Archive for England
If you are bored on board..
Category: Air Travel, England, Europe, London, Travel Tips /
Tags: Flight delay, Flight delay survival guide
Professor Sahib – London’s miracle man
I don’t know if it’s written on my face or they just target every Indian around, as though we carry the woes of the world on our shoulders. The first piece of paper I received this year was a leaflet promoting Peofessor Sahib….. He has the answers to everything. The most entertaining ad I’ve ever read.. And strongly competes with the Indian matrimonial columns and advertising for impotency on local trains… Read on.
The cheapest entertainment in London – The Tube
One question I always get in any city I have lived in – What’s the cheapest thing to do? This wasn’t really difficult to answer when I lived in Mumbai. For starters, everything in India is pretty cheap. You can spend the day in 2 pounds or in 200 pounds when it comes to Mumbai. Think about it – a local train ticket to Town and back + cups of tea & Vada pav for breakfast + free stroll and window shopping in Colaba minus the urge to stop at Mondes for a beer + Pav Bhaji or Bombay Sandwich for lunch, etc etc and you can manage it under 2 pounds.
When I moved to London, my biggest worry was finding ways to amuse myself at no cost. And, it wasn’t difficult. In no time, I figured out that a lot of cool things came for free – the museums, the parks, some exhibitions. Unlimited choice all for free. All we had to do was log onto Timeout London and get moving. And, we realised that the maximum money we spent was actually on the Tube getting from place to place.
Money well spent I would say. Getting from home to Natural History Museum to watch the Wildlife photography exbition and then to Sommerset house to catch the exhibition on the Amazon and then to do the free walking tour at Shoreditch all sounds exciting. However, the best entertainment was in the Tube. No kidding. Whether it was the musicians at the booked spots at Piccadilly or the advertisements in the tube stations, Tube photography or tilework of Sherlock Holmes at Baker Street, the random breakdancer on the Central line or the definitions of Londoner, the Tube is the place to discover London in a day. Possible to do this in 1.3£ I guess.
Well, look at the number of friends of ours who have happily tube surfed with us in London and you’ll know what I am talking about…
….. Finally, the ultimate tube dancer I was talking about…. Check it out here – Tube Dancer or on Backpacking Ninja TV!
Category: England, Europe, London, Public Transport, Travel Tips /
Tags: London, London Underground, Tube in London
My first Autumn
Till 2010 – Life in India – All year one season – Summer.
February – What’s the weather like Ninja?
Ninja – Hot
June – What’s the weather like Ninja?
Ninja – Hot as hell
October – What’s the weather like Ninja?
Ninja – Sultry and hot
2011 – Life between London and Austria – Slowly getting into the seasons.
March – What’s the weather like Ninja?
Ninja – Bloody Cold. I even saw snow.
June – What’s the weather like Ninja?
Ninja – Still cold for me. A bit of rain every once in a while. Do something about the wind in London please.
September – What’s the weather like Ninja?
Ninja – I took the day off. I saw the sun today.
Irrespective of the cold, I’m actually living in a country where ‘hot, hotter and hottest’ isn’t the only weather. You get the drift. I was also given the advice that there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes. I eagerly wait for the winter.
Anyway, today, I collected my first autumn leaves. Anyone from home wants letters with pressed autumn leaves, let me know. Fresh from Fuschl press.
Category: Asia, Austria, England, Europe, India, London, Mumbai, Travel Tips, Weather /
Tags: Seasons, Weather, Weather in Europe, Weather in India
Unexpected attractions make a City
Last weekend, I was just checking out Timeout London and stumbled upon something incredible – ‘Films on Fridges’. The name caught my eye immediately. How many of you guys are aware (for the ones not living in London) that there existed a 20 ft. mountain of fridges in Hackney, East London. Such unexpected attractions make a city. And sometimes, unfortunately, they disappear.
The project was inspired by the disappearance of this East London’s ‘Fridge Mountain’ – an enormous pile of discarded fridges which previously occupied the London 2012 Olympic site. Towering and vast, the largest ‘Fridge Mountain’ in all of Europe became a bizzare sculpture in the East London landscape.
When the site was cleaned up in 2005, no one really knew where the fridges really went. Recently, some of them have returned as a part of this film screening event ‘Films on Fridges’. The project has actually picked up fridges from Wales, used duct tape to put them together and created a memorable setting. Fitting with the Olympic theme, they are airing sports themed films here. Well, I don’t think they are really using the fridges as screens.
Either way, this just got me thinking about the unexpected attractions that really make up a city and what would happen if they were taken away.
Can you imagine Mumbai without the Dhobighat?
Or, Rio without Escadaria Selaron – The famous steps made out of tiles from around the world, created by a Chilean artist.
Think about these places in your cities and see how you can keep them alive forever. Remember – they are a part of the soul of your city.
Category: Asia, Brazil, England, Europe, India, London, Mumbai, South America /
Tags: Dhobighat, Escadaria Selaron, Fridge Mountain, London, Mumbai, Rio De Janeiro
