Asmi Momin
IX
A TRIP TO MUSSOORIE…
I was thrilled by the idea and concept of taking school students on an ‘Adventure Camp’ to a mesmerizing place ‘Mussoorie’. I was a part of this extra-ordinarily exciting camp which was held during my Diwali Vacation from 1st to 5th of November, 2018. We were a total of 42 students. Our Journey began at 12:30 pm on 1st November, 2018. Travelling all the way from Mumbai to Delhi, we reached the Delhi Airport at 9:45 pm. We had dinner at the airport itself and then experienced a night journey in a bus from Delhi to Dehradun. From Dehradun, we travelled survey roads to reach our camp, which was at ‘Nature Walks Resort’. At the camp we were divided into two groups – ‘Muddy Monsters’ and ‘Green Grenades’ by the main camp instructor. We were then allotted our cottages. After this, our adventure activities began. Our first activity was ‘Zip Lining’. Simultaneously, we learnt typing different types of knots. Then we headed for ‘Rock Climbing’ and ‘Rappelling’ which were tough but incredible. Then, in the evening, we had ‘Bon Fire’… Here, we enjoyed playing ‘Antakshari’ after having soup in a cold weather.
The next day had a new story to tell. We got up to see a rainy weather in the morning at that cold, chilly place! Wearing our ponchos, we trekked to a temple. Following this, we had another activity ‘Raft Building’. First, the groups were to design their rafts, then, with the collective efforts of our team members, we built our raft using ropes, bamboos, and inflated tubes. And then, there was raft racing in the pool… I loved this activity, though only boys were a part of the race. In the evening, girls and boys played a unique game – AIRHOOPY. This was a kind of basketball played using a rope. We also had a high rope course, bonfire and an unforgettable DJ.
The next day, we had an incredible trek – ‘MAGGIE TREK’. I really liked this concept. After a tiring trek, the team members prepared Maggie on the hill. There were two different pots of Maggie each prepared by one of the groups. We also decorated the serving plates to our fullest using leaves, sticks, flowers, etc. to present our trainers and teachers. Then, we had an activity called ‘Stream Runner’. This was indeed the most adventurous activity of the camp. From ice cold water to slippery stones, we had to overcome everything in the fast running stream. I won’t forget the moment I fell in this stream. After this, we had our last, mysterious and fun activity – ‘Guerilla Warfare’. This included tea making, balloon game and tennis ball game.
There was one weird plant – ‘Bichchhu Booty’, from which everyone had to be aware during the entire camp, since it gave an ‘Itchy and Stingy’ feeling if touched for about an hour.
On our last day, we landed on the Mumbai airport at around 12:50 pm. I’m thankful to the enthusiastic camp leaders and teachers (Selwyn Sir, Sushma Miss and Sapna Miss) who had accompanied us on the camp. The camp gave the lessons of punctuality, team building and confidence.