I had to visit home. Checked availability online, and rang up a few operators on thursday. No luck with comfortable timings for friday and sunday. Found out one empty seat in a KSRTC (Kerala) Super Deluxe Airbus service to Kottarakkara. Booked pronto.
Ticket fare Rs.354. There's no fare stage at Palakkad for this bus, so I had to book a ticket to Thrissur. Friday evening. I hopped in at 18:30hrs (the bus was late by over 45min) from Madiwala St. Johns Hospital Junction. Passed Electronics City at 19:15hrs. Stopped for dinner at a place before Salem
Journey was comfortable. Harita push-back seats, with lot of leg room, nice cushioning, comfortable backrest. Reading lamp (common for both the passengers on one side). It was a 2x2 configuration, with 38 seats. There were two drivers, both of them were very good, law abiding, safe yet fast drivers. The first one drove till Salem, and then other one took over. From Palakkad the first one got back in the driver seat. Reached home at 03:30hrs on Sat morning.
For the return trip, I found just one service with seats available - A KSRTC SDLX Airbus from Thrissur via Sultan Bathery, Gundlupet, Mysore. Left with no other option, I booked that one. Fare was Rs.404. The only grouse that I found was that I'll have to travel to Thrissur to board the bus, since it won't touch Palakkad. Yeah, a longer route, but I thought it should be okay. According to the website, the timings said the bus would reach Mysore at 02:05hrs, and Bangalore Satellite bus station at 05:20hrs. Little did I think about the practicality of that claim.
Sunday evening 20:00hrs, I reached Palakkad depot. The next bus to Thrissur was a Super Express that goes to Kottayam, at 20:20hrs. Good enough. I have factored the delay that may be caused by a traffic holdup in the Kuthiran ghat section. As I stood there waiting, watching other buses come and go, up came the Super Express Air Bus. Typical KSRTC Green and white livery, seats were done by KSRTC's Central Workshop, with nice cushioning but no push-back. Leg space was ok. Recline angle was perfect for me. Ride was harsh compared to the SDLX. The undulations on the tarmac was easily transmitted to the body. Ticket fare, Rs.46
Reached Thrissur depot at 22:20hrs. Two hours in that rains and not-so-thin traffic at night is ok. Come 22:35hrs, and my ride was brought to the platform. This bus looked a lot battered, from the outside. Battered meant, lot of scratches, dents on the bumper, edges of body panels, etc. All lights were functional though. Got in, and was a bit surprised to see that the interiors were very neat and well maintained unlike the exterior.
The bus started on the dot at 23:00hrs. It was doing good speeds, and the GPS in my phone showed ~80kmph constantly. I thought, at this rate I would reach Bangalore before the scheduled time of arrival, and I would end up waiting for a bus to take me to Majestic and then to Madiwala; having no clue about what was in store.
Sometime after the bus passed Vazhikkadavu, i remember waking up when the bus came to a halt at a checkpost. It must've been somewhere around 02:00hrs. It didn't strike me, nor anyone at home that the road through the wildlife reserve is closed till morning. So, there I was, stuck, till 06:00hrs. Finally reached Mysore at 08:00hrs. The bus started immediately after dropping the passengers. Stopped at a hotel for breakfast at around 08:45hrs, and resumed journey at 09:00hrs. The monday morning traffic was getting thicker and thicker, and the frequent speed breakers on Mysore road prevented the bus from picking up good speeds.
Reached the Satellite Bus Station on Mysore road at 11:20hrs. A BMTC mini-bus took me to Majestic at 11:50hrs. A BMTC Volvo took me to Madiwala, by 13:00hrs. End of the journey. Half a day wasted. I made the mistake of booking that bus from Thrissur, else I would've happily reached Bangalore on time. Next time, this route will surely be given a miss.
Ticket fare Rs.354. There's no fare stage at Palakkad for this bus, so I had to book a ticket to Thrissur. Friday evening. I hopped in at 18:30hrs (the bus was late by over 45min) from Madiwala St. Johns Hospital Junction. Passed Electronics City at 19:15hrs. Stopped for dinner at a place before Salem
Journey was comfortable. Harita push-back seats, with lot of leg room, nice cushioning, comfortable backrest. Reading lamp (common for both the passengers on one side). It was a 2x2 configuration, with 38 seats. There were two drivers, both of them were very good, law abiding, safe yet fast drivers. The first one drove till Salem, and then other one took over. From Palakkad the first one got back in the driver seat. Reached home at 03:30hrs on Sat morning.
For the return trip, I found just one service with seats available - A KSRTC SDLX Airbus from Thrissur via Sultan Bathery, Gundlupet, Mysore. Left with no other option, I booked that one. Fare was Rs.404. The only grouse that I found was that I'll have to travel to Thrissur to board the bus, since it won't touch Palakkad. Yeah, a longer route, but I thought it should be okay. According to the website, the timings said the bus would reach Mysore at 02:05hrs, and Bangalore Satellite bus station at 05:20hrs. Little did I think about the practicality of that claim.
Sunday evening 20:00hrs, I reached Palakkad depot. The next bus to Thrissur was a Super Express that goes to Kottayam, at 20:20hrs. Good enough. I have factored the delay that may be caused by a traffic holdup in the Kuthiran ghat section. As I stood there waiting, watching other buses come and go, up came the Super Express Air Bus. Typical KSRTC Green and white livery, seats were done by KSRTC's Central Workshop, with nice cushioning but no push-back. Leg space was ok. Recline angle was perfect for me. Ride was harsh compared to the SDLX. The undulations on the tarmac was easily transmitted to the body. Ticket fare, Rs.46
Reached Thrissur depot at 22:20hrs. Two hours in that rains and not-so-thin traffic at night is ok. Come 22:35hrs, and my ride was brought to the platform. This bus looked a lot battered, from the outside. Battered meant, lot of scratches, dents on the bumper, edges of body panels, etc. All lights were functional though. Got in, and was a bit surprised to see that the interiors were very neat and well maintained unlike the exterior.
The bus started on the dot at 23:00hrs. It was doing good speeds, and the GPS in my phone showed ~80kmph constantly. I thought, at this rate I would reach Bangalore before the scheduled time of arrival, and I would end up waiting for a bus to take me to Majestic and then to Madiwala; having no clue about what was in store.
Sometime after the bus passed Vazhikkadavu, i remember waking up when the bus came to a halt at a checkpost. It must've been somewhere around 02:00hrs. It didn't strike me, nor anyone at home that the road through the wildlife reserve is closed till morning. So, there I was, stuck, till 06:00hrs. Finally reached Mysore at 08:00hrs. The bus started immediately after dropping the passengers. Stopped at a hotel for breakfast at around 08:45hrs, and resumed journey at 09:00hrs. The monday morning traffic was getting thicker and thicker, and the frequent speed breakers on Mysore road prevented the bus from picking up good speeds.
Reached the Satellite Bus Station on Mysore road at 11:20hrs. A BMTC mini-bus took me to Majestic at 11:50hrs. A BMTC Volvo took me to Madiwala, by 13:00hrs. End of the journey. Half a day wasted. I made the mistake of booking that bus from Thrissur, else I would've happily reached Bangalore on time. Next time, this route will surely be given a miss.
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