Couple of days in Mayapur-Nabadwip

চা কি খাবোনা আমরা?

- রিকি

মায়াপুর না নবদ্বীপ ?

ভাবলেই মাথা ঢিপ ঢিপ !

টোটো-র হর্ন আর মন্দিরের ভীড় ,

কচুরি পানা ভরা জল জলঙ্গীর ...

তিলক কেটে দেয় হুট হাট হঠাৎ !

সকালে প্রচণ্ড রোদ, ভোগ বড় বিস্বাদ !

চা পান, গান শোনা, লুডু খেলা বারণ !

সরপুরীয়া আছে তাই , ভালো থাকে মন ...

তবে দলে, বলে, গল্পে, বেশ মজা হলো ...

চলো, আবার নতুন কোথাও চলো !

Well if you can read Bengali, then you already have the gist of it from that little scribble above. The major stretch of the road to Mayapur was pretty good with wide, marked out lanes and no potholes. Apparently, it used to be a horrible death trap some ten years back. So, the drive to Mayapur was not bad at all but sadly, it did not lead us on the way to nirvana.

Iskon temple view in Mayapur From our Hotel

Mayapur is a little town in Nadia district in West Bengal, situated at the confluence of Jalangi and Hooghly river. It is widely popular for its Iskon temple and considered as one of the most holy places in India. The nearby city across Jalangi is Nabadwip where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one of the most revered Hindu saints was born in the 16th century. He popularised chanting of Hare Krishna Hare Rama and as well known, the chant has gone pretty viral worldwide. Why even the English Beatles band had its influence in their songs!

As soon as we stepped into the Iskon temple, we right away dashed towards the lunch hall. Let’s face it - you can’t be spiritual when you are hungry. There was a queue to secure lunch coupons for getting the temple prasad (bhog) and then another follow up queue to get into the lunch hall and then one more queue to get the food. After multiple such queues, when we got to eat the food, we found it was more liquid than solids - the dahl had more water than pulses and the paneer curry had more gravy than paneer. But hungry souls don’t complain much!

The sun was at its shining best. This sucked out a lot of energy from us and we hurried to check in to our hotel. The hotel - Jagannath palace was quite decent. We had lovely adjoining rooms and the much needed AC did work after some fiddling. We had 3 rooms but all of us huddled into a single room and chit chatted the afternoon away.

Wide lens view of Mayapur

A big group of people and lots of stories demand tea. So we picked up a food delivery menu that was left in the room. But upon calling them, they said they didn’t deliver food. You might wonder why you would declare yourself as a delivery service when you didn’t really deliver. That’s your food for thought (that they delivered?). But that’s not the only amusement. Upon asking around a bit more, we realised it was not easy to find tea in Mayapur! Apparently, it is an addiction, hence barred. So is listening to modern music and playing chess! So, the entire addicted lot of us went out in search of more temples and tea!

At a Shiva & Jagannatha Temple, Mayapur

The lanes in Mayapur are very narrow and the most suited mode of travel is toto. We hired two totos and the toto drivers became our local guide. They took us to -

• Chand Kazi's Samadhi - resting place of Chand Kazi who being Muslim had initially banned Chaityanya’s chanting but had come to a peaceful resolution once they debated religion between themselves and became a Chaityannya’s follower ever since), 

• Ballal dhipi - archaeological site where remnants of the kingdom of Ballal Sen from the 12th century is found. It is an open area on a green mound with solid terracotta rocks scattered around. Quite some fresh air in the otherwise concrete city.

• Chaitanya math - where we walked around many temples of saints and some souvenir shops

• Finally, a big tea stall (wow!),

• Another temple where the evening prayer/ aarti was happening with lots of music and chanting 

• And then, finally dropped us to the main attraction of the town i.e. the Iskon temple.

Ballal Dhipi

The Iskon temple campus had so much concrete and crowd that it was suffocating. A lot of construction work was underway. It looked like the temple was having more extensions even though it already looked pretty huge. There was yet another queue to get inside the temple. The idols were gorgeous and very different from what we are used to seeing - which was nice. But the place boasted about no entry to the new construction without donation which was utterly embarrassing.

Ferry crossing to Nabadwip. Check out the two different colours at the river confluence - Jalangi & Hooghly

Next morning, we crossed a ferry across the river- Jalangi to get to Nabadweep. Mayapur suddenly seemed way nicer! Nabadweep was super chaotic with extremely narrow lanes, constant honking and impatient people rushing on to each other. Another round of toto ride took us to see the sonar gourango (a little idol of Chaitanya made of pure gold), a temple where Chaityannya had left his slippers when he renounced from family life and became a saint and few other places. The place is dotted with tons of temples but we didn’t venture any further. We bagged a pot of kheer doi (famous in Nabadwip) and crossed the ferry back to Mayapur, making our way back to Kolkata.

Sonar Gourango

On the way, we stopped at Krishnanagar. We had to! You cannot cross Krishnanagar and not buy sorpuriya. So we did. A big bag of it - probably the best highlight of the trip barring the rolls of laughter that we shared at every step. As I pen this down, the sweet stock is at its frustrating low. We should have gotten a bigger bag!

Krishnanagar Rajbari

We then had a very late lunch (for which again we were in a queue for 40 minutes!) at Mother’s hut where four robots named Ananya kept carrying food to tables!

Ananya, the robot

Despite the oddity of the place, these couple of days in Mayapur turned out to be quite an unforgettable experience, probably for the oddity itself and also the opportunity that it created for the sarcastic creativity of the big, crazy family I have! Also, for the sorpuriya! Blessed.

Now, time for some Tea!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 18 | Lewes & Kingston

Day 18 - Kingston Ridge Drizzle & Sunday Roast

A lazy Sunday morning is always perfect. But when you add the sweetness of a loving, playful dog like Molly and the freshness of the rolling green hills, it exceeds its perfection!

We went to see Bob in the morning in Kingston which is just the other side of the highway from Lewes. His dog, Molly greeted me with a jump and a lick at the door. Guess she was excited to see a brown person matching the colour of her patches! After having a proper cafe-style coffee and some chit chat, we left with Molly for a walk up the Kingston ridge.

💖

A short walk through the neighbourhood lanes takes you right into the Downs here. It climbs up steep to the top and then you can basically walk and run wherever you want, much like Molly. We continued along the ridge with valleys on either side up to a paved road where the farmers’ tractor could drive up. Just as we got to this road, a vibrant yellow carpet in the distance caught our eyes. It was a rapeseed field that hadn’t yet gone off the colour ! So bright and beautiful ! We tried to capture it with our phone cameras but it is just not possible to do justice with a lens !

The yellow strip of rapeseed field

We walked around the valley and the ridge and then climbed back to the other side of the hill. This was where I had had my (in)famous fall on a frosty day years back. Obviously, such things never get forgotten. So yes, I did get laughed at, yet again ! We climbed down this slope, through the woods and then walked along a little church and across a park back to the house.

Molly was a darling. She ran around with her tongue hanging out and lips spread into a broad smile. Amidst the crazy runs, sometimes she paused to observe things, sometimes rolled over on me just to get some good strokes, and sometimes licked the sunscreen off my arms. When we got to the end of the walk, she laid on the ground still and couldn’t be moved. She decided it wasn’t really the time to go. I agreed.

Joy!

We had booked a table in the pub - ‘The Swan’ for a Sunday roastie. It was the same pub I visited on my second day here. But hey, I am a creature of habit and I love visiting places that I adore, again and again. So, there we were, sitting in the pub garden, enjoying the most delicious Sunday chicken roast with mash and vegetables and Yorkshire pudding and gravy. The inside of my mouth is a rolling tsunami of saliva right now as I am thinking about it ! We finished off with a superb blueberry and lemon cheesecake with raspberry compote on top. Ahh ! 

A 10/10 Sunday Roast!

It was the last day of my vacation and the animosity with ever-flowing Time had never felt so real. The next day was when I would leave this fairyland and fly back home to reality. We didn’t say goodbyes but the air in the room felt stuffy. We spent a lazy evening, laughing at silly jokes, eating chocolate biscuits, listening to music and then when we had to, we went to bed with a heavy heart.

To live another day on the Downs…a wistful adieu.

And a 10/10 Dessert!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 17 | Eastbourne

Day 17 - Seven Sisters, Sandwiches & Cream Tea

Why do most hikes start with a steep uphill? It’s like a quick attempt to gain some altitude. Most of the time, you do get rewarded with refreshing views as well, so it's worth the effort. Also, sometimes, it doesn’t feel as steep as it looks and sometimes, it is a pretty deceiving sight! Thankfully, in our case, it was the former as we climbed up the steep slope of Beachy Head.

View of the old lighthouse from Belle Tout

Beachy Head is the highest point on the ridge and from here, you can see most of the route ahead with the white cliffs playing peek-a-boo at a few twists and turns of the path. We did the classic Seven Sisters Walk. So basically, we were walking on top of the seven white cliff peaks that we saw earlier when walking from Seaford to Cuckmere Haven. Just that this time, we were approaching Cuckmere Haven from the opposite side of the coast i.e. east. It can also be done in reverse though i.e. from Exceat or Cuckmere Haven towards east up to Eastbourne. But as per my friend, philosopher and guide advice, ours was more strategic!

Blue flowers (name not sure) lining up the coastal ridge

I couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was crisp and sunny and the moment we got to the top of the Downs, it wrapped us up in its cosy green blanket. There was a war memorial at the top of Beachy Head, towards Whitbread Hollow. We took a good look at that and then continued our walk. Some blue flowers on long stalks lined up the coastal edge at this part. Suddenly, we saw a few fighter planes doing drills up in the sky. They were heading west along the coast. We followed their manoeuvre as far as we could and then they vanished from our sight.

Aircraft drill

Always after a steep climb, comes a descent. At this part, it was a gradual descent down to the next sister, Beachy head being the 1st or the 7th however you count it! We then climbed up the next sister which came with Belle tout i.e. the lighthouse. DD decided that this lighthouse looked really ugly from the structural aesthetics point of view. I could almost see his point. But there is the engineering feat to trolley this lighthouse inland whenever the coastal erosion threatens it, which makes it quite marvellous. Although, we engineers are always doubtful about the working mechanics of anything engineered!

Belle tout in the distance - view from Beachy Head

We took a little break and sat down on the grass near a shaded wall of the belle tout tower. We were not really very tired but we wanted to have snickers and wanted to remember it by a memory that said - having snickers by Belle tout. So we did. We then again climbed down and up to the next one which is Birling Gap. This is the only point on the route which has a big car park and toilets and ice cream vans. Needless to say, it was very crowded. I queued for about 10 minutes to go to the toilet and then we hurried over to the next sister again.

Coastal Chalk formation

This entire SDW route over the seven sisters is a series of undulations like a wave or a ripple of green meadow along the coast. You go up and down the entire ridge, some of the undulation being steeper than the other. Going from Beachy Head to Birling Gap, it was more of a gentle slope up and slightly steeper in comparison going down. But the next few undulations required a bit more calf and quad strength, nothing too alarming though unless you are sprinting!

Birling Gap - with the white chalk backdrop

On the second last sister, we had our packed lunch which was a peanut butter sandwich. Peanut butter is anyway yum but I cannot stress enough how delicious food tastes when you are out in the open and have done some adrenaline work. We watched a couple of people running up the slope. The surface is very grassy and soft but It was quite steep for a run. So we wonder how their legs might be feeling the next day!

Can you make out the descent?

Finally, we got to the last sister and down to Cuckmere Haven. We took a path to the right and followed the meandering river valley. There were swans in the river and a few sailors too, all sailing together in harmony! We made our way to the Exceat bus stop and hopped on to a bus that took the scenic route back to Eastbourne.

Cuckmere Haven in view from the last peak

I can’t say we were massively hungry when we got back to Eastbourne and were wandering around in the town. But I did have cream tea on my checklist and my tummy instantly agreed with a rumble! So, we got back to the car and drove off towards Alfriston to a cutesy village called Litlington and walked into a cafe called Litlington cream tea cafe - named with very obvious purpose and precision. I love cream teas! More than the food, it's the ritual of having it that appeals to me a lot. Quite old school. I ordered a Sussex cream tea and a lemon drizzle cake. It was the best! I gave them full marks on their culinary expertise. It is quite funny though after having the cream tea, more hunger kicked in! After we got back home, I made my pretty popular coriander chicken (I am only ever complimented on this dish but I will take that!) and peas rice for dinner.

Sussex Cream Tea and Lemon Drizzle cake

The Eastbourne to Exceat Seven Sisters hike was the longest in this trip so far. It was about 14 hilly miles. But it was definitely one of the best hikes! Even though we spent a long day walking, I felt superb. I am not saying I could go out for a run after that hike but mentally, I was very fresh.

The emotion I reckon with every time on a hike is freedom and what a sweet one this was!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 16 | Saltdean

Day 16 - SaltDean to Hove & The Heavy E-Bike

So, today was all about cycling again. If you have been following me so far, you know we had a big technology failure a few days back when we attempted cycling from Saltdean. But this time, we came prepared. We unlocked a bike from the lock like a pro. And I sat on it with a proud smile only to realise it was an e-bike and not the normal stuff.

Now with e-bikes, there are a few pros and cons. Pro being, if you are riding with a bunch of extremely efficient, semi-pro cyclists then it gives you that additional pedal power which you do not possess. In my case, this couldn’t be more true! Con being, it is extremely heavy and if you have the wind behind, you end up not working at all and your legs on the pedals feel like jelly! In my case, this happened too! 

But nonetheless, I did do some cycling on the beautiful undercliff path from Saltdean all the way to Brighton Hove and back. It was way more civil today with zero crowd. I was very keen to cycle all the way out to Shoreham and have one of those orange cakes again but I was not allowed! Going to Shoreham would mean coming off the cycle path and I was accused of being too novice and inexperienced to be riding on the road. Anyway, we did cycle in the Brighton arms though, dodging the waves splashing and spraying all over us. Whilst coming off the arm, I hit the bike in front as I was too slow to realise he had put his brake on but it was a minor incident and not to be fussed about.

I love cycling. I wish I could do it more!

It was some 4-5 hours of cycling and the heavy e-bike metre shot up to some ~50£! We ended our cruise and relished the end of the day with some buttery crumpets, a short walk around the town and fresh-out-of-the-oven chimichangas for dinner!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 15 | Eastbourne

Day 15 - Eastbourne Tennis & Strawberry ‘n’ Cream

Wimbledon is Wimbledon. There is nothing more to say about that. But what’s the next best thing? Eastbourne Rothesay International Tennis has been celebrating its grass court for 50 years now and I was on Cloud Nine when I arrived at this event !

Rothesay International Lawn Tennis Centre

What a beautiful surprise this was ! I love surprises but lately they have not been very pleasant. But this one surprise made everything okay and beyond ! I did not know where we were going even in the morning when we got to the station. I was kept in the dark, tickets were bought in an extremely secretive manner. The guessing game was on anyway. But, I could have never guessed it and I could not believe it straight away either even when I was told ! 

Also, I saw two llamas in a farm from the train window as it rolled down the track to Eastbourne. Totally unrelated fact but it’s worth my memory!

Enjoying Pimm's, Strawberries and the Sun

The whole experience in Rothesay was amazing. Right from outside the train station, there was a tennis-festive vibe. There were lots of big adverts and flags. People in their big sun hats were walking down to the arena. We followed the crowd and arrived at the venue.

In between the matches

Location was impeccable, the tournament was held at the lovely Devonshire Park in Eastbourne. On one side, a charming old church peeked into the view. The weather was just right with lots of sun and a pleasant coastal breeze.

British duo in action...

We watched 3 matches and saw some big names playing in the court like Raducanu, Tayor Fritz, Harriet Dart. We saw 21 years’ old Leylah Fernandez playing Dart with extreme agility and immediately took a liking to her. Kader Nouni, the French umpire was officiating this game and entertained everyone with his ‘luxurious’ voice and commentary style ! I have become his fan ever since.

Leylah Fernandez serving..

I felt extremely pampered and blessed when I was handed over a big box of strawberry and cream that was carefully packed and brought over for the day along with my favourite avocado and roast chicken sandwich ! 

Strawberry & Cream !

And just like that, we spent the day watching tennis, walking around the arena, sniffing around the shops and counting my blessings…

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 14 | Swanage

Day 14 - Old Harry’s Rock & A Happy Molly (Swanage)

The previous day was a walk towards the Dancing ledge which is to the west side from the Swanage centre. This morning, we made our way towards the east to do the good old Harry's rock walk. Old Harry is the name of a single stack of chalk that stands out in the sea. It has undergone years of wear and tear and has come off the mainland.

Old Harry's Rock

Apparently, there was a time in history, when there was a Mrs. Harry as well but erosion caused the wife to stumble into the sea. There was a group of kids on a school tour and we eavesdropped on the teacher’s lecture and now we know that the chalk erosion first causes the headland to form caves and then the caves erode further into arches and finally into stacks.

A house in the woods at the beginning of the climb

From the top of the cliff here, you get a lovely view of the Swanage bay to the west and the Studland bay to the east. It’s a nice piece of land coming out into the sea protecting the bay from any harsh weather. There was a big herd of baby cows and their mothers, grazing their lazy day away. Everyone seemed to be a bit apprehensive about them as there was news in the UK about people getting intimidated by cows!

View of the Swanage Bay from the top

We were climbing up along the edge when suddenly, my friend called out Molly! Of Course I had no idea what was going on until an extremely happy dog came running towards us through the long grass, jumping up and down with its ears flapping like crazy in the air ! It is the sweetest dog I have ever met. I love dogs but I am also always a tiny bit scared of them. But with Molly, there is not a single scary bone ! I loved her instantly when she laid down and let me stroke her all over without any complaint. She belonged to a friend who I have heard about a lot but met for the first time.

View of the Studland Bay from the top

We finally finished our hike and walked back into the town. I treated myself a custard tart and it was so amazing that I ordered a second one right away! We gathered some more fodder and then drove off to Corfe castle. The stone walled village and the lovely disney castle (Corfe castle has been used in many films, one such being Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks!) welcomed me back with the same happy vibe. Last time I was here, we took the steam train to the castle and back - very Victorian. I did not have the same luxury this time, courtesy, my ever constant enemy - time!

Corfe Castle Village

And with that enemy looming over me, we finally said goodbye to the sweet Swanage and headed back home. It’s uncanny that I always end up feeling like a much more lovable and better person when I come back from Swanage!

Anyway, back home, time for some comfort food. For me, that always involves a simple dahl and veggie. These couple of days in Swanage was like a trip within a trip. So when I got back to Lewes, I craved something simple. I made moong dal , beetroot mix veggie and mushroom omelette.

Happiness!

Take me to a lovely blue sea, make me walk miles on green grass and feed me dahl and an omelette and I am a happy beaming bee ! Later, when I dozed off to sleep, there was the Famous Five running around the Disney castle looking for hidden treasure…zzz.

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 13 | Swanage

Day 13 - Potter in the Town, Hike in the Durlston Country Park & Dip in the Cold Swanage Bay (Swanage)

Crossing a river in a ferry with your car on it is quite fun. Maybe because it's so rare that we get to do it. But also, because of the engineering feat behind it. Especially the chain ferry that runs between Poole harbour and Swanage. It runs on two hardened steel chains anchored on either side. There is a little gap which lets the tide in and out of the Poole harbour.

Swanage bay view on the hike to Durlston

Funny enough, when we reached Poole harbour, the tide was out and the ferry had got stuck in the sandbank ! With tides going in and out twice everyday, you would think this is a common foreseen problem. So anyway, we waited longer than we anticipated. Finally, the moon had its mercy, the tidal water flew in and the ferry was floating again.

Ships and boats lined up in the Swanage bay

Swanage is one of my favourite coastal towns in Dorset in the UK. Everything about it is oh-so-charming - its rich Jurassic heritage, the lovely fresh vibe of the bay and not to mention, its sweet allure to the child in me! I have grown up reading Enid Blyton and all her stories are based out of Dorset. The same picturesque lanes and chocolate boxy postcard scenes that I had imagined while reading the books as a kid comes into life whenever I am in Dorset.

The dog-leg pier

There is ample to choose from in this place and it's bloody hard to pick a favourite ! There is -

• the big ammonite impressions in the Durlston country park,
• the many fossils that are found here not to forget the huge skull of an ancient pliosaur that was unearthed only last year,
• history of Mary Anning, the 18th century born little girl who lived somewhere on this coast and sold fossils to the tourists i.e. the real she from the tongue twister - ‘she sells sea shells on the seashore’,
• the black shale rocks jutting out of Kimmeridge bay,
• the little rock pool where you can swim at the Dancing Ledge (what a sweet name!),
• the white worn out cliff called the Harrys,
• the old Victorian steam railway,
• and not to forget the zesty green of the cliffs dotted with wild flowers against the white chalks and the sparkling blue of the sea.

It is a place of sweet thrills.

Ammonite!

After the early morning drive and the long wait for the ferry, we were more than happy to jump out of the car and stretch our legs. We walked along the coast and up and down the pier, checked out some red crabs, climbed up to the Wellington clock tower, nosed around some of the rescue boats and then walked back to the centre of the town.

Walk in the town

We then hoovered up a big Dorset pasty and finally checked into our bed-n-breakfast on the Victoria avenue near the Rabling road. We had packed enough sandwiches (and mind you, we were fancy too! We had an onion bagel with avocado and a beetroot sandwich each!) with us which we had conveniently forgotten about when we were devouring the huge pasty at the shop. But the food needed eating and we did the needful. Then with a fat tummy, we went out on our afternoon hike along the cliffs all the way to the Durston castle, and then crossed the Anvil point and walked a bit further towards the Dancing Ledge.

A majestic tree on the country hike!

Time is always an enemy. When you have a good time, it runs out quickly. And when you have a bad time, it's the slowest thing ever. The sun seemed to be fading quicker than usual and we brought our hike to an abrupt stop.

Such cool formations along the cliff

It was a hot day and the water in the Swanage bay looked tempting. We left our stuff behind and stepped in the cold water. An instant gush of blood rushed into the feet! Bit by bit, we embraced the coldness of the water and finally, all I knew was, I was floating flat out with arms stretched, blue sky above and not a worry in the world !

Just me trying to take water off my ears!

 

Summer in the UK can be quite tricky as it's hard to guess the time! It was almost past 9 and it still looked like a jolly good day ! We were late for dinner. By the time we were out to get some food, most of the pubs and cafes were shut or stopped taking any more orders. We finally found a pub which agreed to do one last order. It brought us the worst ever chicken & mushroom pie but it did make us full, so can’t really complain!

The pub who agreed to serve us!

 

Back in the bnb later, put the tele on where Liam Neeson was saying he would find him and kill him and then know not when, had slowly drifted off to sleep thinking about how beautiful Swanage has always been !

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 12 | Shoreham & Burgess Hill

Day 12 - More Patisserie & Some Swim

I love food. I eat a lot. And I have insane cravings. But I do not regret any of this. I feel pretty blessed that I have the culinary sense that enables me to appreciate the nuances of different kinds of food. In other words, last week when I visited the French patisserie in Shoreham, I had a huge conflict of interest between a moist orange cake and a creamy custard Danish pastry. The cake did win that day but the Danish pastry had been haunting my taste buds ever since!

I just realised I have got no photo from this day that can be posted in this blog! Hence, a Danish custard pic from the internet. Mine looked better !

So, the first trip of the day was to Shoreham patisserie shop by the beach. It was a lazy start today. There had been quite a lot of walking and travelling with more plans to do the same for the next few days. So, today was meant to be slow.

I got myself a huge apricot danish pastry filled with custard and sat on the beach, enjoying the same. Another sunny, clear day today with sparkling blue sea and a few windsurfers. Also, a cat walked into the beach! It was the first time ever I saw a cat on a beach, not sure if it was the first time for a cat too!

Afterwards, we drove to the Burgess hill Triangle for a swim. It was a pleasure being back in this pool, doing glides and trial-summersaults. The day ended with a visit to the local shop, having a hearty meal of spaghetti bolognese for dinner, watching laid back movies and gearing up for a trip the next morning. Till then..zzz.

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 11 | Saltdean

Day 11 - Saltdean Stroll & Fishy Pie

Technology fails and that’s not really the problem. The problem is we are so damn dependent on it that even a tiny failure gets to your nerves! In other words, the cycle booking app did not work when we arrived at Saltdean today for our Tour De Seafront! C’est la vie! When all technology in this world fails, the only thing you can do is stand up on your own pair of feet! So that’s what we did. We walked.

Saltdean Undercliff Road

Saltdean is a nice little coastal village just outside of Lewes. The first thing that you notice when you go to Saltdean is the vibrant blue sea in contrast to the bright white cliff walls and a nice, wide undercliff path that runs all along the sea right into the town of Brighton. This undercliff road is very popular amongst walkers, cyclists and beginner cyclists all alike.

This picture is from years back!

As you walk along this path, you can see the overhanging cliff walls with numerous little pigeon nests. You would also find some areas of those overhangs have nets around them - a protection net for loose rocks and pebbles coming off the cliffs at regular intervals. On the other side of the walk, the turquoise blue sea meets the horizon. On a windy day, you would get sprayed on by the waves lashing against the bottom of the path. As a matter of fact, as per the Brighton & Hove City Council documentation, Saltdean is believed to be named after the salt-spray that covered the grass after storms!

A huge splash in Saltdean, picture from a very windy day

A very cosy little cafe used to sell carrot cakes on this undercliff road. I have had numerous coffees and cakes here. But now, it has been replaced by a posh looking cafe that seems to be selling cafe latte and cappuccino as opposed to just coffee and tea sold in the earlier one. I twitched my obnoxious nose at it and passed on.

We went around the Brighton marina (it is the biggest man made marina in Europe!), admired the extremely patient anglers there, checked out the boats a couple of which were steaming out into the sea and then made our way into the touristy town of Brighton. When you approach Brighton from this side of the Marina, you get on to the nude beach first and then the town pier. However, there were no nude people like the first time I was here. This end of the town was now way busier than the otherwise quietness that I remembered from my early visits. A new walking path has been laid out right on the pebble beach here, making it very easy to walk. This probably explains why this part of the seafront is not so quiet anymore, which in turn probably explains why all the peace-seeking sun-soaking nude people are gone too!

Stretching all the way to Brighton

Anyway, I found Mr.Whippy ice cream truck. So I was happy having my vanilla ice cream with a chocolate stick. In my defence, not that I need to defend, it was quite hot. And quite strangely, when it gets hot, the heat in Sussex gets hotter than the heat in Kolkata, at least, to my skin, anyway!

I checked out my first rented place right on the seafront and then also had a look at the travelodge hotel where I had stayed my very first few days in England. But by now as we got to the Brighton pier, I was quite hot. A perfect nostalgia stroll started taking a toll due to the heat and also, not to forget the crowd ! Holy cow ! Looked like the entire English community was in Brighton this weekend. I know, it does sound odd coming from someone born and brought up in the crowded city of Kolkata, but I do not want heat and I do not want crowds when I am on holidays ! I get that everyday, don’t I ! We realised it was the weekend and we had made a rookie mistake of choosing the wrong day for this visit. Brighton over the weekends gets extremely touristy.

The only decent picture could be captured given the crowd and the heat!

So, again, I twitched my nose like a local, pah-ed at the crowd and walked aimlessly in the Brighton lanes, spotting the old hangout spots, restaurants from the past, wondered about the new shops and then as the legs started giving up, hoped in a bus back to Saltdean where our car was parked.

All's well that ends well. And this evening ended with one of my most favourite experimented dishes ever i.e. a baked salmon & broccoli pie. Oh yes! If you have never tried it, you must. Here is the recipe that we broadly follow but of course with our own convenient tweaks -  Italian Broccoli & Salmon Bake. I do enjoy cooking when it is not absolutely essential and I have the right company! We were extremely hungry and tired after that long walk in the heat and crowd. So, the fishy pie was hoovered up in seconds and we called it a night!

P.S. Nothing beats the smell of a freshly baked pie…mmm.