Easter Trip 2008- Part 2

Day 3: Our first stop was the Buckingham palace. The change of guards at the palace is touted as a must see and so we set forth to catch the action on time. By the time we reached the palace, it was teeming with tourists and finding a vantage point seemed impossible. The group split up and for a while each one seemed to be on his own. Somehow all of us managed to individually find spots from where we managed to see the entire ceremony and it was definitely worth the hype. From here we walked out towards Trafalgar square. As was the case on my last visit, this time also I did not have the time to visit the National Gallery situated right opposite the square. After a quick lunch nearby, we proceeded to Baker Street, not to meet Mr. Holmes, but to the equally famous Madam Tussauds wax museum. Inside the museum, the group was like kids inside a candy store; totally delirious and wanting a piece of everything around. Kiran, am sure, got his photo clicked beside every single celebrity statue inside, giving special attention to the ladies. Hollywood/ history/ royalty/ sports / science/bollywood music all sections were covered. The newly unveiled Salman Khan statue seemed quite popular, so did Jack sparrow and Gandhi. I found George Bush to be hideous and the one of the British royal family splendid. But other than statues, there was something else in the museum which we ventured into – the scary dungeon which is a walk though a dimly lit, narrow path, with unexpected scares expected around the corner. On my visit earlier with Rusa we had chosen not to try this, but this time with a larger group I was bold enough. We thought we might be looking at more statues of murderers and infamous men, but had not bargained to run into live actors impersonating devils/ vampires/ and killers and scaring the living daylights out of us. Kiran had his eyes closed the entire stretch and yelled out howls which would have woken up his ancestors from their grave. Shubhada started questioning the logic of live actors coming too close for comfort, little realizing that logic was the last on their minds. I was bringing up the rear and I was scared to my wits. The only unfazed person seemed to be Kirti who returned the cold stares of these actors. This testing experience aside, the time spent in Madam Tussauds was enjoyable.

Day 4: We were due to catch a morning train from Paddington station to go to Bath. For some reason the underground s operation was suspended and we had to catch a bus to get to Paddington. We got into one of the famed Double Decker London buses and soon we were at Paddington. Previously, I have run into Tamilians at unexpected places like San Sebastian and this time as me and Kiran were deliberating about something at the ticket counter, we heard a Tamil voice addressing from behind the counter. An ex Loyolite now settled in London, he helped clear what ever doubts we had and directed us to the platform.

After a short uneventful train ride, we alighted at Bath amidst pouring rain and dampness. Our YMCA hostel was about 10 minutes walk from the station and with the rain showing no signs of abating; we trundled on in the rain to the hostel. By the time we were ready to move, the sun had come out and we made our way to the Great Bath, from which the city has derived its name. A Roman discovery, this place was established as a spa resort in the ages gone by thanks to the naturally occurring hot springs. Today the Bath is one of the most visited tourist places in Great Britain and a UNESCO world heritage site. An impressive audio guide helps you to understand the history and significance of the bath and you can visit the museum, temple and also the spring. Tourists are not allowed to enter into the water though there is enough history in the place to keep you occupied. Right next to the Bath is the majestic Bath Abbey. A quick tour of the Abbey followed after which we caught a hop on hop off bus which was to take us on a tour of the city as well as the surrounding hills of Bath. The live commentary given by a raconteur of a man was enjoyable as we were told about famous sons and daughters of Bath, celebrity guests and residents. At the end of the hop ride we alighted at the Royal crescent- majestic building housing flats, museums and offices. As the name suggests, the building takes a shape of a semi circle that extends across what seems like a small hill and it is simply a spectacular sight.

Day 5: We left Bath early in the morning back to London via a short hop at Oxford. The weather was typical English – cold, gloomy and with intermittent rains. We really could not enjoy our stay at Oxford due to the conditions, but still managed to take a bus ride around the town and catch a glimpse of the various colleges that make the city what it is. By nightfall we had reached Stansted. It made sense to book hostels at Stansted with early morning flights to catch. Most of the hostels offer free pick up and drop to the airport and that’s such a boon as finding public transport in the early hours was going to be impossible. By next day noon all of us back at our respective cities and now I don’t recall if I did manage to go to work the same day. Knowing me I would have, at least to upload all the photos.

Easter Trip 2008 - Part 1

Easter weekend is a sought after holiday period in Europe. Given that you have a long weekend stretching to almost 5 days and that normally spring is around the corner during this period, Easter vacations are looked forward to. Last year I had flown down to Antwerp and explored Antwerp, Brussels, Gent, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. This time, the general consensus from the Junta was that Easter 2008 was to be spent in UK. All of us Maersk expatriates by now had been told that we were going to head back home during summer and we felt that it would be a shame to have spent close to 2 years in Europe and not visit UK. I had already covered London a few months back, but one visit doesn’t do justice to the great city. So a plan was chalked out covering London, Bath (Thank you, Jane Austen) and Oxford.

Day 1: Me, Kiran, Jigna and Shubhada reached London by 7 in the evening and checked into our hostels. Given that I and Kiran were dying for south Indian food the first plan was to visit the Saravana Bhavan restaurant at Rayners Lane. We were at Stamford Brook and we left around 8ish in the evening in search of Saravana Bhavan. But due a mistake in reading the underground map, we found ourself on a tube to Heathrow. By the time we got down and changed trains it was already quite late and trains were also not too regular. With a heavy heart we had to postpone the plan and returned to Stamford Brook for a sedate dinner.

Day 2: Kirti and Kamal joined us overnight. Their flight from CPH was delayed; they missed the Stansted express and managed to somehow reach the hostel by a combination of buses, taxis and walking in the biting cold. After breakfast, we headed out towards the most iconic symbol of London- the Big Ben. After the customary photo sessions with the Big Ben and the Parliament house in the background and on the Thames Bridge, we walked towards London s newest big attraction- The Millennium wheel. I had been on this earlier, back in cold January and the ride had been uneventful as the rain and clouds hampered any decent views. This time thankfully the sun was out and we could look out of the space capsules and spot various London landmarks on all four directions. A definite must visit.

The waiting time for the tickets / the q for the ride and ride itself took close to two hours, after which we decided to walk down along the Thames walk for a while looking at the street performers and mingling with seemingly endless tourists. On my visit I had been to the Wagamama restaurant at Piccadilly and found the food to be very good, and so suggested that we have our lunch at the Wagamama on the Thames Walk. We were not disappointed; the place is value for money.

We retraced our steps back to the Big Ben and further down towards Westminster Abbey. The scene of various coronations and famous burials ( think Da Vinci code- “The Knight A pope interred” ), Westminster is a UNESCO World heritage site and rightly so. From here we made our way to the Tower of London. With a history of more than a thousand years and having enough stories about it to fill a library of books, the place radiates history all around. It has been a fortress, a castle, a prison, a torture chamber and much more. Now it is a historical monument with a royal armory and most famously the seat of the crown Jewels including India s own Kohinoor. We walked around the Tower listening to stories of the Kings and Queens gone by, of betrayal and savagery, of ghost sightings and famous prisoners. We watched in awe at the crown jewels on display and spent time at the chapel inside. Next stop was the Tower Bridge, which almost everyone unfamiliar with London, mistakes to be the London Bridge. A suspension and bascule bridge which allows for small vessels to pass through it, the tower bridge is a widely recognized London symbol.

With the visits for the day being done, we turned our attention again towards Saravana Bhavan. From Tower hill we made our way all the way to Rayners lane. By the time we got there it was already dark and the cold was biting, the strong winds not helping us either. We had to walk a small distance in the cold to locate the place, only to find that it was full and we would have to wait. But the moment we entered, the familiar aroma of the place came back to me in a torrent, and Id have gladly waited all night to have a seat. We did get our corner and were ready to order everything on the menu. Among the 6 of us we ordered enough food to feed a village. Blame it on a year of Scandinavian food. After having devoured idly , dosas and uttapas of various size and shapes, there was still place left for the ubiquitous thayir-sadam ( curd rice), that must eat dish for any self respecting Tamil.