Memoirs of Ec-5′s Chronic Excursion….

We the students of EC5 had our study tour from 2nd to 8th of October. We visited some of the beautiful places in South India. We started off with the exotic Hogenakkal and then moved on to
Hyderabad where majority of the software companies had their offices. We proceeded to Pondicherry via Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram

DAY 1:- 2nd October

We left the college campus by 5 pm as scheduled. Our plan was to visit Hogenakkal by early morning. Everybody were very energetic and all of us were totally enjoying and dancing inside the bus.

Day 2:- 3rd October

Hogenakkal
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We reached Hogenakkal by 7 am. We then moed to a nearby hotel to get freshed up.

Hogenakkal Waterfalls, ‘Niagara’ falls of India, offers a promising holiday destination for nature lovers in the country.

hogenakkal waterfalls

Hogenakal Falls is a beautiful water falls in the state of Tamilnadu, is a good Picnic spot and also its wates supposed to have curative powers. Here the Cauvery River enters the plains and the river dashing against the rocks is a great sight. Hogenakkal is a riverside spa where, according to its devotees, good health can be had for the asking. The sound of the Cauvery, roaring between rocky banks, is a constant presence in most places in Hogenakkal. The river, here flows through a wooded valley, splitting and merging and splitting again around rocks, and little islands with towering trees, and boulder-strewn out crops, which are covered only when the river is in spate with the rains of the monsoon. People cross the current-rippled waters in circular basket boats covered in buffalo hide or plastic.

boatin....

We spent nearly 4 hours there and then we had our lunch.We left Hogenakkal by 3 pm. Our next destination was Hyderabad.

Day 3:- 4th October

Hyderabad
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Eventhough the journey was bit long, we managed to reach Hyderabad by noon. We satyed at Wesley’s Hostel premesis. They treated us well with the special Hyderabadi Biriyani for lunch.

Our plan was to visit Snow World in the vening. We reached there by 5 pm.

We visited the World’s Biggest and India’s 1st Snow Theme Park,THE SNOW WORLD, where we discovered how really snow felt. It was a snow destination in snow clad environment that will reeze you with fun and splendor. Snow world is situated with the historic heritage sites such as ‘Hussain Sagar’ tank bund and the ‘Indra Park’.

Believe it or not 17,000 square feet area that would bring to life all your snow fantasy, witness the chilling cold that would freeze you, if not protected by our winter gear before entering the polar climate in the snow play arena at Snow world enjoy the hot delicious soup that will set the snow appetite in you. Witness being in the snow fellowship with 300-degree mountain horizon with true snow created with mineral water safe as natural ready for your bite.

Rides that will fill the spirit of snow adventure in you choose your pick you have a lot up there for the offering slide yourself down at speeds to replicate mountain fall with ‘Snow Slide’ take your snow mobiles at speeds to feel the excitement of snow cruising with ‘Ice Bumper Car’. How about taking by lane down the past enjoy your time with all time favorite ‘Merry Go round’ that will set up your spirit for the day.

That was really a surprise and pleasure for us. We then had a big shopping. We walked down through the city streets of Hyderabad.And by 11 pm we reached the Wesleys Hostel.
The next day we planned to visit the awaited Ramoji film city.

Day 4:- 5th October

Ramoji Film City
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Ramoji Film City (RFC) is the world’s largest integrated film studio complex at over 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of land. It is also a popular tourism and recreation centre, containing both natural and artificial attractions.

film city

Ramoji Film City offers pre-production, production, and post-production resources. It offers over 500 set locations. There are many gardens, authentic sets, about 50 studio floors, a digital film facility, the support systems, outdoor locations, high-tech laboratories, etc. The Film City’s infrastructure includes custom-designed locations & mock-ups, set construction, properties & costumes, shooting stages, cameras and equipment, audio post-production, digital-post-production/SFX as well as film processing.

Twenty international films and forty Indian films can be produced simultaneously in the complex. It has attracted not only filmmakers from the country, but also producers from Hollywood.

Every year, the studios attracts over a million tourists visit the complex creating revenues in billions of rupees (INR). Located at the entrance of the film city are the 3-star hotel, Tara and a 5-star hotel, Sitara for the film production units as well as for tourists. Once inside, there is Hawa Mahal, based along the lines of the Golconda Fort, which is on a hilltop from where one can have a bird’s eye view of the whole studios.

A Japanese garden, the ETV planet (a multi-purpose editing suit), a pool, artificial waterfalls, breathtakingly accurate airport terminal, hospital set, railway station, churches, mosques and temples, shopping plazas, palace interiors, chateaus, rural complexes, urban dwellings, and a winding highway are some other places for tourists to visit. For shopping enthusiasts, there are nice handicrafts, pottery and other decorative articles for purchase.

The vintage Film City coaches will take the visitors on a journey around the studios. Each of these well-conducted tours will let you have a tètè-è-tètè with the stunning locales. The visitors are shown around the various sets where blockbusters have been filmed or the numerous gardens where the Indian song sequences were choreographed. There is Parade, a prop-shop, where you costumes of actors as shown in a film can be ordered. One can find a nursery, Shangrila, where the visitors can take back exotic plants back home. There are several settings in the studios which lead the visitors from streets of the Mauryan Empire or the Mughal Empire or even the American Wild Wild West. There’s also the famous Hollywood sign displayed on the hills at the studios.

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If tired and hungry, there’s enough variety of food on the platter.Dilse, Alampana, Chanakya, Gunsmoke and Ganga Jamuna are the restaurants that are available to pamper the taste buds.

And finally we have to finish exploring RFC. Atleast a week is needed to see the whole film city.The next destination was Pondicherry.

Day 5:- 6th october
Pondicherry
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After a very long full day journey we reachd pondicherry by 9 pm. We stayed at Sree Sairam Hotel.The next day we had to go to many historic n beautiful places in Pondicherry.

pondi streets

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Day 6:- 7th October

We had our first visit to the Aurobindo Ashram. An integral human perfection calls for perfection on two levels : the individual and the collective.This is what we can experience from the Ashram The Ashram was founded and built by the Mother as a first step towards the creation of a new world, a new humanity, a new society, expressing and embodying a new consciousness;

The Ashram main building was the abode of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother during most of their stay in Pondicherry. In the inner courtyard is the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The Ashram is open to all for Darshan during fixed hours every day.

Then we went to Vinayakar Temple , Pondicherry museum ,Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Karaikal Beach etc. Finally, we again had a shopping there.Then we returned back…

Day 7:- We came back via Idukky and Kumily.We reached the college campus by 5 pm.

In short the tour was a marvellous and memorable one. We were like a family. We had the spirit, the energy in us and that is what we are….

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