Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!

lambdaplus · 5th February 2011, 19:32

This is the longest trip I've gone as yet on the my 1.6S! ~1500 kms in 4 days. It was an amazing trip and the car continues to impress! My god! Can't believe Ford has made such a brilliant car, and not everyone understands it!!

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-1.6-s.jpg

I'd gone to Waynad a couple of years back on my Santro and the roads were awesome! Hence, when I bought the 1.6S, I had already made a mental note to visit Waynad again.

So, it all started on 26th Jan morning, three friends set out with a rough plan to go along the west coast of Karnataka. Instead of driving to Mangalore, we decided to go via waynad to Calicut and then head northward.

Bangalore to Mysore was a breeze. Just a small break at Kamat for breakfast. We headed to Nanjangud. Surprisingly, the roads had been relaid and the condition was not as bad as this strech generally was all these years! Hence, we sped on to Gundlupet, stopping for a mega size tender coconut along the highway.

As we entered the Bandipur forest, the roads became bad. Some places were literally craters! Added to this, the shadows of the trees made it difficult to spot the potholes. On entering the Kerala border, the pot holes decreased. However, the road wasn't like when I'd driven here on my Santro! I'd give it 6 out of 10.
We reached Kalpetta and stopped for a break at Walnut cakes. Then headed on towards Calicut. Only here, a short strech was 8 out of 10. Excellent condition plus good curves. Then, comes the brilliant view of the valley when we take steep hairpins to get down towards Calicut. The road went a little bad towards the bottom of the hills, maybe too much rain water erodes it, I'm not sure! We then reached Calicut and stopped at Dominos for pizza which wasn't very impressive but very expensive! Through-out the whole trip, we never spend as much as we did here for food!!

We headed towards Thalaserry from Calicut. It was here that hell brakes lose! Two lane NH 17, 4 lanes worth traffic! And, I'm sure the Kerala private busses are famous for their unique highway driving styles!
It was close to sunset and our destination was Muzhappilangad. However, we were stuck at Thalaserry and hence, had to see the sun set along the highway at some view point. This was the only view we could get due to traffic!

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-thalessery.jpg

Never-the-less, in less than 30 minutes, we took a left off the NH into a very narrow road that goes to Muzhappilangad, probably the only drive in beach India! We'd booked a cottage for 1k a night along the beach. We actually couldn't believe that one could drive on the beach!! Yes! On the beach!! The sand is pretty hard and gives enough traction to drive at high speeds also

It was already dark when we reached here. So, we had kattan chaya and headed off to drive along the 4-5km stretch! Super fun to drive on beach.

However, since its a new car, (less than 5000 kms!) I din't venture into the water. But, I'm sure it'd be awesome fun to drive with the water spraying on both sides and, it'd surely make great pictures!

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-muzhappilangad_night.jpg

Next day, we did several drives and took many pictures too. Muzhappilangad turned out to be a brilliant find.

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-muz_day3.jpg

I'm sure I'll visit it again. Please do visit this place. It's highly recommended!!

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-muzha_day.jpg

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-muzha_day2.jpg

The time had come to leave this paradise and on 27th, we started towards Mangalore. Again, the roads were crowded. Decent condition, but too much traffic! We stopped for lunch in Kasargod and crossed Mangalore around 5. Keen to catch the sunset early, we headed towards Udupi (Malpe being our destination). However, due to 4-laning of the NH, we were set back. Hence, we headed to Kaup beach and caught a fascinating sunset. The Kaup beach is not frequented by tourists. Hence, its a good place for people like us (Bangaloreans!). Here are a few sunset captures.

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-sunsets-kaup.jpg

After this, we headed to Udupi for rest. Next day, we thought of driving down to Gokarna to Om beah and started. Enroute, we paid a visit to Malpe. Good beach! However, it was very hot at 11 AM.

We continued northward. Now, the roads became broader and traffic leaner. Driving was become pleasurable again The Fiesta 1.6 S makes it easy to drive. You will never realize the distance you are covering, once you start hitting the pedal! And the coastal Karnataka roads are wonderful!
We reached Marvante. What a sight! Beach on one side an river on the other!

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-marvante1.jpg

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-marvante-2.jpg

We headed further with a stopover at the RNS highway hotel @ Murudeshwara. The food wasn't very good and we lost over 1 hour! Anyway, we moved on with the intention of not racing for the sunset, as we'd been doing the past two days. We reached Gokarna around 5 and headed to Om beach. My god! The number of foreigners there were too many! We din't get any shacks to stay! Disheartened, we were heading back to Gokarna. We stopped by to catch a view of the beach from a particular cliff that over looks (what we later came to know) Kudle beach. Superb view from this part! There was a board giving the phone number of Gokarna international resort in Kudle beach. We immediately got a room booked and headed to wards it! Its a small detour before Om beach. There is not road as such and you will surely miss it unless you are told where this is! After some off roading (at 10-15kmph!) we reached a parking spot where a couple cars were parked. Then, its a 5 minute decent to the Kudle beach. The place is very pretty actually! Better than Om beach as it is secluded!

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-kudle-ss.jpg

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-kudle.jpg

The food we had at Kudle was brilliant! These small shacks make some really classy food! We had a very tasty wood burn pizza served on banana leaf!

Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S!-pizza.jpg

Next day, we started our return journey at 11:30AM from Kudle. We decided to hit Hubli and take the NH 4. We'd had a good share of roads from Udupi. However, the best was saved for the last!
The road from Ankola to Hubli was particularly awesome! Its just a two lane highway (slightly wider than normal two lanes), but it goes through the western ghats and the twists and turns are awesome! The 1.6 S simply glided past these brilliant series of curves and straights! And, best part was there was very lean traffic! It was so awesome that from Ankola to Yellapura, we never had to brake even once and our speed never came below 80kmph! Some turns we took at 100kmph as well!!
Because of this amazing strech, we reached Hubli at 2:30PM. Headed for Kamat in the "Traffic Island" (an area in Hubli!) and left for Bangalore along the NH4. Almost 80% of the highway is full 4 lanes except for a few bridges and blockages after Ranibennur. We reached Durga just after sunset and set off to Bangalore, reaching home at 10:30 PM.

Thus, came to an end our 4 day west coast journey. There are many many beautiful places along the west coast of Karnataka to which this hurried trip is no way does justice! On this trip, my car crossed the 5k kms milestone. The FE was in the range of 12 to 14.5 kmpl depending on traffic. Most of the driving was with A/C since, it was really hot out in the coast and we only drove in the day.

I can't stop going ga ga over the Fiesta 1.6 S. The moment you step on the accelerator pedal, you feel like going on and on and on! I highly recommend this car to anyone who is looking to buy a new car! I'm now waiting for my next trip!

thedreamcatcher · 5th February 2011, 21:10

Good post and has given me some inspiration for a trip to this place

I would say you did good by not taking your car into the water. It is a lot of fun to see and feel, but at the end of the day it is salt water and can have very bad effects on the car later. Teflon coating or not, it is bad, and not every part is teflon coated as well. Salt water can have very bad results on vehicles, especially civvies

But nice pics and am sure many will now attempt this drive

sagarpadaki · 5th February 2011, 21:36

Nice log lambdaplus.Loved the pic of the S in the beach.

Yes,kudle beach is better than OM beach.its waves are less intense and can enjoy swimming.Where did you stay in kudle beach?which cottage?

vasanthn21 · 7th February 2011, 15:27

nice travelogue; and the motor-able beach is just awesome.

I have heard of some motor-able beaches near Chennai.

Nice pics too.

Fordmanchau · 13th April 2011, 12:24

Lambda, just saw this thread.
Amazing pics to start with and you had the most fun car in it's category as your ride. Sure looks like you had a lot of fun. Sunset pics are awesome.
Seeing the first black 1.6s in your pics.
Wonder why this thread is not in the travelogues section ?

ranjith.rajaram · 15th April 2011, 17:45

Loved the picture of the Sun in the beach. I have once been to the Thalaserry breach but couldn't get the sunset but you fulfilled it. Thanks.

Pizza served on banana leaf! I am surprised. Pizza is Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine but we made more innovation to it.

Yamahead · 19th April 2011, 15:17

There is a beach town called Digha near Kolkata where small aircrafts would land and take off from the beach. One of the hardest beach tops i have ever seen( believe me, I am a beach bum n have travelled a lot to all sorts of beaches). We regularly used to take our Amby down to Digha beach. Some 25 kms from Digha is a the Mandarmoni beach( extension of the same waterfront basically),which looks a like deserted airstrip and if u can manage to get past the 10 odd feet of soft sand when you get off the narrow beach-front road, you can drive a truck on the Mandarmoni beach. We have driven a Scorpio on Mandarmoni beach n-number of times and the feel is amazing.
Om beach n the other small beaches in and around Kumta/ Gokarna/ Murudeshwar are a real treasure.Poor connectivity has somehow helped in preserving them

krish3 · 19th April 2011, 16:19

Nice short travelogue and nice pics.

Can you please put up your stay details (name of resort etc) and charges for the benefit of all in the forum?

lambdaplus · 25th April 2011, 21:59

Thanks! we went there again, for a weekend

nice place!

we stayed in a place called Hotel beach pavilion. it costs 1k for the room (5 people can easily stay). the room is spacious, with three cots. So, you need to take some extra bedsheets. Also, mosquito repellents are a must!
You can contact Mr. Mohan (+91-9446264630) to get rooms. They have a kitchen and can make some normal food. Food isn't the best, but sufficient to sit and pass time. I felt the food there is a little expensive. However, its cheaper than having to go out and search for other eateries!

5th February 2011, 19:32	#1
lambdaplus BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 38 Thanked: 39 Times	Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! This is the longest trip I've gone as yet on the my 1.6S! ~1500 kms in 4 days. It was an amazing trip and the car continues to impress! My god! Can't believe Ford has made such a brilliant car, and not everyone understands it!! I'd gone to Waynad a couple of years back on my Santro and the roads were awesome! Hence, when I bought the 1.6S, I had already made a mental note to visit Waynad again. So, it all started on 26th Jan morning, three friends set out with a rough plan to go along the west coast of Karnataka. Instead of driving to Mangalore, we decided to go via waynad to Calicut and then head northward. Bangalore to Mysore was a breeze. Just a small break at Kamat for breakfast. We headed to Nanjangud. Surprisingly, the roads had been relaid and the condition was not as bad as this strech generally was all these years! Hence, we sped on to Gundlupet, stopping for a mega size tender coconut along the highway. As we entered the Bandipur forest, the roads became bad. Some places were literally craters! Added to this, the shadows of the trees made it difficult to spot the potholes. On entering the Kerala border, the pot holes decreased. However, the road wasn't like when I'd driven here on my Santro! I'd give it 6 out of 10. We reached Kalpetta and stopped for a break at Walnut cakes. Then headed on towards Calicut. Only here, a short strech was 8 out of 10. Excellent condition plus good curves. Then, comes the brilliant view of the valley when we take steep hairpins to get down towards Calicut. The road went a little bad towards the bottom of the hills, maybe too much rain water erodes it, I'm not sure! We then reached Calicut and stopped at Dominos for pizza which wasn't very impressive but very expensive! Through-out the whole trip, we never spend as much as we did here for food!! We headed towards Thalaserry from Calicut. It was here that hell brakes lose! Two lane NH 17, 4 lanes worth traffic! And, I'm sure the Kerala private busses are famous for their unique highway driving styles! It was close to sunset and our destination was Muzhappilangad. However, we were stuck at Thalaserry and hence, had to see the sun set along the highway at some view point. This was the only view we could get due to traffic! Never-the-less, in less than 30 minutes, we took a left off the NH into a very narrow road that goes to Muzhappilangad, probably the only drive in beach India! We'd booked a cottage for 1k a night along the beach. We actually couldn't believe that one could drive on the beach!! Yes! On the beach!! The sand is pretty hard and gives enough traction to drive at high speeds also It was already dark when we reached here. So, we had kattan chaya and headed off to drive along the 4-5km stretch! Super fun to drive on beach. However, since its a new car, (less than 5000 kms!) I din't venture into the water. But, I'm sure it'd be awesome fun to drive with the water spraying on both sides and, it'd surely make great pictures! Next day, we did several drives and took many pictures too. Muzhappilangad turned out to be a brilliant find. I'm sure I'll visit it again. Please do visit this place. It's highly recommended!! The time had come to leave this paradise and on 27th, we started towards Mangalore. Again, the roads were crowded. Decent condition, but too much traffic! We stopped for lunch in Kasargod and crossed Mangalore around 5. Keen to catch the sunset early, we headed towards Udupi (Malpe being our destination). However, due to 4-laning of the NH, we were set back. Hence, we headed to Kaup beach and caught a fascinating sunset. The Kaup beach is not frequented by tourists. Hence, its a good place for people like us (Bangaloreans!). Here are a few sunset captures. After this, we headed to Udupi for rest. Next day, we thought of driving down to Gokarna to Om beah and started. Enroute, we paid a visit to Malpe. Good beach! However, it was very hot at 11 AM. We continued northward. Now, the roads became broader and traffic leaner. Driving was become pleasurable again The Fiesta 1.6 S makes it easy to drive. You will never realize the distance you are covering, once you start hitting the pedal! And the coastal Karnataka roads are wonderful! We reached Marvante. What a sight! Beach on one side an river on the other! We headed further with a stopover at the RNS highway hotel @ Murudeshwara. The food wasn't very good and we lost over 1 hour! Anyway, we moved on with the intention of not racing for the sunset, as we'd been doing the past two days. We reached Gokarna around 5 and headed to Om beach. My god! The number of foreigners there were too many! We din't get any shacks to stay! Disheartened, we were heading back to Gokarna. We stopped by to catch a view of the beach from a particular cliff that over looks (what we later came to know) Kudle beach. Superb view from this part! There was a board giving the phone number of Gokarna international resort in Kudle beach. We immediately got a room booked and headed to wards it! Its a small detour before Om beach. There is not road as such and you will surely miss it unless you are told where this is! After some off roading (at 10-15kmph!) we reached a parking spot where a couple cars were parked. Then, its a 5 minute decent to the Kudle beach. The place is very pretty actually! Better than Om beach as it is secluded! The food we had at Kudle was brilliant! These small shacks make some really classy food! We had a very tasty wood burn pizza served on banana leaf! Next day, we started our return journey at 11:30AM from Kudle. We decided to hit Hubli and take the NH 4. We'd had a good share of roads from Udupi. However, the best was saved for the last! The road from Ankola to Hubli was particularly awesome! Its just a two lane highway (slightly wider than normal two lanes), but it goes through the western ghats and the twists and turns are awesome! The 1.6 S simply glided past these brilliant series of curves and straights! And, best part was there was very lean traffic! It was so awesome that from Ankola to Yellapura, we never had to brake even once and our speed never came below 80kmph! Some turns we took at 100kmph as well!! Because of this amazing strech, we reached Hubli at 2:30PM. Headed for Kamat in the "Traffic Island" (an area in Hubli!) and left for Bangalore along the NH4. Almost 80% of the highway is full 4 lanes except for a few bridges and blockages after Ranibennur. We reached Durga just after sunset and set off to Bangalore, reaching home at 10:30 PM. Thus, came to an end our 4 day west coast journey. There are many many beautiful places along the west coast of Karnataka to which this hurried trip is no way does justice! On this trip, my car crossed the 5k kms milestone. The FE was in the range of 12 to 14.5 kmpl depending on traffic. Most of the driving was with A/C since, it was really hot out in the coast and we only drove in the day. I can't stop going ga ga over the Fiesta 1.6 S. The moment you step on the accelerator pedal, you feel like going on and on and on! I highly recommend this car to anyone who is looking to buy a new car! I'm now waiting for my next trip!
	() Thanks

5th February 2011, 21:10	#2
thedreamcatcher Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Dubai Posts: 1,204 Thanked: 66 Times View My Garage	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! Good post and has given me some inspiration for a trip to this place I would say you did good by not taking your car into the water. It is a lot of fun to see and feel, but at the end of the day it is salt water and can have very bad effects on the car later. Teflon coating or not, it is bad, and not every part is teflon coated as well. Salt water can have very bad results on vehicles, especially civvies But nice pics and am sure many will now attempt this drive Last edited by thedreamcatcher : 5th February 2011 at 21:11.
	() Thanks

5th February 2011, 21:36	#3
sagarpadaki Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,329 Thanked: 6,329 Times	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! Nice log lambdaplus.Loved the pic of the S in the beach. Yes,kudle beach is better than OM beach.its waves are less intense and can enjoy swimming.Where did you stay in kudle beach?which cottage?
	() Thanks

7th February 2011, 15:27	#4
vasanthn21 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 813 Thanked: 524 Times View My Garage	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! nice travelogue; and the motor-able beach is just awesome. I have heard of some motor-able beaches near Chennai. Nice pics too.
	() Thanks

13th April 2011, 12:24	#5
Fordmanchau Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,666 Thanked: 340 Times	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! Lambda, just saw this thread. Amazing pics to start with and you had the most fun car in it's category as your ride. Sure looks like you had a lot of fun. Sunset pics are awesome. Seeing the first black 1.6s in your pics. Wonder why this thread is not in the travelogues section ?
	() Thanks

15th April 2011, 17:45	#6
ranjith.rajaram BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Pune >> Bangalore Posts: 356 Thanked: 9 Times View My Garage	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! Loved the picture of the Sun in the beach. I have once been to the Thalaserry breach but couldn't get the sunset but you fulfilled it. Thanks. Pizza served on banana leaf! I am surprised. Pizza is Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine but we made more innovation to it.
	() Thanks

19th April 2011, 15:17	#7
Yamahead BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 81 Thanked: 23 Times	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! There is a beach town called Digha near Kolkata where small aircrafts would land and take off from the beach. One of the hardest beach tops i have ever seen( believe me, I am a beach bum n have travelled a lot to all sorts of beaches). We regularly used to take our Amby down to Digha beach. Some 25 kms from Digha is a the Mandarmoni beach( extension of the same waterfront basically),which looks a like deserted airstrip and if u can manage to get past the 10 odd feet of soft sand when you get off the narrow beach-front road, you can drive a truck on the Mandarmoni beach. We have driven a Scorpio on Mandarmoni beach n-number of times and the feel is amazing. Om beach n the other small beaches in and around Kumta/ Gokarna/ Murudeshwar are a real treasure.Poor connectivity has somehow helped in preserving them
	(1) Thanks

19th April 2011, 16:19	#8
krish3 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cochin/Bangalore Posts: 758 Thanked: 191 Times	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! Nice short travelogue and nice pics. Can you please put up your stay details (name of resort etc) and charges for the benefit of all in the forum?
	() Thanks

25th April 2011, 21:59	#9
lambdaplus BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 38 Thanked: 39 Times	Re: Along the West coast on the Fiesta 1.6 S! Thanks! we went there again, for a weekend nice place! we stayed in a place called Hotel beach pavilion. it costs 1k for the room (5 people can easily stay). the room is spacious, with three cots. So, you need to take some extra bedsheets. Also, mosquito repellents are a must! You can contact Mr. Mohan (+91-9446264630) to get rooms. They have a kitchen and can make some normal food. Food isn't the best, but sufficient to sit and pass time. I felt the food there is a little expensive. However, its cheaper than having to go out and search for other eateries!
	() Thanks