Raju gaya onsite...

I was in my cubicle the other day trying to make sense of some query one of our clients had sent, when suddenly a colleague suddenly comes over to my desk and says bye...
The first thought that came to my head and which I asked him was, what? is he leaving for 'better prospects'?
He said "no, I am goin onsite, to UK for a long term assignment". I wished him all the best and that was that. Back to work for me...

Later that evening on my way home in the bus I started thinking of my first assignment onsite in the UK. I, like other brave souls before me, had not opted to risk it out on my own. I was going through my company. It was to be my first visit to the land of the Queen's language. I had no clue on what to expect and only just a few tips from my manager. What follows are certain my experience after landing there in Heathrow terminal 3.

The Weather
The first thing that hit me once I left the airport was the biting cold. It was the second week of January at around 8pm. I was wearing two t-shirts, one sweater and a quardroy jacket. No way was that of any use in that cold of -1 deg Celsius. The thermals I had packed in my bag and I couldn't feel my fingers to open the lock. Luckily, I had a car waiting so didn't have to endure that for too long. Another thing about the weather is that its very unpredictable. Ive seen three seasons in one day within a span of 6 hours.
Advice: Never underestimate the cold weather in the UK. You can't imagine how cold it can get specially if you are coming from a city like Chennai or Mumbai. Always pack your thermals in your hand baggage or some where accessible so you can change into it at the airport rest room after landing; and beware of the wind chill factor! That always seems to reduce the temperature by a few more degrees. Also carry an umbrella.

Shopping
All shops close at 5pm in most conservative (and there are a lot of those) towns and as you will be working 9-5 weekdays, all your shopping has to be done on the weekends.
I was also really amazed at the purchasing power of the pound. You could do your entire weeks shopping for 15 pounds. Back here in Mumbai it would cost me 15 rupees to reach the market.
Advice: Make sure you have enough good friends who can get you the bare necessities to get you through another week. Don't carry large denominations, the largest being £50. You don't need that much money unless your planning to buy a washing machine or a microwave.

FUN
There are many things you can do for fun in the UK. Our most favorite was taking a road trip. Anyone with an Indian driver's license can drive in the UK for the first year there; after which one has to get a proper UK drivers licence. We really travelled and saw quite a few places over there. The most fun was at this place called Land's End @ Cornwall [New York City over the horizon.] Windspeed : 65 mph.
Temp: -1 deg.
Went to the edge on a dare. It goes down for about 100 meters at a 85deg angle then a 200+ meter drop into the icy cold waters below... not to mention all the jagged stones.

Ah well, I digress too much...
There are also plenty of pubs and clubs lined up for you if you are the type who likes to party. The party seems to start from Thursday itself. If not pubbing, we used to go out for dinners sometimes or to the movies. Movies are expensive in the evenings and cheap by half before noon. London was the most visited spot. Some of my friends are big football fans, so a trip to the Chelsea club was part of the itinerary. London also has its own China town

Food
Watch the sign that says veg or non-veg on the shelf or packaging. Don't eat anything at any Chinese/Thai restaurant unless you know for sure what you are eating. There are many Indian restaurants in the U.K. but none of them will give you chicken tikka like the kind you get at your local dhaba back home. If you are a non-veggie you will enjoy the variety. Vegetarians need not worry. If you are careful and look real hard you will find pure veggie food somewhere... just kidding; veg and non-veg foods are clearly marked out. Once you know where to look you are good to go.


More to come...