ramyagrIva, our i10..... which not only survived the beach but zoomed past many other cars while on the Western Ghats !

None of the pictures that were clicked had any traces of the bumper being stripped off while on the beach drag. A leisure inspection showed that on the left side, there was an earlier damage to the 'pressure absorbers' (don't know the actual name for this) which could have happened due to hitting a pillar or a compound while reversing or some other vehicle hitting the i10 with not so much of speed but a good impact. The 2-3 clips which were loosened up during that might have got released due to the pressure of sand mixed salty water hitting hard !

Not much of a pocket burn though... as this is a leased car by ALD, through an MNC, in the name of one of my good friend. He shall take care of getting it fixed . Thanks to all for helping me deal with that specific situation.

Thanks to Vedanth, Siddhanth, Ratan, XUV Gang for all the help

Picture Courtesy: Sujai !

[RSUDARSANAN]

Epilogue:

Originally Posted by laluks

..and my confirmed room can be given to the waiting list.

That was a foregone concluded "no show", leaving the trip bereft of your lensmanship, TLship and kinship ;-) .

Be that as it may, permit me to present the PPGs of the trip:

They, in essence, appear to have captured the ethos of the 10th anniversary drive.


Shaking out the remnants of "popcorn" - some random clicks:

After breakfast, awaiting departure call


The genial hostess of Kanaka Beach House, Ms Neetha Jeej


Local lads, who were treated to a drive in the beemer, posing


Soaking in the sun, sand and surf


Sand castles in progress


Helping hands, truly bhpian


Beautiful country road, homeward bound


Moonscape


"The Last Supper" @ Chamarajnagar


With our lead lensman, in the lead, the mesmerising visual of 21 pairs of glowing red tail lights, in an orderly convoy, snaking through the moonlit night, remains etched in memory in the windmills of the mind.

In conclusion:

Thank you all for the kind words of appreciation.

But it must be said, I just put up a platform for you, the stars of the drive.
Wow, you did take centre stage and outdo yourselves, you did and how !
You guys just rocked.
Continue to rock and roll till yet another drive is rustled up to tap your bhp.

Until then...Khuda hafiz.

[ratsharm]

A dream drive! Honestly, it is so peaceful and "at home" with all the BHPians. Never felt lost even for a second. Folks: some of you did take snaps of the Bolero on the beach - the ones when driving on the beach, that is, so if you would post them or mail them to me at: ratsharm@gmail.com, I would much appreciate it and be obliged. Many thanks to everybody for helping out in the trying times of the Bolero. Look forward to the next drive!!!

[KarthikK]

(continued...)

I didn't take snaps of the dinner meet at Kanaka beach house on that Saturday night. There were so many people who have covered it beautifully in the previous pages, so I definitely won't have anything new to add.

It was a gala Malabar cuisine dinner. The folks enjoyed themselves thoroughly, and we even had a small introduction session by all the members, accompanied by banter and "ragging" by stalwarts such as RSudarsanan, praveen balan and Ratsharm .

A feeble attempt at capturing the full moon without a tripod


The members returned to their respective resorts and retired for a good night's rest after the dinner.

Instead of waking up late, some members decided to wake up at the break of dawn - robimahanta, mohanKV, crazy driver, Akshay_S and KiloAlpha set out to the Muzhappilangad Beach to try and get some nice shots at sunrise time, when the beach would be empty and peaceful.

Robi and I had a tough time waking up the security guard at Asokam resort to get him to unlock the gates. When I reached Kanaka beach house, crazy driver was just done washing his car to avoid getting a "dirty" car in the photographs! Heights of detailing obsession!

CrazyDriver's washed car (and maybe he waxed it too!) at 6 AM!



The streets of Kannur were empty at this early hour and we had a nice uneventful drive till the Muzhappilangad drive-in beach, directions were straightforward since Google maps had it listed. I was with CrazyDriver in one Punto, with MohanKV leading the way in another Punto. Akshay's Fiesta, robi's polo were closely behind, and KiloAlpha joined us a little while later at the beach.

Following mohanKV's Punto into the drive-in beach


From then on, it was an hour of photographing cars on the beach, splashing water, driving together, having fun in the sand and/or water. It continued all the way until 7.30 PM when the scorching heat and empty tummies made us depart the place. Sit back and scroll through the car pictures taken on an idyllic Sunday morning at Muzhappilangad Beach.

Robi's hot hatch Polo GTI



CrazyDriver's RD'ed Punto 90HP



Black Beast!



Akshay_S with his Fiesta Sport TDCi



mohanKV's RD'ed Punto 90HP basking in the moonlight! I recollect him joking that there was no use taking snaps of his car apart from CrazyDriver's Punto. Both of them looked the same except for the registration number!





CrazyDriver's Punto 90 with the moonset in the background



Random snaps against the ocean backdrop









The group discussing if we can try some more weird photo angles to enhance the eye-candy factor.



The least used tool due to our constant movement across the beach



Robi's idea of bollywood inspired, mean-looking formation of cars





More individual car photographs








And some closeups too!



The group plans for the final assault - the water splash conquest! CrazyDriver (Sujai) decides to go first to do a reconnaissance run.





Making time stand still for a snap with a fisherman's boat in the frame



And a portrait of CrazyDriver's Punto without the boat too!



CrazyDriver begins the splash-spree in the distance



KiloAlpha, meanwhile, was playing around in the sand having a gala time!



And decides to join the party


(To be continued...)

[KarthikK]

(continued...)

The splashing photo sessions continued for a while



KiloAlpha decided to get back to sand-drifting for some time



But decided to join the splash gang. So did some more cameramen



CrazyDriver's car in action





KiloApha's turn to have a go





After this, we decided to head back to the resorts for breakfast, where the rest of the gang had woken up and were still battling sleep on a sunny Sunday morning. KiloAlpha and photo gang waiting at a railway crossing while heading back resort-wards



We had a sumptuous breakfast, freshened up by 9.30ish and proceeded to load the luggage back into the car boots. Here's a top view of members who had all vacated their cottages at Asokam beach resort and were chit-chatting at the resort's parking lot.



mohanKV, robimahanta, procrj, VellVector and his friend in timepass conversation.



All the members regrouped at Kanaka beach house for a group photo session (already uploaded by CrazyDriver earlier in this thread)



Junior raajks excited about the trip to the drive-in beach



While RSudrasanan was busy completing the exit formalities at the resort, the others were busy chatting about Auto expo and the latest car launches





ArunP_Terry was busy clicking pictures of the group. Where are your pictures, Arun?? We eagerly want to see them



CalypsoGT zapped in stealth mode



Anand.babu - calm before the storm. Meet attendees will know what I mean



KiloAlpha counting down the minutes on his fingers to pass time while awaiting departure call *lol*



The convoy getting ready to depart, heading first towards the drive-in beach.



The convoy invited weird ways to photograph the huge gathering. This was Dean using a tablet to capture the convoy.



ArunP_Terry posing with his brand new Terrano



So was Dr.AD from inside his SX4



Abirnale leading the convoy out of the Payyambalam beach road



ArunP_Terry wanted one more closeup *winks*.



Local lad sandsun7 leading us out of Kannur's traffic infested roads on a bust Sunday afternoon, to Muzhappilangad beach.


(To be continued...)

[Gannu_1]

Hahah perfect posture! I couldn’t help but post this!



No offense to dean!

[laluks]

Originally Posted by RSUDARSANAN

That was a foregone concluded "no show", leaving the trip bereft of your lensmanship, TLship and kinship ;-) .

Be that as it may, permit me to present the PPGs of the trip:

I had an unavoidable emergency at work front and I had to let this drive pass. I see that I have missed a lot of fun and action.

The PPGs was a nice gesture from you , and I can't believe that you really read my travelogues

[KarthikK]

(continued...)

Some members had already reached Muzhappilangad beach by following directions on google maps. Sandsun7 led us others to the beach through a less crowded road.

Our car closely followed by raajks in his Polo GT on the way to the beach



The sun was fully up in the sky and the typically coastal heat was beaming down on all the visitors. It must have been 10.30AM or so when we set foot on the drive-in beach. Shimshumara was having some trouble with his i10's rear bumper when I walked in to the beach, and some BHPians were helping him sort it out





Meanwhile elsewhere the photoshoot had to happen. This was the moment many BHPians were waiting for - the splashing portrait of their beloved steeds at this drive-in beach. Guys, I just hope you all got your underbody thoroughly washed the next day after returning, or else you are in some deep, deep trouble *chuckles*.

ArunP_Terry's Terrano goes first







Ratsharm's Bolero captained by his son Vaibhav









The next to go was Avinash (abirnale) in his gleaming silver SX4







Ooooh look ma! I didn't know picasa can be used for special effects.


Another one



Dass was slow and cautious initially


But he soon picked up and in fact beat the others at splash intensity







Meanwhile, ratsharm's Bolero was doing better and better



CalypsoGT getting ready for the next onslaught, with arunP_Terry advising him on splash strategies



Looks like CalypsoGT put theory into practice perfectly









Anand.babu arrives in high-revving style in his Esteem and is the star of the splash event!




Take 2



Praveen.Balan is the next to kick up the er.... salt water, with his Pete'd Octavia




(To be continued...)

[Soumyajit9]

I have been silently following this thread with a badly broken heart for not able to make it with you guys. The splashing cars made me teary-eyed, how good my Green Bolt would have looked there.
Asked my wifey (who by deafult is non-automobile-enthusiast) to atleast have a look at the pictures, and she was spellbound.
I am happy that you guys enjoyed a lot. And envy a bit of those LTD Keychains and that 10th Anniversary sticker.



P.S: Anyone knows good Photoshop ? Errr, Karthik just hit some chords of Picasa, what about Photoshop ? I am still trying to do some forgery here

[brraj]

Polos reflection







Near Muzhappilangad beach railway crossing


Inside view while driving on beach


Shall we enter the sea!!

[jkrishnakj]

All
I went through this fabulous report, all pages just now. I am wondering if one of you can please help with two things
1. The route from Hunsur towards Asokam Beach Resort
2. Any specific knowledge about the roads or the weather that i should keep in mind

I plan to leave tomorrow morning, sorry for the short notice and will really appreciate any inputs that i can get.

Regards,
KJ

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

All
I went through this fabulous report, all pages just now. I am wondering if one of you can please help with two things
1. The route from Hunsur towards Asokam Beach Resort
2. Any specific knowledge about the roads or the weather that i should keep in mind

Regards,
KJ

Hunsur-Gonikoppal-Virajpet(bypass)-Koottupuzha-Iritty-Mattannur-Mele chovva-Kannur. From melechovva (suburb of Kannur) follow either of the routes: http://goo.gl/maps/IpSpH or http://goo.gl/maps/Kn79B

The weather is very bad, in the sense that it has been raining incessantly since today morning. Many low lying areas have been flooded. Please be very careful while playing in the beach, sea could be very rough!

[dass]

I went through all 6 pages all over again, and rekindled some of the very fond memories.
Ravi sir, awaiting the next trip. I met you at the cafe coffee day near Kolar the other day and I don't want to let out the secret, but I know something big is coming up, just cannot wait for it

[RSUDARSANAN]

Originally Posted by dass

I went through all 6 pages all over again, and rekindled some of the very fond memories.
Ravi sir, awaiting the next trip. I met you at the cafe coffee day near Kolar the other day and I don't want to let out the secret, but I know something big is coming up, just cannot wait for it

....it may not be big, but short and sweet it's meant to be. Check the meets section bro

[RSUDARSANAN]

Originally Posted by procrj

What a drive! I think the best part of the trip was the midnight drive from chamrajnagar to kanakpura road. Empty roads, full moon shining on the ribbon of tar and 21 tail lamps flashing red. What a sight it was to watch the convoy wind its way through the NH with grey trees giving silent salute to the speeding devils! Sudarsanan sir thanks a lot for managing the drive. Lookin g forward to the next meet

Rajinder: The next meet is up on the meets section. But it's "been there, done that" for you. In fact, I've quoted you in the route teaser .

However, you are most welcome to lead us