uk-colombo

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our first trip to foreign lands in almost 4.5 years of marriage, the cards were stacked in our direction because we just managed to make all arrangements as smoothly as possible, the tickets, visa and arranging accommodation with my aunt at harpenden, hertfordshire.

we left for colombo on 31st may, 2012 and this would be the first time i would catch an international flight from bengaluru airport, not for my husband because he had travelled to thailand before. it was a short flight to colombo and we waited to be escorted to our hotel in negumbe outside colombo..the people instantly struck me as friendly, warm and approachable. we promised ourselves we would fly sri lankan more often, applied for the frequent flier programme and made a note to visit sri lanka again. once at the hotel we could see the ocean front and beach right from the portico. as we dropped off for the night we set alarms to wake early to spend sometime on the beach. early morning we waded a bit into the sea and then proceeded for breakfast. i did try some ceylon pork curry and sampled some more local cuisine from the breakfast spread. we now waited to be escorted back to the airport in the airline vehicle for the main leg of the trip to begin.

the international airport in colombo has terminals like any other and its interesting to go through the artifacts on display. our flight was delayed a bit but eventually we were airborne and it was exciting to fly over india and then approach middle east on our way to europe. we landed in heathrow airport after having consumed the srilankan fish curry and australian lamb at around 8:30. my aunt and cousin had arranged for ash, a very nice man from pakistan to pick us up at the airport. after customs and immigration we proceeded towards the exit sign and there he was with a placard and my name on it. he drove a toyota prius making hubby very happy and we proceeded to harpenden. we couldnt see much as it was about 9:30-10 and we arrived through what seems highway roads to harpenden. the pubs seemed so inviting, this didnt seem london at all, there were rolling hills and meadows, pubs and cottages everywhere. we arrived at crosthwaite court on stephen road and rang for my aunt. once settled in in her cosy 2 bedroom apartment we kind of collapsed in stupor after the very long journey.

the next morning we woke to explore the apartment a bit, the kitchen as we got tea going for ch(hubby). we were ready after a shower and helped ourselves to almost everything in the kitchen by way of breakfast and every other meal. gifted my aunt her temple saree, she was happy, also connected with folks back home and chatted with them for a bit. my cousin t and wife joy arrived with their two boys and joy's nephew and we had many questions for them. they not only helped us with a spare cell but also invited us for lunch and got us off to a successful start. they were leaving that very day for a boat trip and incidentally it was the start of the diamond jubilee celebration of queen elizabeth II. we were told there would be street parties and celebrations for the next 4 days. during the conversation joy mentioned the schedule was printed in the times of london and once we set off for the station i picked up a copy and carried it back home as it was a souvenir edition. lucky me.lucky us.at the station we got ourselves a travel card for the week ahead and bought individual tickets for the day. we then armed ourselves with the train schedule and information and discount booklet(it would come very handy later on). we now set sail as instructed by tanda to kings cross and lunched at starbucks. we crossed over from st pancras station to the london underground and travelled to picadilly circus. we took in the sights and architecture and flavour of central london in an instant. ch was amazed because this was his first ever trip to europe. it seemed so confusing all at once, how would we plan our next move, where were the maps, the books, all the preparation of so many days..i asked a passerby if this was trafalgar square and he said no this was piccadilly circus and trafalgar square was further to the right. i took out my time out guide and couldnt seem to figure out anything. worried we now started walking towards right and then straight admiring the buildings, the people, the clothes and it all. soon fortunately we reached national art gallery and strolled inside for a preview. all the while clicking photographs my husband and me now stopped to negotiate with a red bus tour operator and i managed to borrow a map from him which i would carry with me at all times the rest of the trip. i now located trafalgar square which is where i was standing and tried to follow the map towards admiralty arch and basically towards 10 downing street..but we managed to lose that track and went roundabout to get there eventually. trafalgar square had started preparations for the queens jubilee celebration and we were lucky to be privy to all the steet parties, pageants and general electrifying atmosphere which would grip all of london over the next four days. from admiralty arch we started walking towards buckingham palace and reached what is known as the mall, we stopped for more directions, turned left towards st james park and bought some coke. the mall was done up with flags and there was an atmosphere of festivity everywhere. we also saw the horse guards as it must have been around 4. our first day walking and hubby complained quite a bit(hes a tall person) and i was wearing crocs which were really causing so much trouble. i need to get them checked for me. so we now stumbled past ministries of government, the churchill war rooms, a war monument and the ministry of civil engineers, and mechanical engineers before which i clicked a photograph of ch because he too is one. the big ben is right in front, we found people to be friendly, approachable and in a happy frame of mind. we turned towards downing street and got a view from the gates, we then walked back to westminster abbey and houses of parliament and the river thames. it was all so overwhelming, so beautiful, i had been to london 27 years ago and couldnt recall most of this. we then made some enquiries at the westminster pier and walked across to london eye. i insisted we complete our trip by going onto the london eye. we bought oursleves a hotdog and then tickets to london eye and now we waited in que to board. one can browse the smart screens for information and get a birds eye view of london as far as one can tell in every direction. we then limped to waterloo station and came back to kings cross to board a train to harpenden. we told oursleves every night we would board a train towards bedford which would bring us back to our cosy bed at harpenden. every morning we would board a train towards brighton which would take us to the bright side of town, hence the confusion between bedford and brighton was resolved once and for all.

the next morning which is now day4 and the 3rd of june, 2012 we are asked to go down to the river for the pageant. ch wants to see the imperial war museum and now would start a routine which got established today. i would arrange breakfast, pack some sandwiches, write my accounts and plan our day and keep a diary of past days achievements. ch invited me to the kitchen where our breakfast spread was laid out and i too clicked a photograph of it. over the next few days we would have muffins, pancakes, carrot cakes and chocolates, biscuits and cookies. i would drink the pg tips tea and have cold cuts and duck patty from south of france in sandwiches, eat fresh peaches, strawberries, bananas and apples. eat dry fruits and lots of youghurt and yoghurt drinks. we said goodbye to my aunt and set forth. we tried to leave early but the best we could do was catch the 10:26. we now came to kings cross, piccadily circus and then changed over to lambeth north and walked down to imperial war musuem. the plan was to finish the museum and then come down to the lambeth bridge for the pageant. there would be 1000 boats and one of them would carry the queen. the war museum appealed to my hubby like no other. he found it all very interesting, the eagle ontop of the third reich monument, the wars, the planes and tanks etc. there were special exhibitions being held everywhere and this one was about a family during ww2. we then ate some sandwiches and walked back to the bridge only to find it very crowded inspite of inclemental weather. i managed to perch myself on the seat of the bus station and saw the royal barge approaching but wasnt sure which was the queen. it was all so confusing, they were just specks from the shore, maybe i should have checked the image on the screen to co-relate with the real picture but it didnt strike me and till date im not sure i actually saw the queen since camilla was also wearing a similar coloured dress. but it was nice to be part of it all. it was freezing and i was wearing my aunts jacket over and above everything. we now stepped out while the pageant continued towards one of the many street parties. we bought ourselves some snacks and then some tea. chatted for a bit with a bengali man working for the park plaza who served us tea. we then trotted in the rain towards the underground at vauxhall and managed to find our way to bond street via oxford circus. selfridges was closed, it was sunday evening and we found boots open and instantly i bought myself my usual fare of cosmetics and skincare, lipguard, facewash, handcreams, body lotions, eye make up removers and a nivea deo. ch bought himself an ointment with which he was healing his heel and strained muscles every evening. it was still raining and almost everything was closing down so we made our way home, tired then convinced we had seen the queen herself. my camera time shows i clicked photographs around the house at about 9:30 pm. coming home to a warm dinner, home cooked food, a warm home and bed was a blessing for all we ate and drank the entire day were sandwiches, cokes, juices and tea and were on our feet all the time. the weekly travel card that we had purchased was amounting to 28.6 for 6 days and 28.4 for one day. we still could spend a lot from our stipulated 100 pounds a day. it was onto day5.

today i wore my aunts leather jacket, was it today or the previous day that i managed to break my aunts key while trying to enter the aprtment. how embarassing. this morning we set off for westminster abbey by taking the train to st pancras and the tube from kings cross to green park and alighting at westminster station. It took us the entire day to see whats in it. ch was right, there was no way we could plan 2 events on the same day as each monument, museum and attraction was so time consuming. we were greeted at the entrance by a pleasant volunteer who said he had once worked in india. whenever i think of my visit to the westminster abbey i confuse it so with my trip to st pauls. the abbey also had an exhibition titled the queen & her abbey. armed with one more bottle of coke we came down to bond street in order to fulfill our shopping dreams. on our ipad ch took some videos, one very nice one was the pealing of bells at the abbey. this time we take the bus from westminster and as usual end up on the bus going in the wrong direction and retrace our steps, also we want to alight at bond street and in a hurry find oursleves at oxford circus where we check out some jackets at north face. we realise its a long walk and it also starts raining so we take the tube to bond street. on bond street we now dined at wasabi and the food didnt agree with me much. we also bought orange juice from pret a manger and we were amazed we could buy fresh orange juice anywhere and it tasted so good!! selfridges was the most expensive store in the world, i also dicovered i had some acute gastric related problem and vowed to myself to keep off red meat for the rest of the trip. we walked down to primark, surveyed john lewis and i bought trousers from hnm. my post purchase dissonance continues and im trying to convince myself ive bought good stuff. we trudged back home from kings cross to st pancras station to harpenden with packages. we couldnt stop admiring the shops at the st pancras station, we found the entire atmosphere of the station so vibrant and positive. the trains were leaving for europe and almost anywhere. it was magical. we even shopped for brochures from a tour guide one of the days. once again i tried to capture my aunts apartment in photographs, the curios from all over the world, the indianness and the smartness. another hot meal tasting delicious, my aunt promising to cook more fish for us and we dozed off blissfully.

cut to the present moment and i have managed to successfully exchange my crocs for a new pair and i must say am very satisfied with the service of crocs in bangalore. day 6 was going to be a lengthy day full of photographs, we managed to get lost on the tube a bit and found ourselves next to london airport. we retraced our steps back to cutty sark for greenwich. greenwich was such a pretty town. we could see the cutty sark in the distance and now walked towards the old royal naval college. there was an exhibition centre and ch ended up spending too much time in it. i told him at this rate we wouldnt be able to see much as the museums were going to be massive affairs. we ate some sandwiches and proceeded towards the national maritime museum. of special mention here would be the exhibit on east india company and a video showing how garam masala was made. tipu sultan was mentioned too. we tried to take in as much maritime history, models of ships, nelsons uniform and an exhibition on titanic not to mention the implacable ship and a royal barge on display. we now walked around towards the queens house and could see the arrangements being made for the olympic event. it would be an equestrian event and could also see the royal observatory at the back. the queens house has an excellent display of paintings and we now started the climb up the hill towards the observatory. it was raining and cold and now we had reached the historic prime meridien. we clicked photographs standing with a foot in the east and a foot in the west. a tour around haileys bungalow revealed more exhibits, time exhibits and the laser beam that projected itself along the prime meridien. by now the planetarium had closed and we were not able to catch a show. by now we had also fed a pretty fat squirrel, bought more water and some brownie.it had started raining hard and we managed to climb down and find our way towards the tube station. we bought much needed medicines and heel bands from a store on the way and were on our way back home. in all we had clicked 251 photographs and had seen the marvellous office buildings of canary wharf and the o2 dome. ch clicked many rain washed photographs from the train and soon we would be home. i now called my aunt and informed her we had come home directly and would not be meeting her halfway at mill hill. buy of the day, a fridge magnet of the prime meridien.

day 7, medicine works like anything and health starts improving until finally i would be restored to my original vigour. we start the day a bit late and approach buckingham palace from green park station. the 4 day jubilee celebrations are over and we want to see the changing of the guard. we buy more orange juice and snacks and are told that there is no access to the palace today. we wait with crowds to catch a glimpse of changing of the guard and few dignitaries leaving the palace in armoured vehicles. we walk back through the park and buy more orange juice and come to kensington to the natural history museum by taking the tube from green park to south kensington. the museums are all free, so far the national gallery, national maritime museum, natural history museum are all free. we spend the entire day in the museum till about lunchtime thinking we may be able to see the victoria and albert museum too. but the museum takes up too much time, theres too much to see, the dinosaurs and mammals, the science exhibits and birds and animals. once weve seen enough we come down to muriels kitchen for some salmon, pea croquette and bread pudding, ch orders a beer. we now take a bus which winds its way past hyde park and harrods and then take the tube to embankment pier and walk down to westminster pier. we take a cruise to the tower and get a discount with our travel card. the cruise is just marvellous. we can see all the history and architecture as we stroll along. also my very own unilever building, i was once an employee of unilever. we completed the cruise at tower of london just when it started raining. the next day we promised ourselves we would come to the tower of london. we walked in the rain a bit and found ourselves in front of the unilever building. i clicked photographs here and eventually came around to the blackfriars station. from here we could get a train straight to harpenden, the next morning we would not alight at kings cross but beyond right next to st pauls cathedral at city thames link. at home my cousin ti and daughters were waiting for us and we had a brief chat before some more home cooked fish and rice.

day 8, first thing at st pauls cathedral we were not given the discount with our travel card. i would later write to them from home and eventually st pauls will send me a complimentary admission ticket. but for now after a tour of the st pauls we get more rain. the weather is specially lousy today as it rains all the time and finally we manage to get a bus to tower of london. its still raining and we tuck into some fish and chips at the kitchen at the tower. today i am not even wearing my aunts jacket since i have managed to tear her leather jacket!! so that makes it complete with the key and all. we trudge through the rain for some tower walks, the traitors gate, the crown jewels, the ravens and the lower wakefield tower. it is still raining and i have some tea at the station nearby. we make it a point to come to oxford street and shop for a jacket at marks and spencer. hence, an achievement for the day, i now have a london jacket for myself for the next few days. i have so not been able to pack well for the trip, my luggage consisted of half sleeve tops and cotton ones that too.

day 9, i think i oversleep and we set forth only around 12 in my aunts car towards mill hill. my aunt has been living in uk for the last 50 years, her children were born here and they marry brits and have children too. my cousin t and t. we drive past harpenden and meadows and golf courses in hertfordshire towards mill hill and finally she drops us off at a bus stop. we also see her house in mill hill, where i had visited 27 years ago. we board a bus for baker street and dine at pret a manger before queing up for madame tussauds. my husband would be an excited child for the next few hours clicking photographs with all the celebrities. i did pose with princess diana and shrek, omg what a combination. i must point out that marilyn monroe even in her wax figure was so pretty, audrey hepburn so charming and the royal family were made so akin to themselves. we now hastily come around to the sherlock holmes museum and are absolutely charmed by the musuem display and house. we click many photographs and pick of the day, a plaque from the museum store, which now stands amongst various other curios in our home in bangalore. we now proceed towards baker street underground and board the tube back to kings cross and catch the train to harpenden. a quick walk to the harpenden shopping centre and we stroll through the city centre and find our way back to the station to trudge back home.

day 10, around 1 we would reach kew garden by going directly to black friars by first capital connect, our service provider for london trains and then take the tube to kew garden which would take us past wimbledon and the canals where people were rowing. we walk in the opposite direction and are helped by an elderly gentleman and were back on track. we bought some snacks from outside the kew station which were absolutely delicious. once again we get a discount with our travel card. we would also buy tickets on the buggy to take a tour of the garden. it was a wonderful day, bright and sunny and absolutely lifted our spirits. we couldnt spend too much time in the gardens and deliberately avoided the kew palace as we made our way to the victoria and albert museum by taking the tube to south kensington. need i mention once again we were standing at the wrong end of the kew station. around lunchtime we lunched at starbucks near v&a museum and some more orange juice followed. the victoria and albert museum had amazing displays of design, architecture and sculpture. the fashion room, the iron railings and exhibits from all times were a visual treat and once again like all national museums it was free. we started walking towards the imperial college and royal albert hall and the albert memorial. we strolled through kensington gardens and saw the palace from outside. we saw the swans at the big pond and came out the notting hill side and tucked into burgers at burger king. from the bayswater station we now made our way to east croydon by alighting at black friars and then catching the train to east croydon where ch' parents had lived in the 70s. we saw the house with ch eagerly clicking away photographs. it was quite late now. my aunt had a wedding to attend and she would return home late. we got home around 10:30 by taking the train to harpenden and this would be the lenghtiest day of all, in all we would click 275 fotos. some anxious moments on the train as it wasnt crowded but then we were safe. i made some phone calls to my 3 sis-in-laws and two friends. i got to speak to 3 of them. next time maybe we will meet more people. i send messages on fb saying i was getting voicemail and would connect the next time round.

this morning we had an invitation at t and joys for breakfast, a delightful sunny morning, an interesting house and family to vist and after some chocolate croissant and tea we arrived at brent cross. i had carried ritu kumar bags for my sis-in-law and cousin ti. at brent cross i shop for some black tights at hnm and we have some pizzas at pizza express. we no longer carry our travel cards and pay for the bus ride to oxford street. we pass abbey road on the way and though my brother has sent me an email asking us to take the music tour theres just no time! weve almost completed our trip. once at oxford street we wait at the wrong bus stop then at the wrong side of the steet and then have no exact change so after much ado buy some coke from mcd on oxford street and then take the bus to british museum at holborn. it is such a fantastic museum and im glad ch got to see it last. when i retrospect im glad we could take in the highlights of the museum pretty rapidly given the fact that we had spent most part of the day changing busses. we walked back to the bus station after buying some chocolate for exact change. we come back to kings cross and spend 25 pounds on one way ticket to harpenden for both of us. a travel card for sunday for both persons would have cost 26 pounds and all in all with bus fares we had spent 13 pounds extra. its always advisable to have a travel card/oyster with you at all times for one never knows how many stops one will have to cover. im not happy with the math but then its done. some more pictures of my aunts scrumptious flat. the whole point of a cosy place somewhere in this world surrounded by a lifetime of buys and family pictures, the green all around and peace appeals so much to me. its also centrally heated which gets a thumbs up from me.

day 12, our last complete day in london, we toy with a recap tour on the red bus but i feel it will be a waste of money, now that im back home i feel if we had the day to ourselves we could have seen the london museum, tate gallery and cruise to greenwich..but it was not meant to be. maybe we had seen enough and were about to see another part of the city. we met ch' friend r at the loop bar and its raining. we take the train to sutton and come to west hampstead and then to bond street. we have a few drinks and watch football and the bar atmosphere is brilliant. its raining and i think its one of the worst days we have seen, its cold and raining. on our way to bond street i have my last starbucks coffee and then at mcd ch has a snacker. ch also shops at marks and spencer and regret 2 or 4, cant remember is i dont add points on my card. we pay 36 pounds for the travel card and hardly travel too much with it. but its always worth meeting old friends and keeping in touch with people. at the harpenden station all you can see are umbrellas and we troop in out of the rain to spend our last night at harpenden. not only was it our last night very soon my aunt will move out of her flat and i guess thats one place we'll never live in again just like m's house in schriesheim. one day maybe we'll take the kids back to these places.

day 13, we pack and then are ready to say goodbye to it all. we walk down to sainsburys by crossing the bridge and i buy chocs for back home. actually i could have shopped for 28 pounds more but it wasnt to be. i suppose we must be happy with our lot. maybe the mood is melancholy because a good thing has come to an end and im sure we wont be back in a hurry. we come home, have a quick lunch and set off for the airport. we make some last moment phone calls, one to my sis-in-law and shes not around so i chat instead with my aunt-in-law and the other to ch' nephew. we promise to meet up at the airport at terminal 4. on the way my aunt picks up bengali samosas and sweets. we come to richmond at uncle p's house for tea. he will eventually drop us to the airport. his study and living room is so warm and welcoming. after tea we set off for the airport and hugs and kisses later we click some final photographs before the airport. once we proceed to security ch realises he has left his cell at p uncle's car. i try and get my aunts cell number but my phone has no charge. we think of using the internet for accessing the number and then i get an idea. we wait at the air india lounge for ch' nephew and eventually get to meet him too. but i cant access yahoo from his phone and hence we take off from london minus cell.

day 14 and the last day of our two week trip, were in colombo and after having some more chicken i send a message to my aunt and she replies the cell is indeed in the car and she will try and send it. i ask her to carry it with her on her next trip to goa and calcutta. were now tired and exhausted and i almost doze off leaving the camera at terminal 7. the airline announces that we may now leave only the next day and we proceed towards customer care when they change that to later in the night. i hear an announcement of a camera being found and rush to the spot to recover my camera. the 1400 photographs would have been wiped out in a second along with the loss of a sony digital camera. i once lost a camera in bangkok-singapore and maybe the camera gods have turned my life a full circle. happy with the camera we proceed to the canteen for beer and snacks. actually we havent lost much, the camera, the ticket and the phone, all recovered.i buy some more chocs from duty free for home as well as dilmah tea. for the next few weeks in bangalore i would enjoy the ceylonese tea to my hearts content. the final leg of the journey was turning out to be critical and soon we were airborne and on our way back to bangalore. we reached at night and made our way home at midnight.

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Photos

first capital connect
west hampstead station for trains on first capital connect