Field trip!!!!

OMG!!! Am now a final year student!!! Seems only yesterday that I stepped into college!! And here I am..awaiting the opening of my 7th semester of college life..!!!

The last summer vacation as a student is finally at its end.. And fittingly, this was one of my best summers.. the first place still goes to last summer I spent in Trichy..;)The long-overdue field visits in connection with our project finally came into effect this month.. With a lot of doubts and confusions in mind, my friend and I set forth to Dharmapuri on the 19th of June.. The bus travel was definitely an unforgetful one, barring the forgettable Singampuli movie that was screened.. We both had an amazing time chatting late into the night.. girly gossip of course..;) We reached Dharmapuri at 5 the next morn.. and gosh!!! we never thought it would be so cold over there!! I ended up sneezing the entire morn!!! The people at whose place we stayed were very sweet to us.. we felt so much at home.. even better was the fact that they had two kids at their place..!!! and I enjoyed playing with them. The field visit was a success. The officials we met were so warm and helpful.. the staff of IRS definitely need to learn from them. Going from a place where data is denied to their own students (IRS), it definitely was a shocking surprise when we were offered that amount of help!!! Hats off to them!!! Dharmapuri, particularly Pennagaram is a scenic place.. my only regret is that I could not go to Hogenagal, despite it being just half an hour from there.. :( We started back to Chennai the same night.. and oh boy!!! only on that night did I understand the true meaning of the saying- Appearances are deceptive!! The SETC bus, being the only one available to take us back home seemed to be an 'ultra deluxe' bus only from the outside!!! I had a horrible encounter with bed bugs that night.. :(:( I woke up next morning to bites on my arms and legs..:(:(

The very night,21st June, we started for Dindigul, the other place we had to visit as part of our field visit.. and this time, we were clever enough to book tickets in an AC bus.. and we were also lucky enough to watch Singam movie!! Being Suriya fans, it definitely was a treat..:):) We were to stay at a senior's place at Dindigul.. a place called Pattiverampatti..(hope i got the spelling right!!) and the place was an entire world of its own!!! and the hospitality that we were bestowed- complete awesomeness!! we had an entire room, with an awesome dressing room and bathroom, and with our own tv!!! it was completely furnished like a hotel room!!! We were able to enjoy such luxury all thanks to one person!!! We even had a car to take us around!! ;)

Of my visit to Dindigul, the most interesting one would have been to GANDHIGRAM UNIVERSITY!! I was gaping with open mouth at the entire stretch of the pristine campus!! And true to Gandhian ideologies, the men there were dressed in Khadi!!! It really is relieving to know that Gandhian values are still being practised and taught. Awestruck was I when I saw a banner reading "Department of Gandhian thought and Peace science"!!! The sculptures in front of many departments were intriguing and kept one guessing as to what they meant..:):) The next day afternoon, we departed for Sivakasi.. We were at a loss of words to thank our hosts for being so kind on us and treating us as their own family..:):)

And now, SIVAKASI...
No.. I'd need an entire post for that!!!

Fun in the Sun... and Rain...!!!

WARNING: This is gonna be one helluva long post!!!
People with little or no patience are requested to kindly skip reading!!!


Well, I'm back to chennai now... came back yesterday night... this was perhaps the shortest trip of mine to trichy.. :(

So, what inspired me to write this blog?? It was the trip that I had mentioned in the previous post. My friends were planning this for quite sometime.. but things fell into place only now, and we carried out the plan with perfect execution... :):) Of course, when you actually hear about the trip, you won't think it to be something as great as my bragging seems to indicate..:P

This is it- my friends and I had been wanting to go some place that was a day's journey from trichy and come back home the very same night. Since the closest place to home is Madurai, we decided to head for ATHISAYAM theme park in Madurai..:):) And till the eve before the trip, all of us were filled with apprehension and anxiety!!! Why does one have to be anxious about going to Madurai for a day, will be the first thought that comes to anyone's mind. The main thing that all of us were jittery about were that we were going there by car!!!Well, the fact that Anandh is an amazing driver is well known and accepted... but then, to err is human... so, all of us had our fingers crossed... Also, I had something extra to fear about!!! I was going on the trip without my parents' knowledge!!! ;)

So, start we did.. on 1st morn, at 7.30 from Trichy.. I can never forget how much I laughed seeing Hari's attire that day!!! Well, Anandh too was in his casuals.. but Hari, his casuals and his hairstyle are one rare combo!!! And only that morn did I know that, Mani, one of our friends from Coimbatore was also coming directly to Madurai... It was assured that we were in for a gala time!!! It was a comfortable fit in the car.. Anandh and Hari were in the front, and Srinath, Srinithya and myself were at the rear... We had so much fun... none of us slept a wink during our ride.. en route, we stopped to take pics... The photographers in Anandh and Hari, came up with some funny poses for everyone to give... Hari even came loaded with a tripod stand for his camera!!! :D:D

There were a lotta funny incidents throughout.. to quote a few, at the toll plaza, Anandh forgot his car's number and had to get down to check it... and also, none of us knew how exactly to reach the park... It seems the previous night, the guys had been doing some research on the shortest and optimum route (network analysis in real-life!!!) to take using GOOGLE MAPS!!! And during our journey too, we never stopped to ask for directions... all we did was use the moblie!!! ;)TECHNOLOGY PUT TO USE..:):)

And we reached the park at 10.30, and since the time we went in, there was simply no telling how much fun we had!!! The guys were keen on getting us completely wet... Though we girls preferred to sit by the pool, they dragged us in, pushed us from behind and made sure we weren't idle!!! :D Anandh, a pro swimmer was busy taking lessons for the other 3... and Hari and Mani, who can never be without pulling each others legs, whether on land, or in water, were the centre of attraction!!! Whatever they did- pull the float-mats, or dunk each other in water, a few kids tried immitating..:):)

And to add to all this, the weather was awesome that day!!! It started raining and it was so damn chilly that one had to get inside the pool to stay warm- courtesy: the absorption-radiation of the concrete basements..:) Having ice creams when it rains is always a great feeling... and we did that too..:):) We decided to make our money's worth and went a lot of times on a few rides.:) The 'Family raft', 'Dry raft' and ' Aqua bowl doubles' were some of the rides we frequented. The 'Wave Pool' was good too... Whatever ride it was, whether it was the thrilling ones or just lazying around in the shallow pools, we had a great time out there!!!

We went there when the park opened in the morn, and didn't leave until it was after 5 in the eve. And we had to head upto the city of Madurai to drop Mani off, for him to board a bus back home... and it was 6 in the eve when we were back on track to trichy.. The ride back was even more fun with an awesome weather.. we made stops again to take a few snaps..:):) It is always fun to join together and make fun of someone.. and though it usually is Hari who gets caught, this time it was Srinath's turn!!! Solid 3 hours of teasing him!!! The poor guy would've strangled us if given a chance..!! :D


And so it was that our trip to Adhisayam and back home, was safe and sound!!! Thanks to Anandh for his calm, careful and assuring driving skills..:):) We started at 7.30 in the morn and came back when the clock struck 9...:)

A day out with friends is always fun... none can deny that... I'm really glad that I went on this trip... Thanks to the guys for planning the trip, and thanks to srinithya for convincing me to come...:):) Love you all!!!:):):)