To celebrate the completion of my exams in the last term of PGSEM, my husband and I decided to go on a one day drive last Sunday. We narrowed down on Somnathpur and Talakad the previous night and set the alarm clock at 5 AM. Our plan was to leave home at 6 AM. As luck would have its way, we ended up switching off the alarm and dozed off until 8:30 AM when our maid came home and rang the door bell. Although we were a bit disappointed, we decided to go ahead with the plan and left home at 10:30 AM. Hubby had browsed through google maps and neatly taken a printout of the route. Although I like to browse through maps, I don't really believe in following the map to the finer detail. I let the route and the directions on the way take the lead.
The traffic wasn't bad and we hit the NICE Road and later Mysore Road in less than an hour. This route is a familiar one as we have done such short trips earlier. We stopped at Hotel Kadu Mane for breakfast and packed lunch for the trip. After reaching Maddur, we took a left turn towards Malavalli and reached the lake as per the map. From this point, we took a different direction and got lost for a bit. It was already 2 PM and we couldn't find the route to Somnathpur. Luckily, we spotted a familiar KTDC yellow direction board pointing towards Talakkad. It was a nice stretch of road, with green fields on either sides. The road was a deserted one, with no traffic or people. Although a few stretches were bumpy, overall the road was fine. We hit the T junction with Somnathpur and Talakkad on opposite ends. As visiting both the places is out of question, we took the left turn towards Talakkad. By the time we reached the gate that leads towards the temples, it was 3:45 PM. It's a long walk for about 2 kms from here. There were a few auto rickshaws available at this junction. They typically charge around 30-40 Rs for a ride to the temple. We visited the sand temples of Lord Shiva and returned back to the parking spot. It was high time we had lunch. We drove down a little bit and parked at a beautiful place with paddy fields. The long walk and fresh air had increased our appetite so much that the pooris we packed in the afternoon tasted divine. The return route was a different one as we took a longer detour but a very beautiful road.
The maps that we decided to ditch were lying on the dashboard. The villagers were so helpful in giving accurate directions that one doesn't need GPS or Google maps. After a coffee break at Cafe Coffee Day, we headed back home. Overall, it was a good drive, with nice scenic routes. It would have been much better had we started early.
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