My Summer Vacation

Heyo, guys! Haven’t updated in a while! I’ve been on vacation to India. I’ve been playing TF2 for the last few months too (how many of my readers understand THAT acronym? /facepalm). At any rate, here’s an account of my summer.

Fun fact: I just got back yesterday from India. It was a great trip, but unluckily enough, it was only 3 weeks long. My mom only had 2 weeks. My parents were also having a book release, which they were constantly stressing over.

After arriving in Bangalore, we took a few days rest. My sister and I actually saw a rat on a night we couldn’t sleep. Anyway, what’s so important about a rat? It’s not like the black plague exists anymore.

Our first visit was to my cousins, Hamsini and Shreyas, in Mysore. Sadly, we had 1 night and 1 morning there only. That day in Bangalore, there was actually a function for my great-grandmothers death. I got sick that day, too, and for the next week and a half, I had nasal congestion. Let me say this: for me, nasal congestion is the new ear infection! (thumbs up u getz taht rfence /YouTube comment scrubbery)

The morning after we arrived in Mysore, we went to Beligiri Ranga (BR) Hills, a Jungle Lodges and Resorts reservation. Turns out that we were the ONLY ones there. We were taken to a large, clean wooden cabin. We relaxed for an hour before we went to eat. What did we eat? Ve aTEZ wut me dun rmember! I CANZ GRAMMARZ! But seriously, what do you care? We went on a jeep safari and saw about a metric tonne (oh yes… I went there… British spelling) of deer… and deer… and deer… and monkeys. It was really enjoyable though, especially for me. Afterwards, we watched a movie on tigers.
The next morning, we went on another safari, and did some trekking as well. We saw some tiger and leopard paw prints on the way back. After that, we headed back to Bangalore. On the way, we went to the temple at Nimishamba. It's a popular place (I don't see why: it's a modern temple with no historical value, is too cramped, and is very small. Still it's nice to see the idols, very spectacular). Last time we went there, a dog pooped in my sister's shoes when they were off and she wasn't looking. This year, another pair got soggy and worn. To go with the tradition of going to Nimishamba if something good happens, I'll go to Nimishamba if, the next time we go to Nimishamba, my sister doesn't need new shoes.

We stayed there for the weekend, and on Monday, we traveled to Hassan to see my paternal grandparents. That weekend, there was a big function at my grandparent's house. A lot (I mean a LOT, it's a big house, and still full) of family came. Hamsini, Shreyas, and their parents even came all the way from Mysore. We did a lot of talking and played a few games (like Jenga) together.

I went around the city with my dad and grandfather, and I really enjoyed it. We went to Kowshika on one of the days for a puja. It was quite a distance, but it was enjoyable. The highlight: seeing my sister eating curds (oh how I hate that word, almost as much as my sister hates the food) that she hates. Ok, I lied, that was not a highlight, that was entirely boring. But I like the rest. That day, my mother and sister went back to Bangalore. Turned out that there was an auto rickshaw strike, and my dad, mom, and sister had to go on one scooter to the bus station. My mom and sister said that the buses were very good luckily, and they had a good journey. My dad and I left the next day with my grandparents and one of my dad’s relatives. They were coming for the book release. We went to My older cousin’s, Chandana and Nandita, house for a few hours and then got back to my maternal grandparents home. Nice story, on the way there, my mom, grandparents, and sister spent 45 minutes going 50 kilometers, and then an hour and a half for 1 kilometer. On the way back we got a flat tire, and we were delayed for a while. My dad’s laptop also died, so bad things ensued.

That weekend was the book release. My dad’s was a collection of poems in Sanskrit translated to Kannada, and my mom’s was a book of short stories. At the release they got a bunch of media coverage and a number of famous guests of honor came. And for those who have been following this blog for a while, my “Ocean of Knowledge” poem was read there as well.

The next day was the celebration of Chandana and Nandita's parents' 25th anniversary. It was in a big hall, and there were about 200, 250 people in there. Hamsini and Shreyas were also there, and I talked with them. The function went on from about 9 to 3, and there was breakfast and lunch. I liked the entire function.

The Monday after the book release, my mom went back home. One day in Bangalore, we went to Bannerghata nature preserve for a “safari”. It’s not a nature preserve, it’s a zoo. That many tigers don’t live in such close proximity, tigers and lions don’t live so close together, and no place has that kind of white tiger concentration. It’s a zoo, with imported domestic animals. It was fun to go through, though. After that, we saw the part that was actually declared a zoo. We saw hippos, peacocks, miscellaneous birds, snakes, turtles, and tortoises. I’ll never forget the mad dash of one of the baby turtles, it was hilarious. It was literally running at the speed of… of… of more than 0.5 mph! Well, I would have forgotten it, but now I’ve written it down, and since it’s on the internet, I’ll never lose it. Unless someone attacked the Google data center with an EMP. Then I’d be screwed.

Another day, we went to Bangalore’s tech museum. In the hall of engines, we learned about the history of machines in transportation. Next, we saw a “science show”. What it had to do with science, I’ll never know. But we can do anything with the MAGIC OF VIDEO EDITING! It was still entertaining. We looked through a hall of random science paraphernalia, a puny dinosaur exhibit, an electricity and power generator hall (it was great, we saw LIGHTNING!), a space exploration hall, a hall on circuits and modern tech, and more. The next day (technically the day after… or was it the day after that? I don’t remember), we left. It was a really fun trip, and hopefully, we can go again next year.

This year, I really liked being with my grandparents. In Bangalore, we went to museums, zoos, etc. etc. In Hassan, I went around with my grandfather on his scooter to see the city. I really liked being with them, and I hope they come visit us this or the coming year.

So here I am, writing this in a word doc. Hopefully, this was interesting. If not, HATARS GONNA HATE! (I’m joking, knowing the internet, they’ll be on me like hounds. HOUNDS, I TELL YOU!)