Graduation Trip part 2- Chikmagalur

After coorg, we had an overnight trip to Chikmagalur. Post stopping by a hotel for some rest and a much needed bath, we decided to embark on the singular event we had planned for the day- the 8km trekking up Mullayanagiri hills.

The bus stopped at the foot of the hill, and we were distributed water bottles. I took and hid one, because I was damn sure that halfway through the path all of us would be ready to murder each other for a drink.

The walk started off well and good. We walked on a smooth, paved road, pausing here and there to admire the scenery. It was a beautiful place, with curves roads surrounded by forests shrouded in mist even in the afternoon.

Graduation Trip part 1- Coorg

So recently, my class finally went on our much awaited graduation trip. We decided on visiting Karnataka state, namely three places- Coorg, Chikmagalur and Bangalore. We would drop by WonderLa ( a water theme park) in Ernakulam district on the way back home.

So. Much. Green

The entire journey took five days- we spent 4 days and 5 nights away from home. Most nights we had to make do with sleeping in the bus itself- an extremely uncomfortable task for most, but thanks to my already having spectacular sleeping positions which a gymnast would adore, I was mostly okay. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep either- I would be long out cold by the time the others stop partying and start thinking about sleeping.

That tree, by the way, is painted to resemble a bat

Did that make me miss a few memory-making opportunities?

Thenmala Diaries

After much pleading and threatening to go on my own lest they came with me, my family finally decided to bend to my wishes and go to Thenmala.

Dad said he’d drive, since Google said we’ll reach there in two hours and fourty five minutes.
It took four hours. 

Anyway, once we reached the ecotourist park, we found out that there were four packages we’d have to pay individually for.

We decided on the Leisure Zone and the Adventure Park ( Dad wasn’t too hot on this one). I was kinda bummed that we wouldn’t have enough time to visit the butterfly park or see the beautiful fountains at night, but I suppose I’d return to see them both some other day!

The Leisure Zone was basically just a long path to walk, surrounded by greenery and dinosaur statues. 

My IFFK Experience <

Last week, I was finally able to be a part of something I’ve wanted to experience for a long time- the International Film Festival, Kerala (IFFK). A lot of my friends had praised it to high heaven, so much so that even I (admittedly not much of a film-lover) felt like my life wouldn’t be complete without treading on its grounds even once.

So first, here’s a little something about IFFK. Its like any other film festival out there- a place for like minded people to mingle and cultivate interest in films of different themes and types. There is also a competition segment where the audience can vote for the films that please them the most. 14 screens were engaged for public viewing and about 13,000 people registered as delegates this year. We were asked to pay 300rs (500 for non-students) to register for a pass that would allow us to enter those theaters that hosted this festival. The cost was pretty low considering I’d have to pay at least 90rs to see one film normally- and here I could watch at least 6 films a day for more than a week! We were lucky we registered as soon as news got out, because a lot of my classmates were unable to register as there were no further seats available.

Of Rusty Cages and Monkey Butts

So in spite of having lived within stone’s throw of the oldest zoo in India for most of my life, I can count the number of times I’ve visited it on one hand. Recently I decided to pop in and see how much it had changed (hopefully) with rollingstones2k16 and though I could see some difference, it was still vastly disappointing.

Not in the case of the animals housed, mind you. They had a very good ‘collection’. My issue was with the tiny spaces the animals were forced into and the general hygiene. It felt awful to take pictures, but you know what they say- a picture speaks louder than a thousand words. (Or something to that effect)

So the trivandrum museum is a pretty beautiful place.

I like going here, especially with friends, because it’s just a great place to sit and talk. Maybe take a couple of photos because the green of the grass in the background will make us look 110% better.

The zoo is a part of the Museum, and adults have to pay 20Rs as entrance fee (extra if you have a camera and plan to use it). Unless you run pretty fast, it’ll probably take you more than an hour to explore it.

The Regal Jaigarh

A long time back, my family went on a trip to Rajasthan, the largest state in India in terms of area. As a South Indian, the first image that came into mind when I thought of Rajasthan had been a vast, arid desert land.

Imagine my surprise when I was greeted with rain the very day I arrived at Jaipur city! (Capital of Rajasthan)

My most lucid memory of Rajasthan was the visit to the Jaigarh Fort.

Charbangh Garden

The Jaigarh Fort was built in 1726 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh (the then ruler of Jaipur) as a means of protecting his palace complex. Located on one of the peaks of the Aravalli hill range, it was a centre of artillery production for the Rajputs.

Trip to Magic Planet

So dad decided to surprise us with a family trip. Since I was in the middle of a ‘friendly’ quarrel with him (I’d had other plans that day, and I was a bit pissed at having to drop them) I didn’t ask about the destination.

Imagine my surprise when we drove up to this

Not many people would know about this place, even in my home town. So here’s the gist.

Magic Planet is a theme park dedicated exclusively to magic and its practice. It prides itself as the world’s first magic mansion, and was established by magician Muthukad.

Nightmare fuel 1 😐

There was a bus deployed just for taking us visitors from the parking area to the park gate (very walkable distance, but hey, whatever floats their boat)

A few Glimpses of South India

My family isn’t one to go on vacations often, but the very few we do take are memorable indeed. I found a few old pictures in my computer, so I wanted to share them with you guys! ^^

Keep in mind, I was about eight years younger when I took these pictures, and I’m not the world’s greatest photographer :3

1- Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu

Kanyakumai is the southernmost tip of Peninsular India. It’s name was derived from the Devi Kanya Kumari temple in the same region.It is a popular tourist destination, well renowned for it’s expansive beaches and elaborately decorated temples. It is especially well known for it’s sunrises and sunsets.

Catharsis

This is not a story, nor an essay. And obviously it isn’t poetry either. I reckon its more like a diary entry? I’m not sure. Whatever it is, it is important enough for me to want to shout it out to the world.

There’s this boy in our class whom everyone treats as the class clown. I suppose he likes it, because most of the time he plays along. Its rather amazing how thick skinned he is, because I’m not sure I’d have been able to handle that many jabs if I were him.

Then a few days ago, he told me he was feeling down in the dumps. He felt like there wasn’t any point in working hard because he never seemed to get the results he’d wanted.

Hearing him say that made me feel shitty, because more than once I’d been an accomplice to his ‘class-idiot’ act. Even more, I didn’t know what I could do to help. I told him the usual stuff- Everyone feels this way and Just don’t think about it and Go do the stuff you like instead of moping around. Those words sounded hollow even to my ears.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I know I’d wished for someone to do more than just give me ‘words of wisdom’ when I was feeling sad and depressed. I’d fantasized about a prince (or a queen- I’m not picky) swooping down on a unicorn to save me, but then reality hit me really hard across the face and I grudgingly picked up the pieces by myself.

I knew I was no prince, but I wanted to do something special. The guy liked detective stories and solving puzzles so I figured, hey! Why not a treasure hunt?