First Tour in college

The tour came as a suprise to everyone, even us who were planning to go. Usually freshers don't venture out much but in this case our seniors were supporting. We had also talked to our parents and had got a green signal for it. It had been just 2 months since we joined the college and were starting to know our hostel friends. 19 of us had decided to go on a tour to a hill station 500 kms away called 'Ooty'. The days were picked accordingly as our college had announced holiday for 2 days on Thursday & Friday. We had planned the tour for 4 days starting immediately after classes on Wednesday itself.

The journey was going to be around 10-12 hours due to the night travelling and we wanted to reach somewhere in the morning so that we could enjoy the sites. So the journey began with the help of the seniors who were keeping an eye on us by asking us to report daily about our whereabouts and condition. We reached the town of Mettupalyam which is at the foot of the hill station. The famous Blue Mountain express also known as Nilgiri Express runs on Steam Engine and travels 47 kms through lots of tunnels uphill to the beautiful town of Ooty from Mettupalyam.

We had checked into the cottages which had been recommended by our seniors and also booked in advance through phone. We refreshed ourselves and went into town to check out the places. The Botanical gardens are one of the most famous of Ooty but then again, it was October so not much of a sight-seeing. It is said that this garden has an amazing presence during the spring months, a sight worth watching. Other places were like the Pykara dam and some waterfalls. The highest peak is Doddabetta peak which can give a beautiful view of the landscape. Ooty is also famous for it tea plantations.

Apart from all this we were coincidentally present when the shooting of a Bollywood movie (Kuch Naa Kaho) was going on. We were able to see Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachan, Jaspal Bhatti, Tanaz Currim and other stars. It was a song sequence and the scenary looked so beautiful. Looking at a location like that can get anyone to dream with a beautiful stream passing by with a small area of forest. This whole area is in a valley which is frequently used for Movies.

The stay was amazing but on Sunday we decided to drop by at a Water theme park which was near Mettupalyam called 'Black Thunder'. We had spend the previous night at a lodge near the water theme park after having dinner at a restuarant nearby. We were allowed to hold a bon-fire which was ofcourse under controlled supervision. On Sunday, in the water theme park we all got exhausted by the time we settled in our transport back to college. Most of the people were in deep sleep and were woken up at 4am as we reached our hostel on Monday. I guess some kept sleeping throughout the day while some made to the classes. This was really a memorable trip as we had spend time together with new friends.