Recently when I got the chance to take a 4-day vacation, my destination was Pondicherry: A former French colony known for its beautiful architecture, food and rough sea.
The idea was to fly to Chennai from New Delhi and then go to Pondicherry. There were four of us and the modes of transportation were few. Either take a bus and miss the beauty of the beaches on the way or take a cab and suffer a language barrier with the driver. Or just drive ourselves and explore the beauty of south India.
We chose the last option. India has recently seen a boom in the self drive car market with players like Myles, Zoomcar and Revv.
I thought it would be a tough process to get a car since it’s an expensive proposition and you’re just borrowing it for a few days. The prospect of a breakdown can be tense as can driving yourself for long hours.
We chose Myles as it had a good selection of vehicles and we were specifically looking for an SUV. Our ride for the journey ahead would be a Myles Toyota Fortuner.
Getting a car is easy – all you need is your identification papers, driving licence and your credit card for a security deposit.
When we disembarked from our cab at the pick-up point in Chennai, we were greeted courteously and were taken to our car in the company’s parking area. Our Toyota Fortuner was clean, loaded with refreshments for the road ahead and looked well serviced.
After signing a few documents, we were off. Now, the self drive car companies want you to treat the car like your own, so, if you damage the car, there are hefty fines. If you’re taking a self drive car, make sure you drive safe.
Myles even gave us a full tank of diesel with the condition that when we return the car, it has a full tank.
Our route to Pondicherry was a 150 km long drive along the East Coast Road winding along the beach. This 2-hour long drive took us 6 hours as we went along at our own pace, taking detours wherever we fancied.
Our first stop was Mahabalipuram, famous for Krishna’s Butter Ball and the Shore temple.
The next stop was Auroville, known for its peace and tranquillity.
Driving our own car, we were free to do what we wanted – from being picky about the places we wanted to see to skipping the restaurants with food we didn’t find exciting.
Had we taken a cab, this entire trip would have cost a lot more and we’d be reliant on a local driver instead of being free to explore.
With a self drive service like Myles, our vacation was totally different from the experiences of all those who follow the schedule set by a tour package.
Plus, with Google Maps by our side and plenty of tourist reviews, we knew exactly what we wanted to do.
The day after we reached the resort, we didn’t wake up at 7 am, get breakfast with the other tourists or head off to the same ol’ tourist spots.
Instead, with all the freedom accorded to us by a car of our own, we slept a bit more and headed out to experience the city.
On the small roads of Pondicherry, it was quite easy to manoeuvre the Fortuner despite its big size. We even saw a lot of other young couples and tourists with their own self drive cars, the most prominent of which belonged to Myles and ZoomCar.
By the time the vacation came to an end and it was time for us to head back to Chennai to catch our flight home, there was still one more stop to make – the Madras Crocodile Bank.
Since our flight was in the evening and we left the resort pretty late (the side-effects of not waking up at 7 am with the other tourists), we made a run for it. But, we found ourselves repeatedly reminded by the Myles kit in our Toyota Fortuner that we couldn’t overspeed and were restricted to 100 km/h. Yes, Myles fines you for overspeeding.
So, we stuck the needle to 90 km/h even though the 3-litre engine of this beast was begging us to gun it on the East Coast road.
The Madras Crocodile Bank turned out to be the experience of a lifetime. I never knew that you can adopt a crocodile in India. I’ve decided to adopt a crocodile named Gharfield.
No, you can’t take them home. Adoption means you pay for their food and other necessities for a year and they list out the names of the adopters at the park. The entire experience is as awesome as it is strange.
Soon, it was time to us to head to the airport, but first, we had to drop our companion, the Fortuner, back to the Myles yard. We filled up the fuel tank and returned our new friend. Myles returned our security deposit and charged us for the days that we had the car – all this with the utmost professionalism and hospitality.
My only feedback to Myles and other self drive services in India is that they should get in touch with state tourism boards and have a few pick up and drop off points at airports and railway stations.
This vacation was one of the best I’ve ever had and it was only possible thanks to our self drive Fortuner. Services like Myles have made travelling with friends and family more fun and relaxing. And they turn out to be quite cost effective as well.
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