Around Buckingham Palace, London

Taken on a evening in November, 2007, near Buckingham Palace, London

Oh Boy!

As Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes fame) would say- Oh boy, Oh boy and Oh boy again. For a while (by optimistic estimates) all you would get to see on this blog are pictures. I mean any more work my way and I feel I will simply vanish into the think air!

How Come I Never Posted a Picture of Sidu on My Blog?

Sidu/Sidhu- Himanchali Dish

I have talked about this heavenly Himachali dish Sidu before but it is a sacrilege that I never posted a picture of it on my blog. Actually I got comment from Dilliwala on India Mike and my blog about Shringi Vatika and that prompted me to search for a picture of Sidu on my blog. Then I realized that even though I have talked about it, I never actually posted a picture. And even though the dish looks like the Holi sweet Gujhia, but this one salty and tastes heavenly. Let me see if I can go back there once again!

Pictures from Lansdowne

St. Mary's Church, Lansdowne

Well, this one is going to be a delayed travelogue. I have not been able to put even captions on the pictures. But have a look at the Lansdowne pictures anyway. I was not lucky enough to see the snow capped peaks. Still, a break is a break but it is difficult to believe that I was away from this hectic pace.

Lazy Sunday Photo- CP, New Delhi

Pavements of Connaught Place, CP, New Delhi

I had not planned to take a break from blogging but by just taking the Monday off for the Lansdowne trip, the work got piled on and could not manage to post anything. So, I thought I would start with the usual lazy Sunday photo.

Back from Lansdowne

Lover's Lane- Lansdowne (No I have no clue why it is called Lover's Lane)

We took a short, Avomine filled break to Lansdowne. Ideally we would have liked to spend a few days more, but when given a choice between a hectic short break and not taking a break at all we would choose a short hectic one every time. I will have to say I have been to more scenic places but then a break is a break and it was wonderful.

Time to Head Out Again

Que (rhymes with Queue) A Dish from Spiti

No, of course I am not heading to Spiti but I am heading out soon and how I am yearning for it. We realized that in the entire 2007 we never took a train (apart from coming back from New Jalpaiguri, from Sikkim). So we are not going to make the same mistake again. We take a train and head out to Uttrakhand this time.

Last few months it seems have been work, work and more work. However much I try, something remains. I have been carrying work home almost daily. I can see things being extremely hectic till the semester ends. So while we are heading out I know as soon as I come back, I will be swamped with work, work and even more work. And even now I have so much unfinished work that it is going to give me nightmares even on vacation. But as Sesha is so fond of saying ... "This too shall pass." I mean I am really tired.

I have Been Wondering!

For quite sometime now, I have been wondering if I should mix some of my academic stuff on this blog. You see, I have started using data from travel Internet Message Boards for academic purposes. And it has been a fascinating exercise. I mean I get to spend time on the internet reading about travel and do some research too! I think I will write more on this.

Lazy Sunday Photo- The Chang Story

Chang- The Local Home Brewed Beer from Spiti

Once again, I decided to write about food or rather drinks, this time. I generally do not like alcoholic drinks and stay away from them. Given a choice I like soup over alcohol any day. And both tend to cost a ton in restaurants! I know it is strange comparison but that is how it is.

This changed a little when I discovered chang in Spiti. The locally brewed beer tastes nothing like a Foster brewed in Aurangabad or some such place. I mean I can't stand Foster or Kingfisher. They have such a nasty stink (or so I feel and I know I am alone in this) that after one sip I do not try another. Chang has no nasty sting about it and I liked both the barley and the rice versions.

Then on the trip to Oxford last year we had a dinner hosted by the university (no and this is not the Oxford I am referring to) at a Thai restaurant called Chiang Mai. There were four of us, my colleague from India and two of my colleagues from UK. So when we started ordering soon the question came, "What would you like to drink?" I gave the default option, "Nothing." Then I browsed the beer list anyway and discovered Chang on the list. Not thinking too much, I changed my mind and decided to order Chang. It of course turned out to be a popular beer from Thailand but minus the stink. It was not the Chang I wanted but it was quite OK. The end result was that I ended up trying a lot of beers in UK and now I have to say, once in a blue moon I may pick them up over soup.

More Food, from Spiti this Time

Bread from Spiti- The Taste still remains. And along with local butter it was heavenly

So were these greens.

I wonder why it took me so long to post these images.

And once again, it has been very hectic at work, but we would be heading out soon, though not to Corbett! It didn't work out.