The one with the batch trip

And so finally, I get down to writing about the batch trip when all has been said and done about it already. Anyhoo, we started on 17th April and made our way to Nampally from where we boarded the train. Since we did not have enough berths reserved, we ended up with a 3:1 ratio. Just like the students:PC ratio in IIIT.. :)) We took turns sleeping while the others chatted among themselves. And by night, we had enough berths reserved. In fact, I got a whole upper berth! woo-hoo!! :D


The next day morning, we arrived at Delhi. We got awesome rooms. AC.. big beds.. AC.. nice bathrooms.. AC!! A freezer.. and of course AC. Food offered was also very decent. Simple, yet decent. Then we started on a small tour around the city. Saw all those important political and historical stuff.. you know Parliament, Rashtrapati bhavan, Qutb minar, India Gate and Karol Bagh. We visited the Lotus temple as well, and outside Lotus temple almost the whole batch bought the Rs.10 goggles which were being sold outside the temple premises. Here you can see yours truly posing with all the goggles he can wear at a time trying to pass himself off as a salesman. (I demanded the pic be taken before they could arrange any more glasses.. :( )

The next day we started our arduous journey to Chandigarh which took us 8 hours by bus. Now chandigarh is the most beautiful city I've ever seen. And no, I am not exaggerating. No puns intended either. It is by far, the cleanest and most organized city I've ever come across. And as I said earlier, the city is beautiful in every sense ;) And they've got some of the best mango juice makers.. :D The Chandigarh rooms were decent as well. And we went for boating!! It was fun and exciting boating with friends.. :) We also went to some rock garden. Very informational it was. And boring.

The next day morning we started for Kullu Manali - our main destination. We had no idea it would take us 15 hours to reach there! But the journey was a roller coaster ride. We took breaks, shot a few snaps, and enjoyed the natural beauty the mountains had to offer. Did you know that the water was ice-cool even at noon? They called it spring water or something of that sort. Then finally we reached Manali at 10 PM. The dogs in Manali are very strong. And furry. Each one looked like a hound. Scary.. :-s

So finally we reached Manali.. the rooms were awesome! Not a single room had a fan but the room temperature was quite low. They provided us with quite a few rugs to keep us warm. The next morning we took off for snow point which is en route to Rohtang pass. And for most of us, it was the first time we saw snow. It was by far, the most memorable part of the batch trip. The mountains almost seemed to touch the sky. I guess I am running out of words to describe the experience. It was worth taking all the pains. So at snow-point, we saw quite a few yaks. Here in the pic, you can see Tipo playing the cupid between the lovely yak couple.

We all got turns to try skiing. I, for one, was as good at snow as I am on land. Clumsy. And before I forget, there is nothing better than eating steaming Maggi when you're freezing to death.. :D We then went on tyre rides where you get to slide down a 30 feet slope on a tyre! Its primitive, but its exhilarating! :D Tyre rides were fun. Soon, our feet had become numb. I guess it was the snow some of which had managed to make their way into our shoes. So as we sat there, with our shoes and socks removed, our naked feet resting on the warm rocks.. it just felt great! :D

On our way back from snow point, we stopped near a waterfall - Krrish shooting was rumoured to have taken place there - to have our lunch. It was chiller than snow point thanks to the cold winds fluttering across the plains. But it was a great place to stop. Lunch was once again pretty decent. We took quite a few snaps beside the waterfall but I am going to stop putting any more pics because firefox is acting up.

That night we had a bonfire set up. Songs blasted on the speakers as everyone let their hair down. (I know I dont have much hair, but thats just an expression!! Nitpicks!!) Thankfully none of the video cameras caught the author shaking his leg. But my leg got stomped upon quite a few times as I tried to gingerly avoid the over zealous dancers. At the end of the day, I had been stomped 22 times - highest scorers being Sairaj and T3. (For the next 2 days, I had difficulty walking as I my toes ached. )

The next day was somewhat forgettable. So moving on, we finally made it to Agra - our last stop. Watched the Agra fort, ogled at the foreigners, took snaps with monkeys and then ogled more at the foreigners. Then we moved on to THE Taj Mahal. But somehow I guess you need to be in love to really appreciate the structure because I didn't really see what the big deal was! :P And then I saw a phirangi couple with tears streaming down their cheeks as they kept staring at the monument. And I was trying my level best to suppress a giggle and ended up chuckling a lot. Thankfully the place was crowded enough.. #:-s

So that was that. Our return journey to Hyderabad was uneventful. Did quite a bit of shopping. I recently discovered my love for shopping.. or rather bargaining.. :D Especially be it the peta shop or the jerk-ins, my friends dragged me along for some bargaining.. :D Its fun.. bargaining.

Some of the memorable moments..
ITEM Raja B.Tech Honors.. hu ha hu ha.. :D
NPK and the ladies toilet scam
Batchu and his little strip tease.. :))
Cards!! Least count.. bluff.. rummy! :D
Bargaining! A guy quoted a jerkin's price as 750 and 5 minutes later he was running behind us begging us to buy it at 300! :D
The bottle fights in the bus! Poor Raja.. :D

PS1: Peta doesnt stand for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Its a world famous sweet in Agra.. ;) that's how the salesman marketed it!
PS2: The mineral water bottling industry made a huge profit during our batch trip.
PS3: I finally decided to upload pics in orkut.
PS4: And my IIM results are out. I got into IIM-K. Yes, I am slightly disappointed, but on hindsight what would I do after going to A!?! :D And for the kind of preparation I did, I really doubt whether I deserve IIM-K.. :))
Ps5: Relieved that the results are out. Am yet to get out of the relief stage..
PS6: Everyone else performed pretty well. 4 of them are into A.. which is cool! :D
PS7: People have started leaving the campus. Right now my wing wears a deserted look. Wonder what I am doing here still.. :(
PS8: The book kiterunner is the most asimov (awesome) book I've read in a loong time. Thank you Geetha and Sameera for suggesting the book. Its a must read.. MUST read.. go read it.. Its available in the library! :D
PS9: I am done with a short story. Need more polishing. Finished it in an hour! Surprisingly.. probably the next post will be a short story.