Day 2 started early at 5:30 am with a wake-up call to all students. Everyone was ready and done with breakfast before 8:30 am. We all boarded our buses and started the day’s journey at 8:30 am. The first stop was the Prag and Aaina Mahal – the architectural marvels. Aaina Mahal, an 18 th -century palace, was converted into a museum in 1977. It houses the Darbar Hall and Marriage Hall on the first floor and the Audience Hall, State Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors and the Pleasure Hall on the ground floor. It was built by Rao Lakhpatji from the Jadeja Rajput dynasty in the local style, but the decoration in mirrors, tiles, and glass depicts the European style.

Prag Mahal is a neighbor of Aaina Mahal, built in the 19 th century by Rao Pragmalji II. It is built in the Italian Gothic style involving Italian marble and sandstone from Rajasthan, Corinthian pillars, a clock tower which gives you a view of the Bhuj city and a stonework-based temple. Both these palaces suffered damages in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, but they were repaired, renovated, and restored to maintain their heritage value.

It was an insightful and excellent experience to know the lives and times of 18 th and 19 th -century kings and queens. Their architecture, decorations, and materialistic things owned by them gave us an idea of the lives they led. It was a brief look into the history of Kutch, which we all enjoyed seeing and listening to.

Next, we moved to Kalo Dungar (the Black Hill). It is a favourite point in Kutch because it gives visitors a panoramic view of the Rann of Kutch from a good height. Unfortunately, that day was a bit cloudy leading to a smoggy atmosphere and so we did not get good views. But the best part was the open-tempo safari on the curvy roads to reach the base of the hill – exhilarating and adventurous. All girls were in one tempo while all boys were in another. It was one hell of a ride with several ups and downs and lefts and rights, along with unsuccessful attempts to click photos during this high- adrenaline ride.

After this, we headed to our lunch place. The lunch was full of local flavours. After a bit late lunch, we headed to the White Desert – the main attraction of the Rann of Kutch trip. We were amazed to see such a vast, pristine white salt desert. Every side we looked at, we could only see the white salt. The white desert extends from the mouth of the River Indus to the Gulf of Kutch. We reached there at the time of sunset, which gave us a spectacular view. We clicked several pictures here in small groups, solo, the entire group, and had fun moments.

How could we miss the colourful and vibrant market of Kutch? We explored the local artisans’ shops and bought handicrafts, jewellery, clothes, accessories, and many other things. Some of us also indulged in some delicious food available in the market. It was a great experience to see the local arts and crafts and make some of these a part of our wardrobe and house.

After this, we started to our resort, and midway, we again had the famous dabeli. After reaching the resort, we had a scrumptious dinner and freshened up for the campfire and dance party. It was a crazy, fun time with loud music, everyone dancing, singing along, and enjoying conversations at the campfire. At around 2 am, we ended the day and all went to sleep.