March 29, 2018

I wish I could say that I woke up to a nice sunny morning, with the sun shining brightly as I flexed my arms in pleasure, my mind being totally calm and free.

Unfortunately,it was completely the opposite. I woke up, totally drenched in ice-cold water at 5 in the morning, with my elder sister grinning like mad with a bottle in her hand. As I jumped up and started to chase her, she quickly dodged me, saying" Ghumonto obostha e toke khub peaceful lagchilo, bhablam ektu jalai toke."( You looked very peaceful while you were asleep, so I decided to disturb you and wake you up.) Scowling at her, I reached for a towel to dry myself. Can you imagine that??

Anyways, we reached the school within 6. The others going on the trip were arriving too. I was saddened at the fact that nobody of my class were going, all were younger than me, and I recognized no one, but hey, isn't trips all about knowing the people around you and trusting them?

We boarded the school bus which would be taking us till Gondkhali. As the bus started and veered around the corner, I caught a glimpse of my parents waving at me. I waved back, and sat back to enjoy the journey beyond.

The bus was really quiet for a group of 11 students and 3 teachers. Some of them were dozing off, some whispered to the person next to them, while others like me looked out of the window to enjoy the view.

I didn't know when I had drowsed off till I sat up with a jerk. The bus had stopped and sir was telling all of us to deboard. Rubbing my eyes, I took my bags and leapt out of the bus.

Amit sir, an ex-student of our school and organizer of CNest, had accompanied us. He took the group to the jetty where a whole passenger ferry had been booked for us. We sat on the chairs on the deck as the ferry detached from the dock and moved towards Bali Island, going past Gosaba. We were served breakfast, and we listened to interesting anecdotes of the Sunderbans as we travelled.

On the ferry we were going.

Reaching Bali Island at nearly 11, we descended onto the dock, where Tanushmita Ma'am took a group photo.

That's Sambhu Sir, in the blue shirt.

Walking on a brick road, the resort was a minute's walk. Surrounded by a wire fencing, we walked past a few tents (some guys wanted to stay there but Ma'am shut them up with a glare lol). We took 4 cabins in all (6 girls in one, 5 boys in another, Ma'am in one and sirs in another.) After checking in, and a shower later, we were called for lunch in the dining area. We were served rice, daal, potato fries and fish from the river. It tasted different from all those in Kolkata, but hey! It was nice!

Anyways, after lunch we mainly spent the afternoon in our rooms. The boys whipped out songs ( mainly by Shawn Mendes) and we spent time listening to his Lights on and Honest.

As the sun was setting, we peeked out of our cabins, making a beeline for the jetty. That was where we all spent most of the time, to be honest. The breeze blowing, scraping against your skin, the heat from the land slowly subsiding as you watch the water level rise. The barges could be seen in the horizon, a tiny figure against the massive skyline. Here are some of the group photos taken.

I am the boy at the back with the spectacles, btw. Not the boy who took the picture.

Let me introduce you to the rest of my companions:
1. Me
2. Mitesh
3. Chitraksh
4. Rohit
5. Rimil
6. Arunima
7. Pragya
8. Sayari
9. Shreyashi
10. Chandrani
11. Sudarshana
12. Tanushmita Ma'am
13. Sambhu Sir
14. Sujit Sir
15. Amit Sir.

After spending a lot of time there, we headed back as it was getting dark. We huddled in the dining area, where the solar generators were running ( no electricity there) and plugged in our phones to charge. Munching on fries and pakoras, we listened to interesting anecdotes about tigers and life in the wild. Amit Sir showed us different types of fish and snakes.

Oh, and did I mention that there were a lot of dogs there? They were our guards. Among them was a puppy, and he was SO CUUUUTTTEEE!!! Nobody could resist not cuddling him. At last it was such that the poor creature ran everytime it saw us approaching him. 😁😁

The time passed by quickly and dinnertime came so fast nobody noticed. Hungrily we devoured the roti and chana masala.( What?We like to eat.)

The teachers didn't let us stay up for long after that so we had to retire to our cabins. Chitraksh once tried to sneak out but one scold from Sujit Sir stopped him. A dog placed itself in front of our door so as to prevent unwanted visitors to enter. Our own personal guard.

It was getting late, so we thought to resort to the comfy beds. I and Mitesh shared a bed while Chitraksh, Rohit and Rimil shared the other. We dozed off, all of our hearts racing in anticipation for tomorrow, and we just couldn't wait.

(Peeks out nervously)
Hey guys! I finally got time to update this story. I just couldn't manage time to write. The last time was nearly a month ago. Did you like this chapter?
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