Do not miss these places when you visit Chennai

Chennai is not just India's fourth largest city in terms of area. It is a bustling metropolis with excellent connections to the nearby places. Hence, if one has the time during the day, and he or she wants to take a two or three hour drive to the nearest towns, the visit will be more than memorable.

For example, there is this town called Vellore, a fairly big city that houses the prestigious VIT, a deemed University, ranked among the best in India. It also has the best hospital in India, called the Christian Medical College (CMC), which receives thousands of patients from India and abroad on any single day. Just outside Vellore, a private trust has created a big Golden Temple, which is similar to the golden temple at Amritsar. Though this temple is not known exactly for its religious fervor, one can visit this place, as a tourist spot. That is, one should take the Kovai Express that departs exactly at 6.10 in the morning from Chennai Central. At 8.30AM, it would reach Katpadi Junction, the railway station of Vellore. One has to just take a local bus to the Central Bus-stand and there are too many buses.

After breakfast in the local hotels, where a variety of vegetarian food is served, one can take the Brindavan Express that would leave Katpadi at 6PM or so. This train would reach Chennai Central very comfortably at 915 PM.

For lunch, one would have to take a local bus and reach a place called Mel Visharam and the locals will easily guide any tourist. One should alight at KH Apollo Hospital stop and just walk down a few meters towards the Vellore side. The Alankar Hotel is very good for lunch. After lunch, one can also visit the Murugan temple which is very near this hotel. Local autos are available.

Generally, all the places are well connected by hundreds of buses, and hence one need not spend any money on auto which is far more costlier. Similarly, the Darling Residency Hotel in the heart of the town also offers a very good lunch option. The non-veg option is also available.