Travels

The places where we spent at least one night as a family were:

Washington

London

Malta

Delhi

Kolkata

Windermere in the Lake District of UK

Leicester

In addition I spent two nights in Delhi for my presentation in Jaipur in India

Srijoy was on 9 different airplanes with United Airlines, British Airways, Air Malta and Jet Airways

The hotels we stayed at included Fairfield Inn (Chantilly), the Dulles Airport Marriott, the Slough Marriott near Heathrow, the Dragonara Hotel in Malta, the best Western Master Roberts in Hounslow near London, the Radisson near Delhi Airport, the Courtyard Marriott in Slough near Heathrow, the Ibis hotel in Leicester

I had the “pleasure” of driving a Hyundai in the streets of Malta (given it was an automatic, Mikku could help me with the driving) and the stick shift Ford Transit 9-seater monstrosity all over UK. Incidentally in both Malta and UK they drive on the “wrong” side of the street as far as I am concerned! In total we drove about 100 miles within Malta and about 1,400 miles in UK (in about 11 days).

We had several logistic failures:

My computer locked me out of all my files because of a password snafu, and I was locked out from after about the first week of the trip

My old phone I had bought in Dubai was lost when I accidentally left it in a taxi in Kolkata. Had to do a police report (FIR) and then buy a new phone (Nokia 6100) and re-establish the connection

Our video camera went out of order (the dreaded E:61:10 error for Sony machines!) about 2 weeks into the trip

Our still digital camera went out of order about 3 weeks into the trip and had to buy a new camera in Kolkata

A battery in the battery charger blew up when I was charging it off the cigarette lighter adapter while driving the monstrosity. Sounded like a bomb going off. Not a good thing in UK.

The monstrosity would occasionally show a warning light and go into ‘emergency” mode of driving and quit shifting gears properly

The other key things of the trip:

Driving in Malta – really is odd because the place is so small. Got lost several times and had to navigate by looking only for specific places such as churches, trees, hills etc.

Getting lost in trying to get to the conference and being led there by a police car (ask me about this one when we meet!)

Actually taking the car right inside an old fort along narrow cobblestone lanes at about 20% grade in Malta

The crowded beach in Malta and the national holiday there

Sleeping in the balcony of the hotel and jerry-rigging a lampshade out of towel for the light outside

Being upgraded to Business Class on BA for the long London-Delhi trip

Meeting a zillion people in Delhi all through the day

Celebrating my mother’s 70^th birthday with the family at Abcos

Excellent gathering of school friends

Dinner at Lake Club

The presentation that went really well in Jaipur, meeting with the political bigwigs there

The afternoon drive from Jaipur to Delhi

The Kolkata rains and the monsoon in general, Srijoy enjoyed this

Watching “Dus” with Mikku in the Inox

Munmun (our niece) visiting Kolkata while we were there

Meeting with Biltu (my cousin) after several years

Meeting and visiting Sandip (my cousin) after a few years

The school gathering in Bhaskar’s hotel room in Slough

Generally driving in UK

The sheep at the farm house

Being in UK soon after the bomb blasts of 7/7/2005 and the failed blasts of 7/21/2005 and caught in a "bomb scare" "evacuation" near Harrods Store in Knigtsbridge in London

Bebo falling ill

Generally driving the family all over the Lake District until they were really tired

The nice breakfast in the Fairfield Inn in DC

Being back home with everything working fine (one fallen tree in the yard)