Suddenly...on a desolate beach

[Saurabh M]

It was a trip planned in a jiffy...the idea came across my mind last Thursday night (Feb 21). My wifey being out of town, it was only my parents and me. Both of them being avid travellers, it did not take more than 30secs to convince them. We were off to Digha (a nearby beach from Kolkata), probably for the nth time.

Left home at 7am on Saturday (Feb 23), took the Kona Expressway and then onto NH6 towards Kolaghat. The NH was relatively empty and I was doing around 130-140kph. My dad being a rally enthusiast himself in his days (now 77yrs old), its never a problem doing high speeds with him on board. Reached Kolaghat by 8am, stopped over at the Sher-e-Punjab dhaba for breakfast, for 30mins and then took a left turn towards NH41. The surface of NH41 has improved, since the last time I travelled on this road. The sudden elevations over the culverts have been taken care of and it was a more or less smooth drive.

At Nandakumar, took a right turn towards Digha. The Digha road, though a 2 lane undivided SH, is a delight to drive on, with its twists and turns and good surface. However, this time, found that the surface has deteriorated at places. However, still managed to do 90-100ish speeds. On the way, we crossed Chaulkhola with hoardings for resorts at Mandarmoni (a new craze for beach-goers) all around. My mom insisted that we stay at Mandarmoni, but, I did not have very high regards about the place and planned to move on, with the promise that we will stop by on our way back. We reached Digha by 10:45am. Checked in at the Sea Hawk hotel and got a room with great views.

It took 3.5hrs of driving time, my fastest so far, to Digha.

Spent the evening roaming around in Digha. Next morning, Sunday (Feb 24), had a late breakfast and left Digha by 12 noon. On our way back, the roads were relatively empty and we reached Chaulkhola by 12:40. Here, took a right turn towards Mandarmoni.

What started next was something called off-roading, in some sense, as the road seemed to exist only during the ice-ages. I was lucky with the Palio having a high GC. I could see loaded cars like Zen and Alto finding it extremely difficult to negotiate the ditches. This continued for the next 10kms before we reached the beach-head. From here, its almost a free-run on the beach towards the right, where all the hotels/resorts are located.

Drove the Palio on full blast for the next 4-5 kms. However, it was difficult to keep the car steady above 120kph due to the shfting sand under the wheels. Had a decent lunch at one of the better restaurants and we were done by 2pm. It was now time for some photo shoots for the Palio and its passengers.

Thats yours truly with his beloved Palio



After a few more shots, with loaded Sumos/Qualis's zooming past me loaded with luggages and passengers on their way home, it was time for us to head back towards Kolkata. It was 2:30pm.



As I started cruising towards the road-head from the beach, suddenly, the unexpected happens. A gleaming black, very familiar Baleno appears in my RVM. I tried looking at the number-plate (a unique font in Kolkata) and Yes, it is him. It was BlackPearl, on his way back to Kolkata. We chatted for a while, before he zoomed past me, with the sweet exhaust note melting into the sounds of the breakers.

After a while, I catch up with him and take on the road from the beach and the dreaded experience starts all over again. BP was coming behind me and I could very well feel his agony as he was negotiating the ditches with extreme care. Finally, we reach the SH towards Kolkata.

At Contai, BP zooms past me. I tried desperately to catch up with him, but, he was in his elements. As he disappered in the horizon, my humble Palio 1.2 cruised on. We met up with him again at Kolaghat, at the Sher-e-Punjab dhaba, where we stopped for some tea and snacks. The dhaba was very crowded with hoards of weekend travellers on their way back towards Kolkata. Packed our dinner from there and left the Dhaba by 5pm.

The rest of the drive was smooth. Being a Sunday, city traffic was thin and reached home by 6:45pm.



As another short drive came to an end, covering a door-to-door distance of 407kms, I instructed the caretaker to give a nice wash to my beloved Palio and she could finally rest for the day.

(As you come to the end of this mini travelogue, let me reveal one more reason for the trip. I brought home my trusted Palio this day (Feb 25), 3 years back)

[vnabhi]

Great pics, Saurabh ! Your Palio really looks cool...moreso in that colour.
What a freak chance that was to meet up with another Team-BHP member !!
Nice travelogue.
What was the FE like?
BTW, I could not help noticing that your front right tyre looks more worn out at the centre, perhaps due to over-inflation??

[BlackPearl]

nice travelogue and you have got an excellent car that is maintained beyond my imagination. I could feel that it was your car when I saw the glint from a distance and that distinctive PUG sticker. I told my cousin sitting beside me that I know this car. I still remember the day when you called me up to know about Fiat Dealerships in Kolkata, but it does not seem that 3 years have passed by. Your Palio is among the best maintained cars in Kolkata. My cousin could not believe that this car was a month older than mine.

[shuvc]

Nice impromptu trip. More like the Alto Let's go types. 3.5 hours to Digha is a tempting thought ! @BP how long did you take?

Originally Posted by vnabhi

What a freak chance that was to meet up with another Team-BHP member !!

It's even more 'freakier', since @BP's wife is also out of town !

[Sam Kapasi]

That is a lovely looking beach there. Nice and sunny and clean.

[VJ_MAVRICK]

A truly desolated beach and very much to my liking as its hard to find such places nowadays. Quite well maintained as it appears from the pics and cool getaway saurabh.

[thebagchi]

MondarMoni cool
i was there yesterday.
nice place to spend some quality time

[esteem_lover]

Beautiful clean beach, is that a private beach ?

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by thebagchi

MondarMoni cool
i was there yesterday.
nice place to spend some quality time

were you the one with a comet? i saw a few riders wearing proper helmets and good bikes and among them was a hyosung comet.

It's even more 'freakier', since @BP's wife is also out of town !

dirty mind....

[akroy]

Cool Travelogue Saurabh, Nice pics too

Me too had a 400km dash on Sunday, took the car on highways after almost 4+ months....

Abhi

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by shuvc

@BP how long did you take?

while going 3 hours 20 mins end to end. 2 Hours 30 mins to reach Chaulkhola at 166 Kilometers (from Prince Petrol Bunk on Anwar shah road) where there is a left turn towards Mandamoni. the next 14 Kilometers took 50 mins. we did not stop anywhere. while returning drove a little faster and took 3 Hours 25 minutes end to end with a lassi halt of 25 mins in Kolaghat and 5 mins for filling up petrol at the same bunk on Anwar Shah road to calculate the mileage.

[Saurabh M]

@BP: Don't be so humble, your car is equally well maintained, if not better.

@esteem lover: Its not a private beach, but, its a relatively new spot. Thats why, not many tourists have started flowing in.

@abhi: I am yet to tank up and check the FE, but, should be around 15 with 70% AC

@thebagchi: Me to saw a couple of bikes, 4 I guess, parked facing the sea. Were you among them? Did not manage to get a closer look :(

@Shuvc: "Et tu?"

[shuvd]

Nice write up SaurabhM. Is there a river crossing involved to reach Mondarmoni?

[planet_rocker]

awesome travelogue Saurabh! i just the pics - enjoyed going through the post. how are the GPS2-s holding the sandy road - 120kph on the sand - you have reduced a lot since the last time i saw you.

@ Polished Dome - have changed BP's tyres??

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Saurabh M

@BP: Don't be so humble, your car is equally well maintained, if not better.

I am not humble at all but I see that you are very modest

@ Polished Dome - have changed BP's tyres??

uffff... BP's tyres can last a few thousand Kms more

Is there a river crossing involved to reach Mondarmoni?

nope, but you will have to cross one if you plan to go from Mandarmoni to Shankarpur along the beach