Car boot sale is a US garage sale on steroids. There is one near our place every Saturday and Sunday, so let me explain what it is from what I have seen. There is a big school playground very near our place. During our first Saturday here, we saw quite a few cars and a lot of people on the field. We saw it from a distance and had something to do, so we did not bother checking it out. We were passing by the ground the next weekend too and decided to go in. It was like a small fair: there were quite a few people, professionals and amateurs, selling a variety of household goods (new and used) like books, clothes, CD's, small appliances etc, in addition to food stuff like cookies, fudge, ice cream etc. Apparently they bring the stuff in their car boot, so hence the name. Wife was all excited to check out the used books - she bought few books at 20 pence each. We found a booth selling fresh fruits and vegetables. It is very cheap compared to our local supermarkets - we spend about £5-7 and get our weekly fruits. It was all exciting the first couple of times and since then, we just go buy the fruits and get home. We don't need to carry it for a long distance, so it is an added incentive. I found a website with a directory of car boot sales, which will come handy when we move. http://carbootjunction.co.uk.
We have had some great weather the past week or so - sunny in the early 20's (about 70-80F). It is nice to go out in the mornings and evenings, but afternoons get a little too hot, especially without a car. It is hard to find AC here - our house does not have one, the long distance and underground trains do not have it either and neither do the malls, except for a few stores. One has to assume that this is as hot as it gets and doesn't last long, so there is no need for AC.
We have a washer-dryer combo appliance here. The very first time we used it, we were surprised to see that the cycle ran for four hours. Even though I do not require my clothes to be hot from the dryer (like Seinfeld's Kramer), I felt that the dryer did not do a great job. Apparently, combo washer-dryers dry the clothes with condensation rather than blowing hot air. So they take longer and the clothes are not dry enough. We are used to it now - we just let it run and once it is done, hang the clothes for a few hours to get it dry perfectly. At least with the combo, there is one less thing to do - no need to unload the washer and load the dryer.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A trip to Little India
As time passes, we are feeling more at home and get a "settled down" feeling. The day to day routine resembles life in US for the most part. Wife gets ready for work and kid gets ready for nursery. Wife takes the kid and drops off in the nursery. I work from home, so my work day starts early. I find some time in the afternoon to run a quick errand - a trip to the post office to apply for license or a bike ride to the Indian store. I leave around 5 to pick up the kid and wife joins me near the mall. We pop into a store often - interesting how many times we go to stores every week to buy necessities. Then we head home, wife cooks, I take care of the kid and watch football, then we eat dinner and call it a day.
We have been going somewhere every weekend. Last Saturday, we went to East Ham, a locality in East London. Our plan was to go to a south indian restaurant and visit a Hindu temple. When we got down, I was pleasantly surprised to see only Indian stores and surrounded by Indians - Tamils and other south indians to be precise. Indian restaurants, clothing stores, grocery stores, jewelry shops, roadside food stalls - you name it. Many of the stores displayed notices in Tamil as well. The south indian restaurant we were planning to go - a chain called Saravana Bhavan - was a 10 minute walk, but we must have crossed at least five other places where we could have happily eaten. The menu was like a small book - at least 15 pages long and we had a hard time trying to shortlist the items. The food was authentic, very tasty and not expensive either (we spent about £15 for 6 items. Not satisfied with the lunch, we bought some yummy snacks to take home.
Then we explored the area a little bit. Visited a clothing store and a video store. Then we went to the Hindu temple nearby. It had an authentic feel. There were a lot of people inside and food (free!) was being served in the top floor. We had planned to go to Greenwich park in London, but the weather was a little chilly and the boy was a little cranky, so we headed home. It was a very satisfying day. I felt we got what we came for in the UK.
We can drive with the US license for a year. We have started the process to get a license here. Looks like we have to apply for a provisional license first, then write a theory exam and then take a road test (apparently, there is a 40% chance of clearing it in the first try). We were seriously doing research to buy a car. That is put on hold for now, since all the walking we do everyday do not bother us as much. The cars are fairly small and much more fuel efficient (40 mpg is common). That does not help much with the fuel cost with a liter of petrol costing £1.17, which works out to $6.50 per gallon at the current exchange rate, more than twice the price in US. I see many cars that I did not see in US - Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Renault. Hondas and Toyotas are around, but not that many. Car insurance seems to be very expensive. From a comparison shopping site (www.moneysupermarket.com), we got a quote of about £600 per year for the two of us for a 5 year old car. Maybe it will improve with more driving history here. In US, we were paying about $1100 per year for two cars - a brand new minivan and 5 year old Corolla. I should remember to stop comparing UK with US, especially with cars.
We have been going somewhere every weekend. Last Saturday, we went to East Ham, a locality in East London. Our plan was to go to a south indian restaurant and visit a Hindu temple. When we got down, I was pleasantly surprised to see only Indian stores and surrounded by Indians - Tamils and other south indians to be precise. Indian restaurants, clothing stores, grocery stores, jewelry shops, roadside food stalls - you name it. Many of the stores displayed notices in Tamil as well. The south indian restaurant we were planning to go - a chain called Saravana Bhavan - was a 10 minute walk, but we must have crossed at least five other places where we could have happily eaten. The menu was like a small book - at least 15 pages long and we had a hard time trying to shortlist the items. The food was authentic, very tasty and not expensive either (we spent about £15 for 6 items. Not satisfied with the lunch, we bought some yummy snacks to take home.
Then we explored the area a little bit. Visited a clothing store and a video store. Then we went to the Hindu temple nearby. It had an authentic feel. There were a lot of people inside and food (free!) was being served in the top floor. We had planned to go to Greenwich park in London, but the weather was a little chilly and the boy was a little cranky, so we headed home. It was a very satisfying day. I felt we got what we came for in the UK.
We can drive with the US license for a year. We have started the process to get a license here. Looks like we have to apply for a provisional license first, then write a theory exam and then take a road test (apparently, there is a 40% chance of clearing it in the first try). We were seriously doing research to buy a car. That is put on hold for now, since all the walking we do everyday do not bother us as much. The cars are fairly small and much more fuel efficient (40 mpg is common). That does not help much with the fuel cost with a liter of petrol costing £1.17, which works out to $6.50 per gallon at the current exchange rate, more than twice the price in US. I see many cars that I did not see in US - Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Renault. Hondas and Toyotas are around, but not that many. Car insurance seems to be very expensive. From a comparison shopping site (www.moneysupermarket.com), we got a quote of about £600 per year for the two of us for a 5 year old car. Maybe it will improve with more driving history here. In US, we were paying about $1100 per year for two cars - a brand new minivan and 5 year old Corolla. I should remember to stop comparing UK with US, especially with cars.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Random musings
Long days: It starts getting bright very early in the morning - probably about 4:30 AM and does not get dark till 10 in the night. It looks at least one hour extra sunlight than US. Of course you can't precisely say when the sun rises since it is cloudy mostly :(. The boy has adapted to this well - too well I should say, since he is up at least by 5:30.
Hard water: Tap water is hard. You can taste it in the water and you can see it when you boil the water. It seems like all of England has this problem. We brought a Brita filter to get over this.
Smoking: You see smokers everywhere - in the open places in the malls, in bus stops, in parks. It is safe to conclude the number of smokers is much higher than the US.
Utilities: On first look, phone and internet seems to be cheaper than the US. You could get broadband internet for £10-15 a month, compared to $50 in US. And you don't get pushed into buying a package. Vonage gives unlimited landline calls for £6 a month, compared to $15 a month. A Sim-only mobile phone plan costs £10 a month for 300 minutes with unlimited in-network calling, compared to $40 a month. All these prices include taxes, whereas you can get caught by surprise with taxes in the US. We are still in a temporary place, so these numbers could be higher or lower when we find our own place.
People: In general, people you meet on the road are less friendly than the US - not many smile or say hello. In the US, our boy meets with a lot of compliments and smiling folks in the mall and the park, but not so much here. I should add that wife always gets asked if she needs help when she is trying to get the boy on the buggy (stroller) up or down the stairs.
Hard water: Tap water is hard. You can taste it in the water and you can see it when you boil the water. It seems like all of England has this problem. We brought a Brita filter to get over this.
Smoking: You see smokers everywhere - in the open places in the malls, in bus stops, in parks. It is safe to conclude the number of smokers is much higher than the US.
Utilities: On first look, phone and internet seems to be cheaper than the US. You could get broadband internet for £10-15 a month, compared to $50 in US. And you don't get pushed into buying a package. Vonage gives unlimited landline calls for £6 a month, compared to $15 a month. A Sim-only mobile phone plan costs £10 a month for 300 minutes with unlimited in-network calling, compared to $40 a month. All these prices include taxes, whereas you can get caught by surprise with taxes in the US. We are still in a temporary place, so these numbers could be higher or lower when we find our own place.
People: In general, people you meet on the road are less friendly than the US - not many smile or say hello. In the US, our boy meets with a lot of compliments and smiling folks in the mall and the park, but not so much here. I should add that wife always gets asked if she needs help when she is trying to get the boy on the buggy (stroller) up or down the stairs.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
NHS, London
We had the first taste of National Health System (NHS) - UK's universal health care system - this week. We have to first register with our choice of a General Practitioner (GP) - someone like a Primary Care Physician in US. No registrations required for emergency visits. I went to a GP practice near our town centre for the registration. I filled out a simple two page form, provided proof of identity (passport) and proof of address (a letter from my bank confirming my UK address) and I was all set.
We wanted to make sure our boy's vaccinations are consistent with UK's standards. There was an appointment available same day afternoon, with a baby clinic run by a nurse. The nurse reviewed his US vaccination history and confirmed it was fine except for one shot, which he got then. The whole affair was over in less than thirty minutes and our experience was very close to what you would expect with a PCP's practice in the US.
We spent a nice, touristy day in London today. It took us about 50 minutes by train to London's Waterloo station. London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel by the Thames, was our first stop. We got some really good views of many of London's top attractions from really high up, but the experience was a little underwhelming. Then we took a walk crossing the Westminster Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. Our choice for lunch had been an Indian restaurant serving Kerala food near the palace, but after going there, found that they are closed for lunch on Saturdays. Had a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant nearby. Spent some time in St.James's park. It was funny to watch the boy on the grass - he was scared of touching the green grass, would take his hand away and cry. No idea he can be scared of such a thing - should remember to exploit this while babyproofing.
The weather was really nice in the past few days. Back to rain and crappy weather next week.
We wanted to make sure our boy's vaccinations are consistent with UK's standards. There was an appointment available same day afternoon, with a baby clinic run by a nurse. The nurse reviewed his US vaccination history and confirmed it was fine except for one shot, which he got then. The whole affair was over in less than thirty minutes and our experience was very close to what you would expect with a PCP's practice in the US.
We spent a nice, touristy day in London today. It took us about 50 minutes by train to London's Waterloo station. London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel by the Thames, was our first stop. We got some really good views of many of London's top attractions from really high up, but the experience was a little underwhelming. Then we took a walk crossing the Westminster Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. Our choice for lunch had been an Indian restaurant serving Kerala food near the palace, but after going there, found that they are closed for lunch on Saturdays. Had a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant nearby. Spent some time in St.James's park. It was funny to watch the boy on the grass - he was scared of touching the green grass, would take his hand away and cry. No idea he can be scared of such a thing - should remember to exploit this while babyproofing.
The weather was really nice in the past few days. Back to rain and crappy weather next week.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Day Nursery, Bike and more
I am adding information from the last four days.
Nursery: We started the hunt for nurseries for our boy on Thursday. There was one right around the corner from where we are staying and that looked like the best option. Unfortunately, they did not have immediate vacancies in the babies' class. My wife had called a couple of places from the US and we were really interested in one of them. It is a small chain in the UK, owned by a bigger chain in the US. We visited it on Friday morning and we liked it. It was pretty much like a US daycare - friendly staff, very clean, a minimum teacher to kid ratio (1 to 3), separate cots (cribs) for babies to sleep, daily log sheet etc. They provide nappies (diapers), wipes, formula milk and cooked food. It was a little expensive - 908 pounds per month - but it was close to wife's office. We told them that we are choosing them and got some bad news.
Maternity leave in the UK is 52 weeks (39 weeks of full pay, can you believe it?), so it looks like parents take their time to send the kids out. The usual practice is for the parents bring the kids for up to 6 "visits" - leave the kid and see whether he can handle it. Monday being a holiday and wife starting work on Tuesday, we did not have any more days to spare. The centre director agreed to a visit in the afternoon and then see what happens. So, our boy had just one chance. It turned out to be ok - he had a good time there and we even left him for 15 minutes. Everything went well finally - he started today and is doing good there.
Bike: A colleague of wife's did not have use for her bike and agreed to sell it to us. We bought it for 40 pounds - out first set of wheels. It looks very manly - except for the pink color and the basket in the front. You will find me cruising around the town on it.
We went for lunch yesterday. It was a Bangladeshi restaurant near the town centre and the food tasted very different and good. They did not have a highchair - not sure if that is the case in all restaurants. Wife is very happy with her cooking. The stoves are gas stove like India and unlike the coil stoves in US. Her rotis come out fluffed and is very excited about it. I can't complain.
Nursery: We started the hunt for nurseries for our boy on Thursday. There was one right around the corner from where we are staying and that looked like the best option. Unfortunately, they did not have immediate vacancies in the babies' class. My wife had called a couple of places from the US and we were really interested in one of them. It is a small chain in the UK, owned by a bigger chain in the US. We visited it on Friday morning and we liked it. It was pretty much like a US daycare - friendly staff, very clean, a minimum teacher to kid ratio (1 to 3), separate cots (cribs) for babies to sleep, daily log sheet etc. They provide nappies (diapers), wipes, formula milk and cooked food. It was a little expensive - 908 pounds per month - but it was close to wife's office. We told them that we are choosing them and got some bad news.
Maternity leave in the UK is 52 weeks (39 weeks of full pay, can you believe it?), so it looks like parents take their time to send the kids out. The usual practice is for the parents bring the kids for up to 6 "visits" - leave the kid and see whether he can handle it. Monday being a holiday and wife starting work on Tuesday, we did not have any more days to spare. The centre director agreed to a visit in the afternoon and then see what happens. So, our boy had just one chance. It turned out to be ok - he had a good time there and we even left him for 15 minutes. Everything went well finally - he started today and is doing good there.
Bike: A colleague of wife's did not have use for her bike and agreed to sell it to us. We bought it for 40 pounds - out first set of wheels. It looks very manly - except for the pink color and the basket in the front. You will find me cruising around the town on it.
We went for lunch yesterday. It was a Bangladeshi restaurant near the town centre and the food tasted very different and good. They did not have a highchair - not sure if that is the case in all restaurants. Wife is very happy with her cooking. The stoves are gas stove like India and unlike the coil stoves in US. Her rotis come out fluffed and is very excited about it. I can't complain.
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