Pondicherry to Bangalore

The direct train from Pondicherry to Bangalore only runs on Friday and Saturday nights, so we had to find an alternative route to return from our trip. We decided to go back via Chennai (which is about 130 km north of Pondicherry). Initially we couldn't get a reservation on a train for Sunday --- so waited until Friday to try to book a 'tatkal' ticket. In Hindi, tatkal means "immediate"" or "on the spot". A certain # of seats are held on the train for tatkal tickets and you can book the tickets starting at 8 am, 2 days prior --- tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis and there is a premium surcharge added to the base ticket price.

So at 8 am on Friday, I was online trying to secure 2 tickets for the 17:30 train from Chennai to Bangalore --- although it did take 6 minutes for the tatkal booking system to open up --- I was able to buy 2 tickets in AC Chair Car (CC) on a Shatabi Express train.

"Shatabdi Express trains offer fast connectivity with only a few intermediate stops. They are fully air-conditioned and of a much higher standard than most Indian trains. Shatabdi Express travelers are provided with snacks, breakfast, meals, coffee or tea, a one-litre water bottle and a glass of canned juice."

We hired a car/driver to take us from Pondicherry to Chennai. 140 km -- took about 2.5 hours and cost us Rs. 2,000 ($40) --- would have been 1/2 the cost if were willing to go in a car with no air-conditioning (which we weren't). We took the "scenic" ECR highway --- turned out to not really be that scenic. While we drove close to the coastline, we could only see the ocean for about 10% of the trip.

Arrived at the Chennai train station at 4:00 pm. The train station, built in 1863, is quite beautiful -- very different from the stations in Bangalore. The station was packed with people -- a bit overwhelming -- so we decided to run across the street to a hotel for a quick bite (and to use their "facilities"). By the time we got back to the station, our train was boarding -- so we hopped on board and had a uneventful 5-hour train ride back to Bangalore. CC class is very comfortable -- much better than flying on a plane --- and the food was plentiful and surprisingly good.