555

Time: Jan 30-31 2010
Place: Tirumala
Company: Wife and parents
Highlights:

Prelude: Wife and self had booked darshan tickets for Rs 50 on 31st at 11 am. Parents had original plans of going to Mumbai on 31st to visit visiting bro! But Bro got busy, so parents' trip to mumbai got cancelled. So, tried getting darshan tickets at 11 am on 31st. But didnt. Instead got it at 4 pm for 30th which we shouldnt have taken for a host of reasons but we did.

Day 1: Due to unavoidable reasons, left home at 11.30 am. First 90 kms in 3 hrs thanks to Bangalore traffic and lunch stop at Woody's in Kolar. Road construction all the way. Made 160 in the next 3 hrs. Reached Tirumala at 6.30 pm. Didnt put on the CD even once. Spoke all along! Then, in Tirumala, wife and self went to Varaha temple, Raghavendra Mutt, Mahadwaram (where we saw AP CM) etc while parents went to queue. But alas, Rs 50 queue was closed till 9 pm. So they forfeited the 30th 4 pm tickets and took Rs 300 tickets. They came back at 10 after we finished dinner at Uttaradi Mutt.

Day 2: 7 am bath at Pushkarni. Wife and I entered Rs 50 queue whereas parents entered Rs 300 ticket queue (again) at 8.30 am. We were out at 10 am but they were out at 11 am. Packed up stuff. Lunch at UM at 12. Left at 12.30. Got a flat tyre at 3.30 pm. Delayed by 1 hr. It was a 'bad day at office' for driving. Made some wrong calls and had few close calls. Felt frustrated with my driving and wanted to reach home at the earliest. Got home at 8.30 pm.

2010 Annual Tirumala trip completed. Due to time constraints, could not go to any nearby place. Not even Tirupathi. 555 kms overall driven in 2 days. Reached a top speed of 115 km/hr. First time ever such high speed in India.