjeri, Nr Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu Posts: 29	Hi Being interested in temples, I can thoroughly recommend the Murugan Temple at Tirupparankundram, just outside Madurai and easy to visit in a couple of hours all in. Along with the temple at Palani, it is (so I am reliably informed) one of the principal Murugan temples in TN. Of course, this is my humble opinion but I have been there twice and was overwhelmed by it. Nothing on the scale of Meenakshi, but it is built into the hillside and I find the atmosphere amazing. (On a more personal level, being a westerner, it is one of the few temples where I am allowed all the way in and being able to experience that with my Indian fiancee was wonderful) Some more information is on http://murugan.org/temples/parankundram.htm Enjoy your trip! (If you want a good place to eat in Mamallapuram, Mamalla Bhavan by the bus stop is fantastic for veg food. Hotel Guru, which is usually very crowded and very hot, does THE best chicken biryani. Again, in my opinion!)

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