Reflective Report- Vijendra Shekhwa Nainital Trip 2014-15

The journey began from Rajkot station. It was our most awaited
school trip to nainital. We had to board the train at around 7pm.
We were very much surprised to see that the reservations were for
second class (sleeper class). Personally I had always travelled by
first class or by air. So this was my first experience travelling in the
second class. I took it like a man because life is all about different
experiences. Though in second class our luggage was not safe and
we would not get our personal space we did not complain about it.
The train journey was tiring and students were bored. People
sitting on our reserved seats without our permission frustrated us.
There I learned that Indians are Indians and they will never change
because of their careless attitude. One day it happened so that we
were supposed to take our dinner at Delhi station from mc
Donalds. But due to some lack of communication, some of us
were not able to go outside to get the food. When our friends from
another compartment heard about this they felt sorry for us and
they even brought their own snacks for us. We were so angry that
we denied any pity or any help from anyone. Our teachers tried
their best and even arranged for something to eat but we refused
the help and said that we were ok. There I got to know about my
friends that they would help us even in bad occasions like this one.
After sometime we decided to forgive the people responsible when
we realized that it was a human error and it could happen with
anyone. Finally after one and a half day of train travelling we
reached kathgodam at late night where the temperature was
freezing and we lost all our hands and legs to the cold atmosphere
out there. I would usually be ok without wearing a jacket but there
I had to where one.
We were all sleepy but the natural environment constantly
engaged us while the bus travel to the hotel. We reached the hotel
early morning and rested for some time to relieve the traveling
stress. By 5pm we where lively again so our teachers decided to
go to a nearby river to study its geographical features. It was a
pleasant view at the river and the calm environment made us feel

fresher than ever. When I sat there for an hour or so I realized that
something like this is required in our daily life to calm ourselves
from the routine stress. Some of my friends were pushing all
boundaries and were going far inside the water where the force of
the water was much more than at the sides. So I thought that if
they can do it, I can do it as well. With this spirit I too started
walking inside the river carefully, step by step. When I reached at
a considerably far distance the force almost doubled and I could
barely stay on my feet. I decided to stop there and return back
before the river took me with it.
The next day we were supposed to visit the museum. We had to
be ready by 8pm but again due to miss-communication we were
not ready. It was a not difficult for me to get up early and get
ready in a few minutes as I was used to it and I managed it
smoothly. We visited the museum where I got to know about the
wildlife of that place. Next we visited the Corbett national park in
an open jeep safari where we were curious to see tigers as I had
never seen a tiger other than zoos or confined spaces. When I saw
some of my friend Prajais clicked photographs, I got to know what
a talented photographer he was. We roamed for several hours but
did not see any tigers. Maybe we were not lucky enough.
The day next to the jungle safari was to be given to nainital. We
immediately left for Nainital in a bus after breakfast. Our first visit
there was to the geographical department where we were to be
lectured about the place and the geographical features. The sir
who was took our session was very much known to the place and
he knew much about the place. But due to the strong use of
unknown terms and vocabulary we understood nothing. There I
reflected upon myself and came to know how poor my vocabulary
was. So I decided to start reading more of English books to
improve my knowledge of words. After the geo department we had
to walk kilometers because no transportation was available. It was
a tough walk after all of the bus traveling but I buckled up and
covered the distance swiftly.

The walk made me aware about the structure of the roads in

Nainital and also how clean the city was. The local people walked
far faster than us as they were used to the walking.
Finally after walking for a fair distance we got transportation and
we reached the hotel where we had our lunch and the rest of the
day was free for all.
The next day was given to tracking. We were supposed to visit
tiffin top. Surprisingly all of the students were ready to travel. I
had expected some of them to quit, but all of us geared up to walk
a few kilometers. One of the students who was physically unfit due
to his weight was among the few students who were ahead of us
all. His courage and determination inspired me and I too started
walking without taking rests. When someone would stop walking
there was always a hand that said lets continue, its only a couple
of kilometers. It was one for all and all for one. The trek was
interesting and I loved the views from those heights. On the way
we stopped for a while where we had a little pull-ups competition
amongst us. The maximum number of pull-ups that anyone could
do was 5. I regularly do pull-ups at my home so I could do a 10,
which was appreciated by everyone, and I was proud of myself.
Finally we reached our destination and were happy to see that
there was a stall for buying snacks. Even Maggie was available. A
hot bowl of Maggie in that cold environment was a relief and we
enjoyed it. When my friend vikram saw the transport horses he
started preaching us about different kinds of horses and I came to
know that he was a horse enthusiast like me and he knew much
about them. We shared a couple of incidents that we had had with
horses.
After we finished the trek we took or lunch at the hotel and took
a rest for a few hours. At the same day we were to visit a space
observatory, which was one of the highest observatory in the
world. The session at the observatory was quite interesting and I
got to learn much about the universe. We were even informed
about one of their observatories, which was under construction.
The remaining day was spent in the market where we roamed
around and bought a few things. One very interesting thing I got to

know there was that, in Nainital exact duplicates (first copies) of

any product could be found in a very reasonable price. We realized
that we could be fooled so we decided not to buy anything from
there. We even enjoyed boating where I came to know that
everyone of my friends knew swimming and I was the only one
who didnt. I was ashamed of myself so I made a resolution to
learn how to swim as soon as we get back. The day was well
spent.
The next day, which was our last day in Nainital, was to be spent
in another trek. We came to know that the previous to trek to
china peak was canceled and instead we had to visit Himalaya
darshan, which was only 2-3 kilometers from the hotel. I was upset
to hear about this as I had already been there with my family. I
decided not to go to the trek and stay at the hotel instead. Some
of my friends did the same and they had their own reasons for
that. That day was a lazy day, which I spent in playing pool and
other activities. We even played basketball for some physical
exercise. We visited the market once again after our colleagues
returned from their trek. That was our last day for fun and we had
our share.
We left nainital the next day in the morning. We boarded the
train from kathgodam. We reached muradabad station at 11pm
that day where we had to board a train to ahemdabad at 12am.
The train was late so we had to wait in the waiting room at the
station. We were expecting the train to reach at around 3am but
due to some unknown reason the train did not arrive till 6am in the
morning. Everyone was frustrated and we slept in turns to keep a
check on our luggage. There I realized that in Indian railway
nothing could be expected and the timings were not always fixed.
Finally after a long wait the train arrived and we all boarded it.
Next stop was Ahmadabad. Our organizers and teachers were
discussing about transportation from Ahmadabad to Rajkot as we
had already missed the train from Ahmadabad. After the
discussion it was decided that 2 luxury buses would be booked
from Ahmadabad. This decision was a good one, as we would

reach Rajkot on time. The trip finally came to an end when we

reached Rajkot at 11am in the morning. It was a trip to be
remembered for a lifetime.