Hi everybody,
I hope all of you had a very enjoyable christmas season, because i really did enjoy mine..i had a truly amazing time this christmas and i`m hoping to share some of my experiences isn the following pages.
But before that, i`d like to Thank all of you for the lovely Cards and mails you have all been sending. It feels great to know that all of you care. I would have liked to reply to each of your mails and i have been doing so as and when i find the time,but this time you must all excuse meand accept the common wishes i have been sending out with the knowledge that they come with the same wishes and regard as a personal message would have. I will of course mail you personally when i have a little more time on my hands.
My Christmas adventures began with the choice to stop working and begin enjoying for a week....I headed over to Wales, to join my cousins and relatives. Wales is a nation of mountains and valleys,blessed with awe-inspiring landscapes . Covering 20,764 square kilometres, Wales is situated on the west side of the UK, in between England and Ireland which is just across the Celtic Sea.
Snow is comparatively rare near sea level in Wales, but much more frequent over the hills...and since we were planning a trek over to the hills , i was eagerly awaiting my first experience of snow.
The journey began with my first rail travel in U.K , and throughout the trip i was thoughtful, comparing the railway systems of India and that of britain.....while that here works with clock like precision , the one in India seems to work with an organized chaos....the more i saw of it the more i began to realise why we in India cannot acheive the high standards of the European countries....yes we have poverty and corruption...and of course sheer irresponsibility and disorder,not to mention politics, but as i sat thinking, i ve realized that the root cause of all these is our population size...we could easily implement the best working systems in the world in our country, but it would breakdown just because we have to deal with the innumerous masses of people...and to add to that, they are`nt just a homogenous mass of people, who could be dealt with uniformly, they happen to be spread across a wide variety of cultures, languages , social status, traditions and religions, each having its own compulsions, and necessities ...on second thought,while indeed the state of railways in india can be improved, i salute the Indian railways for what it has acheived against all odds. However it would do well to have thinking people, capable of real planning, with a knowledge of how things work abroad.
Our first adventure after i reached wales was a trip to the Ogwen valley. the Ogwen valley is a classic glacial trough, complete with ribbon lake. It is situated in the Snowdonia national park. Snowdonia is a region of north Wales and a National Park, of area 2170 square kilometres (838 square miles). It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks of Wales, in 1951. The area is renowned for its spectacular mountainous scenery and is popular with tourists, and Charles Darwin was a regular visitor here. For those of you who are intetrested, do check out this link, to a live webcam of the area. (open link in a new window)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/webcams/pages/ogwen.shtml
Our journey turned out to be exciting, as we picked the worst weather for the trek, what began as a light rain soon turned into hail.! Big peices of ice..but we were lucky to be heading in the same direction in which the winds were blowing rather than against it....or we would have had our faces pelted with ice....It did finally stop hailing and the effect it left was spectacular, with the surrounding hills being instantly turned from brown to white...there was hail all over on the grass...and we were left arguing over whether it was ice or snow.
While we were there i did try to scale a peak and get some amazing photographs but the weather played spoilsport to mess up the snaps. click onthe snap and try spotting me ..
That night was christmas eve and we attended the midnight mass at the church...and spend the rest of the night making merry and chatting and slept at 5 in the morning...when we finally did wake up on christmas day, it was to the excited cries of “its snowingâ€..indeed it was and i managed to replace some of my sleepiness with the excitement of seeing my first snow, to get a picture. We were in for a white christmas after all....
what followed was a real christmas atmosphere....christmas dinner with roast turkey, champagne and chritmas pudding, some fun and games and unwrapping christmas presents...whew.....While i do miss spending christmas at home, i ve always imagined how a real christmas celebration in the english way would be...i geuss this is as close as it gets....its turned out to be my best christmas...thankyou Thommu and Shalini for having me over.
31 December 2004
Conquering Mount Snowdon
Though i enjoyed the christmas celebrations, little did i realize that the best part was yet to come...the most incredible trek i ve ever had...to conquer the Snowdon peak! Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, located in the Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) in the county of Gwynedd. Its summit rises to 1,085 m (3,560 feet) and is known as Yr Wyddfa (old Welsh: "the grave/tomb"). The whole park is very popular with tourists, especially for hiking, and Snowdon is understandably the greatest attraction. Once again for those interested..here is a link to a webcam on the net showing you the Snowdon peak. (weather permitting of course..and open the link in a new window)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/webcams/pages/snowdon.shtml
We drove down to the foot of the hills..a litlle bit groggy from the overnight celebrations....but the amazing views set it all straight....it was simply breathtaking...there were mountains on all sides, covered in snow and looking spectacular for the effect. Although i must say that standing at the foot and realizing that its a long way to the top is exhausting as the trek itself.
We had heard in the news about the destruction of the Tsunami and while admiring the incredible beauty of nature i realized that there was a thin line dividing the incredible from the terrifying in nature. This realization would become more apparent as we neared the summit with its incredibly terrifying ledges and almost gale force winds. I take this opportunity to express my deepest sympathy with the people affected by the tsunami....i hope all of you and your families are safe.
To take you back to the trek....even though did get a bit of snow the previous day...this was simply amazing...as we climbed, the snow became more plentiful and thicker...there were places, off the trekking path whch were more than knee deep...wow...there i was waiting almost 25 years to see my first snow...and by the time i finished this trek..i`d feel as though i was born in it!....it was just incredible to feel it under my shoes at the start, rolling snowballs, carrying it and throwing it, blocking up small streams by pushing snow into it, falling into it and of course snow ball fights......all theses snow based entertainment kept us occupied as we climbed the incredibly long pathway leading up to Snowdon...half way there and we were really exhausted but the thrill of the summit waiting to be conquered, kept us going...while we were struggling up...i must say there were people who would walk past us as if they were hurrying to office...whew...the incredibles!
Anyway...as we neared the top...the scenery got amazing, and so did the cold and the wind....the effects of the wind on snow was in itself quite a sight to behold. The paths got more narrow..the daylight started failing and the ledges fell of to a thousand feet below...but the sight of the summit kept us going.... finally when we were meters away from the tip, there began an incredibly strong wind, which i must confess would have blown me off like a leaf if i didnt hold on to the rocks.. i began to get a taste of what it would have been for the people going up the Everest and other places where this would have been child s play in comparison...
When indeed we did make it to the top...the conditions were really treacherous with the strong winds , a shoe bite and danger of night approaching on the way back , that all we had time for at the top was to grab some quick snaps and beat retreat.
The walk down was never ending and tiring but it felt awesome to have been at the top....and i felt humbled as a human being to have seen the incredible artistry of mother nature... This will remain as one of the foremost adventures in my life.(but who knows what is to come)
The next day we returned to Doncaster, to my cousins place and spend the following days there. I was to return on the 30th and little did i know that yet another adventure awaited me for the journey...to make it short, i caught the wrong train and ended up in London...and had to set things right before i could resume the journey to Plymouth... I had more than half a mind to set out to explore London but time and money have constraints on the spirit of adventure and i had to make do with a train journey to Plymouth going over the incredible experiences of the past week.
Thats it from me for now...i wish all of you an Incredible New year and i do hope you will all enjoy it as much as i have done over the past week.
Before all of you sign off...i request you to leave a comment in my guest book which can be accessed by clicking the link on the top, right beneath the photo...it would be a nice way to keep in touch if you dont have the time to mail and i would love to know what you think of these updates...just a few words would do. Thanks...
With Lots of Love
Thomas
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/webcams/pages/snowdon.shtml
We drove down to the foot of the hills..a litlle bit groggy from the overnight celebrations....but the amazing views set it all straight....it was simply breathtaking...there were mountains on all sides, covered in snow and looking spectacular for the effect. Although i must say that standing at the foot and realizing that its a long way to the top is exhausting as the trek itself.
We had heard in the news about the destruction of the Tsunami and while admiring the incredible beauty of nature i realized that there was a thin line dividing the incredible from the terrifying in nature. This realization would become more apparent as we neared the summit with its incredibly terrifying ledges and almost gale force winds. I take this opportunity to express my deepest sympathy with the people affected by the tsunami....i hope all of you and your families are safe.
To take you back to the trek....even though did get a bit of snow the previous day...this was simply amazing...as we climbed, the snow became more plentiful and thicker...there were places, off the trekking path whch were more than knee deep...wow...there i was waiting almost 25 years to see my first snow...and by the time i finished this trek..i`d feel as though i was born in it!....it was just incredible to feel it under my shoes at the start, rolling snowballs, carrying it and throwing it, blocking up small streams by pushing snow into it, falling into it and of course snow ball fights......all theses snow based entertainment kept us occupied as we climbed the incredibly long pathway leading up to Snowdon...half way there and we were really exhausted but the thrill of the summit waiting to be conquered, kept us going...while we were struggling up...i must say there were people who would walk past us as if they were hurrying to office...whew...the incredibles!
Anyway...as we neared the top...the scenery got amazing, and so did the cold and the wind....the effects of the wind on snow was in itself quite a sight to behold. The paths got more narrow..the daylight started failing and the ledges fell of to a thousand feet below...but the sight of the summit kept us going.... finally when we were meters away from the tip, there began an incredibly strong wind, which i must confess would have blown me off like a leaf if i didnt hold on to the rocks.. i began to get a taste of what it would have been for the people going up the Everest and other places where this would have been child s play in comparison...
When indeed we did make it to the top...the conditions were really treacherous with the strong winds , a shoe bite and danger of night approaching on the way back , that all we had time for at the top was to grab some quick snaps and beat retreat.
The walk down was never ending and tiring but it felt awesome to have been at the top....and i felt humbled as a human being to have seen the incredible artistry of mother nature... This will remain as one of the foremost adventures in my life.(but who knows what is to come)
The next day we returned to Doncaster, to my cousins place and spend the following days there. I was to return on the 30th and little did i know that yet another adventure awaited me for the journey...to make it short, i caught the wrong train and ended up in London...and had to set things right before i could resume the journey to Plymouth... I had more than half a mind to set out to explore London but time and money have constraints on the spirit of adventure and i had to make do with a train journey to Plymouth going over the incredible experiences of the past week.
Thats it from me for now...i wish all of you an Incredible New year and i do hope you will all enjoy it as much as i have done over the past week.
Before all of you sign off...i request you to leave a comment in my guest book which can be accessed by clicking the link on the top, right beneath the photo...it would be a nice way to keep in touch if you dont have the time to mail and i would love to know what you think of these updates...just a few words would do. Thanks...
With Lots of Love
Thomas
21 December 2004
Chinese HotPot
Over the past few days i`ve really been getting an international exposure..especially to food..as u would have read in the earlier posts..it was the spanish one in last week and then the english one after that at Karens..after such exquisite dinners i was just preparing to have a quiet night in...but that was not to be so..in comes my chinese house mate and drags me down to join in the chinese Hot pot...well whats a chinese hot pot...as you can see in the photo its..a form of chinese cuisine..if thats the right word...where they have a pot(electric cooker in this case)in the centre and a lot of items around the table( to begin with)..
As dinner progresses they start adding the items into the hot pot which is boiling by then...so what goes in? there was everything...the 17 items for the spanish dinner seems like peanuts in comparison...then as the pot is boiling, the chinese attack it with their chopsticks...pull out whatever they like and eat it..of course there are sauces to accompany it...and as you can see..beer. so its basically a session of dumping raw food into the hot pot, boiling it and eating it..this just goes on..in goes raw chicken, raw meat, processed fish...two kinds of mushrooms, celery, lettuce, melons, cucumber and what not...and out come all the cooked stuff..into ur mouth..then again the process is repeated...well...i know what you all are thinking...how did it taste..well actually it tasted great..even the vegetables that i usually hate tasted great...the chinese really enjoy their food( even if it is chicken feet that has nails on it..as they did some days back!)..if i knew a little bit of chinese i could have attempted to understand what they all were joking about...was it about the indian tring to use chopsticks?
As dinner progresses they start adding the items into the hot pot which is boiling by then...so what goes in? there was everything...the 17 items for the spanish dinner seems like peanuts in comparison...then as the pot is boiling, the chinese attack it with their chopsticks...pull out whatever they like and eat it..of course there are sauces to accompany it...and as you can see..beer. so its basically a session of dumping raw food into the hot pot, boiling it and eating it..this just goes on..in goes raw chicken, raw meat, processed fish...two kinds of mushrooms, celery, lettuce, melons, cucumber and what not...and out come all the cooked stuff..into ur mouth..then again the process is repeated...well...i know what you all are thinking...how did it taste..well actually it tasted great..even the vegetables that i usually hate tasted great...the chinese really enjoy their food( even if it is chicken feet that has nails on it..as they did some days back!)..if i knew a little bit of chinese i could have attempted to understand what they all were joking about...was it about the indian tring to use chopsticks?
At Karen`s
o.k here it is , yet another new experience for me...all this while i have been here i never knew what it is to live as an english family...i ve often wondered how the standard of life , and the day to day stuff differed here when compared to India.... so what better opportunity...
My class mate karen invited me over for a christmas dinner at her house and a bit of sightseeing after that...and i jumped at it. Karen is married and has a daughter(Rebecca) and a pair of lovely twin boys(Chrissy and Finny). Her place is in Milbrook, in cornwall, which is the neighbouring county to Devon where plymouth is situated.
we had to take a ferry to go over to milbrook where Allen, karens husband picked us up. We then drove down to one of the loveliest locations i ve seen for a home so far. Their house is situated upon a hill and overlooks another one with a lot of greenery and natural splendour. i just fell in love with the place.
anyway...after some chatting sessions and playing around with the kids (during which i began to appreciate how it was for karen to both study and take care of the kids at the same time- shes doing a fantastic job at both)..it was soon dinner time...sorry christmas dinner time...well english christmas dinner time...prepared by allen....mmm..it was good..roast chicken and potatoes..with a lot of other vegetable..wine and later mince pies...i was just beginning to get a taste of real english delicacies.
after dinner it was more wine and a board game followed by irish coffee..thats coffee with irish whisky!..and then it was of to bed.
the next day began with the little ones pouncing on me and pulling my hair...but, with the news thatthere was going to be snow somewhere in cornwall and we were gonna go hunting for it....yeah it was really cold and beautiful out side...we could see some deer on the opposite hill...
So we set off to look for snow...driving up montains into the moor and around lakes...but no snow....maybe it just melted off , or maybe the forecast had been optimistic..but i will have to wait longer to see my first snow. Anyway as a consolation we headed into an little cornish coastal town called Bude wher there was a litlle beach and spend the rest of the day there,
I must say i really enjoyed my time with karens family and i did get around to knowing a day in the life of an english family...is it different..well yes..and no..yes it is different in terms of culture andthings..but it is also the same , i realised.. a cute family with their own hopes and dreams pushing through life.
It was really nice of Karen to have me over to her place..and its been a visit that has a lot of firsts for me...first time with an english family..first time hunting for snow....first english x mas dinner, first irish cofee..first mince pies..first...oh no theres a lot.
its an experience that i`ll treasure.
Welcome to Bude
..and what a view
20 December 2004
Xmas dinner
Hi folks...
just to let you know whats been happening...As i had written, friday was the end of term and what a way to feel...we`d been working like horses all the term..
Anyway friday was the grand dinner that everybody had been looking forward to..call it the christmas dinner or call it the end of term dinner.. for us it was just a means to get to gether and have fun.
The dinner had to be arranged upfront and tables booked, about a month back. Christmas here is something great and all the restaurants get booked out. Anyway the one we booked into was called the La Tasca...any guesses? yes it is spanish... the main feature of this place is that the christmas dinner has no menu...they have one common meal.
the dinner started at 6 and the dishes started flowing (along with the wine) ...ok now..geuss the number of dishes it had... 17 ...17 exotic spanish dishes...including vegetable, chicken, crab, lamb, bacon, beef and squid... ya ya i know that some of you out there are sniggering....yes i am allergic to beef , pork and lamb...but that didnt stop me from enjoying...there was more than enough dishes to go around..17 remember!
When dinner was finally over ...and everyone too full to look at any more food...off we headed into the nigh..into the night life...what followed was a series of pubs...and each one was too full of people discovering the joys of christmas...so it was a while before we found one that suited us and them... and it wasnt bad...it was an irish pub...with a lot of irish music and drinks....
by the time we got out of there half my class were already drunk..so i thought that must be the end of the night, but no....they were only looking for the next pub.....Welcome to the english way of life....this time it was more sophisticated...called a Jazz cafe...with live music, an entry fee and doubly expensive liquor....
so there we were, mostly drunk and half drunk and discussing everything from george bush to osama bin laden , and from nuclear energy to the vedas...all ready to disappear into private lifes for the christmas vacations.
the new term will mean the start of projects..and i suppose we`ll be seeing very little of each other as all of us our doing our projects at varied places...two in australia, one in honduras while the others are split up between the MBA and the university departments..
so far its been great..i ve got a nice bunch of classmates who have always made me feel at home. i hope the rest of it goes great too
house
Hi folks...for those of you who are keen to know how the house that i stay in looks...here`s the pic..my room is the one on top.
17 December 2004
december..end of term
Hi everybody,
i know i know its been quite a while.....well what do i say..its been real busy...whew when was the last time i took some time off to sit and compose mail....well i dont even remember what my last mail was about.
So what has been happening all this time?..well its mostly been coursework...since this is a research course , they try to treat us as junior scientists rather than senoir students...thus luckily we dont have any exams...but it also means we end up having to write review papersand giving presentations on topics which we had no idea about until then...anyway its doing wonders cause i already feel like i ve known these topics all my life....anyway i just submitted the last peice of coursework today...and its a break now till january.
so now what..well..its now having to find a part time job and earn sum cash before the next term starts..and meanwhile start working on the next coursework which is due in jan (there seems to be no end to it)...
I geuss i ve sailed through the adjustment phase ..and now im trying to normalise and incorporate all the adjustments into practical life. Meanwhile just to amuse you all..i now walk around with 12 cards in my wallet (and little else), and 1p and 2p coins are piling up.
well thats about me, but u`ll all probably be wondering how the place looks in christmas season . right? well to be frank its a bit disappointing...when i thought of christmas in england i imagined it all white , filled with snow...snow men..snow balls and u know..those things we used to read about in books and archies comics...but the closest it has got to snow here is the stupid rain (which always waits till im going to step out of the house)...but in a way i geuss thats nice, cause its not so pleasant in other parts of the country...and we have some good sunny days too...like the other week when i was walking down to the MBA and couldnt help clicking away at the incredible scenery( i`m sending the snaps too).... However the city centre looks more like a christmassy place...all decked up and with a lot of fairs and game shows....makes me wonder if christmas here is just commercial.
what else...all the europeans i know will be heading home for the vacations , and most of the natives will be taking a break...so that leaves a town full of asians..(mostly chinese and south east)....so what are all you folks upto? do write back and let me know.People at NIO how did the COMITS conference go? For those who have been writing..thanks..i ve tried to reply whenever i could( unless i was so busy and left it for later and forgot all about it)...for those who hav nt ..hey comeon..im looking forward to hearing from you..get writing even if its only a few words...cheers me up.
Take care
love
Thomas
i know i know its been quite a while.....well what do i say..its been real busy...whew when was the last time i took some time off to sit and compose mail....well i dont even remember what my last mail was about.
So what has been happening all this time?..well its mostly been coursework...since this is a research course , they try to treat us as junior scientists rather than senoir students...thus luckily we dont have any exams...but it also means we end up having to write review papersand giving presentations on topics which we had no idea about until then...anyway its doing wonders cause i already feel like i ve known these topics all my life....anyway i just submitted the last peice of coursework today...and its a break now till january.
so now what..well..its now having to find a part time job and earn sum cash before the next term starts..and meanwhile start working on the next coursework which is due in jan (there seems to be no end to it)...
I geuss i ve sailed through the adjustment phase ..and now im trying to normalise and incorporate all the adjustments into practical life. Meanwhile just to amuse you all..i now walk around with 12 cards in my wallet (and little else), and 1p and 2p coins are piling up.
well thats about me, but u`ll all probably be wondering how the place looks in christmas season . right? well to be frank its a bit disappointing...when i thought of christmas in england i imagined it all white , filled with snow...snow men..snow balls and u know..those things we used to read about in books and archies comics...but the closest it has got to snow here is the stupid rain (which always waits till im going to step out of the house)...but in a way i geuss thats nice, cause its not so pleasant in other parts of the country...and we have some good sunny days too...like the other week when i was walking down to the MBA and couldnt help clicking away at the incredible scenery( i`m sending the snaps too).... However the city centre looks more like a christmassy place...all decked up and with a lot of fairs and game shows....makes me wonder if christmas here is just commercial.
what else...all the europeans i know will be heading home for the vacations , and most of the natives will be taking a break...so that leaves a town full of asians..(mostly chinese and south east)....so what are all you folks upto? do write back and let me know.People at NIO how did the COMITS conference go? For those who have been writing..thanks..i ve tried to reply whenever i could( unless i was so busy and left it for later and forgot all about it)...for those who hav nt ..hey comeon..im looking forward to hearing from you..get writing even if its only a few words...cheers me up.
Take care
love
Thomas
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