Day 4. Dumas Chopati

17.5 , Saturday
Dumas chopati is the nearest beach here. It roughly takes 15 min in an auto and costs Rs.10 at max. We had heard that it is again only a place for the couples and not that good. And it was correct.
The beach was again full of couples and large families. Here also I saw the habit of eating and picnicking on the ground, and believe me the conditions here are not even close to how great they are on the bridge. The beach was full of rides on camels, horses or simply some rides for everyone. So,if the ONGC bridge can be a picnic spot , this is a famous tourist destination. But I advise you to go there on days of Full moon as the waves and the tide will be more on that day and you would not have to travel large distance for actually going to the sea.

Day 3. The Gas Terminal + ONGC Bridge

16.5 , Friday

Today was our first visit in the field in the plant and the place to start that is the Gas Terminal(GT). It is the place where the two 36" & 42" pipelines from Bombay High travel 200km in sea and 40 km in Tapti river and reach the plant. I had no idea that the amount of gas it processes (roughly45MMSCMD) is distributed to so many industries. Companies like IOCL, Reliance, KRIBHCO, BPCL, Essar, Gail ,GGCL, GSPC which are in the vicinity are all dependent on it.(This is a dream place if you are looking for a chemical or even some other industries). Rest of the gas is sent to the famous HBJ pipeline. Mr. Verma in the Control Room in the GT was the most helpful person you can come across. He did not leave even a single doubt in our minds while providing the overview of the plant, with the field trip of the GT where we actually saw how the gas comes in and how it is distributed. Though we had to travel at least 4-4.5 km to see all of that !

We realized only in the evening that the Tapti River is only 100-150m from the place where we are staying. So, we decided to go to the ONGC bridge. It is just a usual bridge built on the river long time ago. But in the evening, it is the most happening place around. The weather in the evening is always great here and even more so at the bridge, with wind blowing at speed which is many times that of our famous wind-t. The bridge is always shaking with hundreds of trucks crossing the bridge during the whole day.
It is almost a couples only zone, except for the families which treat the bridge as picnic spot...!!! People park their cars or bikes right on the bridge and enjoy the view for hours without even bothering to turn on the parking lights of their cars. I am amazed that no accidents happen even after this carelessness. Another thing that people told me before coming here , but I had to see it for myself was ,that people in large groups bring their own food in the cars, spread a sheet on the footpath on the bridge and start enjoying their picnic..!! I do not think that happens anywhere else... But I could see why so many people came there. Even I liked the place too much. Nothing beats the refreshing air and the moonlit river....

Day 2. Training Starts+River View

15.5 , Thursday

The training started officially for us and for many people doing engg. or MBA(wtf..!) from other colleges. What the MBA people would gain out of a gas processing plant is a mystery to me. But I concluded that no matter what a person is pursuing as his career(BCom,BBA,MBA etc.), if he's a ONGC ward he would have done a training in the plant.
The first day was just some paper work and introduction to some safety measures.

We learned to operate the Self Contained Breathing Apparatus,which for layman are the cylinders with masks used to provide oxygen in case of a fire etc. The sound that the mask makes was so Darth Vader like that I did not want to go back to breathing normally.( It was also similar to the one made by the astronauts' suits).

We were put up in the River View, the ONGC Guest House in the evening. It was surprisingly good,with ACs in the common room and dining room. The food was good at Rs.15 for breakfast and Rs.30 for lunch and dinner. At that price, it is the best and the most balanced food in terms of nutrition we have had other than my home. We have sabzi,dal,rajma or chole or soya, dahi, rice, roti, papad, salad, kheer and most importantly ice-cream for our lunch and dinner. So , we are not complaining on that part. And one interesting fact is that on the dining tables here, you would find sugar instead of salt. Just emphasizes how gujaratis love to have sugar more than others. And this is to compensate the strong spices in the dishes that they dont put in the sugar.

Day 1

14.5 , Wednesday
We entered Surat with kilos of stuff and the plan to do the training which would keep us busy for at least the next two months, but we did not have any idea where we would be living during all these weeks. More than that , we did not know anybody here, so getting a house seemed almost impossible. In retrospect (and also as many people said) it was foolish of us. Our only hope was getting accommodation in the ONGC township. So we took an auto,went to the nearest hotel with reasonable rates and put our stuff there, so that we can arrange for our accommodation.

The hotels here deserve a special mention. I dont know much how much of tourist spot Surat is , but the number of hotel,guest houses ,lodges that you will see near the station is just crazy. I bet the whole of surat can fit into these hotels.

We stayed in Hotel Citizen. The rent was Rs.600 with many facilities including 'Free Masaj Service' which we came to know after we booked our room. If you are looking for still cheaper rooms then look for guest houses like Uday guest house or many more like it,which will provide you a bed in an AC dorm at Rs.110 per night !!

We waited till the offices would open i.e.9.30 and then went straight to the ONGC ,Hazira plant which is quite far from the station.

Till now..
What I liked-The roads are wide and with flyovers built in excess, the traffic was smooth. After having to deal with autos in Delhi for a number of years, the prices here seemed very cheap. The autos run on CNG ,but the prices are exactly half of what anybody would charge for the same distance in Delhi. Also you have to see it to believe how clean the city is. The roads are almost shiny and dust-free.
What I disliked-nothing till now.

The desperate visit to the plant proved fruitful for us, as Mr. Arora,who was our in-charge at the training center, turned out to be a really nice person. He arranged for us to live in the guest house in the ONGC township near the plant for a few days or in some quarters from the next day onwards.

In the evening Niraj,another of our friend, joined us and we just roamed about looking for something good.

For dinner we went to Lagan Gujarati Thali which was around the station area. Obviously , we had gujarati thalis. It was very different from anything that I have ever had. There were way too many sabzis. The food was very spicy but for the first time I had dal and chhole which had sugar put in it. The puris were smaller than my thumb in diameter. The best part was the mango pulp which was so sweet that you can have only a few tea spoons. The food you can eat was unlimited. And all this for just Rs.60 !!!!

The first day ended for us while watching the Jayasurya innings vs Chennai Superkings with 11 sixes. So all in all the first day was way better than I(or the mumbai indians) had hoped.

Surat

I am finally in Surat,entirely due to the requirements of my college,which is an industrial training after completion of 3rd year for a minimum of 50 'working' days. Now I can elaborate and waste my time about the ridiculous rule which will make me repeat this training or do another training for 20 days even if I am one day short of 50days, but i will refrain from it due to the obvious fact that the concept of logic is alien to a better part of administration in IIT Delhi.
The way everyone is desperate for intern of his/her choice before the end of semester is good enough to keep you amused for a good number of days. Every few days you get to hear cases,where a person who did his last year's intern in Australia is doing his intern this year in Ankleshwar or any such place. Thus,I did not keep my hopes high and for me ONGC, Hazira was almost the best I had hoped for in India.
Despite the fact that I have 'lived' in many places in India , I have not actually traveled to as many places as others. So,coming to Surat was new in many ways. I had not been to any place in West India before. Also the fact that my mode of transport was train made it exciting. Trains are quite normal to many people but I try not to waste any momnet when I m traveling in trains (I was traveling in train after 7 years ..!!)

The journey
Me and my friend Gaurav were to board the August Kranti Rajdhani from Nizamuddin Railway Station at 16.55. The beginning was good as the train started at the exact time. Nothing much happened on the train ,except that despite our tickets being for 3rd AC, 2 persons did not board the train,so we enjoyed the luxury of 2nd AC in terms of space.(though due to tatkaal booking and the rule that the ticket can be booked only till the destination i.e. Mumbai,our tickets cost as much as a 2nd AC would). The food was not that great in the Rajdhani. Though I had the Kulhar wali dahi and badaam soup for the 1st time. We woke up at 5.15 am and reached Surat at 6.30am. (A suggestion- dont look out of the window when you are about to reach Surat near Tapi river. You will not like it.)