"Wait... Is it time to head back to college already?" I thought to myself after what had seemed to be the most gleeful few weeks I had ever had! Whenever we're enjoying and having a great time it always feels endless, so things just didn't seem to add up when it was finally time to leave. The past year had gone by like a blitzkrieg and all my thoughts hovering over a minimum of six cities seemed like a haze.
As I peered down the neck of the empty bag, which had been sitting in some corner of my room collecting dust for two whole months, many snapshots emerged in my mind, including that moment when I had gladly tucked away all my belongings in our hostel's common room, never sparing a single thought to the day I'd return. In anticipation of the excitement ahead, I hadn't even turned back to bid good-bye to the room which had housed me for a whole year. With many of my friends from colleges across the country about to begin their professional careers this year, I had mixed feelings about having to spend some more time as an undergraduate, thanks to my five year dual degree course.
Well anyhow, all this chatter aside, the astoundingly engaging few days which marked the end of my summer break are definitely worth the mention! Other than gulping down a few bestsellers and spending quality time with my family and some closely knit childhood friends (an outline of which I've penned down in the previous article), there's one trip in particular which I'd like to preserve as a part of this blog! How do I describe it? Something which apparently might not seem much may be just what is needed for giving us a kick-start to overcome the challenges which lie ahead. A drive round my home-town taking in the cool breeze, with pit-stops at some of the newest malls, technology hot-spots and eateries, proved to be just the thing for me!...
Of special note was the Amanora Town Centre! With the entire township spread over two million square feet and the Centre itself having the capacity for parking sixteen hundred vehicles at any given moment, coupled with valet service, it couldn't get much bigger than that! After navigating through the car park, a labyrinthine maze of zigzags and U-turns, we entered the lower ground level. After buying some decorative vases and touring various shops and outlets like e-Zone, Home Store, etc, we made our way to the upper floors, which took a total of at least three hours just to take a meager glance at everything.
The second last floor had multiplexes including Inox and two ultra-modern sky-walks connecting the East and West wings of the Town Centre, with a mini train running to and fro between them. From the sky-walk we could get a bird's eye-view of the entire Town Centre, and what a view it was! A massive LCD screen was affixed to the side of the East wing building, with the upper floor glass panes displaying the names of global food chains the likes of Barbeque Nation, McDonalds, KFC, Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut, China Town and a myriad of other Thai joints. The sheer scale of the whole thing was more than daunting! The ground floor was a magnificently colored show of fountains, with the Manchester United Bar Cafe in the background, its neon lights glowing with all their glory! Overall it was an eye-popping display of modern lifestyles and technology. The supper at KFC which followed made our day all the more thrilling and intoxicating, which was the perfect boost required before another busy year at college!
