International Rally of Johor 2018 - PG Abhilash and Musa Sherif finishes overall 3rd

PG Abhilash of Kochi and Musa Sherif of Kasargod have won the first APRC podium, earning them the distinction of being first Indian crew to win FIA Asia Pacific rally championship podium. The Duo took part in International Rally of Johor 2018, held on July 21-22 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia round of FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship 2018 and finished overall 3rd in APRC and 1st in APRC2 and 2nd in FIA APRC Asia Cup.

Musa, also the president of Indian Motor Sports Club (IMSC) in an e-mail from Malaysia said this is the first time an all Indian crew is finishing on the podium of 30 years of FIA APRC history. The duo participated in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI Rally car of Speedline Industries Malaysia.
"Malaysian Round of APRC is considered to be toughest in the calendar with the narrow and technical stages and extreme weather conditions," Abhilash said.

"I had to drive the road section to service park after three special stages on day 1. Since Abhilash was dehydrated by the extreme hot weather conditions here in Johor," said five-time National champion Musa. The stages were very slippery throughout the event and slushy at some places. We used Gravel MRF tyres which gave us superior performance advantage in the event, and help us said through these tricky stages," Abhilash added.
Abhilash-Musa would have finished overall first in the rally championship, if not for a mechanical failure. "It was unfortunate in SS 5 of day 1, the front left drive shaft broke and car spun in a tight right turn on exit when we were on full gas and landed in right side drain and got stuck. At this point we were leading with more than 3 minutes and got penalties for missing out SS5 and SS6 of day 1 which would have made a dream result," Musa said.

How to travel from Delhi to Govindghat by public transport

Take an early morning bus or train from Delhi to Haridwar and spend the evening at Har-ki-pauri.
Or avail a night train or early evening bus from Delhi to Haridwar.

Board the early morning bus from Haridwar to Govindghat. The journey from Haridwar will take 12 - 14 hrs.

There's also an option of boarding a bus that goes from Kashmiri Gate in Delhi to Guptkashi at around 9pm. Get down at Devprayag, take shared cab to Govindghat from there.

Digital vehicle documents to be acceptable soon

It may not be too long before digital documents of your vehicle will be acceptable by the police/ competent authorities.
Here's the article which was published on 2018-07-17 in Times of India, Kolkata edition.

Validity of PUC certificates extended to 1 yr for BS IV vehicles in West Bengal

Validity of PUC certificates extended to 1 yr for BS IV vehicles in West Bengal.

When on a road trip to Coorg (KA), places to see and visit

Places to see and visit during a road trip in and around Coorg, Karnataka:

Thadiyandmol,
Mandalapatti,
Dubare Elephant Camp,
Buddha Monastery,
Nagarahole National Park,
Iruppu falls, 
Abbey falls,
Mallallifalls,
Raja seat,
Talakaveri,
Bhagamanadala.

Bangalore City Police WhatsApp number +91 9480801000

+91 9480801000
This is the WhatsApp number of Bangalore City Police.
Besides issues on the road, use it in any emergency cases. 
The Hoysala cars of Bangalore city police should reach you fast to render every assistance.

Munnar to Kolkata drive by Saju Chacko for TTF 2018 by Mahindra XUV500 in June - July 2018

This Cheetah (Mahindra XUV500 bearing the registration number KL-16K-2545) keeps prowling from Gods Own Country (Kerala) to Sweetest Part Of India (West Bengal) and back around the same time every year for 4 years in a row.

The initial inspiration for undertaking the hectic sales & marketing work related trips on road was sowed into hotelier friend Saju Chacko, the owner of two such Cheetahs by none other than me, Deep Banerjee (the founder of this forum), when I myself drove Kolkata to Munnar in March 2015 for the first time and stayed in his cozy hotel.

In the present edition of the drive, the itinerary so far has been as follows:
2018-06-28 Munnar - Tirupati.
2018-06-29 Tirupati - Vijaywada.
2018-06-30 Vijaywada.
2018-07-01 Vijaywada - Rajahmundry - Vizag.
2018-07-02 Vizag.
2018-07-03 Vizag - Ferry crossing on Chilka Lake - Cuttack.
2018-07-04 Cuttack - Kolkata.

Saju strictly follows the IndianRoadie philosophy/ diktat of NoPlannedNightDriving.

He drives without a hitch knowing jolly well that IndianRoadieOnRoadAssistance is just a call away.

Saju and his team of four more friends have been hosted in a safe, comfortable, affordable and conveniently located boutique IndianRoadiePreferredHotel in east Kolkata.

We keep interacting on the phone and WhatsApp for precision planning of his trips pan-India for quite a few weeks every year. I personally met him on 2018-07-04 evening to help him plan out the finer details of his work schedule for the few days of his stay in Kolkata.

The cute dirty Cheetah was IndianRoadieStickered and photographed while peacefully resting outside the hotel on Wednesday 2018-07-04 late evening. 

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* TTF 2018 

* GreenRidge Hotel 

* Munnar 

* Kerala Tourism 

Victoria Memorial in Kolkata during the peak monsoons in July 2018

Victoria Memorial, Kolkata, WestBengal, India.
My incredible country has far more to offer in terms of beauty, history, heritage, culture, food, etc, etc than only the Golden triangle in North India. You will be pleasantly surprised by the beauty of Kolkata & West Bengal.
P.S: Sweets and street food of Kolkata are a foodies delight. You will be pleasantly surprised at how light it is on the purse.

Photo credit: Soumitra Maity.

There are SEVEN numbers of safe, comfortable, affordable, conveniently located #IndianRoadiePreferredHotel brands in Kolkata as in July 2018. All of them have secured car parking facilities.

Drive to Kalpa in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh from Shimla in June 2015

Drive to Kalpa in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh by Madan Mondal in June 2015.



Route: Shimla - Follow NH5 to a little beyond Kingal - Mashobra - Kufri - Fagu - Theog - Kadog - Narkanda - Kingal - NH305 meets NH5 from the left - Sutlej River flows parallel on the left of NH5 - Rampur Bushahr - Mahatma Gandhi Medical Services Complex - Jhakri - Molgi - Suru - Nigul Sari - Karape - Sungra - Saki Charang - Wangtoo GIS Substation Project - Joktaring - NH5 crosses over a bridge to the left of Sutlej River - Karcham - Reckong Peo - Kalpa.

Distance: Shimla to Kalpa = 238 kms

Suzuki to focus on scooters, bigger bikes in India

Source: 2017-11-08 Toi Kolkata

'Chakara' is the most rewarding time for fishermen in Kerala

It’s officially CHAKARA in Kerala.
Chakara is the most rewarding time for a fisherman in Kerala.

Once a year, for one or two weeks the sea overflows with fish like never before! Chakara brings an abundance of fish and prawns to the shores ready for a busy sale. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It truly is the happiest time of the year for a fisherman!
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The fish markets are overloaded with fish, the street wallas are busy, the fisherman are overjoyed with their catch. If you can, head down to a fish auction in the evening to catch the action in full swing!

Credit: @Packyourpassport.in

When on a road trip to Bangalore, places to visit and see

When in Bangalore, within the city, visit and see: 

Cubbon Park,
Vidhan Soudha,
Planetarium,
Indira Gandhi Park opposite to Planetarium,
Iskcon temple near Rajajinagar.

One can commute using metro rail to avoid the dreaded traffic congestion in the city.

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Starting from Bangalore, one can also plan a 2 - 5 days drive to: 

Coorg,
Chikmagalur, 
Shakleshpur,
Mysore Palace,
Ooty,
Bandipur Forest,
Mudumalai Forest,
Coonor,
Gokarna,
Mangalore,
Udupi,
Nandi Hills,
Ranganthittu bird sanctuary for watching crocodiles,
Srirangapatna, 
Shivanasamudra Falls,
Agumbe,
Jog Falls, 

Malalli Falls. 

Focus on right helmet for safety in Kolkata.

Focus on right helmet for safety in Kolkata.