The Journey to Golden Triangle

The Journey to Golden Triangle

This trip started on the morning of the children's day on 14th November 2019.

14th November 2019 (Thursday)

I woke up at 2.25 AM in the morning. I then brushed my teeth. We had to dress up as per the dress code which was given by our school so that we could be identified easily.  The dress code was white T-shirts and blue jeans. Then my parents booked an OLA cab to drop me at the Airport. Both my parents wanted to see me off at the airport because this was the first time I was travelling this far away from home without either of them. The car was a white Etios. We reached the Bangalore Airport by 3.23 AM. Rupak my friend was already calling me up because I had not reached there. When I reached there I saw all my classmates and schoolmates standing in the airport. It was really crowded. I was trying to make a conversation with them but could not because I had a starting trouble. Then the travel agents separated me from my friends because my friends were going by Air Asia and I was going by IndiGo to Jaipur. IndiGo reached Jaipur 20 minutes before the Air Asia flight. As the IndiGo flight was supposed to go first we were called inside first. We then waited for a long time for getting our boarding passes.

Inside Bangalore Airport

While we were waiting for checking in, one of my classmates Simon came to me and started making a conversation. Simon seemed to be less irritating on that day. For the first time in life he talked politely to me. I was baffled. Then I decided that I would sit with him in the flight also. Then after waiting for a long time we got our respective flight tickets. I got 9E as my seat no. Simon got 11E. Then we stood in the queue for baggage check in. We were the last to check in so our class teacher waited for us even though she was done. Then we climbed the stairs and joined the queue for security checking. It was the worst part of travelling via flight. We stood in the line and I had to remove my tab, phone, belt, and watch. I put these things in one tray and then I put the bag next to it so that I could recognize it. I also had to put my wallet in the tray. I was carrying 2000 rupees. After the security check in we saw the Air Asia group standing near the Maiyas shop. We bid them goodbye. Then we walked to our own gate. It was gate no 23. When we were going,the T VM Indigo passengers were just boarding the bus which took them near the flight. Teachers who taught us English, Biology, Physics, History, Hindi and Maths at 9th and Maths at 11th accompanied us. So there were seven teachers. The Physics teacher was our class teacher. The Physics teacher and the Biology teacher accompanied us in Indigo. The other teachers accompanied the other group which were travelling in Air Asia. We waited for about 20 minutes and then I got the seat to sit. Our teachers had already told us that ID cards were really important for this whole trip. While they were scanning our tickets before boarding the bus they asked us to show the ID cards. Just before that Simon was boasting about the photo in his ID card. But after 5 minutes he forgot where he kept his ID card. I tried waiting for him but got tired and got into the bus. Then at last after confirming that Simon was a student of the school they left him.  Our bus reached near the plane and we got out of the bus and entered the plane. 

The clouds spread across the sky. 

The sunrise seen from the plane

It was a perfect moment to take a pic of the beautiful sunrise. Just think about the sun.  It rises and sets everyday but nobody ever thinks about the sun in the busy schedule of their life. Then I started to talk with Simon after keeping my bag in the cabin luggage compartment of the plane. I requested Simon to allow me to sit on the Aisle seat and surprisingly he allowed. Usually he enjoys disturbing me and denying things or help which I ask him but today he was a well behaved boy. Then after taking off, when the seat belt signs were switched off I started reading Aswin Sanghi's book for about 20 minutes. Then Simon started playing games. I also joined him. We played a game called Gangstar Vegas. Then after drinking water I went to the toilet. Even though I keep travelling a lot in flights it was the first time that I went to the toilet. Then I and Simon listened to Music for sometime. We could not realise that we were landing because we could not see the runway because of the smog. The landing was a bit rough because even the pilot could not anticipate the the location of the ground. I clapped my hands softly for the pilot who took us safe to Jaipur.  Then we waited for sometime for them to unlock the flight door and then we got down from the flight.

Jaipur Airport Runway.

Then we got into a bus. The bus drove us to Jaipur Airport. There we waited for our baggage and got it after waiting for 2 minutes. I went to the drinking water filter and filled my water bottle. Then I tried tracking the Air Asia flight because my best friends were just arriving by that flight. Later, I tried to enter the toilet which was too crowded. Then our teachers started calling us and we were told to walk towards the bus. We saw that our buses were air conditioned. We were going to travel in that bus from Jaipur to Agra and then from there to Delhi. When we reached the bus we were told to keep the luggage inside the bus. Then they gave us food outside the bus. The food was horrible. It was Paratha and Curd which I hated. We could not even wash our hands. I almost finished eating and I spotted the Air Asia crowd coming towards us. We were divided into 3 buses one each for the 9th, 10th and 11th standards. So the 9th crowd kept their baggage in their alloted bus. Then I saw Rupak and jJanakiram. They also collected their food packets and they began eating. After eating we all got into the buses. Then we began our journey to the Pink city of Jaipur. 

The first tourist attraction we just passed by was Birla Mandir. The white building that you see below.

Birla Mandir

Then we went to see the first tourist attraction that was Jantar Mantar. 

Inside the Jantar Mantar

The instrument which was used to calculate astrological date. 

Sundial

The guide then explained us about the calculation of eclipse and other Astrological phenomenon. Then he explained the working of the sundial. Then after taking photos we went to Hawa Mahal, one of the most famous attractions of the Pink City. After walking through the dusty streets of the Hawa Mahal 

we went inside it. 

The weather was cloudy and warm. 

Inside Hawa Mahal

Misty view of Amber Fort from Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal from outside. 

Then after exploring and climbing Hawa Mahal we were walking towards the exit when we saw a Cafe Coffee Day Branch inside a UNESCO monument. This so humiliating. Allowing a cafe to work in such a heritage monument is crazy,  isn't. Then we went out of the Hawa Mahal and walked for a long way to City Palace. We entered the City palace and the guide started explaining the history of that place to us. The History was very interesting to me. But I was very thirsty and tired. I wanted to sit for sometime. But that was not possible unless we finished exploring that place. 

Inside the City Palace

Then after the guide explained us the History of City Palace we were told to go back to our buses. We walked till we reached our buses. I slept inside the bus when we were travelling from the City Palace to our hotel Royale Lalit. When we reached there we got out with our luggage. I got my luggage the last because I had kept it earlier than the others and mine was very big. This caused a delay to our entire group. By the time we were waiting for my luggage, others had already entered and they made a long queue. It was depressing when we saw the queue because first of all we were all tired and very hungry  as we were waiting for such a long period of time. Sesadithya got a plate from somewhere but he almost gave up on the dream of eating lunch. It was such a big line. By the time we got our plates some people started with their desserts. Then we got our food. We somehow managed to get a couple of seats to sit.. We ate quietly because we were that hungry. After finishing the main course I ate two scopes of Vanilla ice cream. Then we got the key for our room which was in the third floor. It was room no 306. Then we went to the room. My room mates were Jaankiram, Rupak and Vishruth.  We had been instructed to get ready within 10 minutes. Vishruth started acting fussy about his bag. Seeing this, Rupak started laughing.  From there,  the laughter spread to me and Jaankiram. We all started laughing. In spite of laughing for a long time we got ready within 10 minutes. We then went down with our backpacks. We were all set to go and visit Amber Fort. The problem was that not even the teacher had  got ready. We waited for  another 10 minutes when I realized that I left my wallet inside the room in my Jeans pocket. I then took the room key and ran inside the hotel and climbed the stairs. I opened the room and took the wallet and came back. Still most of them weren't ready. After 5 minutes we saw many people coming out of the hotel to board their respective buses. The Amber Fort was a bit far from our hotel. Geographically Amber Fort was built on a rocky and hilly terrain in the Aravalli Ranges. After driving for about 20 minutes we could see a vast fort built on hills. We could see those hills from Hawa Mahal itself. 

The scenery from Amber Fort. 

Amber Fort from the vehicle parking area. 

The Jeeps which were used to reach the entrance of the Amber Fort. Only Jeeps can be driven in the rugged atmosphere of Amer. 

Then the bus got parked at the parking lot and we all got down from the bus. We got into different jeeps to go to the fort because only jeeps could climb the rocky terrain to reach the fort. Jaankiram and Vishruth had to sit in between the driver and the teacher.  We reached there.  While getting down, we noted the registration no of the jeep. Then we went inside the beautiful fort. After walking around the whole fort it was dusk by then. It was getting very dark. After the sunset we were going down when one man asked Rupak which school we were from and he answered DPS. But the man somehow spotted the school name on our IDs and he screamed back at Rupak "liar got you". Rupak got very angry. But he could not do anything. Then we all assembled at one point and we were counted to check if everyone was there. Then we bought a Sprite. Vishruth bought 4 bottles of Sprite for us. The deal was that we would pay him afterwards. We got into the bus. After driving for sometime they stopped at a handicraft shop where people got down. We also got down but we could not find anything interesting there so we came back to the bus. Then after sometime the rest of the crowd also came in because they also couldn't find anything interesting. 

Amber Fort before sunset

Amber Fort after sunset.

After reaching the hotel we straight away went to the dining area to have food. This time we were prepared and we expected a long line so we came very early and stood in the front. So we got our food very fast. Then we went to the room. Rupak went to bath first. Then I went and after that I asked Jaanki and Vishruth if they were going to bath. As they weren't going to bath we started to play monopoly. Till around 12AM we played Monopoly. Then in between the game our Maths madam came for inspection and she addressed our room as the cleanest room she had ever seen. After she left,  we decided to sleep. We also got an extra bed because we were 4. I decided to sleep in the extra bed. Vishruth suddenly jumped from the bed and  went to wear his monkey camp. Even though there was nothing funny about it we laughed for a long time looking at him. He looked very funny when he wore the monkey cap. May be all of us look funny when we wear a monkey cap. Then each one of us started cracking jokes it was too difficult to sleep in such a humorous atmosphere so I turned it religious and calm by playing Tibetan Buddhist songs. Some point of time I fell asleep

15th November 2019 (Friday)

Morning I got up hearing Sacred Games Alarm. Rupak almost fell from the bed hearing my alarm. I was shivering because of the low temperature of the room which was set at around 16 degrees. The room was freezing. The room AC remote control was not working which made things even worse. I then opened my toiletry pouch and found that I had forgotten my brush at Bangalore. Now I had to buy a brush. Then I brushed with my hands and got ready. We rushed down and went to the breakfast counter. Only Idlis and Poha was available which tasted horrible. The vada was good. So I ate two vadas and some Poha and drank a lot of juice. Even though the food wasn't good we had to survive till we would reach Agra. The travel plan was to go to Agra via Fatehpur Sikhri . After having the food I took the picture of the hotel entrance to post it in google maps.

The entrance gate of the hotel. 

Then we started. While we were travelling I suddenly got a prank call from someone. I still think it was a girl because the sound was very shrill. But cannot rule the possibility of a boy because we have people who do excellent mimicry in our class. Then Vishruth also started prank calling Ashmith and Sesadithya. On the way we saw many irrigated fields. The place was very dirty and polluted. The water was all mixed with sewage. 

The plains of the Yamuna

After laughing a lot on the funny prank calls, we found most of them in the bus were sleeping by the time we crossed the Rajasthan border and entered the Uttar Pardesh state. Everything was going smoothly when suddenly one man refused to give side to our bus and we tried to overtake them they crashed our bus window. We experienced a sudden jerk and a breaking noise. Suddenly we saw the caretaker of the bus slapping the person who refused to give the side. Then after sometime we stopped near a hotel where buffet lunch was arranged for us. We had many different choices of food and it was really good. Our school's caretaker had also accompanied us during the trip. He was also eating with us. After finishing we all went back to the bus. Some people were buying pens from a  nearby shop. I wasn't interested so I went back to the bus. For the time being I was only interested in buying a tooth brush for myself, but it was not available there. Then we drove towards Fatehpur Sikhri. We reached there and we were given instructions not to buy anything there by the Archaeological Department Guide. We got into the bus and we reached the gate of the city. We went inside and the guide who explained the history of Fatehpur was singing Shayaris and explaining it to us. 

The entrance of the Fatehpur

The place were Akbar used to rest in summer because of the cross ventilation inside the building.

बुलंद दरवाज़ा or Buland Darwaza

The entrance gate of the Sikhri

After taking many photos we entered Sikhri. This part was the looting part. We were divided into groups of twenties and I, Rupak, Ashmith and Simon were the only boys in the crowd of the 10th girls. The staff member accompanying us was the caretaker uncle whom I had introduced to you earlier. A guide took us around and explained to us about Dagha and Chadhar. Then he showed us the cemeteries and told us not to step on them. Then after everything got over he told us that it would be nice for us to visit the mosque and tie the thread. But he took 200 rupees/head. Even though it was optional we were forced to do it. Simon who just opted out of it long before also was forced to pay 200 rupees. We paid the money and then we got the cloth and then we put the Chadhar and then tied the thread. After that I was forced to pay 50 rupees because I did not have any change. We had to donate some amount or they will not leave you. Then after all the rituals we found that the guide had already disappeared. We got very angry. Then we met the other groups and asked them if they paid anything. One group didn't even go. One group went and they were charged 100 rupees. We found out that the original price was just 100 rupees. So please note guys after reading this at least, don't get fooled like us. Don't even listen to them. They trapped us in such a way that we couldn't refuse to pay. There were many vendors trying to sell us bangles by telling us to gift it to our mothers, sisters, girlfriends etc. Rupak got very offended when the vendor told about gifting. We were already looted so we didn't want to get looted again. Now we understood why the Archaeological Department Guide told us not to buy anything because he knew we were about to get looted. Then after walking we reached the bus which dropped us at the entrance. The bus then took us back to the bus parking lot. There we got into the bus. Then I spotted many stray pigs on the road. After counting them, we again started the journey. 

Stray Pigs are a common sight in the plains of North India

Then Simon introduced us to a new game called glow hockey. Everybody started playing those games. Even I started playing it. Vishruth also wanted to play so he came with me to play the game After 20 minutes of drive we reached a sweet shop where people could buy Agra Peda. I didn't want to buy it because it had only 5 days expiry date. Then I bought a fridge display magnet from Vishruth for 30 INR. Then we drove till the hotel without stopping anywhere. We reached the hotel and then we got the room key. It was room no 310.  Then I entered the room and saw this board inside the toilet. It says that if we have forgotten some essential toiletry stuff they will deliver it. So I asked the  reception for a tooth brush and they said it was not available. I was wondering then what was this board doing inside the toilet.  I showed this to Maam and maam told me that History Maam would be going out and I could call her and ask her if she could buy a tooth brush for me. I had her number because of Simon as she was Simon's Mother. She agreed to buy a tooth brush for me. Then we went down for the DJ night. It was too noisy. I and Jaankiram played glow hockey for sometime and then we decided to go upstairs. Ashmith and Simon had already gone upstairs. We asked them if they would join us for Monopoly. 

Monopoly

This is not true

I just arranged the things. Then Ashmith told us that it was time that we should go down. The DJ night still hadn't stopped. But we waited for sometime then I realised  that my phone wasn't with me. So we ran upstairs and got my mobile and wallet. Then by the time we came back the DJ night had gotten over. Rupak and Vishruth was sweating because they were continuously dancing. Then we finished our dinner.  It was a very hearty dinner with a good dessert. After eating we went up and started bathing. When I was bathing Vishruth or Rupak switched off the light in my bathroom by removing the card. I got very irritated. So decided to take revenge when they take bath. After I finished, Rupak went to bath. This time I switched off the lights and started playing laughing sound and creepy sounds. The sound effects were Vishruth's idea. Then after 2 minutes of switching off the light we put on the light for Rupak.  Then Vishruth went to have a bath. When he was bathing our History teacher came and told us about an important thing. I utilized that opportunity to pay her 30 rupees. Then after maam went me and Rupak switched off the light of the bathroom and we taunted Vishruth by playing laughing sound and creepy music. After  Vishruth finished his bath, we started playing Monopoly. Jaankiram wanted to sleep so we decided that Jaankiram would play for about 10 minutes and then his money and properties would be equally distributed among us. So he played only for sometime. Rest of us played till 12:54 AM. After that we arranged all the monopoly things and then  tried to catch some sleep. We talked for about 20 minutes. Then we too decided to hit the sack. 

16th November 2019 (Saturday)

In spite of sleeping very late last night we were told to get up next morning by 4;30 AM. 

The used bed after we had slept

After sleeping for just three hours we got up and brushed. Then Jaankiram got up first and he waked up Rupak and then both of them brushed. Jaankiram had slept the most in our room. Rupak in spite of sleeping so late got up without any problem. He wasn't even tired. Then Ashmith came to our room and made one strong coffee for Rupak. He added two packets of coffee in just one cup. I didn't join them because I thought it will be too much caffeine to consume so early in the morning. This caffeine will artificially give you energy but in  turn make you feel very  tired by the end of the day. After Jaankiram was finished with his brushing, Rupak woke me up. Vishruth suddenly got inside the bathroom to brush and got dressed up. I actually wanted to go before him because he usually takes a lot of time to get ready. I waited for about 10 minutes. Then I decided to go to Ashmith's bathroom and get ready because everyone was almost ready in their room. So I went there and got dressed up. When I came back Vishruth was still in the toilet. I empathetically  thought about Jaankiram -he still had to finish his bath. He had to dress also. Then Vishruth came out and Jaankiram went inside. He was faster than I thought he finished all his programs within 15 minutes. Then after we all got ready we went down and waited in the reception area. We were all set to go for seeing the great wonder of the world "The Taj Mahal". We all got into our respective buses and were on our way to Taj Mahal. I was too tired due to lack of sleep and  so I slept on the way to Taj Mahal. The bus stopped and we got down. We had to walk 1Km from the parking lot to the entrance gate of the great monument. We saw many foreigners on the way who came to see the wonder. While walking I tried my best to keep a conversation to ensure that I don't feel drowsy. Then we reached the gate and we saw two dogs who were tamed.  They tried to play with us but all of us were drowsy and so we avoided it. Then we saw that we had to go through a security check to enter the premises of the monument. There were two lines - one for the foreigners and another one for Indians. I think we were the only Indians there at that time. After the security check we got inside the monument premises but we could not see the building of Taj Mahal because of the dense fog. It was cool and foggy. Then after we walked more inside we started seeing the mosque and the Taj Mahal. Still it wasn't that clear.

This was the mosque which was built near the Taj Mahal. Then we walked near to the entrance of the mosque. It was really beautiful to view Taj Mahal in such a foggy backdrop 

The view of Taj Mahal from the mosque was very beautiful. When we were going near to Taj Mahal a foreigner asked me to take a picture. I think he was British man because he spoke with a British accent. 

The Taj Mahal

Then we walked faster and I joined Jaankiram and Vishruth because Rupak was always with the girls and I didn't find their conversations interesting. Then we walked away because Rupak was spending too much time on taking his own photos than the photos of the monument. We climbed some steps and reached right in front of Taj Mahal. 

The Taj Mahal from a closer view

The Taj Mahal seen from the banks of the Yamuna river

Then we continued walking and our teachers told us to go near the river and enjoy the cold river breeze. 

The Yamuna river flowing near the Taj Mahal

Then after seeing the river for sometime we went back to sit on the steps until the other group arrived. When we reached those steps we took some photos and then we sat. Then the others came and we were told to go back to the exit point of the monument. Then the 9th standard together took a group photo. We started walking back for 1 KM and then we reached the bus. Then we started for the hotel. After reaching there we started having breakfast. The breakfast was very fulfilling. This hotel was really good  and its name was Hotel Royal Regent. This hotel was the best among the hotels we stayed in this trip. Then after having the food we all went to our rooms. We were instructed to pack our bags and then keep the luggage inside the bus. So we did that and then got into the bus. After everyone was ready we started for Agra Fort, the last destination of Agra. We reached there by 10 AM. We saw the beautiful fort walls of Agra. In Golden Triangle all the monuments were made up of red sandstone which was the natural rock available in that region and climate.

The entrance of the fort

The fort watch tower

The fort garden

There was a moat before entering the fort to protect the fort from the enemies. The moat used to be filled with water and crocodiles. We stayed there for a long time till we got our tickets. After getting our tickets we were going through the security check and that was when they asked for the ID cards. Rupak had to show the identity card but I wasn't even asked. I wondered why. Why I wasn't even asked to show the ID card when Rupak had to. Then we entered the fort we saw a very well maintained garden. I wondered how much hard work the gardeners would have done to maintain the garden in such a way in spite of such a dry climate. The guide told us that it was built by Akbar. It was also called Akbar's Palace. Then Jehangir came and then after his death Shah Jahan came. Then Aurangazeb who was not interested in staying in Agra had moved to Delhi. When Aurangazeb took over the Mughal reign he house arrested Shah Jahan in a room were he could see the reflection of Taj Mahal. From the room where he was locked he could see the Taj Mahal. The guide told us that Shah Jahan used to spend every evening watching Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort. He showed us the buildings where Akbar's 360 wives were staying. Akbar had over 360 wives and they used to stay in the Agra Fort. Then we saw the Jehangir's wine garden where they used to grow grapes for making wine for him. The guide told us that Jehangir used to love drinking wine. 

The view from the Agra Fort

The black stone which was imported from Belgium

The building were Akbar's wives were given residence. 

Jehangir's wine garden

After seeing the Agra Fort they bought choco bar for all of us. Then we went to a hotel to have the lunch. After having lunch we were waiting in the reception for the others to finish. Then I saw a woman who asked for a glass of hot water. I was observing her and she just took a sip of water and left the reception. So in turn she wasted the energy which was used to make it hot and even wasted the water. She asked for a glass of water and just took a sip to dirty the glass. I felt really angry if she just wants a sip of water then why she asked for a full glass of water. Then we went and sat in the bus. Then I and Rupak watched one funny video by Connon o'brien. Then I saw some stand up comedy videos with Jaankiram on the way to Delhi. The driver told us that we were driving on the Yamuna Expressway which got just inaugurated in the summer of 2019. I suddenly realised that North India is way far better than South India in one thing.  It is that the roads are just too good to drive when compared to the Southern roads.

The entry board of the expressway. 

The plan was that we would go straight and see the Akshardam even before going to our hotel in Delhi. Please pardon me ; I could not click any photos in Akshardam because they didn't allow cameras in the temple premises. When we are travelling from Agra to Delhi through the Yamuna Expressway we have to pass through Noida. Noida is like the title of movie named Delhi.

Noida

It was already 5 PM when we reached Akshardam. Then we removed all the gadgets and all the stuff which wasn't allowed in Akshardam and the driver told us to fold all the curtains in the bus because if you cover the windows of a bus in Delhi they will fine you 5000 rupees. Then after folding the curtains we got down and went inside the temple. I thought the toilets would be horrible because of my previous experiences. But surprisingly, the toilets were renovated in the last 2 years and they were looking even cleaner than the airport toilets. After going to the toilet we joined the men's queue for buying tickets. It was comparatively shorter than the women's queue. So we finished the checking in faster than them and we were waiting for them to join us.  After they came we sat on the pavement because we were waiting for our tickets. When our tickets arrived it was already 6 PM and the we had to go for the Neelkand movie which was at 6;30 PM. So went to the show queue. We started waiting there. Waiting there was a nightmare,  In spite of the winter chill,  mosquitoes were also there.  They started biting me.  As I stayed in Kerala earlier, I am good at killing mosquitoes. I killed almost 10. I got very bored  and was sitting there. That was when they handed over the tickets. I got the ticket and at that time a regular troublemaker called Rakshan snatched the ticket from me. He offered me an another ticket which was not stamped. I could have snatched the ticket from him but that was when our Physics teacher heard the commotion and asked me what happened. I told her. She told me it was okay and no one would check it. So I kept quiet. I could have easily snatched it from him. But I didn't want to spoil my own reputation of being a disciplined

child. Finally, we entered the show. We saw the movie theatre.  It was almost similar to Ramoji Film city. After the show we went to see the laser show. The laser show was awesome. I am not telling you what it was about because you got to see it yourself. The story is not realistic but the graphics and the lights were good. After that we waited for more time and entered the boat ride. In the boat ride we had to sit on a boat which was running on tracks under the water. We then passed through many moving robot statues of great Indian Personalities and while passing on, an audio tape also gets played to explain the personalities depicted by the statues. Then after the boat ride we went to the main Temple. After that we all went to  the bus. It was already 9:30 PM by the time we reached our Hotel Mint Oodles.   After having food, we all got into our rooms. People were begging us for the rooms because our room was the most spacious one being a suite.  They also wanted our room so that they could play games all  through the night without going out to enter their friends' room. We had doors which connected our room and the neighboring room. This increased our room's demand. Hotel Mint Oodles didn't even have hot water throughout the day. But I couldn't sleep without bathing in the night.  Vishruth went to bath. The shower was positioned in a wrong way so that anybody who opens would get instantaneously  wet. Vishruth also got wet. This time we again played the laughing sound and creepy music when Vishruth was bathing. After bathing he came and told us that he would complaint at the reception about the shower. Hearing this, Rupak started laughing and everyone else including me started laughing. Then I went to bath. After I bathed, Vishruth tried a new experiment.  He inserted the monopoly cash in the power card holder instead of the room access card and it perfectly worked out. It was the joke of the day. Then after playing Monopoly for sometime we all slept.

Monopoly cash in the card holder. 

17th November 2019 (Sunday)

It was about 7;30 AM in the morning when I got up. We couldn't see anything from our room window because of the buildings.

The view from our room. 

Rupak was blaming me for getting up late. Rupak was telling me that even Vishruth got up earlier than me. Then I didn't reply to him. Then when maam came and asked him if everyone was ready he told maam no and he was blaming me for everyone being late. I just lost my cool hearing it. I just went out of my room and screamed "Rupak look at me now does it look like I am sleeping now". Then he got burnt. When he came back I asked what is the need for me to get up in the morning. I had already bathed and they were the ones who weren't ready and they were blaming me and Vishruth who already finished bathing last night itself.  Then Rupak said sorry. After this,we all went to the dining hall. We had our breakfast. After breakfast we went to our rooms again. Then we locked our rooms and went to Ashmith's room and we talked to Simon for a while. Then we went down and we waited in the reception. I was reading the newspaper and Rupak started playing Asphalt game. As usual we were again the early birds. Everyone including the teachers got ready after us. We got into the bus and started our journey to Qutub Minar Complex. 

The view from the parking lot of our bus.

After a 25 minute drive we reached Qutub Minar Complex. We got down and we walked towards the entrance gate. Then a guide started explaining. This guide was speaking English with Hindi but couldn't understand his English because it sounded like Bhojpuri.

The Qutub minar

The ruins of the buildings around it. 

The guide told us that it took around 3 generations to finish the construction of the Qutub Minar. Then we saw the ruins of many structures built around the Qutub Minar. We saw the famous Iron Pillar which still hasn't rusted. It was built during the time of Ashoka. Then we saw a rocky structure which nobody could understand the significance of.

The Iron Pillar

The carvings on the pillars. 

The rocky structure

Then Rupak wanted to take a good photo so he asked permission to maam. Then maam told him to take somebody and go. So he called me and I went with him. We took some pictures. Then we took some group photos and finally all went back to the bus. Then in the bus we started playing a game called Psyche. It was really a good game guys. You should try it. But it is a group game. You need people to join you and then you have to answer some question by typing whatever you know and you will win if many people choose your answer. On the way we passed through IIT Delhi's entrance gate.

IIT Delhi Gate

By the time we finished one game we reached the Bahai Temple aka Lotus Temple.

Lotus Temple seen from the entrance gate. 

We entered the premises of the Lotus Temple. Then after walking for 5 minutes, we reached a point where we were told to remove our shoes and put in a cover and to keep inside the locker. It was very crowded and hence easy to get lost in such a crowd.

The place was very crowded. 

When we were waiting for our turn to get in we had to wait for about 10 minutes outside in the sun. In this 10 minutes we saw as many 11 different flights passing through the sky. When we went inside it was very cool and peaceful. I felt like spending sometime there. But we had no time so were just given 5 minutes inside the temple. After 5 minutes we went back. This time the crowd was worse I wasn't even able to move. We had a hard time trying to find our shoes. After I got my shoes I and Jaankiram walked together till we reached our bus.  From there we straight went to the hotel. When we reached the hotel Rupak couldn't find the room key.

The entrance of  the hotel in which we stayed.

 Rupak couldn't remember where we kept the keys. I and Rupak were the last ones to see the room key. But both of us couldn't remember where we kept or lost the key and we got very worried. Then we asked the receptionist to give us the master key. He said we cannot take the master key. So he sent a person for unlocking the door. Then we searched everything inside the room but still we couldn't find the key. So we went down and took our lunch. From there we went straight to the bus. Then I remembered that my back pack was still inside the room. So I asked the receptionist to unlock the door of our room.  He gave me the key.  I went up, opened the room and I got my bag. Then I returned the key to the receptionist. Then our next destination was Rajghat, the place where Gandhi's last rites were performed. I slept for almost half of the journey. Then we spent some time over there. We were planning to go to Indira Gandhi Museum but we dropped the idea because there was no much time left to reach there before it closes down. It was already 4 PM. So the teachers decided that we relax there for sometime.

Gandhi's Remains are under this structure. 

The well maintained lawn of Rajghat. 

Afterwards, we drove towards the hotel. After reaching the hotel we decided to play Monopoly. Then Rupak came inside the room. I told him that we were going to play monopoly. When I was arranging the cards some people like Rakshan, Adithya KA and Adithya S and other people came inside and kept a broken cup and took the good cup and went away.We got very angry. I got scared that we will now have to pay for the broken glass also. Then Rupak said he was going to complain to Physics Maam. They came back and apologised. They said that it was a prank. We still were very angry with them. Then we started playing Monopoly. Suddenly they called us for going for the DJ night. We then saw the Mc D burgers. I ate one. Then I went and asked the reception to open the room. They opened the room and we again started playing. That was when Rupak went to speak with his aunt. Then Simon called me for seeing the Conjuring in their room.  I went there and watched Conjuring for sometime. When I came back I found that Rupak who was speaking on the corridor was not to be seen. I knew where he would be. I went to the  girl's room where they were playing UNO and inquired if he was there. My guess was correct he was there. Then I asked him if he would join us for Monopoly. He gave us a stern NO. Then I went back to my room. That was when Keerthi of 10th Grade came to our room. The problem of a missing player was over as she was ready to play Monopoly with us. Gagan,  an irritating fellow in the past (he had changed a lot) agreed to become the banker. He arranged all the cash properly for us. I was originally surprised when I saw the change in his behavior. Then we played for sometime when Sesadithya came to our room telling us that he wasn't feeling well. Even Jaankiram wasn't feeling well. Sesa had stomach problem and Jaanki had throat problem. Then our Maths teacher came and gave medicine to Sesa and Jaankiram. Sesadithya then went and vomited in our washroom. Then Rupak came out of his UNO game when he heard that Sesa was not well. He went to meet Sesa. While all this was going on people were celebrating. Three people had their birthdays so we had three cakes. I ate some cake pieces.

The cake

After eating and playing for sometime,  Keerthi said goodbye to all of us and went away. Vishruth knew her and that is why we invited her to play with us as there was no one else. Then Rohan came and occupied Keerthi'splace. While he was playing I went to toilet and took bath. Then I came back and we saw some funny videos. After some time,  Rohan left. Vishruth was already very tired and so he slept off. Meanwhile, Rupak came inside the room and immediately went to take bath. Jaankiram also went to bed. When Rupak was bathing I wrote some Google reviews. Then he came after bath and we started watching some funny videos together.  After some time, I felt very sleepy. So I told him to put my phone in flight mode and keep it for charging.

18th November 2019 (Monday)

It was a 7 AM in the morning when Vishruth woke me up. I had already instructed them not to disturb me because I was almost set to go except for some basic things.  They were the people who had to get ready. So I told them to wake me up at 7:30.  As I was not that sleepy, I got up. Then I brushed and went iniside the bathroom to get dressed up. When was going  to the bathroom Sesadithya came inside like a healthy person. Then Rupak showed him a video which was meant only for him. Rupak can be India's next Paparazzi photographer. Then after I came out , Jaankiram went to take a bath. After him Vishruth went. Then Manu came to our room for bathing because they didn't have water in their bathrooms. Some people didn't even have power in their rooms. We were on the few lucky rooms with power and water. Then after Manu finished,  Abhay came to take bath. Then after everyone got ready we went to the dining hall and had breakfast. After breakfast we went back to the room and took our luggage and went to the reception. We were waiting in the reception when maam told us that people who were going back to Bangalore in Indigo had to keep the bags in red bus and the Spice Jet people in the white bus. We followed the instructions. Then we were told to sit as per the early arrangement. So I went to the White bus where 9th was sitting. Simon also came. He also was going back in Indigo like me. Again I would be separated from my best friends during the air travel. They were going in Spice Jet. After keeping their luggage in the respective bus which was allotted for Spice Jet passengers, they also joined us in the bus. Then just before leaving the hotel, the manager called us for paying the fine for losing the room access card. It was 400 rupees. So we divided it by 4, so each one of us paid 100. Then we started for India Gate. It was a very long drive. On the way we played Psyche game. This time we played the topic 'the truth comes out'. I was winning it like anything. As we didn't have much time,  we didn't go inside the Red Fort. We just saw it from outside.

The Red Fort

Then on the way we saw many places like Supreme Court, Prime Minister's Office, Rashtrapathi Bhavan, Ministry of External Affairs, The Parliament.

Rashtrapathi Bhavan

The Supreme Court

The Prime Minister's Office

The Parliament

By the time we reached India Gate I had got 48 points and was leading in the Psyche game. I was declared the winner of the game and then we got down to see the India Gate. As soon as we got down we saw a very polluted canal flowing.

Polluted Canal

India Gate seen from the road. 

Delhi is originally very beautiful but people have made it very polluted and dirty. Then from there we walked to the India Gate. 

India Gate 

The memorial of the Indian soldiers who died in France

After taking some photos we walked back to the bus.

Dirty stagnant water on a grass field near the India Gate. 

After reaching the bus Ashmith did one funny thing and Rupak got offended by this. The funny thing was relatable to a photo which Ashmith posted in the group. This made Rupak very serious and angry.

 Then we stopped at Telangana Bhavan to eat good South Indian food. The food tasted very delicious because we were having North Indian Food continuously. They gave us Puri, Curd, Sambar, Dal and smashed Gulab jamun as desert. After I finished eating I washed my hands and went back to the entrance. By then,  all finished eating and we went to the bus and started for Karol Bagh - A nice shopping place where we could things for a very good price.

A notice board showing the directions.

The famous Hanuman Statue in Delhi. 

As it was a very crowded destination we were told that we could separate from each other and after one and a half hour we can meet in the Metro Pillar No 90. As the Delhi Metro line was passing near it was kept as a landmark for meeting after shopping. Then we all spread out. First we weren't interested in going away from our class due to the feeling of insecurity.  Then, Maam told Rupak to stay with me and not with the girls. But my taste and Rupak's taste weren't matching. He wanted to buy something for his mother and eat food but I wanted to buy clothes. Like Me, even Jaankiram and Vishruth wanted to buy clothes. So we asked maam and went away. First we came across a man who was selling socks for 100 rupees. 4 pairs of socks for 100 rupees. I refused it. At last we came across another man who was selling three pairs of socks for 60 rupees. We bought it. Then we went hunting for a tracksuit. I wanted to buy a T-shirt also.  One man came and said that he had T-shirts between 150-250. So I went with him inside his shop. The man showed me a dark yellow T-shirt which is worth 200 rupees. Jaankiram told him Rs.180 for the t-shirt and he agreed for the price. By this time we had become talented bargainers. Then we found out that everyone was selling Tracksuits for 200 but we wanted it to be bought for 150. We walked till the other end of the street. We had already spent one hour there and were left with just half an hour more. So we walked back. This time we saw a man selling Tracksuits for just 150 rupees. All  of us bought one each. Then we went into a bakery and bought 20 rupees chips. Then Vishruth wanted to eat the Sandwich which they were cooking. So we told him to try and tell us if it was good. He bought one and said that he didn't like it. So we walked till Manyavaar shop. 

The crowded streets of Karol Bagh

The Karol Bagh

Then my class teacher called me to ask me where I was. I told us that we were near Manyavaar shop. Then we all went to the pillar No 90. There we stood waiting for our bus. Our plan was that now we would separate on the basis of flights but we could not because the buses couldn't halt for even 2 minutes because the bus would get fined. So the plan was that we all would get into the bus we were travelling all along and then we would stop in a quiet place and then get down. So I got inside the bus and then like the plan we stopped in a quiet place. We had to catch our flight from Terminal 2 and Spice Jet people had to catch the flight from Terminal 1. So there was no chance that we were going to meet again in the remaining journey,  So I bid goodbye to my friends. Then we got into the bus where Indigo flight people had to be there. I got in and Simon sat with me. I wore the anti pollution mask that I had because Simon was coughing. He was coughing too much. I didn't want to get infected and  so I wore the mask. 

The road to Delhi Airport

Then we reached the Terminal 2 and we got down.  I got my luggage before Simon. So I waited for him.

Gate 3 of Terminal 2

The way to toilet of Terminal 2

Then after we got our luggage we waited for sometime. Some people wanted to go to the toilet. They asked Maam.  Even I wanted to go, so I also joined them. Then after going to the toilet we came back and went into the airport. I wanted to charge my phone because it had just 10% charge. Then after security check in I borrowed the Biology teacher's power bank. Then after everyone came, we went to gate No 25, where we had to board our flight. There I found a charging point so I returned the power bank to the kind teacher. Then I connected my USB there for sometime. Then one man took his charger. So I connected my charger there. I charged my phone till it became 60%. Then we entered the plane.

My ticket.

The plane took off at 10:30 PM. I fell asleep in the plane on the tray table. I got up when the Air Hostess called me to close the tray table for landing. Everyone in my school had slept during the flight. When we reached Bangalore it was really cold. It was 1 AM the next day when we reached Bangalore airport. We got our bags from the baggage belt. When I and Simon were coming out of the airport we I saw a brand new Lexus ES 300h which was exhibited on the left side of the exit.

The Lexus ES 300h

Then maam counted all of us. We went outside and I saw my father standing there. I then told Maam goodbye. I also told Simon bye and went with my father. It was 2 AM by the time we reached my house. As soon as I reached I took a bath and went to bed because I was very tired.

Things which I bought from the Golden Triangle

Fridge Magnet from Agra for 30 rupees.

The T-shirt from Karol Bagh for 180 rupees.

Tracksuit for 150 rupees from Karol Bagh

Three pairs of socks for 60 rupees in Karol Bagh

Courtesy

Thanks to all teachers for taking this great responsibility of bringing us back safe. Thanks to the VAV Leisure Travels for arranging the trip. Thank to all guides and hotel staff for making this trip awesome.

Author: Rodger Bloor