Travelogues

Malls, Clinics and Vegetable Bandis

2008-10-26T05:47:00.004Z

We're desperate to update this blog. However, in the last few months, life has presented us with limited opportunities to do so. Not that we don't have the time to update it, but just that our travels have been limited to grocery and vegetable shopping, trips to the hospitals and doctor's clinics and an occasional lunch/dinner at a restaurant.

We're not complaining too much. Life still has a lot going on, but this sudden lull in travelling after an exciting 2 years of going around Europe is a little unsettling. For now, we simply satisfy ourselves reminiscing over all those trips we made, what we saw, what we did, what we ate, what we learnt etc but are itching to be on the go again.

Clay Pigeon Shooting

2007-11-15T22:19:00.000Z

I went for Clay Pigeon Shooting on a team outing some days back. I had never done any clay pigeon shooting before and I was quite excited by the prospect of shooting some.

This particular shooting range is one of the oldest in Europe and is in active use by the army and professionals. People say the shooting event for the 2012 London Olympics would be held at this particular shooting range.

We were briefed on what we would do over our stay at the range and were formed into groups. Our instructor was a fine chap named Chris. We were 4 in a group (the others had 5) and Chris gave us 2 shotguns. These shotgun are double barrelled "vertically", so two cartridges load one above the other. I always used to think that shotguns were double barrelled "horizontally"... just as they show in Hindi movies.

Chris showed us how to hold the firearm (there are at least 5 different ways to hold it in a safe manner) and carry it around the shooting range, how to cock/uncock, load/unload (no pun intended ;-)), how to always make sure the barrel is empty of cartridges, how to never point the barrel at anyone (it is considered a serious insult and a mockery of the sport), how not to get emotionally charged after scoring a hit, and a hundred other do's and don'ts of the sport.

We walked over to a small enclosure, similar to a vantage point, and Chris proceeded to show us how a clay pigeon would start its flight over the trees. He asked us to look closely at a particular spot in the treeline and pressed a button. Suddenly, a circular clay disc in the form of an inverted saucer came flying out from the tree branches from one side and proceeded to go towards another area amidst the treetops. That clay disc was our pigeon and our task was to shoot it in its flight.

Sounds simple enough....aye?

After some more instructions on how to hold the shotgun, he asked me to uncock the gun and popped in two cartridges into the barrel. I then lined up my cheeks nicely against the gun's butt, closed my left eye and took steady aim on where the pigeon was supposed to come out. Chris pressed a button and the pigeon emerged from the treecover as expected and I could see the target from the end of my barrel. I moved my gun along the pigeon's trajectory....and 'boom'.... pressed the trigger at that point in its flight path from where it would start dropping down into the branches.

The impact of the shot took me by surprise and needless to say I missed the shot....one smoking barrel and one more shot to go.

I grunted, Chris grunted and pressed the button again to let the pigeon fly. This time I had a better idea of where the pigeon would be as it flew in its trajectory and ...'boom'....I fired at the correct time. The shot found its target and the poor pigeon was blown to smithereens...... yeeesssssssss....my first hit.....Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels!!!

I uncocked the shotgun and the two empty cartridges popped right out from the smoking barrel. Chris picked up the cartridges and gave them to me....a souvenir of my first shot. And I blew into the smoking barrel a.k.a. Clint Eastwood ishtyle in my own version of a Western.

I expected the cartridges to be smoking hot as they popped out of the barrel, but I was surprised to see them quite at normal temperature.

We then shot more clay pigeons with different flight patterns such as one going away from me at knee length, one flying flat and turning away just before descent, one climbing rapidly and dropping sharply over a narrow trajectory, etc. etc. It was great fun, I managed to score 16 hits out of a maximum of 24 hits over 4 different vantage points and flight patterns.

Finally, we all had a medley where many pigeons would start flying together and we got to empty a whole box of cartridges (around 20 cartridges or so in a box) while loading and unloading at the same time. It was swell...the repetitive action of uncocking - loading cartridges - cocking - lining up on a particular pigeon - 'boom' - hit or miss - lining up against another pigeon - 'boom' - uncock - cartridge flies out - strong smell of cordite - blow into the smoking barrels - load new cartridges....what an excellent experience.

I didn't know it would be so much fun....and I am definitely going back again to shoot some more clay...

Blimey....let's go Pub Crawlling

2007-11-04T15:56:00.000Z

Pub-crawling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pub_crawl) seems to be an inherent part of the British culture. I have definitely done this in the past unknowingly - having a pint of beer in one pub and hopping on to the next one - without knowing that there exists a proper term for this seemingly out-of-place behavior.

To the uninitiated, there would be one definite question - C'mon, why can't one sit in one pub and guzzle as many pints as one wants?

There could be many answers to this, right from the seemingly innocuous reason of sampling different beers / ales in different pubs to the more bizzare reason of experiencing how it feels to have a zombie walk from one pub to the other after mid-night.

You will never have the satisfaction of knowing the answer till you experience one such pub-crawl.

I recently went for a pub-crawl with my colleagues, they obviously are of the "been-there-done-that" variety and know all the good pubs in and around Reading.

Following is a summary of what we did and the various pubs we hit that evening

Pint # 1 -> The Goose

This is my favorite pub in Bracknell
Also, one of our frequent hang-out pubs in town
"Please can I have a pint of Fosters? I ned to catch the 6:42 to Reading"

Pint # 2 -> Pitcher and Piano

This had the right environment and adequate space to catch up on a hard day's work while sipping on your favorite lager or ale.
It also has a cash machine just outside, in case you are ever short of cash while buying your n-th pint at the bar. How people think of conveniences!!!
"A pint of Fosters please and I shall be on my way"

Pint # 3 -> Hobgoblins

Non-descript looking pub from the outside.
I have walked beside this place many times in the past without realising that it would be a pub.
Push the thick double doors into the pub and you are welcomed to the quintessential English Pub.
The wooden floors, wooden walls, old faithfuls along the bar, the typical murmuring going around in groups, is an experience by itself.
There was not an inch of space on the walls that were not covered with bottle labels (see picture).

There were many people standing around 'coz there wasn't enough tables to sit on.
We managed to find a table which could sit only 3 while the others stood around.
"A pint of Budver, please". Budver is Czech original of Budweiser, so I have been told.
I love Budver, it is my regular during my subsequent visits to this nice pub.

Pint # 4 -> Coopers Arms

Encountered a drunk sitting outside, humming something in the cold weather and staring at the moon
Don't remember who ordered drinks, but it was a pint of Fosters again
Re-arranged the couch so that everyone could sit together
Everyone munched away on many bags of crisps
Cheers!!!

Pint # 5 -> Monks Retreat

Very lively place, some hen parties had already started...obviously, many nice hens around
Found a nice cabin where all 6 of us managed to squeeze in
Some topics of our banter that evening was, nice things to do in India post office hours (for the benefit of my colleagues), non-work attractions in office, etc. etc.
And since boys will be boys, we did some hen-spotting as well.
What did I have here? Duh...who cares?

Pint # 6 -> Walkabout

Just across the road from Pint # 5, theme is Australian.
Obviously Fosters is the right choice here.
Music was somewhat loud, it was getting difficult to converse
Finished our pint as soon as possible and got the hell out of there.

Pint # 7 -> Purple Turtle

Found a kebab joint and picked up some donner some dinner
Another colleague joined in at this point, taking the total number of pub-strollers to 8...WOW...
This particular pub had a buzz around it, looked crowded and manned by tough looking blokes.
Heated beer garden at the back, that is where we headed to after getting our pints at the bar.

Don't remember what we bantered about, but it was loads of fun
The loo fairy called in between, wandered high and low, failed to locate the loo and came back sheepishly. During this time, I discovered that they also have a basement seating area as well. (Finally went to the loo after getting proper directions from my colleagues who had been-there-done-that)
By the time we left, it was close to 1:30 AM but we didn't need any jackets.

So,

7 pubs over a period of 6 hours
Guzzled down 7 pints
Munched 1 to 2 packs of crisps
Went from £30 to £5 without recollecting how much has been spent in which pub
Wonderful garrulous colleagues for company
Plenty of banter going around
Missed the last train back home
Persuaded another colleague to drop us home - bless his soul
One colleague had to sit in the trunk (based on first-come-first-serve basis)
Overall....AMAZING experience

Another visit to Shakespeare Country and the Cotswolds...Apr/2007

2007-04-13T16:53:00.000Z

by Prashant

The Cotswolds is a beautiful region in Southern England, well-known for its vast hillsides ('wolds’), sleepy villages, open skies, vast grasslands and for being so ‘unspoiled & untouched' by modern developments.

And for those who came in late, Stratford-upon-Avon was the birthplace (and deathbed) of the greatest playwright of the English language...William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616). He is also referred to as the 'Bard of Avon', or more simply 'the Bard'.

We had been to both these places before, but jumped at the prospect of visiting a second time when some dear friends came calling from Germany. In response to their question - 'Aur England mein dekhne ke liye kya hai bey!!' - we planned a day's road trip from Bracknell to Stratford-upon-Avon to Cotswolds and back. The original plan was to start early morning and catch the better part of the day in Shakespeare Country but a late night in a London Pub the previous night ensured that we left Bracknell only by 11:30 AM.

Cruising on the M40 motorway with 'Doorie...Doorie...', 'Hum Kis Gali Jaa Rahen Hein' and other wonderful soul stirring music with the warm afternoon sun on us was as good as it can get on a early Spring morning in England. To give our "foren" friends an initial taste of things to come, we took an early detour from the motorway and entered the beautiful Cotswold region on our way to Stratford-upon-Avon. We made our way through beautiful old villages, scenic landscapes & hairpin bends, lazily grazing sheeps and wide expanse of grasslands with bright yellow flowers (similar to our "sarson da khet" in good old DDLJ ishtyle). We stopped on one of these beautiful fields laden with bright yellow flowers and clicked some pictures as well.

Arriving at Stratford-upon-Avon was a nostalgic experience. The Bard was on his pedestal as usual, surveying all that stood in his path (I like saying this again and again, I don't know for what reasons). The beautiful town and the bright sun seemed to work like magic and managed to get people out in hordes to the Avon riverside. We had a small picnic by the riverside and took some photographs.

We skipped another visit to the main attraction of this beautiful town, i.e. Shakespeare's Ancestral Home, since we had already seen it on our first trip here. So, we decided to roam the High Street while our friends went ahead to explore this magnificient place. We spent our time lazily enjoying the fun-fare all around, doing some retail therapy and enjoying some good ice-cream. There were Shapespeare look-alikes posing in the High Street, people were posing for photgraphs with them while children stood on lookimg amazed & amused at some statues making subtle movements while dressed in Shakespearean costumes and colors.

After spending close to 4 hours in this wonderful town, we started for the Cotswolds. With my wife acting as the expert navigator, we reached our first halt in the beautiful Cotswolds, i.e. the quaint old village of Chipping Campden, at around 5 PM. At this late hour on a bright Saturday, the village had almost retired for the day. The majority of shops on the High Street were closed and we took a stroll on the High Street, peering inside shops through their windows. One or two shops were still open for business at that late hour and those were filled with people. The High Street had stone-walled houses on one side, while cars were parked outside in a straight line, horses trotted past in a single line acknowledging motorists for letting them have the right of way, etc. etc. It was just beautiful and as my wife put it very succintly, you have to imagine the High Street without the cars and other modern paraphernalia to get a mental image of how this village would have been 200 years back. It is worth appreciating the beauty of this place if you do this.

As we drove out of this beautiful village, the roads took us to a higher ground from where we had a panoramic view of the village and other neighboring plains. We stopped here for some time and stepped out of the car to marvel at this scenic beauty. After some more photo sessions we then proceeded towards the village of Bourton-on-the-Water.

We reached the village of Bourton-on-the-Water passing through many beautiful villages and wonderful countryside on the way. Bourton-on-the-Water is one of the prettiest villages of England and is also affectionately known as "Venice of the Cotswolds" with a subtle reference to the numerous small road and ornamental arched footbridges over the river Windrush that runs through the middle of the village, thereby adding a serene touch to the beautiful setting.

The river is shallow and the water is so clear that you can see the sands on the river bed. Ducks and other water birds were in abundance and the silence of the village was interrupted from time to time by these creatures frolicking in the water.

The village still retains its old-world charm, the houses are built of Cotswold limestone and there are many fine houses, old cottages and nice pubs. We found a nice pub on the river side and spent a good one hour before taking a stroll along the river while watching kids playing along the river and birds swimming against the water.

There is a local attraction, the "Model Village", which is 1:10 replica of the village. Unfortunately we could not go to this attraction b'coz it was getting dark and we had to get back to Bracknell in time for dinner.

Overall, a very nice outing in the Cotswolds, we are waiting to go and explore the other areas of this beautiful region of England.

Oxford - City of Dreaming Spires

2006-06-20T20:31:00.000Z

by Madhu

Yet, O ye spires of Oxford! domes and towers!
Gardens and groves! your presence overpowers
-William Wordsworth (1770-1850), Oxford, May 30, 1820

And it remains true, even a century and half later...

When you first walk through the city's streets, crossing a college or another with every step you take,admiring the spires decked skyline, amongst the exuberent students and the excited visitors, its not difficult to imagine why this quaint little town boasting of innumerable colleges and libraries and the vast green college playgrouds is called the "City of Dreaming Spires". What IS difficult to imagine is its 900 years of history.Its difficult to comprehend at first glance, why a town like this is the hub of many a scietific inventions and discoveries, of literature , of art and political foundations.

Walking through the high street, you come cross the plot where Robert Boyle came up with th Boyle's Law and his assistant and colleague Robert Hooke invented the "Air Pump". Enter the Christ Church college, and you see the steps leading up to the dining room, the wide stone steps used in the Harry Potter movies. These are the very steps where Harry and his friends are shown waiting when they first arrive at Hogwarts and in many other scenes in Part 1 and Part 2. The tall ceilings, the intricate designs on the arches justify the selection of these very steps for the movie. Another reason also being that Christ College was the Alma Mater of J.K Rowling. The dining hall of the college is also used as the dining hall in the movie. The sheer majesty of the hall is imposing. And for Potter fans, it weaves magic! This hall and college also has a close connection with the book we've all loved in our childhood, "Alice in Wonderland". Charles Dodgson, the author(popularly known as Lewis Carol) , studied and later taught Mathematics in this very college.One might wonder " A Mathematics tutor and fairy tales?". This is the magic of this wonderland. The extraordinary fairy tale grew out of tales that the mathematics tutor used to entertain the daughters of the dean of the college with,one of the little girls being, Alice Lidell.

Every college in this university has a story to tell if one would just stop by and listen to it. They have been home to famous personalities, each amongst the best in their fields and are now home to the students who'll probably leave their mark in the future., and are now labouring away at the laboratories and the great Bodlein library. Speaking of the Bodlein library, its probably worthwhile to mention that each and every book published in the UK, gets a shelf space here.

The "Oxford Story" , an exhibition, takes one through the 900 years of history of Oxford.Gives a feel of how life would have been over all these years, of life led by royalty and the common man in the university, of the inventions and discoveries, of literary and political stalwarts. One gets to see Halley discovering the comet, Boyle and Hooke inventing the Air Pump, Lewis Carol telling a story to Alice. A potrait of Mrs. Indira Gandhi adorns a wall too!

Climb over to the top of the Saxon Tower,the oldest building in the town, that was once a part of the Bocardo prison and now a part of the City Church,serves as a view point for the city. and what a view it offers!! The breathtaking views of the spires of the colleges, the chapels and the abbeys, the hustle bustle of the students and tourists below on the streets, the sweet scent of freshly baked bread wafting up the air from the streets below, the buzz of an "alive" city, and you on top of it, is simply magical. Take a moment, stand still. and imagine the city without the tourists, sans all the modern fixtures and developments, replace the tarred roads with cobbled pathways, the modern street lamps with lanterns, the cars and busses with horse driven coaches, the jeans and skirts with robes and gowns and you've an entirely different perspective of the city. Try. Its not so difficult to imagine and dream in this city.

After the Saxon Tower, take some time out and get away from the high street, and walk into the Magdalene College and head straight for the river side in the backyard.Walk along the pretty flowers and humming river, away from the hum drum of the city and now its not so difficult to understand , why "this" place and no other has been home to so much creativity and why this place breeds inspiration.

Oxford is best tacled on foot.Its worthwhile to spend time at 2 or 3 colleges at the most instead of trying to cover all that you can. Other tourist attractions are the "Radcliffe Camera" and the "Bridge Of Sighs". The best thing to do is to wander around the streets of the town and take in the sights. A leather bookmark or a sweatshirt with OXFORD sprawled over it would be the most appropriate souvenir to take back. If you have enough time and energy after this, you can visit some of the bookshops and try to find some old and rare books , buy antique pieces that once adorned the hallways and the walls of homes in the past and will add character and a story to yours. The best thing you can take back with you is of course "The Experience".

Floating Sensations!!

2006-06-19T22:47:00.000Z

by Madhu

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." -- Leonardo da Vinci

17th June, 2006. Saturday. And the most memorable Saturday it'll be of my entire life! It started out as a lovely sunny day - something you appreciate more in a place like UK - and the day we (me and hubby) had been waiting for, since the past 1 month, had arrived. We were going on our first hot air balloon flight in the evening and spent the entire day wondering how it'd be, whether it'd be scary, on what to wear, what caps to put on to protect our heads from the heat of the burner (in the balloon), keeping our camera and handy cam ready.

We were asked to reach at the site at 7 PM, but in all the excitement we ended up reaching half an hour earlier. And we saw many other excited souls like us, already there. At exactly 7, two trailers, one carrying the wicker basket - which was to house 12 of us in all - and the other carrying the balloon and the fan (to inflate the balloon) arrived. Two other trailers carrying 2 smaller balloons and their respective baskets arrived in the same field too (probably privately owned - WOW!!) Since it was still quite sunny and windy, we had wait till about 8, to take off. Hot Air Balloons need just the right amount of thermals and wind to have a safe flight. Hence most flights are scheduled either early in the morning when the atmosphere is cool enough or at dusk. In the meantime, the organisers (very aptly called "Floating Sensations”), briefed us on what to look forward to in the next 2 – 3 hours.

At half past 7, they started to inflate the balloons with cold air. Three huge, colourful balloons being inflated side by side in a green field lit by the setting sun, surrounded by trees and green fields and more trees, was a sight to behold in itself. First the wicker basket was laid down on its side and the balloon stretched out flat on the field and the wires attached to the wicker basket, and the fan started blowing air into the mouth of the balloon held apart by 5-6 people. While our balloon was being bloated up, one of the balloons took off and how it rose!! It is on the ground, ready to go, blink and its 50 ft up in the air. That quick!! Click Click Click Click...Flash Flash Flash!! All the cameras and all the handy cams in the field were working overtime. It took about 15 minutes to fill enough air in our balloon and then short bursts of flame were introduced at the mouth to heat the air up. Almost immediately, the balloon rose as if awakened from sleep and such was its force that it pulled the wicker basket upright and even tugged hard at the Land Rover it was tethered to as if to break free. It took about 7-8 people to pull the wicker basket down and keep it grounded, so we could climb into the basket. With all the 11 passengers and Jonathan - our pilot - in the basket, we were ready to take off, on our maiden balloon flight.

Jonathan disconnected the hook from the rope that held the balloon secured to the ground and off we went.....Up, Up and further up , and we could see miles and miles of the beautiful country side of “Royal County of Berkshire”, awash with myriad colours of nature, interspersed with a road here and a house there. A farmhouse tucked away behind some trees, a small town far away. It certainly was a different point of view of the earth we live in. The flight lasted an hour and we floated over farm lands with clearly marked tractor paths , rabbits and foxes running across fields, horses, cows, pigs and grazing sheep, stretches of poppy fields distinct because of their red coloured flowers, people waving at us from down below, cars zooming past on the motorways. And we floated. The setting sun lent a magical glow to the moment. All we could hear was the excited and happy pitter patter of our co-passengers and Jonathan answering our various questions. We went up to a height of 3000 ft and were moving at an average speed of about 20 miles/hour. In a hot air balloon, the direction and the speed is determined by the wind, and only the “height” can be controlled by the pilot and that's what he did, sometimes taking us so low over beautiful poppy fields that we could count the petals of the flowers and sometimes taking us so high up in the air that we almost felt stationary. He'd at times pull various cords (to expel air??), switch on the hot air torches, etc. to control the balloon’s altitude. SIX huge cylinders of Propane in the basket served as the fuel.

Soon, it was time to land and it seemed that our shortest one hour was just over. Jonathan had zeroed in on a field where he had to land. Normally, hot air balloons can't land in just any field, they need permissions from farmers to land in their fields, and have a map of the area enlisting such fields and a GPS which directs them to the nearest field, where they have the permission to land. We were close to one such field and Jonathan gave us directions to brace ourselves for the landing. Depending on the speed and the force at touchdown, the basket could bump, lurch, become wobbly and get dragged for a distance or in the worst case tip over. And he prepared us for the worst. We tucked our cameras away, flexed our legs, looked away from the direction where we were to land, held on to our handles and down we went. Down, down, down, close to the field, and zoop... we had missed the field, and had to go up again. Jonathan started looking for another field to land. Took another 15 minutes to find a suitable field by which time some passengers were getting a little worried and started asking the most ridiculous questions which I'd rather not mention here. Anyways, we were ready to land yet again and this time we did. We were moving at 20 miles per hour, and the descent had been quick, so the basket bumped AND lurched AND wobbled AND was dragged for quite some distance AND it tipped over too!! We were all on our back, some people over others and laughing and screaming we dragged ourselves out of the basket. And so ended our flight. It was lovely. The most amazing experience so far and we had enjoyed it thoroughly!! The sun had set and it was getting colder. Jonathan and the guys were busy packing up the balloon again, getting the air out, gathering it up and stashing it inside its bag, while we waited for the Land Rovers that had been trailing us, to come and fetch us from the field. Hubby still can't believe we were on that flight. Seems like a dream, luckily we've the pictures to believe we did.