Ponmudi Trip

The last vacation on ILP was a trip to remember. Just one word could ever describe my experience at Ponmudi... Satisfying.

We started as a batch of 15... 6 from my Hotel (Prashanth, Vivek, Tarantula, Sowmya, Swati and I). We had gotten ready by 6 AM sharp. But the bus arrived only at 7.15 AM. We did have a light breakfast at Ariya Nivas. Then we picked up the gang from Saffaire lodge(Preethy, Thilak,Prathiba,Anu and the Telgu gang) and Peter(Sai) too. The trip to ponmudi was around 2 and a half hours. I slept for an hour though (and let the other take a pic of me in my meditation state). Ponmudi was similair to Munnar except that there were no restrictions in place. We could go where ever we want.
The lush green forest type scenarios and the sound of flushing water from a nearby waterfall would give me a thought if i was acting in an Indiana Jones movie. It was almost heaven. There were a couple of occasions when my Woodlands shoe let me down. Especially near the cement floor coated with moss. I literally skated my way down.Preethy sang a couple of tunes too(not the usual Sa-Pa-Sa ones)..

Then came the best trekking trip i ever had in my 21 yrs of existence. Though I wanted to rush up and reach the destination first up, I slowed up my pace in order to coax the gang (Preethy, Sai, Thilak and Anu) to reach the waterfall. But it was worth the trekking. The waterfall was a treat to the eyes. I couldn't resist the temptation to have a dip in the chill water below. Even though I didnt bring my trunks.. I took a lunge into the stream. And boy-0-boy. That was the moment I felt my 30 days of homesickness vanish into oblivion. I would have loved to spend a couple more hours at that place. But i guess it was already getting late (4.30 PM).

As for the casualities list.. It was our CR(Vivek) who topped the charts. He split his webbing near the toe and then fell from the stairs to bruise his elbow. Sowmya didi was the next.. she lost her balance a couple of times.. the 2nd fall was a really awkward one. I couldn't leave her alone after that nasty fall. Sowmya and I traced our way backwards to the jeep.

It was a bit sad when it dawned on me that it would be the last of our trips as a gang in ILP (we'll be boarding the train on Friday.. so no more weekends in trivandrum).But I was happy that I enjoyed my part in ILP. Bon Voyage.. I got my End Tests and Re-Pre tests tommorow. I guess my next blog would be composed in Chennai ...Muahahaha.. Till then.. Good bye..

Diwali Bash

This is perhaps the first Diwali, I haven't been with my family or relatives. But it didn't disappoint me one bit. I had bought some crackers the day before. Rockets, Flower pots, 200-bar...

The best part was the Nite-Disco we had at Chaitram(KTDC). It was stunning. I didn't really think I would find myself tapping to a few tunes on the dance floor. We couldn't control our laughter too. I was suprised to find the entire gang come to life when the song "Appadi Podu" from Gilli was played by the so-called DJ. I danced with almost all the pals i could find. Prashanth, Vivek, Karthik, Vishal, Ashish, Bhibha, Keya, Sachin (the one who pulled me in)... the list goes on and on. Even the pult danced for a while (hahahahaha). Sai gopal gave a small cameo for the last tune.

After the party, we started to burst crackers.. and what a show it was.. The 25-shot rocket.. the Mega burster. Whistle/Bomb rockets. It was a treat for the eyes... something to cherish when i'm nearly 15 hrs from home. All in all it was one of the best Diwalis I ever had

Munnar Trip

Having made pals with a lots of batch mates and hotel mates... it was easy to settle in. And the MUNNAR TRIP was instrumental in getting to know my pals a lot better. Especially Ashish, Shewaaz, Prashanth, Vivek, Swathi, Neha... Lots of others..

We started on Friday Night at 10 PM. I was already dead tired for i hadn't slept well in the past 4 days. So i slept off admist all the Hindi and Punjabi numbers playing at a high volume. I gotup the next day around 6.30 AM to find myself staring at a green patch of a hill top smeared with Clouds. It was a pleasant way to start the morning. We checked in at Munnar Tourist Home (MTH) and then started out to a couple of locations. I should admit that i wasn't all that satisfied on what was my First visit to Munnar if it hadn't been for the Kwel Speed-Boat ride later in the day. I was expecting a lot of trekking and a lot more fauna to be found. All i got to see was a pitiful mountain goat (Blah Blah). But the Boat Ride changed my mood for the better. It was another FIRST for me... On a speed Boat. I felt the lake beneath us... It was ****ing COLD. My fingers got numb for the next 12 hours.

The next day we started for ALLEPEY for the most boring part of our Trip.. The Backwater boat ride. Baah.. 3 Hrs of hell watching only water and coconut trees. We returned at 10 PM and i almost immediately dozed off. Need some rest before ILP resumes on Monday. Syanora