A Foggy Day in Northampton

The last time I was in the UK was in 2003 when my transit flight was delayed and I had to stay in the UK for 12 hours. I had wished I could stay longer. It finally came true when I was asked to travel to Northampton on work for a two week stay.

Understandbly, anxiety overshadowed excitement. I had a flight to catch early morning at 4.15 am.

Till the last minute, I was running with work related issues and shopping details. My dear friend came to drop me off at the airport. I was dog tired with the day' event and only hoped to nap on the flight. When I reached the airport, I realised how much I missed home and my familiar surroundings.

I spent my entire two hours at the airport chatting with AFJ, the only known soul to stay awake at ungodly hours. She was kind enough to keep me company till I got my boarding call. In between, so many folks called to wish me luck. I was surprised and happy.

My first stop over was at Dubai. It was a three and a half hour flight and another three hour lay over for my connecting flight to London. I had packed badly and had not considered how strict the rules had become. I had an excess baggage of 4 kg and no amount of coaxing the folks at the ticket counter helped. I rearranged quickly and had to endure a few hours of shoulder pain. I was exhausted at the end of all this.

I was praying that the week would disappear quickly and I can go home soon. But now, after two weeks of enjoying the streets of Northampton, its people, and culture, I would love to have stayed back here. It has been an unexpectedly fabulous journey and I have enjoyed every moment of it.

Right now, it back to packing, repacking, and unpacking!

A Foggy Day in Northampton

Mishky played Michael Buble's song, Its a foggy day in London last night. That was the last song we heard before she flew out to NYC. It will be a good six months before we will meet again.

But, of course, project commitments ensure that we stay in touch on email or telecons constantly.

I have always been curious to find out about the unpredictable Brit weather and I lived it to my heart's content in these two weeks. A few days before, it was cold and foggy; yesterday was pleasant with a chill wind and the sun shining on your face; today, it has been a rainy day; tomorrow is a mystery.

Ah, the lovely unpredictable Brit weather - Maybe it will be a a foggy day in Northampton tomorrow..like my foggy head crowded with memories.

Calvin's CLoud

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but an infinite expectation of the dawn.

- Henry Thoreau

Northampton, United Kingdom

I started on this trip from work with great anxiety, praying fervently that the pieces will fit, and I have good memories to take home with me. I had no one on this trip and was not looking forward to being on my own for 14 days. I had packed a few books, painting books, brushes, comfort snacks, and what not.

Life is a beautiful surprise. I never expected to meet Mishka. She is my new found working partner and friend from NYC. To top it, she is an Aquarian and needless to say, we get along like a house on fire. We both love trying out new cuisines, restaurants, explore places, act funny, and just go! It has been a fantastic trip so far.

We explored London on foot for a solid ten hours and the next day, we were off on a bus to Rockingham Castle in Corby and spent the entire day exploring the Castle, enjoying the ride through the countryside on a headless bus. Well, it was a double decker bus and we were on the upper deck, while the drive takes his seat on the lower deck in the front. So it was quite weird to be seated in a bus without a driver, that steered by itself!

We tried out a Turkish place, Italian, Indian, and today, had dinner at the Nando, which serves amazing sauces (the famous peri-peri sauce) and supposed Portuguese food. I'll try and take pictures of these Northampton haunts for the wannabe traveller.

Northampton is such a cute small town with very nice people. It only gets better when you share the moment with a good friend.

Calvin's CLoud

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

- Albert Schweitzer

Street Food: Parupu Vadai

While driving down to Pondicherry on a weekend, we made a pit-stop at my friend's favourite street food haunt - you get the best parupu vadas with home made chutney, and a lovely glass of tea (chai) to wash it down. I brushed it off as pure drama and it is street food - it can only be as good anyways! But I was proved wrong.

I bow to these humble guys on the Pondy highway who made the best parupu vadas I have ever tasted in my life. You see the outside of the vada should be a lovely red crisp, and the inside should be well cooked and soft. To obtain this perfect texture, the oil has to be heated to the right temperature, and the vadas should be fried at that exact temperature and removed at the right time. It is all about timing plus the right portion of ingredients to make the dough with the right taste.

The boy's mother makes home made chutney which is supposed to be simply delicious and fresh, but I just missed it that day. I was heart broken. You have to appreciate the dish with the right combo, but hey, the vadas where good to go anyways! And I would also recommend having tea in the usual glass the locals have rather than the paper cup which completely removes the joy of tasting a richly-rightly brewed tea in all its splendour and aroma! It completely baffles me when the street chai is made to such perfection and at home it never tastes the same, no matter how much I try.

Image used is a representative image.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

As part of the "I love to cook" series, I decided to make some tangy sandwiches - that's right, sandwiches with a twist. I had also made up my mind to get rid of the bhindi/okra. So naturally, it was the Bhindi Masala Gravy accompanied by Rotis for dinner.

Vee has inspired me to go back to my cuisine blog and update the recipes there - after all, that is their rightful place, is it not!

For your tangy sandwiches, bhindi masala, Khus khus salad, hop on to Coffee, Tea, or Me!