Kolkata - London - Edinburgh (Summer 2022)
Kolkata - London - Edinburgh (Summer 2022)✈
Note:
1) I have explained about the pre travel preparations and planning of this trip in upcoming paragraphs. If you wish to directly read the travel experience, then please skip to subheading - ‘Day 0’ .
2) I have included a few valuable tips for planning this travel under subheading called ‘TIPS’
3) I have also included the websites of places I have visited. Click on it and navigate for further information.
4) Please don’t forget to leave your comment on this article at the end.
5) Any controversies, please feel free to contact us through e-mail - shylesh.ramesh@gmail.com
WHY WAS THE TRIP PLANNED?
(Jan 2022) One Saturday evening, got a message in our department WhatsApp group, from a senior consultant. It mentioned about an international conference on cleft lip being conducted at Edinburgh for which the participants from all over world were invited to send their abstracts of their study. If they select the abstract then the applicant can participate in the conference and present it. Since I already started a study on Cleft lip, I sent the abstract of my own work the same evening, since it was the last day of submission. It was an incomplete study because, it was an ongoing one. I mentioned the same and submitted.
(March 2022) I received a mail telling that my study got selected for the presentation at the international conference. I got a chance for presenting my study in an international conference at ‘14th International Cleft Congress 2022’ which is conducted once in 4 years and this time at Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It was a real surprise! Initially I was planning to attend through online mode, but when my professor and senior consultants encouraged me to go in person and attend the conference, the plan for this trip started.
(April 2022) The conference was slotted on July 2022. We had a very narrow window for preparation for the visa and the trip! My parents too were willing to join us in this trip. First we started searching for the details regarding flights, hotels and visa process, so that we can derive the budget and time frame for each process. Based on flights and duration of travel, we made a rough idea of landing in London at first and then going to Edinburgh from there. Kept London as the point of entry and exit. Hence started to familiarise myself with the map of London and Edinburgh.
HOW WAS IT PLANNED?
STAYS:
We wanted to stay within central London, for a good accessibility and travel. My wife and me kept watching lots of vlogs and articles based on London, Edinburgh. July was the peak travelling season in United Kingdom due to pleasant summer! Hence expected a huge price range in stay. Avoided Airbnb as it didn’t make much difference in the cost. After a thorough research, finally narrowed to stay in a hotel - hub by premiere inn at a location called spital fields, London.
86 Brick Ln, London E1 6RL, United Kingdom
Pros:
Economical Budget (according to London standard)
Premiere is a Chain of hotels - hub is the economical version of it.
Cancellation with full refund up to 3 hrs before the check in !!!
Centrally located (east part of central London) (zone 1 of London metro)
Can retain the luggages for a few hours to even days after check out ! You can roam around freely till the flight time.
Minimalistic rooms
Breakfast available
WiFi
Good customer reviews
Cons:
Very small rooms - but definitely manageable !!!
We finalised the stay at ‘The Scott’ in Edinburgh
Budget !!!
Breakfast included
Location - just near Arthur Seat
Spacious rooms
Pay at hotel through booking.com
TIP:
Points to be given importance while booking stays for an economical travel
- cost benefit
- include breakfast to avoid loosing time in search of it
- nearby or easily accessible to the places you plan to visit
- google reviews/ ratings mostly reflect the exact status of the hotel !
- always go for ‘pay at hotel’ or refundable options
- luxury can be compromised sometimes as most of the time will be spent roaming in the city rather than staying in hotel.
FLIGHT:
We decided to avoid transiting other country in between due to varying rules, COVID and Ukraine war. For me from Kolkata I had 2 options - Air India and Vistara with following route.
Kolkata - Delhi - London
We choose vistara because of
Better pricing with very good cancellation options
Comfortable Flight timings and short travel duration
Glitch free website for booking !!!!
Other options available for me where -
Singapore airlines with route
Kolkata - Singapore - London . It was a glamorous option, but avoided it due to sudden price hike.
Qatar airlines with route
Kolkata - Qatar - London . It had a very long return flight - almost 36 hrs !!!! 18 hrs transit at Qatar !
TIP:
- always go for refundable, modifiable tickets even if it costs a bit more!
- try to avoid transit via other countries, especially during wars and pandemics.
- keep the travel time as short as possible
- keep a minimum of 4 hrs transit time. Definitely not less than that.
VISA PROCESS:
We actually booked the flights and hotels with cancellation and refundable options. Proceeded with VISA application. Getting UK Visa was the rate limiting step of the entire travel! With lots and lots of queries and doubts, with hours of phone calls with my friend, juniors and seniors, finally applied through online.
We filled the application in a straight forward manner. While filling we found that hotel bookings and flight tickets are less useful document, according to information in visa website. But we still had it in hand ready though. Fixed the date for ‘in person’ document submission at VFS global in Kolkata. We used premium services, with an extra fee, to keep the process hassle free (that includes personal appointment, document arrangement, updates through message and courier charges). But the decision of visa does not change by selecting premium services!!! There are some services with which you can know the visa decision by 1 week or 24 hours, based on the price! (I found it pricey for our travel so didn’t use it) in case of emergency or more a serious trip one can use that service. At the submission office they gave us a minimum waiting period of 6 weeks !
TIP:
- apply visa as early as possible. UK visa application opens 90 days prior to travel. Use the time and book early.
- be straight forward in VISA application and show as much as fund possible. Get a sponsor if possible.
- Maintain a good abroad travel history.
FURTHER PLANNING:
We submitted everything and waited for some weeks. Meanwhile I had to work upon my presentation. Completed it in a few weeks. Designed it in a satisfied manner. My wife and parents were so supportive during this process. Simultaneously my wife was searching for the places to visit, travel in London & Edinburgh. Also we had to plan the travel from London to edinburgh! I found that travelling by ‘train’ from London to Edinburgh will be the most viable option!
Advantages of travelling by train - from London to edinburgh
Fast and efficient
Stations are located within the city, easily accessible
Cheaper! and available when booked earlier !
No extra charges for luggages ! Since ours was a long trip, we had luggages which may incur charges if opted for domestic flights
No long waiting hours
Glitch free app
No cancellations can be done but rescheduled
So booked the train though London North Eastern Railways (LNER) website. Booked it early to avoid last minute price hike and non availability.
FINALISING THE ITINERARY
We received the visa after 6 weeks of application ! It was a huge relief ! The next most rate determining step is to clear the immigration safely and catch the flight. Because all other things are modifiable!
Now we started serious research about places to be visited and those to be pre booked.
We narrowed down following activities and places to be visited
London
Day 1 - natural history museum, meet a few friends, open bus tour
Day 2 - London guided cycling tour (pre booked), visiting cousin at London
Day 3 - Travel to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Day 4 - visiting bass island guided boat tour - world’s largest gannet bird reserve (pre booked)
Day 5 - Arthur seat - hill self trek, royal botanical garden
Day 6 - surgeons’s museum, camera obscura
Day 7 - Edinburgh guided cycle tour (pre booked), visit Royal zoological society (pre booked)
Day 8 - return after presentation at conference
London
Day 9 - exploring the London streets, live stage play/ musical - (pre booked)
Day 10 - meeting a friend, Thames river - speed boating (pre booked)
Day 11 - Spitalfields market and return
TIP:
Most of the museums in UK are free to visit without any charges or pre booking
Many activities, stage play needs prior planning and booking to avoid last minute price hike or non availability. We confirmed the bookings almost 1-2 months before, as soon as we got the VISA. Still we could not visit isle of May due to full bookings !
We had to pack my poster for presentation with a long tube. We doubted whether it will be allowed in the flight. But we had no problem in taking it in hand !
THE JOURNEY
Day - 0 (07-07-2022)
After meticulous packing and preparation, we started early morning 3:30 am from our house to Kolkata airport in a cab. Reached on time at Kolkata Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport terminal 3.
aai.aero (KOLKATA AIRPORT)
We were waiting for the flight after security clearance. Kolkata airport has a decent TFS lounge at departure. We didn’t use that though. Many outlets and eateries have come up, including Hatti kaapi from Karnataka. We boarded the flight and slept off. Had idly sambhar and vada in flight under Asian veg meal, included in our tickets. Reached Delhi on time and met our parents who joined us in journey from Delhi.
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| Waiting for boarding pass |
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| Just before leaving to airport |
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| Happy us |
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| My parents joined us at Delhi |
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| Met my senior before boarding from Kolkata |
newdelhiairport.in (DELHI AIRPORT)
plazapremiumlounge.com (PLAZA PREMIUM LOUNGE - Delhi)
We completed the security check and waited at plaza premium lounge. Lounge can be accessed freely with help of credit cards. It is a comfortable lounge. Then we started towards the terminal and boarded. It was the flight to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) approximately 12 hours continuous journey. The seats and leg space were ok! The infotainment system was average. Food was decent enough to sustain the flight travel. I personally used venous compression stockings due to long flight, which really gave me a good relief! My parents upgraded to business class and tried it for the first time. It was very comfortable and pampering experience as expected.
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| Before boarding … with my poster in the tube |
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| Thames closer view from the flight |
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| In flight selfie |
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| Thames and London city view from the flight |
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| Infotainment in flight |
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| Watched a movie - ‘coco’ inflight |
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| Dad and mom in business class |
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| Windmills in the middle of the sea near United Kingdom |
heathrow.com (LHR AIRPORT)
The view of London from the flight gave us a good feel about the beginning of our trip! We enjoyed the views from above. Reached on time at LHR airport. But immigration and baggage collection took us more than 2 hours. There was a long queue for the immigration! Baggage too reached us so late. Ours were the last to come! May be because we were the first to board check in at Kolkata, our luggages might have been placed well inside and came out last. We pre booked a cab to reach our stay in London. The cab driver and his company coordinated well. After a long travel, we reached the hotel - hub by premiere inn at spitalfields. Checked in and slept off.
http://airportstaxitransfers.com/ (AIRPORT CAB TRANSFER)
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| LHR AIRPORT |
TIP:
- During visa submission we got one ‘Lebara’ SIM card for each visa application for using at United Kingdom during our visit. It had 6 GB internet with free local calls and 100 mins of international calls. The network connectivity was excellent. It was very useful.
- We pre booked cab to drop us in hotel from airport. It was done since the cost was almost same even if travelled in metro train - (for 4 persons). Worked out very efficient. The service was prompt.
- Vodafone has the best connectivity in United Kingdom. We activated my wife’s Vodafone sim for international roaming, but somehow it didn’t work ! Don’t know the reason.
Day 1 (08-07-2022)
LONDON - Natural History Museum / Evening city bus tour
We woke up and had breakfast at our stay included - vegan/veg options - continental style. Took metro from Aldgate east station to the natural history museum through district line - Kensington stop. Metro was easy to access with WiFi credit cards. But each person should have one card to access. We didn’t buy the Oyster card as it was not much useful for short travel.
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| Inside London metro train |
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| Metro route info at stations |
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| Metro station walkway |
Some how we got oriented to the metro facility. Walked out of metro and reached ‘The Natural History Museum’ the entry was free. It was filled with lots of school students. We went around just a few sections of museum highlights. Really amazed by the collection and presentation of all wildlife and geological stuff.
nhm.ac.uk (natural history museum)
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| Birds at natural history museum |
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| Iconic whale skeleton |
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| Dinosaur collection |
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| Well made structure from the fossil reference |
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| Whale skeleton |
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| In front of natural history museum |
After roaming inside the museum for sometime, we relaxed outside the museum in a small park. Then went to a vegan restaurant - Holy Carrot.
holycarrot.co.uk (holy carrot vegan restaurant)
I had invited Dr Veena and Dr Sanjai to meet me there. At restaurant we had a good vegan meal. The waitress was very friendly ! She liked the Indian sweet that my mom gave to her. We had a good chat with my friends. Met them after several years! They briefed us some info regarding life at London as an Indian medico.
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| Dr Sanjai, Dr Veena and me |
Then they left. We headed to Waterloo station through metro and reached a point near London Eye. From there we started the bus ride - open top - London by evening which is for 2 hours!
hoponhopoffplus.com (bus tour)
All of us enjoyed watching views of London and iconic monuments, buildings with witty commentary by the guide in bus. We found that London city is full of strange facts !!! For example - the Big Ben is not the tower, its the bell inside the tower! (Strangeness score : 2 out of 5)
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| Metro selfie |
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| London tower bridge groufie |
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| Queen Elizabeth tower with Big Ben inside |
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| London tower bridge |
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| London eye |
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| London tower bridge |
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| The bus |
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| Evenings in London |
Everyone enjoyed the day. Then we went to Saravana Bhavan hotel at Piccadilly for having South Indian vegetarian food. Then returned to the hotel and slept off.
saravanabhavanlondon.co.uk (saravana bhavan hotel website)
TIP:
- Hop on hop off short trip can give an overview about the important locations of the city. Evening trips were pleasant, especially because of summer and persistent sunlight till 10:00 pm.
- Metro and public transport can be easily accessed with help of google maps. WiFi cards with international transaction activation is mandatory.
- ‘TFL Go’ app is very useful for updated info on London public transport system.
Day 2 (09-07-2022)
London - Cycle tour - meeting friends and relatives
Today we started early, had break fast and headed towards Waterloo station. From this station the guided London city tour started ! We had booked with - Brakeaway bike tours. Meanwhile my parents went to ‘Canary Wharf’ to meet our relatives.
It is a guided cycle tour covering major highlights of the city, lasting for about 3-4 hours. We enjoyed every bit of this trip. The dedicated cycle tracks of London city and traffic rules made it very comfortable for us to cycle on the 2nd day of our trip. It helped us to explore smaller streets and to know more info, facts about the city !
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| Grenadier guards ceremonial march past |
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| Thames and House of Parliament behind us |
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| The London eye again ! |
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| Pret A Manger with good Vegan options |
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| Trafalgar Square |
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| Hodge the cat statue - in memory of Dr Samuel Jackson - father of modern English dictionary |
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| Our cycles in parking at Covent garden |
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| 💓 |
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| Tunnel and graffiti |
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| Loving the cycle trip |
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| Waterloo station |
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| Lawrence of Arabia lived in the house behind me! |
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| Streets ❤ |
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| St Paul cathedral |
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| Cycle trip group |
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| Adjusting my cam for next shoot! |
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| Candid ! |
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| Parents posing |
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| The Iceland squad (previous trip members unite) |
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| Mom the poser |
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| Met them after a long time ! |
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| The views around |
Pret A Manger - https://www.pret.co.uk/en-GB/about-pret, it is a chain of cafe all over UK. Had a good collection of vegan food too!
Lush at Waterloo station - lush.com - cruelty free cosmetic shop in Waterloo station. It had a good collection of stuff.
After the cycle trip, we went by metro to meet my cousin - Raghav and Vasavi near Canary Wharf (Mudchute DLR station). Had a pleasant evening with them. Also met my school friend - Dr Anupama, our travel partner in our previous trip Iceland expedition - 2018. We missed to meet her daughter and Sankar Anna !
Then we went to Sen Viet near spitalfields for dinner. It is a Vegan Vietnamese restaurant. We had some confusion while ordering food of our preference. But still they managed to provide us with a good food !
Day -3 (11-07-2022)
London - Edinburgh (our first intercity train experience in foreign land)
Today we had to leave Edinburgh. Hub by premiere hotel was kind enough to retain a few of our luggages in the hotel itself till we returned after 5 days. We went to ‘King cross - station’.
https://www.lner.co.uk/ (London northeastern railways website)
King cross is the iconic railway station of Harry Potter movie, where the protagonist Harry catches the train from the platform - 9 3/4 to an imaginary world - Hogwarts. Also saw St Pancras station, just next to King cross. St Pancras is the international railway station - linking London to other European counters through underwater tunnel of English Channel (eurostar train). First time witnessed an international Railway station !
Entered King cross station.It had good facilities, but over crowded! The platform of the train are updated just 15 mins before the journey. But we can get first hand information from the help desk.
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| LNER - AZUMA TRAIN |
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| 9 3/4 - platform - Harry Potter - King cross |
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| Views from King cross |
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| Reservation info above the window |
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| Leg space 👍 |
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| Aisle |
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| View a castle from the train window |
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| View of a city from train window |
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| View of a light house from train window |
We took LNER - AZUMA train to Edinburgh. The train was ergonomic. Journey was pleasant with beautiful views through the window. Liked the vibe in the train. Reached Edinburgh (Waverley station) on time (journey time was approximately 4-5 hrs). Took the cab from nearby cab station. Reached The Scott hotel for the stay. After checking in, we took a bus to a nearby Indian restaurant - ‘Kalpna’ for the dinner.
The Scott - uoecollection.com
Indian vegetarian hotel at edinburgh - kalpnarestaurant.com
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| At Kalpna Restaurant |
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| Summer nights |
TIP:
- London to Edinburgh worked out very cheap and time efficient for us! Needs to booked ahead (at least 2 months before )
- hotels were also booked prior, since summer is the best season to visit, so expect lots of travellers and high pricing!
Day - 4 (12-07-2022)
Visit to Bass Island - worlds largest gannet population
Today we had to go to a nearby place called - North Berwick. Had breakfast at the hotel we stayed they also had veg/vegan options- continental style. We had already booked the ticket through Scotrail online https://www.scotrail.co.uk/ to travel from Edinburgh city to north Berwick. Started by 8:45 am from Waverley station Edinburgh. The train was almost empty with just about 5-10 passengers. The journey was pleasant. We reached the station on time. From there we had to walk about 20 mins to Sea Bird Center, from where the catamaran started for seeing Bass island. https://www.seabird.org/
The city was alluring. Entire city looked like some desktop pc wall paper.
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| North Berwick |
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| Ticket to north Berwick |
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| Summer perks |
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| Seaside |
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| Scotrail |
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| Roads leading to sea |
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| Attractive colour tone and texture |
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Reached the location, enjoying the views on the way. Showed the bookings and waited for the catamaran. About 30 people joined us in that ride. It was breathtaking to see the largest flock of Gannets. Never seen such a huge population of birds. We were lucky to spot Atlantic Puffin birds with iconic beaks. The guide in the catamaran, gave detailed explanation regarding the birds, their life and the place. The light house in Bass island added more photogenicity.
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| Craigleith island |
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| Bass rock island |
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| Light house |
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| Gannets ! |
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| Sea side views |
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| Bass Rock Island |
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| Fellow passengers |
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| Selfie with gannets |
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| Atlantic puffin - managed to capture with our mobile ! |
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| Train poser - 1 |
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| Puffin design on one penny as a souvenir |
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| Relaxed in Scotrail |
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| Sea views and black coffee |
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| Train poser -2 |
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| Station - North Berwick |
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| Dad posing as per mom’s suggestion |
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| Go green is the most sustainable way ! |
After the pleasant trip at north Berwick, we returned Edinburgh. At the conference center EICC, me and dad registered, with lot of hopes. My mom and wife were taking a break outside the conference center at cafe - Slice of Greece - sliceofgreece.co.uk. We returned back to hotel and got ready for the inaugural dinner at the conference.
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| From Slice of Greece |
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| After verification and registration |
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| Edinburgh taxi |
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| Ready for the inaugural dinner |
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| Saree pose with rustic castle and TESLA behind |
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| Dad with vintage Safari |
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| Irresistable photo shoot |
After all poses we did, started to the conference inaugural dinner. At the conference, a group of Nigerian maxilla facial surgeons spoke to me, since they were happy to see me eating using hand (without cutlery). That was a fun moment though! Food was manageable, but not great !
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| Inaugural dinner - 14th cleft congress 2022 Edinburgh |
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| ❤ |
Day - 5 (13-07-2022)
Arthur Seat Trek / Royal Botanical Park / Shopping / Conference
My wife and me, woke up early to. Started toward Arthur seat for a hike. The the route was lovely and hike was gratifying. The climate was favourable. Pleasant wind and the Sun was so comfy. It took 45 minutes for us to reach the final view point of Arthur hill.
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| Hike route |
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| Chill at hill |
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| She and view |
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| Peace |
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| Pano pic |
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| Pano pic |
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| The Arthur seat hill |
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| Poser at the top of hill |
After spending some quality time at Arthur’s seat, we walked back to our stay. I got ready and went to conference at EICC by bus. I may be repeating several times in this write up about how much excited I was while attending the conference, as it is very difficult to avoid. Conference went precisely as per the schedule. The speakers were on time! I was happy to see the presenters from various parts of the world. I made a note on their way of presentation and their slides. For the first time met pediatric plastic surgeons from Lahore, Pakistan. As it is very difficult for Indians to meet Pakistani. Had a chat with them and took photos. Also got chance to meet some leading plastic surgeons from various parts of India. I could see surgeons from almost all parts of the world, except Russia. Even saw surgeons from Ukraine.
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| Dr Mukunda Reddy from India |
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| Pediatric plastic surgeon from Pakistan |
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| Dr Karoon Agrawal from India |
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| Plastic surgeon from Pakistan |
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| With Dr Sunil Richardson from Tamil Nadu |
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| With the Organisers and Sponsors of the conference |
Meanwhile my wife and parents visited Royal Botanical Garden. They took a bus from our stay and reached botanical garden. They thought to have a guided trip but could not reach on time so they missed the guided trip. But anyways there was map of the whole botanical garden so we can roam around as we like. They had a pleasant time spending there with some huge trees and some minimal flowers as it was not the perfect season to witness flowers. But they had a relaxed day and my wife was happy witnessing bees collecting honey in a close view. There were duck, gannets and some birds. Actually my wife wanted to see glass house inside the garden but unfortunately it was under maintenance so they couldn’t get there. Finally after spending some time in the garden, at exit there was a gift shop and they purchased some vegetable seeds there. My friend had asked for London rose flavoured perfume, so my wife searched for that in the gift shop but all the the perfumes were out of stock. But the staff member in billing counter was sweet enough to spray a sample perfume on a card and gave us to smell. That was good gesture. After the billing she gave us a free bookmark.
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| Garden posers |
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| Good capture |
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| Feel good |
Evening after the meet I returned to the hotel, refreshed. My parents, wife and me got ready for dinner and Ceilidh at the conference. Witnessed Scottish dance and musical performance. They also guided the participants to try the dance. It was really an icebreaker event. We loved the dance movements and music.
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| Ceilidh dance |
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| Ceilidh dance |
Conference - Surgeon’s museum - Camera obscura
Today morning my parents visited Surgeon’s museum in Edinburgh. They told it is a museum that will be liked both by a commoner or a doctor. It has various specimens and simulations of human body. It has more historic information regarding field of medicine. Photography was not allowed inside. It will approximately take 1-2 hours to see around. It needs an entry fee to be paid.
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| Surgeon’s museum, Edinburgh |
Today after conference, we had lunch at another Indian restaurant - Tanjore http://tanjore.co.uk/. Had a reasonable South Indian food. Then we made an impromptu plan to go to camera obscura (which we previously thought to skip).
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| Owner of the cafe - Slice of Greece (from Greece) Opposite to my conference venue |
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| Tanjore restaurant |
Camera obscura - https://www.camera-obscura.co.uk/
It was real fun for all ages. ‘The vortex’ in camera obscura is enough reason to visit it! It was filled with visual illusions and science behind. The story about camera obscura and its link with the history of the city was cool. Don’t miss the gift shop with scientific stuff and toys at the end !
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| Edinburgh vibes |
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| Old trick … (pazhaya technique) |
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| My present self saving my future self ! |
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| Kaleidoscope effects |
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| Thermal scanner style |
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| Mixing mom and dad’s face |
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| Shadow capture |
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| Lights, illusions and fun |
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| Cliche but fun |
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| Vortex - the test for the balancing apparatus |
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| Kaleidoscope vibe |
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| Myself blinking to myself |
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| Coupl-fie |
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| Fun mode on |
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| Looks like ironman filter effect ! |
Day - 7 (15-07-2022)
Edinburgh city Bicycle tour - Edinburgh hop on hop off tour - Royal Edinburgh Zoological Society
Today my wife and me had planned for a guided cycle trip covering Edinburgh city and Porto bello beach. We had booked prior through ‘Ricky’s bicycle tour’
Meanwhile my parents went to hop on hop off city tour in Edinburgh.
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| Victoria street |
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| Edinburgh castle |
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| Scott monument |
We went early to the starting point as shared by the guide. Until the guide came, we were roaming around. Bought a few olives from Salisbury supermarket. It’s a chain of supermarkets in UK. The products were good.
Our guide came. Surprisingly we were the only 2 in that cycling trip. We started to cycle following him. The routes were beautiful. Witnessed a cycling route that goes up to Glasgow. Spotted major highlights of city like second largest golf course of the world, Edinburgh medical university - history of anaesthesia origin, old port, bars that are since 14th century, tunnels, suburbs etc. we cycled up to Portobello beach and took a break. The beach was calm and serene. We were conversing with the guide and sunk in the views! Most of the people of Edinburgh have pet dogs and we could see various types of dogs. It was a 3 hrs trip.
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| Alleppey vibes at edinburgh |
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| The tunnel with graffiti |
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| Portobello ❤ |
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| Cycling scenes |
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| Before the start near Waldorf Astoria hotel |
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| Favourite pic of the trip |
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| Giraffe awareness by RCZS |
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| Beach |
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| Second largest golf course in the world |
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| Beach vibes |
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| Tunnel couple-fie |
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| With the cyclist Ricky who guided the cycle trip |
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| Near port |
After the trip we had lunch with parents and started to Royal Edinburgh Zoological Society. It was about 40 minute journey from city centre.
We were a bit hesitant initially to visit a zoo. But came to know regarding conservation and awareness activities taking place and hence visited. We witnessed many animals for the first time like Pandas, Koala, Meerakats, Sloths, red panda, Kangaroo, penguins ! The zoo map provides a easy guide.
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| Waiting at St Patrick’s bus stop Edinburgh |
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| Double decker - top view from Lothian bus, Edinburgh |
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| A tower of Giraffe |
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| Sloth in its nap time |
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| Kola resting |
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| Lion with its meal |
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| Ant eater |
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| Lion having a nap |
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| Meerakat |
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| Kangaroo |
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| A raft of otters |
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| A waddle of penguin |
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| Panda having its lunch |
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| Panda behind ! |
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| Eastern pigmy marmoset |
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| Top floor double decker bus |
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| Flamingos |
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| Hippo |
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| Map |
Day - 8 (16-07-2022)
The Presentation - Return to London
This was my D-day. My study was scheduled for presentation in afternoon. I headed towards the conference. Meanwhile my wife and parents packed the luggages and kept in the lobby till we left in evening. At conference hall I checked regarding my slot and prepared for the presentation. My dad presented another study on behalf of my senior - Dr Krishnaprasad Shetty who could not attend because of visa approval delay. My wife and mom also came to the conference site and joined us during the presentation.
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| Me with my presentation |
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| My dad |
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| Me with parents |
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| Conference hall |
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| With a few German surgeons who did good presentation! |
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| My wife wishing me best luck ❤ |
Attended the closing ceremony - Scottish musical, following the presentation. The arrangements and planning of the conference from the announcement till the end was so meticulous. We had food and headed towards railway station for the train to London. We had booked through LNER in LUMO train. The train was no less than Azuma in comfort. Train was on time and we reached London by 1:00 AM.
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| My wife meticulously trying to avoid single use products! Using re-usable things wherever possible! |
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| True or not ! But change is for sure ! Sustainability wins in the end! |
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| From Waverley station Edinburgh |
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| LNER LUMO train to London |
Reached King Cross station. We went to the same hotel - Hub by Premiere Inn at Spitalfields, where we stayed previous week.
Day - 9 (16-07-2022)
Hamleys - Quick shopping - Live musical play, West end London
Today woke up a bit late, after breakfast, we went to Hamleys in London (Regent street) to get some toys for nephewand niece. We took the bus as suggested by google and TLC app as metro train services reduced in weekends due to some ongoing strike.
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| With her favourite ‘Frozen’ |
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| At hamleys |
I showed the toys through video call to my nephew and he selected the one he needed ! After shopping, we went to a restaurant called - ‘Govindas’ by ISKON. Food was good.
Then we were relaxing in Soho park - Soho square gardens. Had vegan ice cream from ‘Udderlicious’ - Covent garden https://www.udderlicious.co.uk/
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| Vegan dark chocolate ice cream |
We went for a short, random shopping at ‘Primark’
After all these, we took my parents for the surprise event of the evening - the musical and live stage drama in west-end London called - ‘Matilda’ at Cambridge theatre. This is our first live musical experience. We really enjoyed the timing and perfection of the artists in the play. The ground staff was very particular about the discipline o the audience as the slightest noise or movements can disrupt the concentration and the flow of the artists. The final song - revolting children form the play gave goosebumps to audience! This play is soon to be released in Netflix in a movie version.
lwtheatres.co.uk (this website can also be used for ticket booking but only for Cambridge theatre)
I booked tickets through - https://www.londontheatredirect.com/
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| First live musical with my wife - Cambridge theatre, Westend, London |
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| My Matilda 😉 |
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| The artists of the play |
After the show we rushed to a nearby restaurant - Sagar, vegetarian Indian hotel. We took batter powered rickshaw in a hurry without asking for the charges. We suggest not to take that rickshaw as they charge hefty!!!
The food was descent enough. Then we went back to our stay by bus. While walking we could see Saturday night vibe in London streets.
Day -10 (17-07-2022)
Meetings friend - Thames river speed boating
Today we had to meet one of undergraduate junior - Dr Gautam. We took the bus to Covent garden, where we had asked him to come. Meanwhile my parents went to London tower bridge.
My wife, me and Gautham had coffee at cafe Arabica - arabicacoffee.uk. We had a chat and were walking through the Covent Garden. Met him after a long time. Then we started to London eye area by metro. We had planned for the speed boat trip on Thames by Thames Rocket. Our parents went to London tower bridge with my cousin’s family and they joined with us after the visit.
https://www.thamesrockets.com/ - Thames rockets - speed boat , London. We headed to pier near the London eye. Their team explained regarding safety instructions and we boarded. Along with us people from Central America, and other parts of Europe were there. The host and driver both were amazing. My parents really enjoyed the speed boat. We could spot famous landmarks of London from Thames. It was super fun !
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| Great pic by the host |
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| The pier |
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| House of Parliament with Elizabeth tower |
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| London eye behind |
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| Groupfie |
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| That feel ! |
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| Best way to end the trip |
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| Drinking water near Waterloo station |
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| Street performances at Piccadilly square |
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| Functional Telephone booths of London, Trafalgar Square |
Day 11 (18-07-2022)
Spitalfields market shopping - Return to home
The gloomy feel of ending the trip increased ! Worried about finishing the trip as we always long for a travel ! We will be missing this travel vibes for long. We packed our things and kept in lobby of the hotel. Went to Spitalfields market nearby our stay. It was a gem we missed all these days. Good place to do some shopping before you leave! It was good. We tried matcha tea for the first time.
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| Spitalfields market |
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| Matcha tea matching the dress |
After shopping in heatwave, went to a vegan restaurant for soul food.
The vegan bistro - at triyoga - https://www.instagram.com/theveganbistro.uk/?utm_medium=copy_link
We interacted with the chef there. We shared Indian recipes with him. So pleasant vibe and food!
TIP:
- Regarding restaurants of London and Edinburgh - most of them have vegan/ vegetarian options available. Also very particular about allergens. You always have a room to discuss your preferences, be clear and go ahead with the food !
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| Avocado toast |
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| Buddha bowl |
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| At vegan bistro - triyoga, shoreditch |
Then we checked out to catch the flight at London - Heathrow. Since were using Freenow for hiring taxis, we got an offer for airport booking. They reduced 25% of the charge and it was really worth.
Freenow - https://www.free-now.com/uk/
On reaching the airport, we found an old man struggling with his huge baggage. He could not move and get it the airport from taxi drop area. Hence we helped him to push his baggies. We found a few call points for reaching the assistance. We just dialed and told them regarding the scenario. They immediately responded and helped that old man to move inside! That was an useful tool. We reached airport by 4:30 pm for the flight that is supposed leave by 10:00 pm. Already there was huge queue for the baggage drop! We were in the middle of the queue. We had to keep walking and standing for next 4 hours ! After clearing the security check we were very late. We started running towards the gate. On the way to gate the auto walk (moving walk way in airports) did not work. Reached just 15 mins before boarding. Many people would have missed the flight.
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| We had a tough time at LHR airport ! Would have missed the flight! |
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| At LHR airport |
We slept off. Had meal in between provided by flight attendants. My parents had a roller coaster ride to catch next flight ! The transit time was reduced due to delay. We did some last minute small purchase from Delhi duty free. Headed to lounge had lunch. Ran to gate !
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| Delhi airport |
Then got flight to kolkata and reached on time. Our driver Mr.Ashok Paswan picked us from airport and dropped at home !
Gratitude:
My Head of the Department - Dr Anjana Malhotra for constant encouragement and inspiration
Dr Sourav - for sharing the first info regarding this conference !
Dr Urvi, Dr Dhaval, Dr Krishnaprasad - for helping and guiding
Dr Puja - my colleague for the support !
Dr Himanshu, Dr Avinash - my juniors
Hospital staff and South Eastern Railways Central Hospital
Mission Smile - Mr Rafi and team, Novel, Mousumi (volunteer)
Dr Arun Padmanandan , Dr Shakthi Arasu - statistics and discussions
Mr Senthil Kumar - visual - poster print
My friends who helped with info regarding London Visa
Dr Anupama
Dr Sanjay
Dr Gautam
Dr Thousif
Dr Shyam Ganapathy
Dr Praveen Ravi
Dr Abhilash
Dr Adityan Guhan
Dr Dhanvanth
Dr Himaja
Vasavi and Raghav - cousins
Youtube - travel vlogs
My family.
Please don’t forget to leave your comment on this article !
Beautiful write-up. Hope Ramesh enjoyed every bit off it while i kept dozing at Melbourne, Australia. Excellent tour organised by the Kolkotta boy.
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