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Pushkar: London Calling It was still cold and cloudy when I arrived in London, the first on my list of destinations around Europe. Following the special ‘cycle-paths’, I made my way to the centre of the city where my host and guide, Marie, has an apartment. During my three-day stay at her place, she took me sightseeing. I’d always dreamt of visiting Buckingham Palace and the Tower Bridge and I was fortunate enough to have my wish fulfilled. Buckingham is the official residence of the Royal Family and there are hoards of tourists crowding the palace gates all the time. The Tower Bridge is one of the most recognised bridges in the world. It is simply magnificent. A week later, I had to look for another place to stay, this time, in West Ealing. I reached my host’s house at 5:30 PM as per our phone conversation. To my surprise, the house was empty. Two hours passed and I decided to leave but not before writing a little note. I was in a dilemma with no place to stay. Then I remembered someone I’d met at the Nepali Embassy. Sushil Thapa had given me his phone number and address in case I ever needed his help. He was my only option. It was a choice between sleeping in the park or a station and phoning him. I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the other prospects considering how cold it was. I called Sushil. Unfortunately, his house was more than two hours south-east of West Ealing and it was too late for me to travel that distance. But he assured me that he would find someone to help me. I waited inside the phone booth from where I could see posters of nude girls advertising sex—not an uncommon London sight. Finally, the pay phone rang and it was Bijaya, a Nepali living in West Ealing. He said he’d be there to pick me up within 30 minutes and he was prompt. I dropped off my bike at his house and we went for dinner at a Nepali restaurant called ‘Munal’. We were there till 11 PM eating momos and drinking ‘Nepali’ beer with names like ‘Kathmandu’, ‘Gurkha’ and ‘Khukuri’, all of which were made in London. I spent a leisurely two weeks with Bijaya, who gave me all the daal-bhat-tarkari I could eat. People in London are skeptical about the three W’s: work, women and weather. They say these are unnecessary and not to be trusted. I don’t agree with them, because for me, the weather determines many aspects of my journey and I respect it greatly. The outskirts of London were brimming with greenery, the color so rich and vivid it filled my senses until it was all I could see. I rode four days through this beautiful landscape till I reached the port of Fishguard, the last point of Wales. I had to spend the night on a bench because I couldn’t stay at a hotel or a campsite and I had to leave early next morning. I had a ship to catch at 2:45 AM. Ireland, here I come
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pushkar Heads to the UK By-Preena
It was still freezing in London when I got there, certainly too cold for riding bikes. I received an e-mail from my old friend Elizabeth (not to be confused with the queen) accompanied by an e-ticket to Hollywood in Florida, asking me to visit her. She had sold her house and was packing for her trip to Lesotho, in South Africa, to volunteer in the Peace Corps. She needed my help to move and store all her things. It was quite a task, packing up all the contents of the house and selling it at such a short notice and it took us a couple of days to get it done. We organised a garage sale to get rid of stuff she didn’t want and the money raised through the sale was handed to me. You finished too soon,” he said simply. I was speechless for a moment. It made no sense, I worked hard, I did my job, what was the problem? And since when did working fast become a crime? But he refused to listen to me and was adamant on giving me $200 and no more. They say “if you can’t beat them, join them”. I had no choice but to accept his offer but the situation went from bad to worse. When I went to collect my money at one o’clock the next day, as per his instructions, he was nowhere to be seen. “Anthony has left some money for you,” said Lizette, his wife. The amount – a $100. This incident gives me the push I need to start my tour of Europe. I’m off to London. Source-www.wavemag.com.np
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