My neighbour’s 6-legged, long-antannaed, tag-alongs.

Tags

exterminating roaches, flat, India, insecticides, living in a flat, Neighbours, nuclear holocaust, roaches, Travel, Zombie apocalypse

When my new neighbours across moved in, I got a little more than just new neighbours. I got some visitors too, the unwanted type. Short ugly creatures, you know. The kind that would survive a nuclear holocaust. Who knows, maybe even a zombie apocalypse. Should we be invaded by zombies, these creatures would probably move in with them. They have a lot in common, all that ugly to start with.

Wait for it, drum rolls please…

There have been roach sightings in my flat ever since my lovely new neighbours came around. Roaches, in my house! I’m pretty certain there were none prior. And then, voila – new neighbours, roach sightings.

Drum rolls off please, you may now boo and eew.

And I’ll sing along with you. I absolutely abhor the creatures. Because of them, I’m a compulsive insecticide-sprayer. Every room in my flat has a can of Mortein Doom Fast Kill. Sounds effective, huh? It promises to ‘kill cockroaches and the eggs they carry.’ It doesn’t get much better than that in roach termination.

A girl’s bestfriend against Arthropods

Nightmares sometimes come true too, you know. I had never thought about it until I decided to take a trip to New Delhi over a year ago. I was working in Ahmedabad and thought I should tour a bit of the rest of India. A lovely friend at work got me in touch with a friend of hers in New Delhi, who agreed to book me a room in a student hostel so that I would find my accomodation waiting for me. At this point you’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with my neighbours and their roaches. Just hang in there for a bit longer, the end is nigh.

So I get to New Delhi, and eventually to the hostel, unfortunately at night. Un-huh. This room was like an anthill full of ants only this time they were bigger. Yes, roaches. Hoards and hoards of them. They were everywhere. What’s more, the roaches in Delhi did not scurry when they saw you coming. They just went about minding their own business, and you had to get out of their way. The shower, the toilet, the bed, they were everywhere, and I had no where else to spend the night. It was a nightmare.

Suffice it to say, I managed to stand on one foot in the shower and take what should be known as the shortest shower ever, in history. Let’s not even discuss how I managed to pee.

Two sisters in Bath – a sneak preview.

Tags

Bath, Travel

The thing about London is…

Tags

Afternoon tea, BFI Mediatheque, British pass times, free films, London, Mediatheque, Portobello Road Market, tea, the Savoy, theatre, Tourism, Travel

1. It rains too bl**dy much! It just never stops, and a tad more annoying is it often just goes on pattering; instead of making up it’s mind to fall reasonably and at once, help with this curious drought, at the very least.

2. On the bright side, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to things to do for leisure. And – wait for it- you don’t even have to pay for a number of them. It doesn’t get any better than that, I declare. My personal favourites:

• Hundreds of free films at the BFI Mediatheque. if you’re a film lover, this one is a must-do.
• Free (again!) access to most museums. My love for freebies must be shining through rather brightly at this point, I suppose, but hey, who amongst you can solemnly declare not to love not to have to pay for something every now and then? Raise your hands and I’ll show you a sayer of the non-truth.
• The markets – Portobello market top of my list.
• Tea at some fancy places (not free, most def!): the Athanaeum, Landmark Hotel, Hilton Park Lane, even the Savoy. Yes, you got me. I’m now just showing off! :-) Just have tea in your garden, I’m certain it’ll taste just as good. Tea has got to be one of my most favourite British pass times. Mum says I’m ageing. I just love my tea. Some people love coffee, I love tea.

3. The sales in the fashion houses just never end. If there’s any excuse for a sale, it will be used. And I aint complaining. End of month sale, Easter sale, end of season sale, April sale, spring sale, mid-season sale, feelgood sale, everything must go sale, sale, sale, sale. Just about the only thing one can thank the credit crunch for, perhaps.

4.You’ll find music/a musician just about everywhere. The underground, streets, anywhere that’s legal, someone will set up their equipment and proceed to entertain.

5. There are monuments everywhere. These people are big on history.