Third time...

Scotland again last month. This time to a place called Argyll and Brute. I had planned to visit a couple of islands which are open only during summer, but again after some gross miscalculation I couldn't see them this time as well :( that aside there wasn't a blip in the overall plan. For a change planned to stay in a wooden house just facing the lake bed, the views were amazing and so was the sound of the ripples. I drove around 1000 miles in 4 days (1173 to be precise) and to say "I loved it" would be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was just fine.

I wouldn’t want to list all the things I did, but the two things that spring up to my mind is the boat trip we had on the final day and luncheon and dinner sessions in different hotels every day. Already made up my mind that we will not be wasting time in cooking and tasting the local delicacies were the order of the day and the place we stayed being a fishing village no points to guessing what the delicacy was ? So the second day everyone was quite hungry and we noticed a huge (and posh) hotel nearby and we just drove in thinking of hogging a lot of stuff and when I walked in I see a post “Indian buffet” available. I was shocked a huge English restaurant in a corner of Scotland with an Indian menu, surely “India Shining” ?

I have never been a fan of boat rides and I think the reason is that I don’t want to give the fishes underneath a chance to take revenge on me for the misfortune I might have caused on their brothers and sisters in all these years, but we got a complimentary discount and Indians do get attracted to discounts like bee to honey :)So here I was sitting in the middle of the lake (with a very strong current) thinking when will the nightmare end and there were my friends who were happily enjoying and showed no signs of retreat. Then one of the girl in the group got up and started dancing on the boat and I was imagining it to be her call to “Mr Yamraj” (Indian god for death). But the nightmare finally ended with a lesson learnt, no more getting onto a boat with dancers.

Overall a trip at the right time to up the ante (read spirits) and reenergise myself for all the useless work ahead !

An early morning start that day,
Fun, laughter and what more to say,
Lots of hope with hand in hand,
My drive to the tip of Scotland.


A drive from five to fifteen twenty,
Passing valleys and lakes a plenty,
To a wooden mansion in scarlet red,
A beautiful lake just facing ahead.


A walk in the moonlight to end my day,
With sparrows chirping as if to say,
Love yourself and others a heart full,
Your life is indeed beautiful !

Kilchrun Castle, Argyll Scotland

Scotland is my favourite place in the UK. I have loved every time I have been there and the love doesn't look to be diminishing either. So this time I spent some days on a cottage facing the lake (not really a place to be spending alone really) but nonetheless no complaints.

The place I stayed turned out to be a fishing village and since it was self catering I had to go out looking for some food stuffs in the next village around 3 to 4 miles from this one. When I was driving there I saw a ruined castle towards my left left all alone in the middle of a lake, its waters seemed to have been painted in red with the reflection of an evening sun.

The next day I insisted we visit the castle and spend some time there. I am not sure what I saw in it, but something made me want to go back and we did. Spent around an hour out there and I was just spellbound by looking at it. I was raving about it in spite of my friends teasing me whats so special in this one. I think I now know why I liked it so much, the sight of it bursting with pride even though it was not exactly in perfect shape.

This is what I wrote sleeping on the grass, facing the Kilchurn castle with a cool breeze brushing my body and a lovely thought embracing my mind.

A ruined castle surrounded by water,
All it's pomp and splendour in tatters,
Yet it stands with it's battered wall,
Attracting the eyes of one and all,
Waiting on the banks for a loved one ?
Bearing the pain that has befallen,
A resolve that seems cannot be broken,
In spite of all that time has taken,
Standing the test of time it towers above,
A story of wait and hope, for a thing called love.

Some days of Cornish delight !

Was back on the road doing what I love the most, travelling. After a long time I felt the timid excitement before the start of a trip and then the nervousness just before you leave thinking that everything goes to plan. This time it was with an altogether different group of people who I have known for only quite some time. It's often said company matters not the place but my experience has taught me not to believe in this theory too much.

After a four hour journey I reached a placed called "Bedruthan Steps" (named after a ghost who used the stack of huge rocks on the beach as stepping stones), a stretch of coastline located in Cornwall. An amazing view of the Atlantic with its water so blue (and to my liking) with not many people around. A perfect start to a long weekend.

For some reason I wanted this to be a relaxing holiday with no room for any kind of activity, but unfortunately didn't turn up that way, though I have no complaints. I had booked a cottage overlooking the sea in a village called Portheleven. After having settled down it was time to burn in the sun and with the kind of weather we have been having no one had any complaints.

So the daily routine was to have a sip of tea, heavy English breakfast, off to the beach for some fun and games and back again for dinner and to end it all some exquisitive songs from the Jagjith Singh and Rafi cuisine. Loved every bit of it.

The last day was quite interesting, where we flew to Isle of Scilly by a copter. In spite of me not being a keen flyer I must admit I quite enjoyed the ride. The Isles of Scilly is a group of islands with breathtaking coast lines and sandy beaches with the water having an almost turquoise color. After hoping into the main St Mary's Island we hopped on to Tressco Island and spent some quality time out there in one of the most isolated beach I have ever been. We were only around 10 to 20 people and such a huge stretch of land and I loved every bit of the time I had to myself.

All in all quite a nice time off and after Scotland, probably the second place I would want to be. And for the record I have already decided I shall be visiting there once more :)

A few hundred miles from Bristol,
No to work and time for a stroll,
Wine, dine and fun with some pals,
In a place they call Cornwall.


What was special of this place I wonder ?
Sandy beaches of Atlantic waters to wander,
The famous Cornish pastries and apple pie,
Couldn't resist them however I tried.


An exquisite place overlooking the sea,
Embracing the mornin with some hot tea,
Bring on the coolers and some sun cream,
Out into the sea we go to play and scream.


Hopping to an island on a chopper ride,
Snoring on the beach facing the sea side,
The last four days we did it all,
In a place they call Cornwall.