XXX - Things I'll miss about the UK #1

Well the count down begins. 

I have exactly a week before I fly out and leave London behind.

Its strange. Nothing happened like I had thought it would. In fact I'm even leaving much earlier than I had initially planned. Its not like I didn't like it here or anything, it all just worked out that way. 

So I've decided to make a list of all the things I'll miss about life here in the UK. Its not in any order because most of them cannot be compared to each other, but they are things that I won't get back home in India (regardless of the state). 

#1

The amazing baked goodies!

So India has its few bakeries that do very well. In fact in my own hometown of Gangtok I can get amazing plain cake (its much more appetising than the name suggests, believe me) from a local bakery called Tripti's. This establishment has been filling my life with milky, soft, pineapple goodness since childhood, and continues to do so.
However, unlike the UK, you can't go to a supermarket in India and pick up a pack of muffins and expect them to taste as good as the freshly baked ones. Back home most of these things can be sold for months at a stretch.
Not like here where even store goods seem to be refreshed ever so often. I mean the first time I had a Sainsbury double chocolate chip muffin I couldn't believe my taste buds! Well done my friends, well done. *sigh*

#2
Walking
You know, before I left for the UK, I had been warned plenty of times about the amount I would have to walk. After a conference I attended for new students going to the UK, I got so frightened by what they said that I carried two big tubes of iodex with me. Safe to say that I survived.
The walking here is a lot more than what it is back home. Those people weren't exaggerating that, but what they failed to mention was that it would be fun to walk here. In the UK there are spacious pavements for people to walk. The weather is far cooler. The cars actually slow down when they see a person crossing/about to cross a road. Besides that there are traffic signals for pedestrians.
In fact, forget pedestrians. Once I saw a signal specifically for horse-riders. There was a special sign with a silhouette of a person on a horse and was placed at a height that would be comfortable for a rider. I know this might be mainly for the police officers one can see riding around town sometimes, but that doesn't reduce the coolness of the situation.
Imagine having such signals for elephant riders or camel riders in India...I think not.

#3
The lightening fast Internet
So back home, especially on the monstrous hills of Gangtok, using the internet isn't the best means of passing the time. Having a fast connection there is like getting to watch a falling star - its beautiful when it happens, it happens very rarely and it lasts only for a brief moment.
I do not exaggerate. Its not surprising that televisions are still a must here and one can find plenty of people who are technologically challenged.
Using the internet can be such an ordeal. I would sit on the computer for hours at a stretch, mainly because each page would take at least 5 complete minutes to open. As for any videos, just forget about it. You'll probably finish preparing, cooking and then enjoying a meal by the time a single episode has loaded (and many times even not then, as you'll find that the connection got lost along the way and now you need to load it ALL OVER AGAIN).
Of course, this would usually lead me to stay up all night, since it was only past 12 or 1am that the speed would become bearable. This being due to the fact that by then the rest of the world (who had a life to lead the next day) would have gone off to sleep. One can find themselves in the company of only a desperate few who are patiently waiting for their virtual life to take wing, or are waiting for the new Game of Thrones episode to load. You can take you pick.

#4
Information on almost everything is online!
Is it a day when you have nothing to do, but you want to do something and you just can't think of anything? Or are you in a strange new place with no company and still wish to explore it freely without getting lost? Or do you need to make an appointment with a doctor/make a reservation at a restaurant/book a cab/buy air or train or bus tickets/buy cheap tickets for any sort of entertainment? Well then simply google that shit out!
I was surprised by how easy it was to get around if one had a decent phone with internet. Google maps to the rescue!
Every event had its advertisements online. Every restaurant had a website. Every organisation had its info online. There was so much one could do without being too lost. All you had to do was look.

#5
No time limits
As a girl living in Delhi, I was very used to restricting my timings. When it would start becoming dark, especially if I had to travel alone, I'd start becoming very nervous. Going out at night even with a group of girls was stressful. I found myself crashing at a friend's quite often. If I wasn't being dropped home by a trusted friend I would usually dress in the most conservative way possible so that the cab/auto ride home wasn't too awkward.
So after years of that I was surprised by how much freedom a woman had here in London. I remember feeling like a boss every time I either took a bus alone around midnight, or even walked it home. There were a few places that one had to avoid, but this was easily be done. From all the things, I think it's this that I'll miss the most.

Anyway, I have a few more to add, but that'll be for the next post I guess. Don't want to make this too long.

'Till next time then.

xoxox