The tranquility of an early morning is
second to none. In my opinion, you get
a heartwarming view of humanity in the
wee hours, one that’s rare to see once
the harsh reality of the sun kicks every-
one into a forceful start and people are
rushed into their day-to-days. The peo-
ple look alert and purposeful, they’re
filled with optimism for the day ahead,
and it’s beautiful to see the softer side
of things. Smiles are abundant, friendly
waves aren’t uncommon, and curios-
ity is seen as a welcome addition to
the heartfelt gratefulness that there’s
another day to be witnessed and expe-
rienced. It’s all rather delightful.
A neat way to encapsulate this, we
felt, was to drive down in one of our fa-
vourite cars — the Ford Endeavour — to a
rather unique bit of Earth in India - Mu-
zhappilangad beach in Kerala. The ex-
traordinary thing about Muzhappilangad
is that it’s the longest drive-in beach
in India, and is a phenomenal thing to
behold. Every single aspect described
in the lines before this holds true here.
From the moment you drive in, there’s a
feeling that the beach is accepting of a
need to uplift and re-energise. To that
effect, it’s not uncommon to find people
filtering in to learn how to drive, or
hone their skills as a cricketer, or work
on their fitness, share a laugh, a meal,
or even simply just catch a sunset or
sunrise with someone.
The car we chose isn’t any different.
At first, the rather large dimensions
of the Ford Endeavour might hold you
back, but as you get a move on in it, it’s
anything but intimidating. It’s cheer-
ful and simple to manoeuvre, and very
easy on the eyes. To get the aesthet-
ics right on an SUV this size, mind, is a
task that not too many have succeeded
at, and yet, the Endeavour makes it all
accommodating and easy to live with.
The one here is the 2.2-litre diesel
with a six-speed automatic gearbox,
and allow me to immediately com-
ment that I haven’t ever been this at
ease with a combination over a long
distance. There’s magic in the way
the two communicate with each other
over long distances, and we certainly
had quite a bit to go from our starting
point in Bombay. A simple map will tell
you that, one-way, the distance is in
the ballpark of around 1500 km, and
if you’re committed to spending that
much time in a car, there’s nothing out
there that ticks the boxes like the En-
deavour.
Our route was scattered with high-
ways, villages, and cities, all of which
had demolished and satin-smooth roads
in equal quantities. Not once did it feel
like the Endeavour wanted out. Even
when it collided with a questionably-
sized crater, the Endeavour simply
glided past as though it didn’t recogniseanything was wrong in the first place.
It even accepted our bulging suitcases,
adapted to our versatile music needs
enroute, cooled us down when the
sun insisted on making it hotter than
35-degrees Celsius, and never misspoke
during any of it. Heck, there wasn’t
even a punctured tyre to speak of. Truly
astonishing bit of machinery, the En-
deavour.
As for Kerala itself, well, it’s as
extraordinary as the Endeavour. The
people are warm and friendly, the food
is absolutely great no matter where
you decide to eat from, especially if
you gravitate towards seafood, and the
sights and sounds make it a traveller’s
paradise.
That said, Muzhappilangad was the
biggest attraction there. It seemed
removed, yet attached to the core
values of Kerala. It broke down the
exhaustion of a journey as long as the
one we embarked on with every crash
of its wave on the beach, and seemed
equal parts inviting and intriguing.
Could there be a more tranquil site to
unwind? It would seem foolish to sug-
gest otherwise once you’ve visited the
beach, that’s for sure. I’m also certain
that the Endeavour pulled out one heck
of an ace from its sleeve to get us there
without any hassles. It was a given, but
there’s no harm in stating the obvious,
is there?