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Old 22nd January 2020, 10:56   #16
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Great report Dr.AD. Such a short & sweet solo trip. Your writing style makes one travel with you while reading.

Amazing pictures as well.

Cheers,

Pawan
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Old 22nd January 2020, 12:11   #17
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Awecome write-up AD. Yes, it has indeed been a long time since you went solo, I remember.


I guess you missed reading about and visiting Velankanni church. It has an interesting story and is worth a quick visit, but I am sure the crowds there would have dissuaded you from doing so even had you known about it.


More power to you, man, and I look forward reading about more of your solo drives.



Cheers
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Old 22nd January 2020, 12:14   #18
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Brilliant write up AD and fantastic captures, especially the ones with the lady in the red saree

I wish I could do a solo drive too! It has been very hectic both in personal and professional front and a solo drive would definitely help :-)
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Old 22nd January 2020, 12:29   #19
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Quote:
Originally Posted by naveenroy View Post
Nice quick drive!
You are lucky to get such a beautiful sunset. Usually the clouds play spoilsport with sunsets in Kanyakumari.
Thank you, and yes, I was lucky to get a clear sunset view. It was cloudy on the way, but once I reached Kanyakumari, the sky was mostly clear.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHelix0202 View Post
Cool thread. Nothing like a solo journey, I always say! Anyone know what’s the actual distance between the Vivekananda Memorial and the Thiruvalluvar statue? When we visited Kanyakumari a decade back, due to shortage of time we couldn’t visit the latter.
Thank you. I think the distance between the Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue is just about 100m. But there is sea in that 100m, so the distance does not matter unless ferry service is running. This time, for some reason, ferries were not going to Thiruvalluvar statue at all.

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Originally Posted by sramanat View Post
Excellent choice of destination/route to introspect :-).
Thank you.

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Originally Posted by graaja View Post
Awesome write up AD. A solo drive gives lots of alone time and helps in discovering oneself. I am now tempted to drive to Kanyakumari
Thank you Graaja. Yes, you should definitely plan this drive. It is even closer from Coimbatore than from Bangalore, and you can easily do this as a weekend drive.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PearlJam View Post
Nice travelogue and pictures, AD! You chose the perfect time to visit Kanyakumari.

Coincidentally, we too covered Kanyakumari, Vattakottai Fort, and Mathur Aquaduct during December last week (due to date compulsions, this was unavoidable), and it was a terrible terrible mess. Lots of crowd, dirty, chaotic, and to add to this, the President decided to visit on the same day - so the ferry was closed. Not at all a place worth going again (atleast that's what we felt after seeing the chaos). Just adding 1 pics with your permission.
Thank you PearlJam. Yes, I can imagine how crowded this place would be in December. Even now, it was fairly crowded, and dirty as well. The sad thing was that the crowd was throwing all the junk just everywhere, and the evening walk around the "Southernmost Point" literally required finding my way through the garbage. It is really sad. Thankfully and very surprisingly, the sunset park was very clean and not crowded at all (and I am sure these two things have a strong correlation), and I really enjoyed the evening there watching the sunset.

Quote:
But Vattakottai fort was good - There's a small path to go to the beach, right around where you parked. There's a river joining the sea there, and it was nice. The Mathur Aquaduct was amazing too, a bit off route but was worth it
Oh, great! Thank you very much for this information. Next time I will visit that beach. And thanks a lot for the Aqueduct information too. I had no idea about this, and now that you mentioned it, I googled it to find some information. Will surely visit next time. It is amazing how I learn about new locations in every travelogue :-)

Quote:
Originally Posted by deepfreak15 View Post
Awesome drive AD. If I'm not mistaken this is your first solo sojourn after Dusty.
Thank you Deepak. Actually this was my first "both-ways solo drive in the BMW for leisure". The reason I qualify this is that on some of the recent team-bhp meets (overnight meets), I have driven solo one-way because of some time constraints. And further, I keep driving solo for work to Hyderabad and Chennai all the time. I have done multiple solo drives to these cities. However, those drives don't really count because there is no introspection there. In those work drives I keep thinking about my presentation while going to the meetings, and keep thinking about the follow-up while returning. In fact, my mind starts composing emails when I drive solo for work. So that is not really any fun. Therefore, this was the first solo drive which was totally for leisure.

Quote:
Couldn't wait for your typical monsoon drive? Can make out from the exposure of your pics that it was a searing hot trip but nevertheless the roads must have kept you highly entertained. Smooth long straights with the occasional long sweeping curves almost make your brakes redundant.
Hopefully there will be a monsoon drive this year. We had one in 2018, and then missed out in 2019. Let's try to plan one in 2020. And yes, it was really hot.

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Look familiar? Check out my profile picture
Absolutely familiar. In fact, I was thinking of you when I passed through that location. I remember your profile pic, but more than that, I also remember the picture you put in your A3 thread. In fact, you had taken a photo at the same spot in your GT TSi as well. So I remembered all those photos and that is how actually I got the idea of taking a photo at this location. So thanks to you for this idea!

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February? I want to ride down.
Sounds good. I can also join you guys, unless you guys want to do solo drives/rides :-)

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Originally Posted by PapaBravo View Post
Great report Dr.AD. Such a short & sweet solo trip. Your writing style makes one travel with you while reading.
Amazing pictures as well.
Pawan
Thank you very much.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tilt View Post
Awecome write-up AD. Yes, it has indeed been a long time since you went solo, I remember.

I guess you missed reading about and visiting Velankanni church. It has an interesting story and is worth a quick visit, but I am sure the crowds there would have dissuaded you from doing so even had you known about it.

More power to you, man, and I look forward reading about more of your solo drives.
Thank you very much, tilt. Yes, it had been a long time and this solo drive was long overdue. Thanks a lot for this information about the church. I had no clue, and missed visiting this. This drive was so impromptu that I had done zero research and I had no knowledge of any nearby places. But thanks to your tip, now I know. This is a point added for the next trip.

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Originally Posted by NTO View Post
Brilliant write up AD and fantastic captures, especially the ones with the lady in the red saree
I wish I could do a solo drive too! It has been very hectic both in personal and professional front and a solo drive would definitely help :-)
Thank you NTO. I can totally relate to your situation. Even for me it had been very hectic, and therefore, this solo drive actually provided a great relief and some kind of "mind/brain recharge" experience. I think even if it is for a short weekend, it is good to just take some time off and do a quick drive. You will come back totally fresh and recharged.

Last edited by Dr.AD : 22nd January 2020 at 12:37.
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Old 22nd January 2020, 17:16   #20
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Very good travelogue, one of a kind that I do - no planning around for months, just think of a destination, book a hotel, fill up your vehicle and off you go. I reach there,visit few important places if it is a new destination, or altogether skip touristy spots for an already visited one and explore and come back.

I went to Kanyakumari as part of southern coastal trip with family in mid December 2019 and indeed it was a mess - crowds thronging in buses, garbage everywhere, total chaos even in the mid of hot sunny afternoon. We just visited the rock memorial and made a point to take off as soon as possible for Rameshwaram. It was probably the second and last trip of my life to Kanyakumari touristy spots and town.

Thanks for sharing, the car looks amazing.
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Old 22nd January 2020, 20:16   #21
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Quote:
Originally Posted by tilt View Post
I guess you missed reading about and visiting Velankanni church. It has an interesting story and is worth a quick visit, but I am sure the crowds there would have dissuaded you from doing so even had you known about it.
Thanks again for your suggestion. However, I googled for this Velankanni church after you mentioned, and all I can find is one Velankanni church near Nagapattinam, which is about 500km away from Kanyakumari. I could not find any church of this name near Kanyakumari. So did I miss it in my search somehow?

Quote:
Originally Posted by amods View Post
Very good travelogue, one of a kind that I do - no planning around for months, just think of a destination, book a hotel, fill up your vehicle and off you go. I reach there,visit few important places if it is a new destination, or altogether skip touristy spots for an already visited one and explore and come back.

Thanks for sharing, the car looks amazing.
Thank you, and glad to hear that our drive planning ideas are similar :-)
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Old 22nd January 2020, 21:45   #22
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Thank you, Doc. Gives me even more confidence to go towards an F30 320d/330i. By the way, anyone up for BLR-Dhanushkodi in 4th week of Feb?
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Old 23rd January 2020, 09:54   #23
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Sitting in my morning class in the chilly winter morning of Shillong, feeling sleepy.
I open TeamBHP and up comes this amazing travelogue with a gorgeous BMW! That's all I needed to feel fresh. A great write up with plethora of pictures.
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Old 23rd January 2020, 09:57   #24
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.AD View Post
And finally, to conclude this travelogue, I must say that I once again fell in love with my car in this drive! What a car! It took me so effortlessly and so quickly over such a long distance, and in spite of spirited driving, returned a mileage of more than 16km/l. I enjoyed every moment of driving her. She can cruise comfortably when required, and with a slight tap on the pedal, she can accelerate ahead of most other vehicles on the road without breaking sweat! I loved every moment of this journey.
Simply great FE and avg.speed stats. (psst : did you know, when you are at a steady speed at 100 or 120 kph, the engine is putting out only <=30bhp ?)
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Old 23rd January 2020, 10:20   #25
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.AD View Post
Solo drives are also great to get to know your car. Just as talking to yourself, in solo drives you are constantly talking to your car. And you car, if you have ears for it, keeps talking to you all the time. This continuous dialogue between the driver and the car, when they are cruising alone in the middle of nowhere, is an amazing experience and a great way to grow the bond between the man and the machine!
Very aptly said. Nothing beats solo drive when it comes to connect between man and the machine. I always get chides from my parents whenever I take the car out alone on highway trips. They are always on their toes when I go solo. Their biggest worry is that I might fall asleep with no one talking. On contrary the silence is the best thing that gives the connect between self and the machine. Luckily home ministry is not against it
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Old 23rd January 2020, 16:48   #26
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

I never could gather the courage to set sail on a solo trip. But this account logged by has brought me ever so close to actually want to experiment it once. Reading through your note actually felt very calming.
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Old 24th January 2020, 01:25   #27
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Awesome writeup and I could relate to the "freedom" that solo trips offer. The feeling of just us and our vehicle cannot equate to anything else.

What is even more impressive is the numbers that the Bimmer returned, despite the spirited driving. Just wow!
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Old 24th January 2020, 09:15   #28
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

Quote:
Originally Posted by vredesbyrd View Post
Thank you, Doc. Gives me even more confidence to go towards an F30 320d/330i.
Yes, you can confidently go ahead with the 320d/330i, as long as you do proper inspection of the car at BMW Service Center, and also check the history. Apart from the usual checks and cautions, you can trust the F30 to be very reliable. I have few friends with F30s, and touch wood, all of us are enjoying our cars to the fullest with no issues at all.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astitva View Post
Sitting in my morning class in the chilly winter morning of Shillong, feeling sleepy.
I open TeamBHP and up comes this amazing travelogue with a gorgeous BMW! That's all I needed to feel fresh. A great write up with plethora of pictures.
Thank you!

Quote:
Originally Posted by sud View Post
Very aptly said. Nothing beats solo drive when it comes to connect between man and the machine. I always get chides from my parents whenever I take the car out alone on highway trips. They are always on their toes when I go solo. Their biggest worry is that I might fall asleep with no one talking. On contrary the silence is the best thing that gives the connect between self and the machine. Luckily home ministry is not against it
Absolutely agree! In fact, I am a better and safer driver when I drive solo. I am fully concentrated on driving, and more than that, I take every decision (such as overtaking) very objectively and correctly when I am driving solo. When you are in a company, sometimes some external factors (such as someone is hungry, someone wants you to drive fast or slow, you are falling behind some other car in your group etc.) can make you unnecessarily change your driving style.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SPB_drives View Post
I never could gather the courage to set sail on a solo trip. But this account logged by has brought me ever so close to actually want to experiment it once. Reading through your note actually felt very calming.
Once you do a few solo trips, you will like it so much that you will want to do it all the time. The initial hesitation you mentioned will go away in a couple of trips.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TangoSierra View Post
Awesome writeup and I could relate to the "freedom" that solo trips offer. The feeling of just us and our vehicle cannot equate to anything else.

What is even more impressive is the numbers that the Bimmer returned, despite the spirited driving. Just wow!
Thanks you! Yes, the car just amazed me as well. I think it is is getting better with age and time :-)
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Old 25th January 2020, 09:12   #29
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

A very nice travelogue with some awesome pics.

Enjoyed reading even though this is my regular route to hometown.

If someone wants to go on a quick but long drive then Kanyakumari is a good option as the traffic post Salem is minimal.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.AD View Post
Views like this, on the north side of the fort:
Attachment 1959444
Few Kms before the left to Vattakottai fort, there is another left which will take you to this location, closer to the sea. You wont see much crowd here and also a good location to click some nice pics.

An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW-20190420_062305.jpg
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Old 25th January 2020, 12:18   #30
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Re: An impromptu solo drive to the end of the land - Kanyakumari in my BMW

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Originally Posted by arun_josie View Post
A very nice travelogue with some awesome pics.
Thank you very much! Yes, I agree with you that the traffic after Salem is minimal. This is a very enjoyable and relaxing drive after Salem!

Quote:
Few Kms before the left to Vattakottai fort, there is another left which will take you to this location, closer to the sea. You wont see much crowd here and also a good location to click some nice pics.
Thank you very much for this information. And wow! What a beautiful picture!

Your "Scarlett" pictures are my favorite pictures of Jeep Compass, and the one you shared above is one of the best!
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