Joy reverberated through the hearts of all the 9th and 10th graders on the evening of the 9th of October, 2015. It was time for them to depart for the much awaited tour to Jaisalmer and Jodhpur after the hectic month of September.

All the students boarded the buses and departed for the railway station. We reached the railway station and boarded the train to Jaisalmer at around 6 pm. The journey had begun!!!

The night in the train was very eventful. There was lots of fun, playing and interaction among the teachers and students. It was a learning experience for all of us.

We arrived at the Golden City-Jaisalmer at around 1 pm the next day and boarded a bus to reach our lodging place, which were tents. It was a one of its kind experience staying in tents of cloth and it felt really cool and cozy even in the desert. After having a satisfying lunch and freshening up, we went to the sand dunes for camel-riding and behold the sunset in the plain desert setting. Then, once we came back in our campus, we witnessed the traditional folk dance of the people of Jaisalmer and were left gaping on seeing the stunts performed by them. Then we had a hearty dinner of Paneer and Rajasthani Kheer.

Afterwards, under the open sky dotted with numerous stars along with the desert wind blowing on our faces, all of us boys were engaged in constructive talks and fun-playing activities. Late in the night, we all retreated into our tents and had a restful sleep.

Before the sun could show its appearance the next morning, we were up again and reached the peak of the sand dunes to witness the sunrise. It was followed by a visit to the ancient village of Paliwar Brahmins which had an astonishing past. Further, we visited the Jaisalmer Fort where we got a scenic view of the city from the topmost point of the fort and also learnt about its history.

After a delicious lunch, we began our journey to Jodhpur midst of which we visited the Jaisalmer War Museum and gained a lot of information about the glory of our Indian Army. All were awed by the exhibition of war equipment including the tanks. It was highly inspiring to read about the sacrifices made by various selfless protectors of our nation.

Four hours later, after a silent journey of around 200 km, we reached the ornamental city of Jodhpur. Our accommodation was at one of the most luxurious resorts, ‘Marugarh’. The arrival at the resort was quickly followed by a swimming round and a well-organized appetizing dinner in the open garden. After the dinner, everyone relaxed in their rooms, holding great anticipation for the events of the next day.

In the fresh breezy morning the next day, we went to the world famous Mehrangarh Fort. The humongous structure, the beautiful intricate carvings, the gold studded terraces and the wonderful history, all left us in reverence.

The best of all was the experience of zip-lining. It was thrilling to slide on the rope from one end of the valley to a place on the opposite side. Later in the day, we went to the Umaid Bhawan Palace, the largest palace in the world in which a king is currently residing. The palace was very huge, so huge that it had more number of rooms than the Indian Parliament. The exhibition of the vintage cars also caught our attention. By the evening, we were back at our hotel and everyone had a second round of plunge into the swimming pool. Then, after the dinner, we bid goodbye to the hotel and reached Jodhpur station.

The train journey back to school was full of mixed feelings. Some were sad, some were excited, some were tired, but all of us were rejuvenated.

But this tour was very unique in the sense that although there was lots of fun and enjoyment, the students developed a bond amongst themselves and the teachers.

This tour is a memory that each one of us would cherish forever!!!!!

We would like to thank the following people for working hard behind the curtains and contributing to make this tour very amazing:

Pujeetbhai: He worked tirelessly and had pre-arranged every aspect of our tour.

Niravbhai: He added flavour and joy to every moment of the tour.

Himanshubhai: He made every event possible for us.

Thank you all!

Written by: Yathansh Joshi, Smit Patel, Vinamra Patel (Std 10)