First two weeks in England

finally i hav got a chance 2 write since my arrival in UK. its been great last 2 weeks. my flight 2 eng was very interesting. it landed on time at heathrow but after the arrival the captain came 2 no dat there is a nite curfew at heathrow, which basically means no plane can take off after midnite. since the plane had 2 go back, the flight was diverted 2 gatwick (another london airport) and it took good 2 and a half hrs 2 take off frm heathrow. u no its a busy airport. all this while we were in plane. finally when we reached gatwick, we were asked 2 hang in the air beacsue there was an accident on the run way and it was being cleaned up. so kept on hanging in the air over gatwick for good 50 min. finally we landed at gatwick after a total of 4 hrs delay around 1 am. the check out was smooth, i was picked up by UK's National Exchange Manager from the airport. the airport is so far away from the city, first we took a train, then a bus, and finally a taxi and reached home around 5 am.

the next day i sfhifted to bracknell (the town where my off is) and spent the next two nites with an indian trainee there, also working in my off but in a different dept. he happens 2 b an ex-AI.

i got my first taste of the favourite english passtime, i.e. drinking. the indian trainee shares the house with two brits and they went 2 a pub in the evening. i accompanied them. while they spent next 5 hrs drinking bear and getting "lightly drunk" by the end of it, i had pineapple and other juices enjoying chatting with them. it was fun nevertheless.

the morning after that, i was at the global HQ of DHL Logistics in Bracknell on the 3rd floor of the 13 storey building, and it was streategy and busniess planning department. the ppl are really nice, the environment is awesome and the work is interesting. its gonna be very exciting to work in this company because of the business and internal challenges it is facing at this point in time.

it took me a a couple of days to find myself a nice place 2 live, got one with a sri lankan family. my room is spacious enuff, it has a tv as well as a fridge (a luxury from UK standards), so dats cool. the house is great and the ppl are very hospitable.

i spent my first weekend in england site seeing in london. british history is rich with our history, after all they ruled us for good 90 yrs. went to windosr castle, it had stuff that british had captured from various places they conquered. it also had the weapons and dress of tipu sultan, fascinating isnt it?

then we went to the famous tower bridge (popularly known as the london bridge), nothing spectacular there except for the grandeous river thames. the next site was the beautiful parliament building and the big ben and the famous london eye which gives u a panoramic view of the city of london. the city is awesome i wud say because of its traditional setting marked with modern architecture here and there, primarily in the financial district which is called canary wharf.

my uncle was visiting me from toronto, he had rented a car, and while roaming around in london, sumtimes after midnite, we passed by areas which will astonish u with their elitist seetting; the ritz, the rolls royces, the ferraris, u no what im saying. seriously, going 2 the PC in lahore on your BMW 7 series or mercedes S65 AMG, or porsche 911 turbo, to attend a rs. 25000 pass fashion show seems like mediocricity. we passed by an elitisit night club which had a queue of ppl outsiode it, waiting 2 enter. my abrupt comment was: "ye behn chod sari sari raat ayashi kertey hain, subah inhe kaam pe bhi nahi jana hota, semegh se bahar hai itna paisa in ke paas kahan se ata hai". the spontaneous answer was 3 generations of business with good luck! simple isnt it? so if u want 2 b rich enuff to go to ritz at 1 am in your ferrari and looking to spend 10000 sterlings in that nite, u cant do it but ur great grandchildren can. so start working ur ass off so dat ur great grand children can enjoy that status. funny isnt it? there's a cheap way too, if u happen 2 be a pakistani resident, which u r, u can become at least rich enuff 2 go 2 a PC in your beamer and spend 50000 rs in a nite on ur ayyashi. it will only take a few unfair means of doing business here and there, trust me.

the famous trafalgar square, in one of its corner, has the statue of the british general who lead the british forces in the 1857 war of independence, again fascinating for a guy like me.

so these were my first cpl of weeks in the land of the ppl whose ancestors ruled us for 90 yrs.


and my contact info is:
cell: +44 (0)7942 389381
off direct line: +44 (0)1344 744247

now im gonna figure out how 2 spend my 2nd weekend in England.