I have not been here for long time now.. :)

Phew.. It’s been ages since I have been to see how my blog has been doing.. I have been really busy lately with work especially and have been going back home late etc.

I have been working on a project recently, which suddenly gained pace making me extremely busy. Now, it’s slightly losing its pace as it’s close to Christmas and everyone is either planning what Christmas tree they should get, where to buy presents, what to do on Christmas day or what to wear to the yearly office Christmas party which I avoid going to! I hate parties that involve lot of drinking and loud music.

It’s been snowing in the UK and the local councils are struggling to cope with it. The snow has arrived early this year and its heavy, which means, no one is prepared for it and it's a dire mess. People stuck in trains, stations, roads etc for hours. The footpaths and roads are frozen and are like ice skating rinks. It has stopped snowing for now, and I hope it does not come back this winter.

Anyways.. I recently bought myself a delayed birthday present (that's my explanation to spend money) which is the Amazon Kindle. It’s amazing; I absolutely love it, the screen looks just like a book. I am really happy with it, it’s got its limitations as it can only be used read books and its not touch screen etc.. But I still like it. It’s really convenient for me to carry on trains while I travel. It’s not heavy and is compact. There are some books that are not available in the kindle version or an e-version, which can be a bit of a problem, but otherwise, it’s great. Love it.

MR got me an iphone yesterday (yay!), a 32GB 3gs black iphone. I have been plotting to get an iphone from a long time, but never got it, because most of the network providers wanted to bind me into a 24 month contract and I hate contracts. You end up with a phone that you can only use on their network and loads of free minutes that you don't want. MR had promised me that he would buy me one, when he finds the right one.. I don't like the iphone 4 so, I had asked him to look out for a iphone 3 preferably 32GB and yesterday, he just got it because he found a good deal. I was pleasantly surprised. He actually went looking for some network switch that he wanted for one of his friend’s office and ended up buying iphone for me.. I am really happy that I have yet another new toy to play with…:).. I am so eager to get it all set up and working..

I and my friend have been planning to go away this Christmas to some sort of a holiday place, where all we do is eat, sleep and relax. We are probably going to an island somewhere in Spain for about 3 nights. It’s not confirmed yet, and we have not done any bookings yet, but it looks like we are close to confirming it. It's a pity that we cannot go for more than 3 nights and also that MR cannot join us. Hope everything works as per plan… and may be I will blog again from some island in Spain…

Another summer weekend..

Kent popularly known as 'Garden of England' is the home for the beautiful Leeds Castle. Its not only famous for its beautiful structure but also its natural flora and fauna..

The English castles are well known for their massive gardens. These are some of the views of the gardens on the way to the castle. These pictures were taken on a gloomy summer day, but on a nice summer day, with bluer skies.. they look even better..

Every season, the flora of this places changes.. These lovely white bush of flowers is British summer speciality.. It can be found all over England through out Summer

The Castle is surrounded by River Len, and the views are absolutely stunning.
The castle with its lush green gardens and River Len...

As you walk through the gardens you find Peacocks and peahens fearlessly walking around and wondering as to what humans(intruders) are doing in their land.

I was really happy to see this lovely bird with beautiful feathers march in front of us with pride.

Some lucky little kids found feathers of peacocks in the bushes. They seemed extremely proud of their possessions

Another beauty.. White peacock in the green gardens was a beautiful sight.

There are few castles that are really beautiful and worth going to in England and Leeds castle is one of them.. We had a lovely day out this Saturday at Leeds castle.

Bangalore Auto saga....

Couple of months ago, I went to Bangalore after 2 years. I had heard that the auto situation in Bangalore is a complete joke, and I experienced it big time.
Firstly, when you call for an auto, some don't look, if they do, they don't stop, if they stop, they don't want to ride you to the destination you need them to.. ! And above all, they demand crazy money if they decide to come to your destination.

One of my experiences this time around.. I wanted to go to Sadashivnagar from NandiDurga Road- Its probably about 5-6 km or even less. It was about 9.00 AM. I go to the main road with a hope of getting an auto. About 10 autos later, one guy stops for me.
He speaks in Hindi,

Me: Sadashivnagar
He: Who kahan hai, mujhe rasta pata nahi?
Me: Mekhri Circle se jaana padega, aapko mekhri cirle ka rasta pata to hoga na?
He: Nahi madam, pata nahin
Me: Chalo, mein bata doongi.. aap chalo..
He: Ok madam, aap ko Rs 80 dena padega..
Me(Shocked & angry) : Aapko ye pata nahin, ki Sadashivnagar kahan hai, aur aap mujhe bolte hai Rs 80 dho... Aapko kaise pata kitna door hai?
He: Smiles...
Me: Walk away to find another auto.. !

This guy annoyed me like crazy, first of all has no clue where Sadashivnagar is, forget that, does not even know where Mekhri circle is, cannot speak Kannada(local language) and then wants me to pay Rs 80(normally would have costed Rs40 or so) and tell him the route of how to get there.. If he could have, he probably would have asked me to ride his auto and he would have sat behind ! He has no clue how far away this place is or anything like that, for all he knows, I could have said Basavangudi!

Its a real frustration when you don't have a bike or a car that you can travel from one place to the other. The auto situation in Bangalore, made me helpless many times.. and I realised pretty quickly, that's its not a very pleasant state to be in,,,

..................

There are no shortcuts to a place worth going....

Travelling.. a passion

Travelling has been something that I always wanted to do.. Its something that has always excited me...even as a child I used to dream of travelling the world.


I have been extremely lucky to have visited most places in and around Bangalore through one day school trips and my parents have taken me to a lot of places. We, as a family have visited most places(temples) of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Some of the temples are mind-blowing.... Some of the beaches on the west coast of India are one of their kind.. as my grandparents/parents are from a small village near Udipi, we used to travel to Udipi often. Needless to say, the beaches there are fantastic... Some beaches are completely secluded.. with access limited to the village and the people who know how to get to these remote places.... Its a wonderful place.. with lots of interesting people......

I have been to a lot of places in the last few years.. We have travelled quite a bit in UK and also a few cities of US and Europe..This year.. we have planned to go to Dubai.. and look to travel to a few more places this summer..

Travelling is one thing I want to be able to do all my life.. I thank God, my parents and all my loved ones who have been a great influence on whoever I am today..

Looking forward to Dubai.. now.. heard a lot about that city from friends.... another 2 weeks to go... hurray... !

Visit to Watford....

I have had a good long 11 day break.. and tomorrow I am back to work.. :(
We went to ISKCON temple in a place called Watford. Its about 1 hour drive for us from home. As we hail from Udipi, we have a strong attachment to Krishna, so we make it a point to go there when we find time and when we feel like doing the trek..

Its actually a beautiful home converted in to a temple. The temple has huge gardens, a lake with ducks and very picturesque walks. They also have a small Bhagavat Geetha walk, which explains some parts of the Geetha.

This beautiful house converted to temple was once owned by George Harrison of the Beatles who then gifted the whole property to ISKCON. The house/temple is massive with beautiful wodden doors, floors, huge french windows with grills etc..
All in all.. its a beautiful place to visit.. Check this link ...
http://www.krishnatemple.com/home/

We also had some good prasadam and headed back home..
Back to work tomorrow.. and I am really not looking forward to it :( Oh well... I guess we have to do it.. !
Will write more later..
Cheers!