Am listening to the song, and so the title - and somewhere it ties up with what the mind is going through. Somehow, it always happens with me - the most opportune song hits the ears irrespective of the state of mind.
Well, though its all coming back - but the start of this trip is more positive than the last one to UK in November. To start with, I experienced a new airline - and that too was not disappointing in the least. The in flight entertainment was the best I have seen till date. Then I got a window seat and that too in the first row - I never get lucky there. And to better it, the seat next to me was empty, so there was no need to watch myself while I slept. And now that I am here, have never seen UK so sunny and green - its one of the better times to be here - but my first.
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And did I make the most of the green and sunny UK? One can say so. I allowed the sense of adventure in travel to completely take over me this time. And I loved what I saw - be it the lakes in lake district, the mountains of snowdonia or just the vast green patches driving around the country side. Of course, another reason to remember this trip would be my first experience of driving outside India. As I forgot to take a picture for my own sake of memory, am just going to mention here that I drove a Volkswagen Golf. And it was fun. The last two weeks flew. But home is still two days away. Scotland, here I come.
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I absolutely loved Edinburgh. Paris was one of the prettiest cities I had seen till date, but with the greenery that Edinburgh had to offer, Paris has competition. In fact it was Paris within UK, if you know what I mean. To add to the fun, the first thing I tasted on arrival was the national drink of Scotland –a shot of single malt whisky. No it wasn’t being served as a welcome drink on the station, the Scottish whisky heritage experience was the first touristy thing I managed to do at the city. Now, I do have my priorities clear. And actually all I did other than that was walk up precisely four streets – Princes Street, Royal Mile, Waverly Bridge and St Andrews. Unfortunately, that’s all I had time to do. Sometimes, I tend to use the word ‘Unfortunately’ as a filler or a conjunction connecting two sentences – but if there is one occasion where I have used the word appropriately, it is this. It was truly unfortunate that I did not have more time to spend in the city. Well, if it’s in my fortune, I will come back.
I took a day trip next day to the famous Loch Ness and Inverness (Capital of the Highlands). I met Linda from Switzerland who was gracious enough to give me company and bid me farewell after the trip. Also met couples from Canada and Australia who helped me capture my most picturesque moments. Comparing this to the day trip I took in Netherlands, I think the people this time around were nicer, friendlier and more gracious (the driver cum tour guide did not ask for his tip as well). There were some Indians on the bus too. Now while I feel happy seeing Indians when I travel abroad because of the sense of homeliness they give me, I do feel anoid when an Indian manages to disturb the air in a completely fragrance free air conditioned bus, (with no possibility of opening any window) with the smell of oily French fries, and that too on a mountainous terrain.
Returning back to the comparison, there was not as much to see on this day trip like the one in Netherlands, but was more focused on enjoying the serenity the country side had to offer. Proof of the pudding – I have not felt this romantic in a while, and have also not enjoyed listening to John Denver like I did on this trip.
I also happened to pick up some Gaelic on this trip. Ben, along with being a popular American name also means ‘Mountain’ in Gaelic. The ‘Glen’ in the single malt range of whiskies actually comes from ‘Valley’ which is the literal translation of the word.
As I begin my return journey back to India, the other thing I want to mention and remember is the admiration I developed for elderly people within this country. Be it at the Irish Pub in Liverpool, where a man all by himself and his stick was enjoying a beer or the lady seated next to me in the plane – who needed wheelchair assistance to get off the plane, but did not put down her cross word book for more than half hour in the time that my eyes were open. If I were a bagpiper, I would have surely dedicated my next recital to their good health. Slainte!!
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