Scotland Diaries

This is the final part of the Travel Series where I visited the Braveheart's country.

I saw a cloud making factory while I was traversing through the English countryside on my way to Scotland. Yeah you read that right- a cloud factory. There was smoke coming out of a factory which was the same colour as clouds above. As the two met with each other, it looked like clouds were made here!

I reached the city of Edinburgh only to find a cow parade happening there. The only difference being these weren’t real cows like India. The parade has traveled across many countries and the cows are sold for charity proposes.

And what is Scotland without men in tartan and Scottish pipe music. What I learnt was that there are different Scottish clans and all have distinctly woven different tartans. A Douglas would wear a different kilt from a McIntyre.

As I visited the Edinburgh castle, members of the royal family were gathered there because it was birthday of someone royal. A twenty one canon salute was sounded while all the tourists stood and watched.

Other places I visited included a small Scottish village tucked away in Southern Scotland and Leith to see the Firth of Forth.

What I didn’t expect was to find all kinds of cuisines from India to North Africa in this culturally vibrant city of Edinburgh. I couldn’t visit all the museums but I did walk down the Royal Mile, trekked up the Arthur’s Seat and shop at Princes street and did all the touristy things. And if anyone is going to this city please visit ‘The Pie Shop’ at Nicolson Street. The smell of freshly baked pie will be irresistible and while you are at it please get some for me.

On my list of places to visit in Scotland and I couldn’t this time around were Inverness, Aberdeen and Glasgow. As I always say – there will be a next time!

Originally posted on Thursday, August 03, 2006 2:45 PM

England Diaries

Well this post is much delayed because I didn’t have the photos with me and didn’t want to put up a post without photos. So here goes –

One fine evening my sister asked me if I wanted to visit Brighton. I, having read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ obviously jumped on the chance. But the trip didn’t happen. I wonder if my sister thought I was going to run away with someone :P

But I did visit Windsor. The castle is really beautiful from inside. Gilt edged furniture and wall carvings, ceiling painting a la Leonardo Da Vinci’s work in the Vatican, Persian rugs, Indian swords, the works. You really feel like you have stepped into something very royal. The only thing troubling my mind was that some of the wealth came form our country when they plundered us.

On my way to Windsor, I saw horse drawn carriages with Ladies in gowns and pretty dressed and Gentlemen in shirt tails been driven away. I was transported to previous century until someone told me that members of the royal family were headed to the Royal Ascot races.

I passed through Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed. I enjoyed the English countryside with hills which looked like patchwork quilts of different shades of green interspersed with fields of white,red and yellow wildflowers and towns and village which looked untouched by the modern world.

Then I decided to head over to Stonehenge. I have this fascination for druids and occult courtesy my weekly diet of a TV show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer which I used to love watching in my teenage years. :D

The day I chose to visit this historical monument was the day of solstice, June 21. I was informed that the Druids would be performing their ceremonies and we wouldn’t be let inside. I was totally disappointed. This was supposed to be the highlight of my trip and I couldn’t go inside!

But the tour operator made it upto us by providing us a free lunch at a 14th century Inn. It was a quaint little place, tucked in a little village off the highway and has a proper hatched roof and a wooden ceiling. It sort of made up for the disappointment of not going inside the Stonehenge.

Then I headed for the beautiful city of Bath where the Roman Baths were discovered a few centuries ago. As my tour group walked inside the Roman Baths we were served complimentary Champagne and Elderberry Flower Juice for young people in the group. The Gentleman serving us didn’t believe I was legally old enough to drink (18 years is the limit in UK) and was thus served the juice.

This was my whirlwind tour of southern England.

Places I wanted to visit but I couldn’t in this trip - Stratford Upon Avon (The Bard’s home), Lake District and Cornwall. There will be another time for this.

P.S: Photos in the London dairies post have been updated.

Coming up next: Scotland dairies

Originally posted on Saturday, July 29, 2006 12:06 PM

London Diaries-II

Warning: This is long post. It is the concluding series of London diaries. These are some snippets of my trip :)

Always curious. That’s me. So I decide to walk from Blackfriars Pier to Tower Bridge. Along river Thames I start my journey. Near the Tate Modern Art Gallery, I take a wrong turn and the river side disappears. Since I know I am walking in the direction of the destination, I don’t panic. Modern architecture gives way to narrow lanes with cobbled pathways and stone archways. It is a treat to discover something old and quaint preserved right in the centre of the city.

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And on a windy day I decide to go to Greenwich. To stand on the line where time begins is an amazing feeling. Around the line are names of all the capital cities and the time difference in all. I search for Delhi and I can’t find it there! I mean those %^&(* Britishers don’t have the capital city of India in the list. I do manage to spot Mumbai in the list.

While coming down from the Royal Observatory, I am busy taking photos. I miss a step and tumble down. The stone pathway is merciless as blood trickles down. After first aid and injured knee I return home limping.


That’s when I see people scurrying home. And some carrying England flags, rushing towards pubs. I watch the England vs Sweden match with a few British friends who tell me that the world mania is such that their respective offices recently held inter departmental mini world cup. A friend works in a museum. She tells me that the paleontologists lost to the finance department (and somehow it reminds me of Ross in Friends).
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And this one time, I am buying souvenirs when I meet a girl from Ghana. She moans about the fact that she would like to eat homemade spicy Indian curry and I moan that I have to eat it every single day of my life! She promises to look me up when she comes to India. Lets see if that happens.
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In between shopping and sight seeing I manage to squeeze in a lazy afternoon at Hyde Park. As the sun plays with the clouds, I sit and have my lunch. A rock concert is going on there. A beautiful afternoon is spent taking in the green grass and the blue skies as the music fills up my soul. A mandatory visit to the serpentine and watching the ducks in the water, the afternoon turns into evening and its time to leave.

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When good girls pretend go bad, they go to Camden Town. Yes, I am Guilty. I have never seen Goths in my entire life and I wanted to go to Camden Town to ‘see’ them. Tattoos, pieced body parts, black leather clothes, silver chains, mohawks, black makeup, tough looking.

When an almost thirty something elder sister says she wants to buy leather trousers for herself, I jump at the chance and decide to shop around Camden.

We were the only Asian girls walking down the street. After doing a bit of window shopping and people staring, we got down to the agenda of buying leather trousers. Shop no. 1 - a fast talking Italian tries to sell us trousers for £100. Hasty exit. Shop no. 2 – can’t find the right size, the salesman offers to custom make it for us. On asking how much is that going to cost he says £600. We are about to beat a hasty retreat and he starts to laugh. Then he says he was just kidding. He’s trying to flirt with us. Turns out, he’s an Indian from Gujju Land (All cheesy ones belong to this place?). On establishing an Indian connection and icy response from us, we decide to check out other shops. There’s another we go to. The shop owner has a Russian accent and the trouser costs a bomb. Anyway I guess it cheaper to buy the trousers from India, so we drop the idea and just browse around.

Sticking out like sore thumbs (read: not in the Goth dress code) and getting some weird glances, we decide to leave Camden town.

And then when I walk down Knightsbridge and Oxford street later on, the contrast is there to see. Women who look like they have stepped off the ramp on to the streets walk about as nonchalantly as Goths would in Camden Town.

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I realize that I have used all possible means of transport in the city as I travel in a tube, bus, train, tram, car and on foot. The only transportation I don't take there is an autorickshaw, an image of which I can see displayed in a shop window at Oxford Street.

When I decide to eat Turkish food, I am told Marble Arch is the place to visit. Every second restaurant there is called 'Maroush' just like every second Indian restuarant has the word 'Elephant' in it.
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On the last day of my stay there I indulge myself – buying shoes, accessories and clothes from the high street like its my last day alive J
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As all good things come to an end, so does this except while going to the airport, I cry buckets. I just don’t want to come back to India. There is so much more to see and discover. Obviously I have to come here again.

Originally posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 2:05 PM

London Diaries- I

The below are some observations made by me. Here's my list of ‘You know you are in London when :)

• You spend an evening with your friends in a pub. Incidentally they are from China, Austria, Spain, India, Chile and oh England too
• When you are walking down the street and you can identify people speaking in languages ranging from Russian to Greek
• You can have any cuisine from Moroccon to Italian
• Women will wear summer clothes in what I call a winter like temperature, 4 inch stilettos and walk on cobbled streets. It is called the fashion capital for a reason!
• The weather forecasters call 23 degrees as a warm day
• An umbrella is a daily fixture in your bag
• At any time of the day you will find people jogging along the South Bank
• Everyone’s reading a newspaper or a book in the tube
• Every fifth person in Marks and Spencer is an Asian
• The phone booth is red in colour

Maddy adds:

• Every 3rd cab one takes, it has either an Indian or a Pakistani driver

TiM adds:

• When u look around the high street and dont exactly get to see a Bad Looking person
• When its supposedly raining hard and us indians still manage w/o an umbrella because its a very soft kind of rain here
• When you see the pubs heavily crowded on a Wednesday and on a Friday
• When for every chota sa touch/push people say sorry and excuse me and
• When you see everyone carrying an oyster card

Any more to add on?

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Travel series continues :)

Is anyone else also having a problem with 'web vies' counter? Mine show's 0 everytime I post something new.

Update on the web views counter - Seems it is working today :D

Originally posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 3:59 PM