You held my hand when I took those first unsteady steps. You let go when I demanded freedom. You worried when I got late coming home from work. You tried not to let me see it. You consoled me through the heartbreaks of teenage life, and didn't say a word when I vented on you. You read all my nonsensical writing and pronounced it brilliant. If I start to list down all the things you've ever taught me, I'll run out of space to write. For your unconditional love and support, for your gentle and unwavering presence behind me as I moved forward in life, I can't thank you enough. All I am today is because you were there for me. Love you so much. Happy Mothers' Day Ma!!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Changes
Restructuring at work finally was announced formally today. Most of us had an idea what was going to happen of course, the grapevine being strong as ever!! So in a nutshell a lot of new responsibilities for me, big challenges ahead, and what seems to be a number of former friends suddenly turned against me....Of course I'm a little nervous, it's a lot to take on in so short a time span, but you know what....Knowing that XYZ are predicting my fall and failure is just the kind of push I needed to strengthen me, make me resolve to do well and prove them wrong.
So even though what I now have is not exactly what I had wanted or asked for, I will play the hand I have been dealt, for better or for worse. And to hell with you non-believers!!
So even though what I now have is not exactly what I had wanted or asked for, I will play the hand I have been dealt, for better or for worse. And to hell with you non-believers!!
Monday, April 25, 2011
My English Summer: Day 08
06th June 2010: Left Skye today and drove to Inverness, crossing the Glenelg Scenic Way. Finally was getting to visit Nessie!! Loch Ness is just this huge, and I mean huge expanse of water. 25 miles long, 1 mile wide, over 700 feet deep. Interestingly it's a mix of salt and fresh water - salt water stays at the bottom and fresh water on top, with some kind of geothermal layer acting as a barrier. Not sure of the technicalities but interesting fact anyway.
Looked around for Nessie but maybe she was sleeping in, it was a Sunday morning after all! Took some pix, picked up some pebbles as I'd promised my sister, and then we left for Inverness.
I'd been lucky with weather so far, in all my time in Scotland there hadn't been a drop of rain and we had some glorious sunny days. Today that changed and the day was dark, gloomy, windy with bouts of rain every now and then. Apparently this is more what Scottish weather is supposed to be.
From Inverness we went on to visit the Culloden battle site. This was the flat patch of moor where the Jacobites led by Bonnie Prince Charles fought a final battle against a much larger, superior, well rested English army under the Duke of Cumberland in the mid 18th century. Danny told us the story and had us spellbound with the way he described the build-up and the battle. It was literally a massacre, over in less than an hour's time for the most part. No prisoners were to be taken, so all survivors including the children were killed, as were the women who had followed in the wake of their Jacobite men. And that isn't all. Once the battle was over, the English set two trained butchers on the field to ensure that none of the dead would be recognisable in any way. As a result, all that marks the dead of this battle is one big common cairn in the middle. There are also numerous small stones scattered around, each bearing the name of a clan that fought and died here. The story was so painfully sad that I suspect not one of us was left dry-eyed. It was a very sad place.
At Culloden I took a coffee break because somehow I found myself very affected by the whole story of the battle and the brave Highlanders. In time we all got back and soon a short drive brought us to Clava Cairns, a prehistoric burial site that is supposed to be three to five thousand years old and the best preserved Bronze Age burial site in Scotland. The cairns of stacked stones were constructed in such a way that on a solstice day the light of the sun would hit the inside wall of the cairn. Nobody knows exactly why the cairns were built but it is supposed that they came up gradually over many years.
From Clava Cairns we drove to this tiny little town called Aviemore, which is mostly a base or jump-off point for people going trekking/skiing/hiking in the mountains. Practically half the town was built around the one High Street. I will remember Aviemore for the awesome hot chocolate I had here :-)
Leaving Aviemore we went past Blair Atholl castle (I realised that this is the place after which the original Scottish owners had named what is now Wallwood Garden in Coonoor) to Pitlochry, a slightly bigger town. It was raining much too hard to look around though, and we continued in the driving rain towards Edinburgh. Crossed the Firth bridge and were at the Mile by 6pm, saying bye to everybody. I left for the bus station with two of the nicer American girls, as we found that all three of us were taking the night bus back to London.
So, midnight saw me bringing in my birthday in a National Express coach somewhere on the highway to London!!
Looked around for Nessie but maybe she was sleeping in, it was a Sunday morning after all! Took some pix, picked up some pebbles as I'd promised my sister, and then we left for Inverness.
I'd been lucky with weather so far, in all my time in Scotland there hadn't been a drop of rain and we had some glorious sunny days. Today that changed and the day was dark, gloomy, windy with bouts of rain every now and then. Apparently this is more what Scottish weather is supposed to be.
From Inverness we went on to visit the Culloden battle site. This was the flat patch of moor where the Jacobites led by Bonnie Prince Charles fought a final battle against a much larger, superior, well rested English army under the Duke of Cumberland in the mid 18th century. Danny told us the story and had us spellbound with the way he described the build-up and the battle. It was literally a massacre, over in less than an hour's time for the most part. No prisoners were to be taken, so all survivors including the children were killed, as were the women who had followed in the wake of their Jacobite men. And that isn't all. Once the battle was over, the English set two trained butchers on the field to ensure that none of the dead would be recognisable in any way. As a result, all that marks the dead of this battle is one big common cairn in the middle. There are also numerous small stones scattered around, each bearing the name of a clan that fought and died here. The story was so painfully sad that I suspect not one of us was left dry-eyed. It was a very sad place.
At Culloden I took a coffee break because somehow I found myself very affected by the whole story of the battle and the brave Highlanders. In time we all got back and soon a short drive brought us to Clava Cairns, a prehistoric burial site that is supposed to be three to five thousand years old and the best preserved Bronze Age burial site in Scotland. The cairns of stacked stones were constructed in such a way that on a solstice day the light of the sun would hit the inside wall of the cairn. Nobody knows exactly why the cairns were built but it is supposed that they came up gradually over many years.
From Clava Cairns we drove to this tiny little town called Aviemore, which is mostly a base or jump-off point for people going trekking/skiing/hiking in the mountains. Practically half the town was built around the one High Street. I will remember Aviemore for the awesome hot chocolate I had here :-)
Leaving Aviemore we went past Blair Atholl castle (I realised that this is the place after which the original Scottish owners had named what is now Wallwood Garden in Coonoor) to Pitlochry, a slightly bigger town. It was raining much too hard to look around though, and we continued in the driving rain towards Edinburgh. Crossed the Firth bridge and were at the Mile by 6pm, saying bye to everybody. I left for the bus station with two of the nicer American girls, as we found that all three of us were taking the night bus back to London.
So, midnight saw me bringing in my birthday in a National Express coach somewhere on the highway to London!!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
My English Summer: Day 07
Got up early today at 7am, had a quick breakfast, washed up after ourselves. I found time to go take some pix of the lake in the morning.
Eventually we all managed to get into the bus and left for Skye. After crossing the Skye bridge, stopped at the other side (Kyleachin) to photograph the bridge and Saucy Mary's Tower. Spent the entire day on Skye. The beauty of this island cannot be described in words, and even the pictures don't do it justice. I fell in love with this part of the world on that day. Some of the places we stopped to see:
Cuilin Mountains: Said to be created when two giants fought each other
Portree: The main town of Skye, cute as anything. Buildings set around a square, parallel and intersecting streets, tiny and interesting shops. Bought some local crafts here for myself and friends.
Glenshiel (Gaelic = Gleann sheile) or the Fairy Glen: This is supposed to be the point where our world and that of the fairies meet and the fairies come out to play. If you make a wish here and leave behind something shiny and appropriate, it just might get granted. Danny our guide had given us an hour's break here for lunch, so I climbed up to the top of the rock he had described as the fairies' fort. Spent the hour communing with nature, admiring the views, and making halting conversation with the elder of the Russian brothers. The place did in fact feel magical, and the rest of the world felt too far away to matter.
After passing Uig and some stunning seaviews we stopped at an unknown point that was all cliffs and cliffside paths and great views again. Most of us decided to join Danny on one of his "wee" walks. It began simply enough, but soon the trail got narrower and slippery due to the loose gravel, and I began to fear that I was going to do one of my "Neha fell down" routines..not an easy time at all! The view at the end did seem worth it though. Coming back down, the route seemed to have become longer, naturally. I was quite relieved to be back on flat ground again!!
Also saw the "Old Man of Storr" and stopped to hear the story about it, and visited the Kilt Rock with its waterfall. From here, one can get a view clear across the sea to the island of Raasay and Rona and even the Scottish mainland. Apparently we were very lucky as there are very few days when this place has such good visibility.
I was really tired by the time we drove back to Strome. But this was probably the most beautiful of my days in Scotland. Just thinking about it now makes me want to go back!
My English Summer: Day 06
My great Highland adventure started on the 04th of June. After saying bye to my friends from the hostel, walked down to the Mile to the Wild on Scotland office and paid the remainder of the tour cost. There was a motley group of travellers on this tour - a mother and daughter from France, a couple from Argentina, giggly female students from the US, a handful of Germans, two Russian guys - brothers, one of them a Daniel Craig lookalike, a student from Taiwan, and me bringing in the Indian angle!
We left Edinburgh and drove through a part of the town I handn't seen earlier, coming out into the countryside pretty soon. A drive of about an hour and half brought us to Bannockburn, the site of the famous 14th century battle where Robert the Bruce had defeated the British. It was here that I realised that what had been shown in "Braveheart" was not really the whole truth and nothing but the truth....Leaving Bannockburn we drove further west passing Stirling and making a brief halt to see Doune castle, famous on account of a Monty Python movie being shot here.
Stopped in a small town called Callender and a lunch break was announced. Callender is a cute, small town complete with picturebook houses and pretty lanes line with tiny cafes and sweet shops. A single Main Street runs through the town and most of the town businesses seem to be located on this street. I had an awesome minty ice cream from one of the small shops here.
Just a little ahead of Callender we visited a personage called Hamish. Hamish is a Highland Cow (Hairy Coo!!) and something of a local celebrity. Tourists flock to see this long haired cow, feed him and take pictures of him. Everywhere we went in the Highlands, you couldn't miss all the souvenirs related to this animal - key rings to magnets to biscuit brands to caps to just about anything. The highland cow is a local VIP and an industry in itself!!
Had my first glimpse of a Scottish Loch today, when we stopped at Loch Lubnaig to stretch our legs and take some pix. The Argentinian couple noticing I was alone offered to take my pix for me, and they continued to do this for the rest of the tour. Very nice people. Wish I could say the same for some of the others in the group.
We drove further up into the highlands and stopped to see Glencoe, the valley (glen) where British troops had massacred the entire Macdonald clan after having enjoyed their hospitality for days. It seemed hard to associate this beautiful, peaceful place with so much bloodshed. Glencoe by the way is also where the set for Hagrid's house was set up for the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
After Glencoe we drove on past long lake-shores (Loch Leven, freshwater, and Loch Lhinne, saltwater) to reach the midsized town of Fort William. It is the second largest town in the Highlands and after a long time we saw large supermarkets. I also saw a Thomas cook outlet! This area is also the beginning of the 100km long Caledonian Canal which links Scotland's two seacoasts along with the lochs Lhinne, Lochy, Oich and Ness. The town is the starting base for treks and hikes up to the Ben Nevis, highest peak in the British isles. We kind of passed the Ben and then went up to see the Commando Memorial. This is where a British Commando unit was set up and trained during the Second World War.
Our last stop for the day as the Eileen Donan castle. I recognised this as the castle from the movie Made of Honour. Too bad the light was failing and so I couldn't get my picture taken here. The current castle is actually just about 80 years old. It is an exact replica of the original castle which was used to store gunpowder during the Jacobite rebellions and was blown up by British cannon-fire!
We finally reached Stromeferry (population 17) at around 7.30 pm after a long day. We were staying at a place called the Stationmaster's House, located just opposite the train stop on the Inverness - Kyle of Lochalsh line, beside the lake. We are allocated bunks in the different rooms and it was all quite comfortable.
After dinner was done and we had all helped to clear and wash up, everybody scattered to do their own thing - showers, naps,walks...I went out for a walk, took some pictures, saw what I realised were lobster pots....Back inside the American girls had started a board game called Cranium which we played till bedtime. Quite a good ice breaker, and we all ended up talking about where we come from. Overall it was a good day.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
A Wednesday in Mohali
The World Cup semi-final match at Mohali between India and Pakistan on the 30th of March. The first time I ever watched a live cricket match in a stadium. What a way to start :-)
I love you Dhruv mama for working out the tickets...what a match, what a win. I'll probably be talking about it for like forever....especially now that we have the Cup!!
I love you Dhruv mama for working out the tickets...what a match, what a win. I'll probably be talking about it for like forever....especially now that we have the Cup!!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
My English Summer: Day 05
My last day in Edinburgh, and I'd saved the Castle visit for this one. If nothing else, one should visit Edinburgh Castle for its views. The hill (Castle Hill) was formed millions of years ago by volcanic activity. The castle was built in - if I've got my facts right - the 12th century and went through lots of changes, tearing down, rebuilding, renovation and all that sort of thing. It really is quite impressive, and it's interesting how whenever you look up from somewhere in the Old Town you can see it brooding high above you on that sheer cliffside.
Entry isn't cheap - tickets cost GBP 14 but if you're going you might as well go for the audio guide, so you'd pay GBP 17. The audio guide is really good, and gives you the option of listening to as much or as little of the history as you want to. I spent a long time going through each and every story and narration, a morning well spent. There are also guided tours by castle staff at fixed times if one is interested. But really, why would you want to traipse around in a huge group being shepherded by a guide when you can do it all on your own and at your own pace, pausing when and where you want to listen to more background and take some pictures?
Margaret's Chapel was stark in its simplicity; the Great Hall felt familiar - been watching too many movies of that time maybe? The war memorial was quite moving. Overall, worth the visit and gave me a much better idea of the history of the country.
Above: 1. View from the Castle. 2. The 1 o'clock gun which is fired at 1pm daily - used earlier to synchronise times with the observatory or harbour or something to that effect. Used to be fired at noon till a canny Scotsman realised that they could save ammo by firing it at one pm!!
Below: Castle as seen from Princes Street Gardens
After the Castle visit I took a bus ride out of town to the Ocean Terminal. Instead of finding a seaside promenade I found out that this was just a big mall, next to which lies the Royal Yacht Britannia. Not my cup of tea so I took another bus back, this one had a pretty nice route and went for a bit past the shore/harbour.
This evening Amanda, Melissa and I met up and went looking for somewhere nice to eat. Finally settled on a pubby kind of place called The Last Drop, in the Grassmarket area. Tried out Irn Bru, veggie haggis and sticky toffee pudding. Nice.
Entry isn't cheap - tickets cost GBP 14 but if you're going you might as well go for the audio guide, so you'd pay GBP 17. The audio guide is really good, and gives you the option of listening to as much or as little of the history as you want to. I spent a long time going through each and every story and narration, a morning well spent. There are also guided tours by castle staff at fixed times if one is interested. But really, why would you want to traipse around in a huge group being shepherded by a guide when you can do it all on your own and at your own pace, pausing when and where you want to listen to more background and take some pictures?
Margaret's Chapel was stark in its simplicity; the Great Hall felt familiar - been watching too many movies of that time maybe? The war memorial was quite moving. Overall, worth the visit and gave me a much better idea of the history of the country.
Above: 1. View from the Castle. 2. The 1 o'clock gun which is fired at 1pm daily - used earlier to synchronise times with the observatory or harbour or something to that effect. Used to be fired at noon till a canny Scotsman realised that they could save ammo by firing it at one pm!!
Below: Castle as seen from Princes Street Gardens
After the Castle visit I took a bus ride out of town to the Ocean Terminal. Instead of finding a seaside promenade I found out that this was just a big mall, next to which lies the Royal Yacht Britannia. Not my cup of tea so I took another bus back, this one had a pretty nice route and went for a bit past the shore/harbour.
This evening Amanda, Melissa and I met up and went looking for somewhere nice to eat. Finally settled on a pubby kind of place called The Last Drop, in the Grassmarket area. Tried out Irn Bru, veggie haggis and sticky toffee pudding. Nice.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
My English Summer: Day 04
Edinburgh rocks. Really there is so much beauty and history in this city, you can spend days getting to know your favourite parts of it. I only had three days though, so had to make the most of these.
Signed on for the free walking tour that leaves at 11am every day from the Starbucks on the Mile. It lasted for about 3 hours and the guide - Mark, a great story teller - picked up a lot of the history and legends connected to Edinburgh. Saw a number of interesting places: passed by the Writers Museum dedicated to Scott, Burns and Stevenson, St Giles church, the Mercat Cross (gory history - thieves used to get nailed to the cross by their ears we were told - ouch), the Elephant Cafe where Rowling wrote the initial Potter books, the Heriot School which is said to have been one of the inspirations behind Hogwarts - a lot of the names of her characters (such as McGonagall) can be found on the plaques around the school, Greyfriar's church and the famous dog Bobby (well we saw the dog's statue anyway), the house of Deacon Brodie (who inspired Stevenson's Jekyll/Hide character), the Princess Street gardens, etc etc. All in all a good way to get an initial idea of the city and its stories.
Did some more walking this time and found that the lower part of the Mile especially Canongate is a nicer area than the upper half, less crowded and touristy. You just have to veer off into any of the narrow lanes leading off the main road and you find yourself in beautiful little residential areas with gardens and flower-boxes in the windows and that kind of thing. As I was really walking quite randomly, didn't know for sure where I was till I found myself at the old Calton cemetery. Spooky and quiet.
At night - well it was night timewise since it was 8.30pm but really it was bright day outside - Amanda, Melissa and I headed out for a drink, before joining this so called Ghost tour. More stories and a guide who loved drama! The walk took us up past the cemetery to Calton Hill. You get some lovely views here of all sides of the town, apart from the Observatory. There is also this Parthenon-style incomplete pillared folly which is formally called the National Monument I think...abandoned after a point.
The tour was going on to a college-crowd pub after this, we figured we'd rather walk back as it was nearly 11pm and nobody was in the mood for that kind of thing particularly. Long day, but what a day!
Signed on for the free walking tour that leaves at 11am every day from the Starbucks on the Mile. It lasted for about 3 hours and the guide - Mark, a great story teller - picked up a lot of the history and legends connected to Edinburgh. Saw a number of interesting places: passed by the Writers Museum dedicated to Scott, Burns and Stevenson, St Giles church, the Mercat Cross (gory history - thieves used to get nailed to the cross by their ears we were told - ouch), the Elephant Cafe where Rowling wrote the initial Potter books, the Heriot School which is said to have been one of the inspirations behind Hogwarts - a lot of the names of her characters (such as McGonagall) can be found on the plaques around the school, Greyfriar's church and the famous dog Bobby (well we saw the dog's statue anyway), the house of Deacon Brodie (who inspired Stevenson's Jekyll/Hide character), the Princess Street gardens, etc etc. All in all a good way to get an initial idea of the city and its stories.
Did some more walking this time and found that the lower part of the Mile especially Canongate is a nicer area than the upper half, less crowded and touristy. You just have to veer off into any of the narrow lanes leading off the main road and you find yourself in beautiful little residential areas with gardens and flower-boxes in the windows and that kind of thing. As I was really walking quite randomly, didn't know for sure where I was till I found myself at the old Calton cemetery. Spooky and quiet.
At night - well it was night timewise since it was 8.30pm but really it was bright day outside - Amanda, Melissa and I headed out for a drink, before joining this so called Ghost tour. More stories and a guide who loved drama! The walk took us up past the cemetery to Calton Hill. You get some lovely views here of all sides of the town, apart from the Observatory. There is also this Parthenon-style incomplete pillared folly which is formally called the National Monument I think...abandoned after a point.
The tour was going on to a college-crowd pub after this, we figured we'd rather walk back as it was nearly 11pm and nobody was in the mood for that kind of thing particularly. Long day, but what a day!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
My English Summer - Day 03
Continuing from where I left off, two posts ago. 01st of June 2010, I took the morning train out of King's Cross to Edinburgh. The journey takes about 4 hours, and the trains are very comfortable. I liked having a power point next to the seat, especially as my cell was low on battery. The train was a great way to see more of the countryside, which was really green. We passed scores and scores of sarson ke khet, which reminded me of home naturally. And yes, all the cliches are true: rolling meadows, cows in pastures, churches, picturebook cottages and houses with sloping shingled roofs...Beautiful.
I was really excited about getting to Scotland, but also just a little bit nervous. This part of the trip was truly a solo trip for me, I didn't know a single soul there and I had no idea what lay in store. So yeah, there were definitely some butterflies in my tummy as the train pulled into Waverley station, Edinburgh. It was overcast and a drizzle started up almost immediately; luckily the hostel I had booked was just a 5 minute walk away. Checked in, got up to the dorm to dump my stuff and met one of my room-mates Amanda, an American who had been studying at nearby Stirling University and was in town for a couple of days before flying back to the US.
My first evening in Edinburgh was also the day I fell in love with the city. Edinburgh's medieval Old Town and the 18th century mostly Georgian New town are both World Heritage Sites and one can spend days just exploring them. I had three days here and spent hours just walking everywhere. On this first evening I just took an exploratory walk up the Royal Mile up till the Caste. The Royal Mile is a cobblestoned street that connects the Castle with the Holyrood Palace and actually measures about a 100 yards more than a mile. The part of the mile close to the castle is where you will find the highest concentration of souvenir shops, restaurants, T shirt sellers, and all the usual suspects one expects to find in any touristy area. But it is still an interesting walk, with medieval buildings on both sides of you and dozens of narrow alleys (called Wynds or Closes) leading off from it. Go down any of these wynds and you never know what you might find. Also, a part of the Mile is fully pedestrianised. I think I went crazy just taking pictures of everything - every building looked beautiful and there were some great views.
After this I just walked wherever I felt like, and stopped wherever something sparked my interest. Took a turn on to South Bridge road and found myself at the University. They welcome visitors into the Quad, so I went in and walked around. It was very quiet and beautiful, and at one end of the Quad I found a memorial to alumni killed during the World Wars. Then I walked across Waverley bridge to the New Town side of things, and took a look at the Monument, the Royal Academy and its adjacent building the National Gallery, the Mound etc. Old Town and New Town used to be divided by the Nor Loch - the town's water supply cum sewage dump. This was eventually drained and converted into a beautiful green area called the Princes Street Gardens. It's a great place to sit and people-watch. You also get great views of the Castle, and some decent ice cream!
By the time I finished my walk it was around 8pm, and it was still bright and sunny. To somebody used to dusk setting in by 7pm in summer, it was a little strange at first to see that it didn't get dark till past 10pm here. It was a little disorienting, especially since all shops and cafes were shut by 6pm. The only shops open till late night turned out to be stores owned by Punjabi-speaking men from Pakistan!
The first day in Scotland turned out great. I managed the connection Woking - Waterloo - King's Cross - Edinburgh safely, found myself in a beautiful city with three days to spend as I wished, and made friends.My roommates from the hostel, Amanda and Melissa, were to give me company over the next couple of days' explorations of the city. More on that, in the next post!
I was really excited about getting to Scotland, but also just a little bit nervous. This part of the trip was truly a solo trip for me, I didn't know a single soul there and I had no idea what lay in store. So yeah, there were definitely some butterflies in my tummy as the train pulled into Waverley station, Edinburgh. It was overcast and a drizzle started up almost immediately; luckily the hostel I had booked was just a 5 minute walk away. Checked in, got up to the dorm to dump my stuff and met one of my room-mates Amanda, an American who had been studying at nearby Stirling University and was in town for a couple of days before flying back to the US.
My first evening in Edinburgh was also the day I fell in love with the city. Edinburgh's medieval Old Town and the 18th century mostly Georgian New town are both World Heritage Sites and one can spend days just exploring them. I had three days here and spent hours just walking everywhere. On this first evening I just took an exploratory walk up the Royal Mile up till the Caste. The Royal Mile is a cobblestoned street that connects the Castle with the Holyrood Palace and actually measures about a 100 yards more than a mile. The part of the mile close to the castle is where you will find the highest concentration of souvenir shops, restaurants, T shirt sellers, and all the usual suspects one expects to find in any touristy area. But it is still an interesting walk, with medieval buildings on both sides of you and dozens of narrow alleys (called Wynds or Closes) leading off from it. Go down any of these wynds and you never know what you might find. Also, a part of the Mile is fully pedestrianised. I think I went crazy just taking pictures of everything - every building looked beautiful and there were some great views.
After this I just walked wherever I felt like, and stopped wherever something sparked my interest. Took a turn on to South Bridge road and found myself at the University. They welcome visitors into the Quad, so I went in and walked around. It was very quiet and beautiful, and at one end of the Quad I found a memorial to alumni killed during the World Wars. Then I walked across Waverley bridge to the New Town side of things, and took a look at the Monument, the Royal Academy and its adjacent building the National Gallery, the Mound etc. Old Town and New Town used to be divided by the Nor Loch - the town's water supply cum sewage dump. This was eventually drained and converted into a beautiful green area called the Princes Street Gardens. It's a great place to sit and people-watch. You also get great views of the Castle, and some decent ice cream!
The first day in Scotland turned out great. I managed the connection Woking - Waterloo - King's Cross - Edinburgh safely, found myself in a beautiful city with three days to spend as I wished, and made friends.My roommates from the hostel, Amanda and Melissa, were to give me company over the next couple of days' explorations of the city. More on that, in the next post!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
A new year, a new decade. Another opportunity to make fresh starts, to bring out long-abandoned plans from cold storage and give them new wings, to remind ourselves of what used to be important to us till life got in the way...
The best thing about the New Year is, well, the new-ness of it. Everything seems possible, all our mistakes are in the past and the future lies before us full of endless opportunities. I want to enjoy this feeling while it lasts!!
No resolutions this year - the best way to defeat a plan is to turn it into a New year's resolution - but yes I hope to write some more and read a lot more. Spend more time with family and friends and try to achieve that balance that has eluded me all of last year.
Happy New Year to everybody!
The best thing about the New Year is, well, the new-ness of it. Everything seems possible, all our mistakes are in the past and the future lies before us full of endless opportunities. I want to enjoy this feeling while it lasts!!
No resolutions this year - the best way to defeat a plan is to turn it into a New year's resolution - but yes I hope to write some more and read a lot more. Spend more time with family and friends and try to achieve that balance that has eluded me all of last year.
Happy New Year to everybody!
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