My School Trip to North India (Part 1)
By: Aanvik Modi
Tags: Vacation, North India, Holidays, Trip, Delhi

I this post, I am going to tell you a story about a journey that I made, a journey to the north of India, to be precise, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Amritsar.

I was in class 8, the good old times before the coronavirus, our school had planned a week-long trip to the north of the country, a few of us were going, let us say around seventy-five (75) students were going on the trip, we were all very excited, it was our first time away from our parents, very far and very long as well, in my class, 4 students including me were going to that trip, let us call them Raj, Rohan, and Adi.

Every day until the day of the trip, there was only one thing that we all could talk about, all we wanted to talk about, yes, you guessed it, we talked about the trip, there was one more student who applied for the trip, but a few days before the trip, he had to cancel, he had an important occasion, and he chose that, I just hope that it was worth it.

Everyone was shopping for new clothes, and other supplies, I even bought a torch, I don’t really know what was going through my mind at that moment, but better have it and not need it, than need it and not have it, right?

The days seemed longer as the day of the big trip came closer and closer, we were like 6-year-old kids the night before Christmas waiting for Santa to bring us presents (If you celebrate Christmas or just understand what I mean.), trying to sleep, but the excitement wouldn’t let you sleep, and when the morning finally comes, a wave of excitement and happiness rushes through us.

A week before the trip, all the students and their parents were invited on Saturday for a brief introduction about the trip, like the final itinerary, the hotels, the food, and a lot of other things, after an hour or two, the meeting was over and there was just one week left for the trip to start. Yay.

And then that morning finally came, the big day finally came, it was a cold morning at the end of the month of November, I got up with a smile on my face, and my teeth chattering because it was like 5:30 a.m. and it was cold, very cold, after a while, I picked up my bag and went to my school, there were five buses lined up and a crowd of kids and their parents with their luggage on the school pavement and ground, some even picked up a football and started to play until it was time to leave, I joined them.

The parents got to talking with each other, the kids were talking and having fun, the trip was just going to start in a few hours, we were going to get on the bus and drive to the train station and then get on a train and go to Delhi, we were told to wear our school uniforms with our identification card for obvious reasons.

The teaches asked us to move in the bus after a while, there was a lot of chattering and excitement that it was officially starting, we boarded the first vehicle related to the trip, I sat next to Rohan, he was a good friend of mine, and still is, I took the window seat, I was more of a jump, It was a long drive to the train station, at first we started to talk and then we started to talk about a movie that came out a few weeks ago, he told me that he had the film in his mobile, we pulled the headphone out of my bag and started to watch it, we watched the movie for around fifty to fifty-five minutes and then we arrived at the train station.

The station was crowded, as it was pre-covid, there were people everywhere, our teachers told us to stand in 5 lines and do not leave the group at any cost, and they proceeded to tell us about all the other safety precautions and a lot more, I was looking around, everyone has somewhere to go, everyone needs to be somewhere.

After all the instructions and information about our compartments, we went inside the station and we had to wait for an hour or two for the train to arrive, for some reason the train had gotten delayed, we all were talking and laughing and even bought some snacks from the stall in the corner, after two hours and thirty minutes, the train finally arrived, and we all sat on our respective seats, and then the train started to move after five minutes.

We all got comfortable in our seats, It was a typical A.C compartment, blue background, and boy, was it cold, me and three of my friends sat together and just started talking about what food was to be served for lunch and for dinner, there was going to be snacks too, after half an hour or so, we were served breakfast, we got some bread butter, and a frooti (mango juice, diluted and flavored), and a muffin, or should I say a cupcake, all I can say is that the breakfast was not much, but it was good.

After a while, we started to play cards among ourselves, we were playing either rummy or gin or something else, I honestly do not remember, and then after a few hours lunch was served, we were happy, they had two plans, veg, and non-veg, I chose the veg one, but often eat nonveg, anyway, in the veg lunch, there was some rice, three chappatis/Rotis and paneer masala, and some yogurt, in the non-veg lunch, you had rice, chappatis, and some chicken masala, along with some fish and yogurt, I had a little non-veg from my friend, so overall the food was good, not a lot of quantity, but they sure had quality.

After eating lunch, we all decided to rest, I lied down in my seat and started to watch a movie on my mobile, then came the evening, it was around 5:30 p.m. or so, when we were served our evening snacks, it was some tea, a muffin, a pack of popcorn, and some chips as well, and they also served us some soup, I think it was Manchurian soup or veg corn soup.

Then we got dinner until then we were just talking, having fun, making memories, for dinner we got served with the same rice, chappatis, and this time there was paneer too, but we also had some rajma.

we were going to arrive in Delhi in the morning, so I thought that I better get some sleep for a fresh start tomorrow, but I am a night owl, so I slept around 12:30 a.m., but I still got around six or seven hours of sleep, so I was fresh.

Then came the morning, it was 6:30 a.m. in the morning, and I was sleeping in the top seat/bed of the train, I got down, freshened up, and was ready and excited for all the adventures that the day held before me.

all of my friends were awake by then, we all just sat down and talked about what was going to happen and all, then the train came to a halt, we had reached Delhi.

The teacher told us all to wear our id cards and walk out of the train with our luggage in a line and that we should not leave the teacher at any cost, obviously.

I got out of the train in the Delhi train station and was amazed by how crowded it was, people were everywhere, everything was moving so fast, I noticed that people were always talking about the pollution in Delhi, I, in my opinion, I did not notice a lot, that was maybe because I had not gotten out of the train station.

After a while we had gotten out of the station, I was shocked when I entered the street, it was so crowded, of course, it was crowded as we lived in India, but this was much more crowded than where I came from, Pune.

Cars and motorcycles everywhere, hardly any time to walk, we had to walk very fast to cross the street for a while, the teachers told us that our buses were just around the corner, they didn’t tell us that the corner was ten minutes away, and it was a mix of sunny and cold, the day seemed perfect.

After 10 minutes, we reached our buses, there were two white tourist buses, they were big, could seat at least 30 to 40 people each, and we were around 80 people when you include both the students and teachers.

we sat on the buses, half in each one, It was comfortable, I leaped for the window seat as I wanted to see Delhi, of course.

while driving to the hotel, I got to see the home of the president of India and prime minister from a distance, after a while, we reached the hotel.

It was a really fancy hotel, it was big, stylish, it was either a 4 or 5-star hotel, we took our bags and suitcases and went inside, not only was it impressive on the outside, but it was also astonishing on the inside, it had a brown-yellowish light, just like most luxury places, it was very clean and well-staged

The staff was very well dressed, the staff wore black suits with red ties and presented themselves to their clients as gentlemen, after waiting for 15 to 20 minutes, we finally got our room key card, a few people had to share one room, 4 people to be precise, and 5 in some cases but not mine.

Me and three of my friends that I mentioned before, who were my classmates, we got some mattresses and we would sleep on the ground and bed alternatively.

We took the elevator and went to the floor where our room was, it was a very clean and nice hallway, it had Persian carpets and art on the wall, and it had a very quiet and comfy vibe to it.

I opened the room, It was a fancy room, the hotel did not disappoint us, I and my friends went inside the hotel room and put our luggage in the corner, two had to share a bed, and there were two mattresses on the floor, there was brown carpet in the room and quite a few lamps over there, it was a classy room, I checked the bathroom, I was also very good, I was expecting a bathtub, but it did not have one, it was still very good.

We had around half an hour to freshen up, change our clothes, whatever we had to go, we were going for a round around Delhi, and we were going to visit the India gate in the evening, I was very excited, and so were my friends.

I put on a red jacket as it was cold outside in the morning, but it would be hot after a while and I really liked my jacket, so I put on a light jacket, a.k.a the red one, I wore blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt, nothing fancy.

We went downstairs to the cafeteria, there was some breakfast, more variety than the train, there was juice, many types of cakes, bagels, dosa, idli, vada, bread and butter or jam, and much more.

There were a lot of children in the cafeteria, it was an amazing feeling of rush, of the trip, of a vacation.

After a while, we all ate and everything, so then we got on our respective buses and rode off, it took us, students, to get a while to get all comfortable and adjusted, there were small kids too, so maintaining discipline was a little tough.

Well, the engine started and we were on the road, there was quite some traffic that day as everybody wanted to get to work, and it was Delhi, our first stop was the Red Fort, we were very excited, none of us had gone to Delhi before, after 20 to 25 minutes later, we reached the red fort, we saw this massive fort in front of our eyes, and we were just speechless.

After our driver found a parking spot, we got off one by one, it was a little sunny and a little cold, just as I said before, the weather seemed perfect.

we formed a few lines and put on our id cards around our necks and got ready for an adventure, we went inside, there were some shops outside, it was mostly red brick all around, of course, it was called the ‘Red’ Fort.

we went through a security check, and then went inside, there were a lot of people and security, why would not there be a lot of security.

There were a lot of tourists there like us, some Indians and some not Indians, there was a lot to see, and yet there was not a lot of time, so we had to make it quick, we saw the fort and some of the attractions around it, so around three or four hours later, we had completed our tour and decided to go back when we all gathered, our teachers told us that we were going to a restaurant for lunch, it was around 12 pm then, not too late and not too early for lunch, and I wanted to get out as it was burning hot in the afternoon that day, we all sat in our bus and rode off.

I was a little sweaty and so were my friends, after 10 to 20 minutes, we got to a restaurant, it was a decent restaurant, we walked in and it had a bit of a dark and gray texture, but it seemed to be good, so no problem.

There were tables and chairs like any other restaurant, we walked straight and our teachers led us downstairs where there was a buffet, a lot of food to be self-served in simple words, There was some soup and the main course consisted of meals like paneer, aalo and other typical things that you get in a buffet, and there was desert, there was gulab jamun, kheer, some cake and that was about it, the food was good and tasty.

We were done eating, it took us all about an hour or so, we ate in about half an hour, but we all decided to take a little break and just chill for a while.

We went back to our hotel where we were going to rest for the rest of the afternoon, then at around 5 p.m. or so, we were going to the India gate.

I slept for three hours as I needed a fresh mind and was exhausted from the train and bus and the sun and everything, I woke up at around four-thirty p.m. and washed my face and got ready to go to the India Gate, I got out of my room and waited in the hotel lobby, everybody should be down in 5 minutes.

We all got on the bus after a while of instructions from the teachers and all, we drove for the while and finally reached the India gate, we got off the bus and just saw it, it was so big and so crowded, again why wouldn’t it be, there was no virus, everyone was happy, at least most of us were, comment down and tell me were you happy or not.

Anyway, back to the story, we all just roamed there for a while, our teachers telling us about the history of the India Gate, there was something written on the top, but I was not able to read it

After an hour of sightseeing, we just went back to the hotel and had our dinner, and then we went to sleep, I was very tired that day despite sleeping in the afternoon, It was a good night’s sleep.

DAY 2

Finally, I woke up at around 6 a.m. in the morning, it was a fresh day and was full of energy and excitement.

I got up, took a bath, and changed my clothes, we had around an hour before breakfast, so I just sat there and passed time on my mobile phone, after an hour, I and my friends went down for breakfast, it was the same as the day before, we got on our bus and went to the Qutub Minar. we ate some snacks on the bus and it took us around half an hour to reach the Qutub Minar, but this time, we had a travel guide or a tour guide, whatever you think is right.

He introduced himself and told us a little about the Qutub Minar and all, the history, the geography, the greatness that we should feel while standing in its present, its spiritual significance, and things like that.

Finally, we got off the bus and went inside, he took us on a tour and told us about the history of every place we went, and we were given a five minutes time on every spot for taking photos and videos.

We were done after a few hours, it took us so long because he was a very slow guy, he walked slow, and talked just as he walked, SLOW!!!

After we were done, we had lunch, it was the same place as before, the buffet, it was good food today too.

After eating, we went to the hotel and we were going to rest for two to three hours, and then they were going to take us shopping somewhere, and then we were going to see the parliament building from the outside and some of the other stuff, not very excited about that.

the evening came and we went shopping, there is not much to tell, so I won’t waste your precious time by telling much, we just came back to the hotel, had dinner and had a good night’s sleep.

We were going to Amritsar tomorrow, I was very excited, I will tell you about my trip to Amritsar in part two, and then there is also going to be part 3.

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