Boring scenery & good company = Easter Vacation

Hello folks. Fresh back from our Easter break I am all fired up to blog my travel. Unfortunately, it wasn't that sensational. Snowdonia (I am sure I will offend someone here) didn't have much effect on my pulse rate in comparison to all the other "dramatic" places we have been to. However, the company was good and the weather was not half as bad as we had expected, so all is well that ends well.

I might add at this point that most of UK's scenic attractions reveal their prettiness to only the hikers. We Indian's on the other hand prefer only to hike up to our Temples. Otherwise, we simply pop off the bus and have our Aloo chat while looking at the scenery. Our scenic spots are also well populated with thousand other tourists and hawkers, and sometimes it takes a really tall man to view the scenery over their head.

So, I do enjoy the untouched quality of the scenic spots in UK. It reminds me of my Missouri trip years ago where I had gone to visit the Kempty falls that had more hawkers, tourist guides and dhobis washing clothes than water in it. There was a long flight of almost 500 stairs to climb down and back for this jolly madness as well. Even the monkeys were sniggering at us for taking the effort.

To remove that trauma, this time we hiked to the Aber falls in Snowdonia. Unfortunately, our planner had missed the hiking part in his description and we were not ready for it. However, it was a gentle slope of half an hour walk at a steady pace to the falls. So we weren't too deterred. There was plenty of barren trees (apparently they didn't get the memo that spring has arrived), hollowed out trees and mountain streams to keep us distracted on our way.

Aber Falls was predictably non-spectacular, but gave us enough space to click the dozen or so we-were-there photographs. We also realized that people who took that hike had brought their picnic lunch and we were very hungry. Additionally encouraged by an urge to visit the toilet, we started a rapid decent to civilization. As usual, the road seemed unending, legs started aching, hunger started gnawing and the clouds rolled in to put the icing on the cake. We made up for all the discomfort by tearing into some muffins.

We also conveniently forgot that everything closes early here even if the day is much longer. Consequently, we missed out some train rides and boat rides and had to drive around aimlessly. Compared to Scotland and even Lake District, the scenery was somewhat drab and the roads very nice and boring.

The other highlight of our trip was probably the Tram to Great Orme, which crawls up a semi-steep hill to give a nice view and an experience. It was a little too short for me though. But we have come to expect that in UK. The Great Orme Head over looked the sea and gave us some nice views and photo opportunities. I also got the chance to test my new zoom lens on some unsuspecting crows and gulls.

The final day of our trip was washed out by rain. It was actually remarkable that we were not rain-ed in before that. We made the best of it by taking a very very boring steam engine ride, which had great views of sheep, sheep and more sheep. We entertained ourselves by guessing which IPL league team they should belong to (the black sheep became Chennai Super Kings for some reason!). 

We topped off that day by wondering inside a slate mine listening to the Welsh version of King Arthur's life and all the excitement finally made us so hungry that we had to invade a Indian restaurant on our way back to gobble some spicy food. Unfortunately, they also got on our nerve by serving the food really late. But we ended on a good note as the waiters popped up with a few roses before we could settle the bill and we had some good laughs over it. Now to start looking for the "budget" destination for the next long weekend.

In the summer time, when the weather is high…

Summer doesn't mean beach and bikini's when you are India. When you are in India, especially Kolkata, you wait for winter and absolutely dread summer. It means scorching sun, sweaty armpits and stifling traffic jams. In summer, we Indian's take vacations in Hill Stations to get some cool relief. If only things were so rosy here in UK.

It’s almost April now, and BBC weather says "SNOW ON WEDNESDAY!!" Give me a break! Last summer had sunny spells, so we went to beaches. The water was too cold for us hot-blooded desi's. I dipped my toe a couple of times and came back with a dark enough tan to warrant a fair and lovely treatment. 

Of course I didn't take that treatment. I just happen to go back to Kolkata for a couple of months, and the mosquitoes there detoxified my blood and the sweltering heat gave me natural steaming treatments. The result, apart from a few pollution induced rashes here and there on the face, a rosy-cheeked complexion in 180 days!

I really miss summer in India, but not necessarily in Kolkata. My summers in Kolkata were mostly spent commuting to and fro from office in chicken coops...ahem...I mean local buses. Work places were, of course pleasantly air-conditioned. But there was a time when I worked for a company that had recently moved and there was no air-conditioning installed in that building. The promise of a/c seemed far when April rolled in and all we got were huge stand fans to keep us cool.

Those hot and stuffy days were full of hilarious memories though, courtesy those fans. In the middle of the day, sudden frantic chorus of "move it, move it" meant someone had dared to stand right in front of one of those fans, thus blocking the life saving breeze. Ladies wearing dupatta found the fans hazardous as they often sucked in the long fabrics, yanking the person attached to it as well. After a few scares, the men folk took up the mantle of saving the damsel in distress and dutifully shouted "watch it!" from their seats whenever a dupatta wearing female got too close to any of those fans.

We were a close, jolly group. Breaks from the hectic schedule were always filled with raucous laughter. Sometimes those breaks came in the form of power cuts. Our office has huge French Windows, which actually let in some mild breeze if opened, even in summer. That was mainly because we had fisheries and marshland nearby. Albeit the breeze smelt like fish, but beggars can't be choosers. So, in the incident of a power cut, the windows were thrown open and a crowd would gather near every window. A passerby once even commented that it reminded him of crows sitting on electric wires. How mean!

There was the one memorable afternoon in June 2004, which still makes me laugh whenever I think of it. I think we had a thunderstorm the night before and lightening had fried a nearby transformer. The better part of the morning had gone by without any work or power and people were starting to go mad. A group of us, all senior people, decided it was time for a break. 

We ended up in the almost vacant amusement park that straddled the marshland near our office. We had cool snacks to counter the mid-afternoon sun and then picked some juice packs and decided to enjoy the park's Shikara rides. For all of you non-Indian's, it’s kind of like punting. But since its India, we had chauffeurs.

There must have been eight or nine of us. Sid, who had reputedly swam in the Ganga, refused to hop into the Shikara since the water was only waist high (If you ever read this Sid, I swear I mean nothing by it!). We equally divided into two boats, which resulted in one almost sinking, courtesy one of my best friends who loved his chicken butter masala a little too much. 

After adjusting a little bit, we managed to keep the boat floating with three people in it (Ok, so all three us liked our chicken butter masala a little too much as well). Then we set off to enjoy the murky, fish smelling waters of that bog, side by side. Soon our empty juice packs, now filled with that disgusting water, were flying like missiles from one boat to another. Any attempt to avoid those resulted in near capsizing and loud screams and curses.

Occasionally, my best friend would lean this way or that way, to get a better aim or to get his lighter out his pocket. This made the boat tilt slowly, with us screaming "sit straight you fatso!” The people in the other boat would immediately take advantage at this distraction by hurling more water bombs. 

In the middle of this hilarious ride, fishes suddenly started jumping from the water, flying past our noses and smacking our faces. Whatever was the reason behind that, the result was general pandemonium as people starting squirming to avoid the fishes and tilting the boats this way and that way. We screamed, squealed, and hung on to the sides of the boat to avoid capsizing into that disgustingly dirty water. Our chauffeurs rolled their eyes at our antics.

Alas, our sweet ride ended and we all stumbled back to office, sweaty and flushed with heat, but grinning like mad people. I cherish that memory still and the memory of a friend who was there that day but not with us anymore. I haven't had such a memorable summer since that one really. Hope this summer brings some more laughter again. 

In the summertime

when the weather is high

You can stretch right up

and touch the sky....

-Shaggy

2010 Travel Guide: From Buck's Mill to Camelot!

After being in england for a couple of years now, I totally fail to understand how English literature thrived under these weather conditions. How can anyone get inspired to pen the words of joy and glory when all you can see is clouds?And yes I am using them as an excuse for my long hiatus from the blogging world.

Also, I am actually working for a change and since as the rusted machinery in there has been kick started again, they are grinding out my creative thoughts. The peanut pay also doesn't motivate. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.Even though I would love to see the temperature crawl above 7C for a change (thats that highest I have got so far).

It's been quite a start to 2010 though for a travel bug like me. I also got a zoom lens for my SLR as a gift and have been hogging it like a side pillow. Here are a few gems from this year so far.

During the January end break, while driving about we came across this village which looks frozen in time, Buck's Mill. It was windy, rocky and looked like a set for Wuthering Heights. Of course there was a old cabin that had a plaque on which said the authors so and so wrote poems while living in this cabin in the 1820s. Ooh...writers were really sturdy folks back then. I couldn't wait to rush back in the car and heat myself up. Yes yes, we deshi's are so sissy!

But there were flashes of sun and inspiration as well. While driving the coastal path in North Cornwall, we walked off to a cliff side and there was small wooden bench dedicated to someones memory, sitting there for those who want to savor the scenery.

We moved off from there to find King Arthur's castle or what's left of it. Instead we found Camelot, a hotel. Of course a few centuries old hotel, but not as old as King Aurthur. But then the staff sent us down the wrong trail and we ended up walking away from the castle ruins. A few sheep perched on the high cliffs gave us the "tourists..duh!" look.

English coasts are very rugged. May be a larger continent took a look at the weather and decided to shrug off the bad seed?  Just look over to the French Coast...so pretty. Anyways, I am digressing here. Back to the travel epics. Got a nice shot of the castle at sun down, to the background of "whump whump" sound of the sea battering the caves and cliffs. Eerie, scenic and cold, but very memorable.

Then we are back again to the daily rigmarole of eat, sleep and work. Oh joy! Almost wish for the old England which inspired pieces like Beowulf! 

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