2007:Travelog

Another year…no ode this time for 2007.

The year brought plenty of opportunities to travel some of which I fortunately siezed with both hands!
Norway, ostensibly to see the Northern Lights but managed to spend most of our time en route – saw a bit of each Oslo and Bergen there. Luckily it was a gloriously pristine countryside with all its frozen fjords. So much snow everywhere! Expensive trip but a learning on how to plan travel schedules better.
Got a brief idea on what student life can be in campuses of Oxford and Cambridge. They definitely are a league apart!
Paris was an idyllic trip during Easter. Spent a leisurely 5 days there catching the sights and spending afternoons at roadside café sipping kir. Unfortunately my stupid camera let me down. So much for my plans to become an intrepid adventurer and travel the world with my camera!

Summer literally is a breath of fresh air in England. I never believed it when people told me I was moving to UK at the wrong time when I did in November 2006. But I only understood when I saw the vivid colors and vibrancy in the country during the few summer months.
Cycling around Salisbury was pleasant – it makes for a relaxing weekend destination. They’ve kept the surroundings of Stonehenge as far as possible conducive to the entire mystery of the place. Brings amateur Astronomy to life. Bathspa was nice as well. Typical English countryside with some history and plumbing lessons!

October saw a very challenging, gruelling and at the same time an exhilarating ride from the East coast to the west coast of Northern England – 135 miles on a cycle (Whitehaven to Sunderland). Have a new found respect for painkillers. Something to be said about being with the elements – rain and wind on your face, sound of the wheels on the road and leaves in the trees, smell of pure clean air bursting with health and nothing else around for miles. The sound of my panting and wheezing did break the peace many a times but the rides downhill at speeds of almost 40mph made it all worthwhile. A fun loving group with amazing fitness levels made sure of that!

Sri Lanka in December was a surprisingly wonderful place. Maybe we went expecting an extension of India and therefore not much (!) but the airport with its clean shiny floors and polite uniformed staff set the tone for the rest of the trip. A beautiful country with friendly people. Somehow felt more civilised, sad to say. Guess we shouldn’t compare and crib! And well, holidaying with parents feels comforting.

Now I feel like Doogie Howser MD, pausing to think of a suitably profound ending to a post. Can’t think of any except “I am therefore I need to travel”