A Trip trip to South India

A trip to South India

On 19^th June 2019, 53 students of DBS, Silchar reading in classes IX and X left for Chennai from Silchar airport in two groups – one group led by Mr.Bappa and Mr.Joydeep and the other by Fr. Nelson Joseph and Madam Suman Singh. On 20^th June at Chennai, we headed towards Muttukadu Boat House for boating, after which we went to the Crocodile Park. We saw some really exotic breeds of crocodiles, tortoises and iguanas. After lunch, we went to the Mahabalipuram Sea Shore Temple. Then we progressed to the nearby beach. With the waves rolling against our feet and our hearts brimming with excitement, Mahabalipuram beach was indeed the highlight of the day. On 21^st June, we visited the Chennai National Science Museum and Planetarium which was very informative and enriching. It was followed by a quick visit to the Basant Nagar beach. We then headed back to our next destination, Kanyakumari.

At Kanyakumari, our first halt was at Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial. It was on this rock that Swami Vivekananda had meditated before leaving for the World Conference of Religions at Chicago. This place was so calm, peaceful and breezy that none of us wanted to leave. We visited the Wax Museum followed by an exhilarating 9D show. We moved towards Vattakotai Fort and Devasahay Mount. The day spent at Kanyakumari was like seeing our Geography books come to life – from seeing the merging of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea to seeing hundreds of windmills all around us. On 23^rd June, we witnessed the spectacular sunrise followed by the visit to Sushendra Temple and Padmanabhapuram Palace, the oldest wooden palace made entirely of Burmese teak wood with unique floral patterns on the ceiling. After the lunch we proceeded to Thirparappu Falls.

We arrived at Trivandrum on 24^th June and spent the whole day at Kovalam Beach. The undulating white and rolling tides were hitting the crumbling sand and going back. Some had their eyes steady on the horizon watching the sunset, some busy making sand castles and some tripping over the waves. The day was indeed amusing.  The next morning, we set off to Kochi, paid a visit to the church of St. George at Edapally. The latter part of the day was spent at India’s largest mall, the Lulu. After the ice-skating, we diverged ourselves for entertainments and shopping. The next day, we reached the most awaited destination, the Wonderla. At wonderla, there was an adrenaline rush running inside our bodies to slide down the water rides and loop around in the thrilling land rides. The most ecstatic part was being swept by the waves in the wave pool and showing our moves at the rain dance. The very next day we were out in a ferry for the Marine Drive, held awestruck by the picturesque sceneries of the Mattancherry Island, the Dutch Palace and the Jewish Synagogue, all having an exquisite culture and uniqueness in their tradition. Then, we headed towards St. Mary Basilica, from where we could have a glance of the glamorous city of Kochi followed by the visit to the Cherai Beach. Sitting on the edge of the sea with earphones tugged in our ears was indeed a tranquilizing experience. As the day set off, we went to Don Bosco School, Kochi with our caps on the heads and goggles in the eyes, advanced towards the swimming complex and dived into the ice-cold water. We had a glorious time there.

On 28^th morning we boarded the train from Ernakulum to Bangalore. Our first destination was the Government History Museum, followed by the Vishveshwarya Science Museum, which was one of the unique museums that we have seen. We proceeded towards the Lalbagh Botanical Garden. It was an attractive tourist spot and a place full of greenery to regain inner peace. On 30^th June, we headed towards the city of palaces, Mysore, where we visited Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, Museum at Srirangapatna followed by St. Philomena’s Cathedral, the second tallest church of Asia. We had a wonderful moment at Mysore Zoo in the company of wolves, tigers, giraffes, swans, rhinos, hippos and many other animals. We then went to the Jayalakshmi Vilas Palace, the most spectacular palace of Mysore. The beauty of the palace attracted everyone. With this we ended our trip to Mysore and headed back to our resort at Bangalore. On 1^st July, we reached the long-awaited destination at Bangalore, the Wonderla. It started with the dry rides from wonderlabamba to roller coaster. We made sure not to skip any of those. After the lunch the water games were more exciting. Screaming! Laughing! Teasing! All that we can call fun was included in our wonderla trip. The day was fun-filled with trilling and amusing experiences.

On 2^nd July we got up early and jumped into our resort’s swimming pool. During the day we did shopping at Orion mall. In the evening we made our move towards the airport. As the end of our trip drew to a close, a sense of sadness set in. We had to bid goodbye to those days, going on from place to place and making crazy memories. And finally we reached Kolkata airport at midnight and next day morning we were all back to Silchar with our hearts filled with memories, memories that we will cherish forever. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Rev. Fr. Nelson, the Principal. Without him this trip would have been lifeless. He added life to our souls by being so loving and caring, ever smiling and cheerful. He encouraged us in every single moment. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr.Bappa, Mr.Joydeep and Madam Suman Singh for supporting and guiding us during those fourteen days. We are grateful to them for all that they have done for us during our trip.

(BaishaliChoudhury, PranjalChamariaand AvnishMohta)