My recent Trip to the UK

Hey, this is the second blog on my flight back to Delhi. I started midday; now we are flying into the night, and by the time we land, it will be morning. All this in just 10 hours.

When I was coming to London, I started in the middle of the day, we flew into the day, and when I landed after 11 hours, the sun was still out. This day-night concept of international flights is so humbling. We humans are so tiny as compared to the world we live in.

The concept of jet lag is when our body is suddenly put into an unfamiliar time zone. And it takes time to set its (circadian) rhythm again.

One thing I never experienced before coming to the UK is that in the summer the sun rises before 5 AM and stays up till 10 PM. Almost 17 hours of daylight. At 8 PM at night, it feels like 4 PM. Many people told me about this, but you can only feel it after experiencing it. I really want that to happen everywhere, as then I can have more hours to work and get things done. Once the sun sets, I sleep. Simple.

However, in winters this gets worse. The sun rises around 8 AM and sets around 4 PM.  So just 8 hours of light. I think India is more stable in that way. God has given something to everyone.

When I was coming, I took an Air India flight that had free Wi-Fi services. I won’t deny it felt great posting stuff from 38,000 feet, which was the cruising altitude for that flight. The airline promised Wi-Fi in the return flight as well; however, it is not working. The Air crew just informed me that soon it is going to be a paid service. Hope it works after that.

First Day in the UK

Well, the next day of my arrival, I visited London with my brother’s family. And I was awestruck with amazement. London is a true cosmopolitan city; you cannot tell the country of a person by looking at them. Anyone you pass by is talking in a different language. Surely London is one of the most visited cities in the world, and for me it was a great experience to be there.

I went to London Bridge, then we went to one of the oldest pubs in the UK. Coming to pubs, this is again a culture of the UK. Where small pubs are available everywhere in cities or villages. They serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, etc. But always beer. It feels like people in the UK chug a beer every time they come out of their house. My god, they drink a lot of beer. So, we did too.

While writing this blog in the flight, I can see the reflection of my tummy on the screen. Haha. Effects of liters of beer I drank on almost 50 different pubs in the UK.

On the first day, I visited Oxford Street, which is one of the most famous shopping destinations in London. I didn’t buy anything that day, as the first day was more about feeling the vibe of the place. Till the time we sat to have dinner, my mind was switched off.

Out of jet lag, my eyes were open, but my mind was shut. I couldn’t feel anything; my eyes were burning, I was numb. Crazy feeling. My brother lives around 30 minutes from London. While London is very crowded and happening, my brother’s place is completely peaceful, full of greenery, have huge green fields where you can just sit, chill, and feel the breeze.

The next few days were more about chilling, visiting nearby places, and relaxing. It did take my body a few days to get used to the new environment.

The next outing for me was Birmingham bull ring. It is like a huge shopping and eating hub; some of it is covered, and some of it is open. There is a nice church near it as well. It is a nice place if you want to do some shopping, eat good food, and have some nice pics.

Before we move to other places I visited in my 31 days trip. I would like to tell you that I can see a red lining horizon out of my window. So, it seems we are finally reaching lights. I am sure the pilots would be having an awesome view from the cockpit.

Anyways, the next stop for me was Burton on Water. It is a small village that has a beautiful water stream flowing through it. A perfect family place to chill. You can sit beside the stream and dip your legs in the icy cool water. It will surely open every neuron of your brain. In fact, you can stand in the stream; the water flow is slow, and the stream is very shallow. Just roll up your jeans and enjoy the stream.

Next stop for me was Durdle Door. Surely one of the best days of the trip. I visited it with my brother. Trust me, it is one of the most beautiful spots you can find in the UK. Just keep in mind that you must do some trekking to get there, and a harder trek to come back. So, when you are reaching it, you are coming down the slope; however, when you are coming back, it is a climb.

Once you take a bath in its chilling water and summer sun. Your body demands sleep. It just wants to shut down, after feeling the euphoria. The beaches that I found here in the UK are mainly pebble beaches. Very hard to walk on them barefoot. I didn’t like this about the UK; the beaches should be sand only.

But spending this time with my brother was just amazing. Loved it. As I am writing about it, I am wondering what I should leave and what should I talk about. There were so many things I did and places I visited.

Brighton Pier, Bath city, Cheddar Gorge, multiple visits to London, yet I left so many things to explore. Which is right as well; I need to leave something for future trips as well, right?

One experience that I enjoyed immensely was to watch world cup football matches of England in local pubs. The country is crazy for football, and luckily for me, England won all those matches that I watched. Hence, the feeling was unmatched. My brother and I enjoyed it like anything.

Woof! There are so many things to say, yet I don’t know if I can write everything right now. Even if I start doing the podcast, I don’t know if I can say it all. Looks like it will come in pieces.

The Ending Notes…

I used to follow the concept of ending notes in my book. In which I try to summarise my ideas in a few lines. A lot of the emotional side of my trip was shared in my previous blog. If I would like to summarize, I would request to try your best to enjoy the most of your life.

Meet your friends, go out, meet new people, visit new places, try to laugh more, try to live more, and try to fear less. Although fear is one of our most important friends, that helped us survive. Still, there is no point in crossing the bridge until you reach it.

Have a great day ahead, my friend. Wish you a great time ahead.

Love and Luck.

~R