The exuberant session of 2009-2010 was very exciting as boys of Ajaypal House went for mid – terms in the month of September to CHANDIGARH-KULU-MANALI-ROHTANG PASS.

DAY-1

The very first day of our mid – term trip was very exciting for us. After early lunch we boarded our buses and went to the railway station. We took Shatabdi express and reached Delhi at 11:00 p.m. Then we headed towards Chandigarh by A.C. buses. We reached Chandigarh at 7 O’ clock in the morning. On the way we saw dense foggy area like winter’s fog.

DAY-2

After a long journey we reached Hotel Shagun. We were allotted our rooms. In the afternoon we had lunch and took rest for 2-3 hours. We then went to Pinjore garden. It was beautifully designed.There were many colorful fountains. We saw an anti-clock which showed the correct time. After this we went to the amusment park. We all did many activities like go-karting, shooting and car bumping. We also did net practice of cricket and took a ride of toy train. Although we were tiered but we enjoyed it a lot.

DAY-3

After breakfast we departed for Manali .Throughout the way there was beautiful sight-seen.River Beas flowed all through the way. It was flowing very fast. It originated from Rohtang pass. Midway we had lunch at Aashiyana restaurant. We saw two rivers Satluj and Beas meeting at a point.Between the hills at a good height we saw Candoh Hydro power project. After a short while we entered a 5 km long tunnel named Nehru Tunnel .On the way we also saw many rapids and waterfalls. On the hills we observed terrace farming too. We reached KULLU, which was bigger than MANALI.It is an industrial area especially for shawls and apples. We reached Manali at about 9 o’clock after 3hrs. It was very cold there. Kullu Manali was full of apple trees, wherever we saw. We checked in Sagar resort which belonged to late Ramanandsagar who made ramayan t.v. serial. We were very tired due to 13 hours journey. After a nice dinner we went to sleep.

DAY-4

It was a bright and cold morning . We saw a beautiful scenery from our rooms. Behind the green tree covered mountains we saw silverywhite snow covered peaks we were thrilled to see all this . We had our breakfast and then moved for river crossing. It was a new experience for all the boys. Some boys were scared in the beginning but they successfully completed the activity. Boys also touched the fast flowing cold water while crossing the river. After lunch we went for rock climbing and rappelling. Everybody performed the activity successfully. It became dark as few boys took long time due to fear and hesitation. After this adventure activity we had a relaxing dance party in the hotel. That was a joyous end of the adventurous day.

DAY-5

This day was going to be really a cold day as we were going to the higher Himalayas where there was only grass, less trees and less oxygen. While going to Rohtang we saw check dam which was constructed on extra flow of water from water supply department. We saw many good slogans on the way like "on the bend go slow friend". "From the mountains to the sea, let’s keep Himachal litter free". We reached Rohtang pass through a steep hill climbing. Rohtang pass is 13,004 ft above the sea level. A road was going to Leh Ladakh. We saw army people in truck, moving between Manali to Leh Ladakh, too and fro. The roads were narrow with sharp turn with landslide at many places. Road repair work was in progress everywhere. At Rohtang pass it was very cold and snow started melting. We played on the snow covered peaks for a short while. We saw an igloo shaped vyas kund from where the Vyas River originated. We saw people riding meuls on the snow. After a short snow ball game we had hot tea, biscuits and enjoyed the cold weather. We started our return journey back to Manali .As it took us six hours too and fro between Rohtang pass and Manali .we had late lunch. In the evening we went for shopping at mall road in Manali. After dinner we had born fire.

DAY-6

Today we were going to depart to Chandigarh. We got up early and packed our luggage. We had a nice breakfast and went for trekking to Hidimba temple. It was an old carved wooden temple. It was constructed in 1553. On the way we visited another Shiva temple. We had early lunch and sat in our buses for our journey back to Chandigarh. It took ten hours to reach Chandigarh because of the bad roads. Everybody took anti-vomiting medicine for the long journey. We were escorted by Raishind gill’s father from Pinjore to Chandigarh to avoid police and R.T.O .checking . On the way we had cold drinks and sandwiches at Aashiyna Restaurant. After reaching the hotel at Chandigarh at 12o’clock Naman Arora cut the birthday cake .Later we all had dinner.

DAY-7

We got up at 6:30 am. After bath we packed our luggage. and had delicious breakfast. We visited rock garden designed by Mr.Nek Chand. There were statues made up of waste material like broken tiles, bangles, crockery, caps of bottles, cement bags, pots, electric holders etc. We rolled into laughter when we saw our selves in laughing mirrors of full size. After this we went for shopping to sector 17. We proceeded to Sukhna lake club for lunch hosted by Rashind’s father Mr. Harmanbir Singh. Also we had a group photo near the lake. We went back to hotel and started for Karnal. Mr. Gill also arranged for police security for children’s safety till Punjab border. We felt good when they escorted the two buses. We reached Karnal at 8:30 pm. Here the dinner was hosted by Shashwat Gupta’s father Mr. Sanjay Gupta. We were thrilled to see the elaborate arrangements made by them in hotel Jewel’s. We were served cold drinks and starters. Then we played Tambola and danced. We enjoyed a lavish dinner. At 11:30 pm we started for Delhi. Early morning at 2:30 we reached Delhi and slept in the buses. At 5:30 am we boarded Shatabdi and reached Ajmer around 1:30 pm. We relished the food and enjoyed the trip very much. We had many new experiences during the trip. We thank sir Chaturvedi for organizing this trip. We also thank all the staff members of Ajaypal House for looking after us so well and teaching new things on the trip.

- Nischaal Sharma