[ABHI_1512]

After the YURU Sojourn ( https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...kalimpong.html (12 Friends on a Journey to celebrate driving & friendship | Trip to Delo, Kalimpong)), the clamour for the next overnight meet picked up steam one fine morning during the last week of October. Only this time it was decided to have a family get together. Accordingly, dates were considered and any weekend during the second and third week of November was proposed. Members deliberated and the second weekend of November was finalised.

Mandarmoni is a small sea side place near to Calcutta and the place needs no introduction. The place now features among the list of most visited places of Bengal. With some added infrastructure push from the government, new roads are coming up and one ambitious road aptly named Marine Drive is on the verge of completion. Plenty of resorts and hotels have come up now as well. After talking to few of the preferred resorts and comparing the quotes, one was selected considering the whole package.

Let me first introduce the members of the TEAM-BHP family along with their handle names:

1. PapaBravo and family
2. dip27in and family
3. mi2n and family
4. Neversaygbye and family
5. rdas81 and family
6. SchrödingersCar and family
7. Boniver and family
8. Sandman689 and family
9. ABHI_1512 and family
10. roamer012 and family
11. Mile_Breaker
12. edunata
13. Cdibya
14. HORSEPOWER
15. ShuvC
16. apollo_1999

BHPian HornNotOkPlease was also part of the plan, just that his dates collided with our meet up and he stayed at another property nearby along with his family.

Sharing some pictures for a start:

Our Venue- Anutri Beach Resort


The cars lined up along the highway


Boniver’s pet peeping across the Ritz


Sandman689’s pet frolicking in the sea


The whole group- along the sea


HORSEPOWER generating hydropower


The cars lined up at the resort


Sandman689 with his two adorable pets


Off-roading


The coconut seller who posed

[ABHI_1512]

Mandarmoni is approximately a three to four hour drive from Calcutta driving leisurely. Azad Hind Dhaba, Uluberia NH6 was decided as the common meeting place for all and the time to assemble was set at 8 in the morning. BHPians were coming from various parts of Calcutta and it was always going to be a convoy drive.

First few to reach the assembly point


BHPian dip27in was the first one to reach the assemble point and very disappointedly, I was the last one !! The whole gang had their breakfast and the fare at Azad Hind Dhaba never disappoints.

First meeting- mi2n & SchrödingersCar


Some of us were meeting for the first time and it’s always nice to see the faces behind the handles. I reached just in time to enter the frame for the group photo at the assembly point

Few glimpses of the breakfast fare, the pictures have been clicked by dip27in, at least that’s what I know since this thread consists of pictures clicked by various members at different points of time.









Breakfast over and soon it was time for the convoy to move towards Mandarmoni. It was quite a sight on NH6 to see the cars zipping through the traffic. PapaBravo in his X1 and dip27in in his Civic were going all guns blazing and were showing what serious driving looks like and that, it can be fun too.









We just followed the cars in front and soon stopped for another little break before reaching Mandarmoni. Tender coconut is the weakness of many of the BHPians and the seller made some serious money that day from a group of foodies

HORSEPOWER building up his appetite

[ABHI_1512]

The resort is at the fag end of Mandarmoni and nearby to the new Marine Drive road that passes through the coastal area like Tajpur, Shankarpur and all the way to Digha. The hotel has one big advantage and that is its huge parking. That was one of the criteria’s when the resorts were being contemplated.

We were treated to a refreshing welcome drink at the resort upon our arrival. It was quite a sight at the reception area when all of us were waiting to be given the room keys. Nevertheless, after checking into our respective rooms, it was time for some little chit chat over a round of cold drinks at one of the sit outs beside the restaurant.

ShuvC clicked some brilliant portraits of the members during this little adda session. Here are the pictures:

BHPian Mile_Breaker


BHPian Neversaygbye


BHPian dip27in


BHPian roamer012


BHPian HORSEPOWER


BHPian PapaBravo


BHPian mi2n


BHPian rdas81


BHPian edunata


BHPian SchrödingersCar


This little session was a sort of ice breaker for some new faces as well and who we were meeting for the first time. BHPian roamer012 was a welcome new addition here in Calcutta. He has recently shifted to the city and it was wonderful to have him with us along with his family.

[ABHI_1512]

And soon it was time for lunch. The resort had arranged the lunch wonderfully well and the menu was varied and the taste was great. Buffet facilities made our job easier too. Choice of Phulkas/ Rice, daal tadka, mixed veg, mutton/ fish curry and the sweets were the highlights. We all had our hearts full by the time we finished our lunch.
















Now some of the members went for a quick afternoon nap and some decided to hit the pool after some time. As one can see in the following picture, some members were doing everything in their power to convince people to hit the pool.



It took a round table type conversation outside the restaurant to finally agreeable decision of hitting the pool. One notable thing to add here, BHPian Mile_Breaker was the most enthusiastic about hitting the pool. His enthusiasm is infectious and he did show some cool moves in the pool too.





The pool at Anutri resort has a separate child pool as well. BHPian mi2n and dip27in decided to be a sport and went along with their kids. Kids always enjoy the water and it was no different with them as well. Talking of kids, the adults also became kids once they were in the pool. BHPian HORSEPOWER was the bundle of energy that everyone was looking up to in the pool. He showed us some real cool moves with flips as well. Also, he carried a GoPro and duly obliged us with some underwater shots and videos. I am sure, he will add some pictures to this thread. Some pictures:

[ABHI_1512]

Evening started with some tomfoolery and ended up as one fun night where members and their families had a whale of a time. Our resort package had snacks included and the resort did extremely well in giving us ample amount of snacks for the evening. BHPian Hornnotokplease also joined us and we all had discussions ranging from the cars and veered onto testing strength of the cars by the end of the night

Evening sky from the hotel


View of the resort


Our entire evening arrangement was beside the sea and the resort staff were courteous enough to attend to every little demand of ours. The snacks platter consisted of both veg and non veg options and the quantity was ample enough too.

Some examples of tomfoolery around:

Recreating behind the bars scenario


BHPian CDibya giving us singing vibes


The resort has many activities for the patrons including many games like Table Tennis and Carrom. Gym equipments also add up to the activities. During one such endeavour, this happened.

dip27in decided to flex his well endowed muscles


ShuvC juggled and how..phew !


And when not fooling around, BHPian HORSEPOWER and dip27in indulged in some serious food photography.



But then, photography doesn’t help in satiating the hunger pangs ..so just dig in



And then SHuvC again got down to his favourite thing, clicking pictures during the evening and here are some samples :

BHPian apollo_1999


BHPian Neversaygbye


BHPian HornNotOkPlease


PapaBravo describing love for the Duster


That’s Kabir- Junior PapaBravo


Meanwhile BHPian Boniver decided to take his Ritz out for a spin and he came up with this beautiful picture.



After one helluva evening, the dinner was a foregone conclusion. Everyone enjoyed a sumptuous Chinese buffet and some like us, got clicked while chatting late into the night.

[ABHI_1512]

Next day, many of us went out for the early morning stroll. The breeze was nice and the weather had a hint of chill. The sea at Mandarmoni is rough and choppy and it was quite a sight with waves hitting the shores.





Most of the members woke up just in time for the breakfast. It was anyways a leisure trip and so there was no hurry at all. After the breakfast, everyone made their way towards the sea. Just to soak in some sea side fun. The pets had a wonderful time and so did the children’s.





Members just lazed around the sea without really going into the sea. It’s dangerous to enter the choppy waters during the morning and High tide anyways.

BHPian edunata chose to wear a traditional attire to the sea- a first for us


BHPian Sandman069


It was a wonderful little session beside the sea where the kids got to drench their feet’s into the water. BHPian roamer12 and his two adorable twins were the cynosure of the trip and one of them seriously loved water. It was quite a sight to see them enjoying the sea.

Some pictures beside the sea :

SHuvC in contemplation mode


PapaBravo trying hard to get the perfect frame


BHPian Neversaygbye and his better half


BHPian rdas81 and his better half


BHPian dip27in and his cute family


BHPians session of chit chat


BHPian roamer012 with his kids


This lovely morning session beside the sea was spent well. We went back to the resort and after lunch it was time for the return back to the city. Some member’s left early and the rest returned back in a convoy till the entry point of the city. We had another overnight meet coming to the end and we surely made some new friends. As of writing now, the next meet up is already in consideration.

All the portrait pictures were clicked by BHPian ShuvC and he has very kindly shared the pictures for the thread. Some pictures posted here are a collection of pictures clicked by the members and shared, I can’t thank them enough for sure. But I still believe that there are many pictures remaining, specially the food pictures. Will request everyone to post here.

What’s a thread without some car pictures:











The group picture just before the departure from the resort. Some faces are missing since they left early.




Here’s to the next, cheers

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[boniver]

It was a really enjoyable weekend, thanks to you, Abhi Da, for taking up the responsibility of organising everything and putting everyone’s comfort before yours. I meet some of you almost every weekend, but it was great to meet the others who I’ve only interacted with over WhatsApp!

Some more pictures:

A long line up of cars waiting to drink tender coconut water:


Sunset at the beach:


Some pictures of the new (to me) car:




Video-calling TurboNath at 2am to make him jealous for missing the meet:






An almost empty tank after just 400 odd kms on the highway shows I had some real fun!


I think I speak for all of us when I say I’m eagerly looking forward to our next trip as a group. Bring it on!

[Mile_Breaker]

ABHI_1512 Many many thanks for taking the pain of organizing this weekend fun and then finally penning it down. A destination that I have frequented so often but the company of BHPians just took it to another level. Starting from having chicken bharta for breakfast to super delicious mutton curry for lunch to kebabs in the evening supplemented by acrobatics in pool to BHPian Horsepower's breakdance and the evening adda and travel stories from different BHPians made it memorable. Yes and with all this came the passion to drive. A convoy of BHPians is always a sight not to miss!

[Sandman689]

Thanks Abhi da. Had an absolute blast. Especially my family & pets.

Looking back however, I feel it ended too quickly. Can't wait for the next meet!

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

BHPian Sandman069

I see what you did there.

[PapaBravo]

Thanks for penning this down ABHI1512. This trip was successful & a blockbuster all thanks to you. Your meticulous planning was commendable. I am sure everyone had a great time & we look forward to more.

Cheers,
Pawan

[OpenRoads]

Awesome pics and beautiful meet. Love the convoy, food and pool. I have missed this twice in a row. Will definitely try to make it to the next one

[BlackPearl]

What a lovely thread and interesting pictures @ABHI_1512! Saw a lot of new faces and thank you for putting names to them. Only you can make a thread on Mandarmani so much fun to read

[Samba]

This must have been super fun! Sadly I had to give this trip a miss. :(
And honestly I didn't like this travelogue a single bit, I feel jealous! For you guys the turbo or the Vtec kicked in, but for me FOMO kicked in!

Jokes apart. Please plan the next one ASAP, am not going to miss that.

[arpanjha]

Really enjoyed seeing the pics . You guys really seem like one big car family.
Hope someday I can join too, I need to be active on the Kolkata TBhp threads.