Day 12 – June 10
Once we took our decision to take the long road back to Edinburgh, it was very clear that we would need to get going on time. And as it happened, Radhika woke up and got ready even before the alarm went off at 6 am, and hence for the only time on this trip, we were able to make a 730 am start. We drove along Loch Ness till Invermoriston, using the same route we followed on the previous day to Skye, and thereafter continued down Loch Ness till its end at Fort Augustus. Post Loch Ness, we crossed the Caledonian Canal, and then traveled along the southern banks of River Oich, before flipping back to the Northern shore of Loch Oich. The Caledonian canal, as I may have mentioned before, starts on the North Sea coast at Inverness, and links the sea to Loch Ness – it then links Loch Ness with Loch Oich, and then links Loch Oich with Loch Lochy, and Loch Lochy to Loch Linhe, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Before the roads we were driving on were built, it acted as the main route for traffic along the Lochs, and as a short cut from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, through relatively protected waters.
We made very good time that morning, and took our first halt barely 15 miles from Fort William at a War memorial at about 1045. From there, we could get views of the Nevis Range. Radhika mentioned that one of her friends, Meera had mentioned how they had gone for a cable car ride on the Nevis range during their visit to Fort William, and that she was keen on taking Avi for a similar ride. I was skeptical, concerned that we probably would not have the time for the same, and also that finding the cable car site would be an issue. But a few miles beyond the war memorial, we saw signs for the Nevis Range cable car, and diverted off the highway to check it out. We reached the cable car site around 1130. The cable car runs from the base station, which is about 50 metres above sea level to a peak about 650 metres above sea level. It serves both as a route up for joy-riders like us, and also as a lift for mountain bikers who ride down the mountain. In winter, it also acts as the first leg of a ski lift. Avi was quite happy to travel in the cable car, which quickly climbs above the tree line, and then moves more steeply up the peak. I spotted a number of mountain bikers on the way, who were heading rapidly down the mountain. Some of the mountain bikers were clearly experts, willing to jump at high speed over the trail (in locations where one slip would send them tumbling down the mountain). I found it interesting that people who grow up in a highly safety conscious culture (car seats, seat belts et al) then voluntarily risk their lives for a thrill. After about 15 minutes, we reached the peak.
There were a number of walking trails around, and we picked a relatively easy one (as revealed by the number of people who were walking down it.) It was about a kilometre long, and took us to the top of a small peak, about 100 feet above where we were, which offered fabulous views of the surrounding countryside, including various Lochs, and the entire Nevis range. Once again, Avi enjoyed the walk a lot – this is certainly a habit that Radhika and I wish to cultivate. Post this, we headed back… and it was only for the final 100 metres or so that Avi asked me to carry him. On reaching the base station, we grabbed lunch, and then set out on our journey. Through these two halts, we had spent over 3 hours…. and it was past 2 when we crossed Fort William.
We then mapped the GPS towards Glen Coe – the initial part of the drive was along Loch Linhe, with landscape similar to what we had seen before, but we then turned into the Glen, which offered stunningly bleak landscapes for us to see. There were road works underway on the highway across Glen Coe – what we found interesting was the safety consciousness with which these works were carried out. There were signals installed at each end of the region where work was on and all traffic has to halt at these signals – movement is permitted only in one direction at a time, and in a convoy behind a convoy truck, which ensures that no-one speeds, or interferes with the construction workers or equipment. The fact that in a high cost economy, they deployed convoy truck drivers to ensure that the relatively light traffic did not interfere with the workers was highly impressive. After driving through Glen Coe, we approached the town of Crianlarich, where we needed to decide whether to head directly for Edinburgh, or to head towards Loch Lomond and Glasgow, which would imply about 25 miles of extra driving. After having travelled this far, we decided that we could not leave Scotland without seeing Loch Lomond, and so once again chose the longer route.
The road along Loch Lomond was narrower and even more twisty than the one along Loch Ness, and also had much more traffic. Progress was therefore slower. Around 345, we reached the village of Inveruglas, where there was a small restaurant next to the lake. We took our final break here. We were both keen on trying to grab a boat ride on Loch Lomond, but were told that the shortest boat rides were one and a half hours long – and decided we did not have that much time. Nevertheless, we decided to spend sometime on the shore. There were a number of ducks that were walking along the banks of the lake, and Avi had a great time chasing one of them saying “Duckie, Duckie, Duckie…” The duck too seemed to be keen to play with him – when he got too close, it would fly off into the lake, but in a bit it would come back closer, as if teasing him. After a 20 odd minute break, we set off down the A82, and headed towards Glasgow. Post Loch Lomond, the road was wider, and we were making pretty good time. We then diverted onto the motorway leading towards Glasgow airport and Edinburgh. We had just settled down to driving at the limit on the motorway, when we saw a sign warning of an accident ahead. As It happened, there were two accidents ahead of us – and the traffic slowed to a crawl. I was reminded of the day in Amsterdam, about 6 or 7 years ago, when Veena, Hrishikaesh and I were stuck in a similar jam – with Veena at the wheel, and poor Hrishikaesh crying in his car seat at the rear. The traffic jam cost us about one hour, but once we passed the accidents, progress was smooth, and before we knew it, we were in Edinburgh.
I had programmed the GPS to take us to Edinburgh city centre, and had to use a couple of traffic lights to get it to lead us to our hotel. But when we reached very close to our hotel (literally around the corner from it), we found that the GPS mapping of central Edinburgh was wrong – while there was no right turn at a particular junction, the GPS was asking us to go right. At this point, I had no choice but to go straight, and hope that the GPS would find an alternate route. The added problem was that every time we missed a turn, it would take time to recalculate the route, and sometimes, we would have passed the turn it wanted us to take before it told us what to do. After taking us through a number of turns, it got us to a T junction where it was posted that both directions were reserved for taxis and buses alone - the GPS once again asked us to turn right here. We wondered what to do, but with vehicles on all sides of us, we were left with no option but to follow the GPS’ instructions and go through that bus lane. The bus lane took us to a point across the road from our hotel, but we could not find a U turn to enable us to get to the hotel parking lot. So we turned off into a side lane, and after a few more twists, we were finally directed towards our hotel. It was ironic that after 170 miles of driving in England and 700 miles in Scotland, we had finally lost our way (and violated a traffic rule) 50 metres from our destination.
Day 13 – June 11
The next morning, I set out to return the car to the car hire agency. Since the car had to be returned with a full tank, I set the GPS to guide me to the nearest petrol pump. It took me towards a main road about 2 miles away, and then asked me to take a number of turns into side streets. When it told me I had reached my destination, I was at the gate of a warehouse, with no petrol pump in sight. Fortunately, there was a truck driver out there, who directed me back to the main road, where a petrol pump was located about 200 metres away. I then asked the GPS to lead me back to the Europcar station, and this time, took the precaution of keeping a physical map of Edinburgh next to me. This time, it led me to my destination without a hitch. On arriving to return the car, I realized that the car Europcar had given us was not the same one which was referred to in the car hire document – I had only checked that the document mentioned a Mercedes C Class, and had not verified the license number. However, Europcar were already aware of this error, and had rectified the same in their system. The car hire document I had mentioned that the car had no pre-existing damage at all – and in my inspection of the car while hiring it, I had seen no dents or major scratches.
However, per their system, the car we had actually been given had a number of “major” and “medium” scratches – when I had obviously missed. On returning the car, Europcar claimed that there was an additional medium scratch on the wheel rim – which too I could see only when it was pointed out by the attendant. Whether it was there before we took the car or not, I cannot tell. Fortunately, we had taken the risk reduction package, and hence were not liable for any damage. This clearly brought out the value of the package to me –given the definition that the rental agencies have for a scratch, customers depend purely on whether the agency points out a scratch before a hire or not – and in the absence of the package, it would have been very easy for them to claim damages from us, whether it was our fault or not.
There were no taxis around, and hence I walked back to the hotel, which took about 25 minutes. Radhika and Avi had not yet had breakfast – so we had breakfast together and then returned to our room. While our original plan had been to go and see the Edinburgh Castle, we were very tired after the previous two days, and instead took it easy at our hotel room. We then set out for lunch, initially walking towards an Indian restaurant about 1 km away. But halfway there, we saw a small garden by the road side, and Radhika and Avi decided to stop there and play, while I headed to a “Pret” across the road for some more sandwiches and muffins. After a picnic lunch in the garden, Avi got into a hyperactive mode…. and wanted to rush on to the road. For a while, he and I had a lot of fun, with him running towards the road, and me running to stop him (well on time before all of you start panicking.) Then he asked me to carry him, and suddenly snatched my specs to try and throw it down. I tried to stop him, whereupon he promptly twisted and broke the frame. I was left without a pair of glasses. Fortunately, this had happened only after all our driving was done. We went to a number of opticians to see if they could repair the specs, or give me a new one in the two hours or so we had before our departure to the airport, but this was in vain. We then returned to the hotel, where Radhika borrowed some cello tape and did a great job of patching the specs up, so that I could actually use it until we returned home.
After some shopping, and taking photos of the Castle from Prince Street (which runs below the Castle along its length , and at one end of which, our hotel was located), we set out for the airport. We had booked to stay at the Hilton in Terminal 4 of Heathrow Airport – so that connecting to our flight to Bombay would be easy. Our flight landed in Terminal 1, and we then took a cab to our hotel. On reaching the hotel, I checked the weather forecast…. and found to our relief that it was a relatively bright day. So I arranged a taxi to go to Legoland Windsor the next morning through the hotel concierge.
Day 14 – June 12
We set out for Legoland about 915, and reached right in time for its opening slightly before 10 am. Legoland is highly suited for kids from Avi’s age upto about 8 or 9 years. We had kept our Legoland visit as a surprise for Avi (at least partly to avoid disappointing him if it were rainy and we were unable to go). For the first hour or so at Legoland, Avi did not seem to know what had hit him – and was acting in an extremely cranky manner. The first ride we took was a fire engine ride (called Fire Academy, as Avi would no doubt remind you). After that ride, Avi was insistent that he be allowed to stay on – and keep playing with the fire engines without standing in the queue. The next ride was a balloon ride – after which we went to Duploland, where Avi sat in a model of Thomas, the Tank Engine, and took a few more rides including one on a kiddy train somewhat like the one at Phoenix Mall. Next, we saw a puppet show performance of Goldilocks and the three Bears, which Avi enjoyed a lot. This was followed by us rushing to the 4D theatre for a show of Bob the Builder and Gang building a roller coaster. Avi enjoyed that a lot, and kept reaching out to touch Scoop et al.
We then walked past “Miniland”, which comprises working models of various districts of cities, towns and countries (including the City of London, Westminster, Canary Wharf, the Rotterdam Port, Montemarte in Paris, Belgium, Holland and Denmark), made entirely with Lego bricks. We then took a ride on a sky train across the park. Post lunch we spotted a big Steam train, made up to look like Thomas. The queue for this was quite long, and Avi once again became cranky, insisting that he should be allowed to jump the queue, and sit in the drivers’ seat. Fortunately, he settled down once the train started moving. Near the train station, there were stationary models of a police car, and of a Mini taxi…. Of all the fancy attractions at Legoland, this was the one Avi enjoyed the most – sitting in the drivers’ seat, and having other kids (and in one case, a parent) get into the back and tell him to take them to various places.
Next we went to a pirate cabin, where Radhika and Avi entered, and had a walk…. This was a free play area for kids, and I was amazed by the agility of some of the kids who were probably under 18 months old – this clearly brought out how we over-protect our children, and prevent them from indulging in physical activity. Finally, we went for a roller-coaster ride. I was a little apprehensive about whether Avi would enjoy it – but this was the ride he enjoyed the most, and he insisted on standing in the queue and doing this one more time. Before we knew it, it was a quarter to five, and we got a call from our taxi driver stating that he had arrived. So it was time to say goodbye to Legoland, and head back for Heathrow to catch our flight home. Our only regret was that Avi was underage to try the driving school at Legoland, where kids are allowed to drive battery operated cars, or to join the Digger Academy, where they are allowed to drive Diggers. (Please don’t mention these to him – we took great efforts in planning our route such that he did not see these attractions).
The previous evening at Edinburgh, Avi had been extremely keen on getting back home – and had thrown a mini-tantrum when we took a taxi to the hotel on landing in London instead of catching a flight to Bombay. Post Legoland, Bombay was forgotten, and even today, more than a week after the trip, he still keeps asking us to taking him back there, so that he can sit in the Police car and the Mini Cab.
Our journey back was not very comfortable – we had taken a bulkhead seat, and very irritatingly, people were using it as a thoroughfare without as a much as a by your leave. Further, I had checked in our eye shades, which I usually use to sleep during flights. Jet Airways took over 3 hours serving dinner after take off, and then switched on the lights again over 2 hours before landing, with the result that lights were off and I could sleep for only a bit more than 3 hours. On arriving back, we were greeted by Bombay airport at its worst, as a Saudi Airlines 747 had landed just before us. Our luggage arrived fast enough, and Appa and Ramesh had come with the Getz to pick us up (I had asked them to get the Superb, but had forgotten that its keys were locked in the steel cupboard). But when Ramesh went to fetch the Getz from the parking, he found it had suffered a puncture, and so we had to make do with 2 cool cabs to head back home. After almost 900 miles of driving in the UK, I had promptly forgotten how chaotic our roads are… and Avi passed a few remarks about how dirty the roads were. But despite all the fun we had and the nice roads out there, we were certainly glad to be back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment