Out-V-Go!!

This is the second post in the Out-V-Go series. The newly inaugurated Eco Park at Chetpet, which was opened to public 2 weeks ago.

I learn that not long ago, this was just a giant water body with over grown and un-maintained plants. This lake is maintained by Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department and it has been renovated into an eco friendly Park with boating as the main attraction.

Below is some information that may be useful.

Visiting Days: All days, except Tuesday

Timings: 9:00 A.M to 6:00 P.M

Entry: Adults – Rs. 25/-, Children – Rs.10/- ,

Boating: Adults – Rs. 50/-, Children – Rs. 25/-

Car Parking: There is a multi level car parking, charged at Rs.20/- per hour.

This place is just over the main road, can be located easily. It is precisely, opp to Ega Theater.

So, the park welcomes us with the lush green grass and beautiful paintings across the walls.

There is a 1.5 kms walking track for walkers and there is a subscription for walkers on monthly basis.

The major attraction of this place is the boating. It is one of it’s kind where the kids can have the experience of boating, right in the center of the city. My son liked the experience. He had various doubts like what is a life jacket? why are sharks and whales not inside the water? Why the waves are created artificially? and many more, all through out our time at the park and I have been considerably saved, as this time my grey cells co-operated to a good extent.

Another attraction of the park is the children’s play area with slides, swings, rope climbing etc.

There is also an angling spot, were one could catch fish, with an option of selling what you catch!! ( Looks like a good part-time job option).

They are also coming up with amphitheatre, a roof top restaurant I was told.

Overall, it was a good experience, my son loved both the boating and the park. He did not mind the hot sun at all 🙂 and that’s what makes them kids!!

I only hope the park is maintained the way it is today by both the authorities and the public and it does not lose it’s initial glory.

Suggestions:

Just to avoid the heavy rush, we decided to visit the park in the morning before the sun was really hot. We were at the park by 9:30 A.M and had been considerably saved from the hot sun, traffic and the parking hassles.

I noticed heavy rush of people and long queue by 11:00 A.M, so plan your trip accordingly.

Since this is recently opened, the crowd is coming over in huge numbers and so the tickets for boating is stopped by as early as 2:00 P.M.

There are only 10 boats and so the invariable rush makes them to stop issuing tickets for boating.

Outside food is not allowed. There is also a food stall near the children’s park offering you options like pani puri, chat items, fruit juices, cakes etc.

Some other interesting tit-bits:

Can you spot the mistake?

So, that’s the history

P.S: All pictures captured by me, unauthorized usage is not encouraged.

As a parent of a 5 year old, I am always on a look out for interesting outings for my kid during the weekends, apart from the usual malls and movies. Yes, we do go to malls as well but we don’t enjoy it as much as we enjoy an offbeat story telling or a magic show.

So, here I am starting this section “Out-V-Go” where I will be blogging about different events /places in the city for kids. Predominantly, I will be concentrating on kids-go-out venues but would also include some interesting events in the city if I happened to attend the same.

My first post will feature “Theevu Thidal”

An exhibition is conducted at Theevu Thidal by Tamil Nadu tourism department. This year is the 42nd year of the same. Usually, this exhibition starts in the month of January and goes on for 70 days ( and may also extend). We can have an eye on the local news papers and the hoardings all across the city to know the start date of the same.

Some important info:

Venue: Island Grounds, Mount Road, Park Town

Timings: 3:00 P.M to 10:00 P.M

Days: All 7 days

Car Parking: Ample space for car parking is available. They charge Rs.70/- for the same

Tickets: Adults – Rs.20/-, Kids ( Above 3 years )- Rs. 10/-, Below 3 years – Free

So, the main description of the exhibition goes like this:

Theevu Thidal called as “island grounds” in English ( It took some time for me to register this name, keeping in view my non-tamil background) is where an industrial exhibition is conducted by Tamil Nadu Tourism Department.

This exhibition consists of fun rides, eateries and stalls from different parts of the state (mostly) and other states (very less) to exhibit their domestic products. The main attraction of the exhibition is the Jumbo Circus.

The stalls: There are many stalls which exhibited house hold items, electronics, food items, photographs etc. Most of them did not have anything unique and were just the ordinary items that are usually available in the local stores. My clever husband made us walk exactly on the opposite side of the stalls so that I don’t get to see them in detail and he is saved of the expense. (All husbands reading this, you get it??)

Attraction for kids: From the entrance of the venue, you find many interesting options. Some of what we enjoyed were 3D film, bird show, snow world, kids play pen. Each one had a separate ticket costing Rs.10/- to Rs.50/-. Many of the options were on the lines of scary house which we do not enjoy and so did not check on it.

Rides: The best part of the exhibition were the rides which ranged from a small leap frog that my son enjoyed to the giant wheel, the tora-tora, the Columbus. All the tickets were priced from Rs.40/- to Rs. 70/-.

Jumbo Circus: The timings for the circus show were 1 P.M, 4 P.M , 7 P.M and the tickets were priced at Rs.80/-,Rs.160/- or Rs.250/- depending on how far away you are seated from the performers. It was a incredible show by trained professionals and my son enjoyed it a lot.

Govt stalls: There are the state Govt stalls depicting their work like the minerals department, the HRCE department, the IT department. They were quite informative. Don’t miss to see them.

Special attraction: There is a lucky draw at the entrance where the first prize winner gets a suitcase, do not forget to mention your name and number and drop it in a box arranged at the entrance. We borrowed a pen and did it!! ( Who wants to miss free stuff yaaa??)

Suggestions:

The entire place is sand, so plan to wear proper foot wear that makes your walk easy on the sand.
If you are prone to cold and coughs due to the cold breeze, please carry appropriate head gear. ( This place is pretty close to the beach and the breeze is heavy).
There are no food stalls that offer healthy options like fruits or sundal. All you get is fried bajjis, papads, pop-corns, if you are not too fond of it, plan your eateries accordingly.
No ATMs available within the venue. Most of the shops, do not offer the card-swiping. Carry enough cash for your shopping.
Toilets are not too clean and you cannot expect anything more in a public place.
This will take a good 4 to 5 hours for you see all the stalls, enjoy the rides. I suggest if you could be at the venue by 4 P.M, you can enjoy the 2 hour circus, go around for 2 hours, have your dinner and get back home. You may even avoid all the kid-shows at the entrance ( they don’t offer much variety) and directly proceed to the rides, which I am sure the kids will enjoy.

Some of the photographs I captured:

Bird Show: