For me
trips are about meeting people , understanding the culture and connecting with
people. For the April Spring holiday in UK I happened to visit snowdonia
suggested by a friend. The trip started with the train journey to Bangor. On
the train, it was mostly families getting together for Easter. Chatted with a
young lad and his aunt for a brief period. The lad spoke welsh as he studied in
wales and explained to me and friend how to pronounce certain Welsh words and how
are ‘ll’ , ‘ch’ pronounced. It was useful tip to understand welch. How do you
know when you are in wales ? You would know when you start reading English
alphabets on station name plates but your mind refuses to comprehend and form a
word. When you feel the irritation and confusion for not being able to
pronounce then you know you are at a wales station J !!... At least that’s how I figured
out !!...
From Bangor
to llanberis , took a bus from the outside the Bangor station . The next bus
was not until 30-45 mins so ended up chatting with a smart Irish college
professor from London who had packed different kinds of shoes for walking ,
running and climbing. Since he had been to llanberis he offered us to show
around the place once we get down.
The journey
up to llanberis was fun , thanks to the Irish guy and also the bus driver who
actually dropped off people till their houses !!... And people got off from the bus wherever they
liked J
!!.. It reminded me of Bihar where people pull the chains to stop the train at
their convenient places. The bus driver stopped his bus near a stationery car
and chatted with the car lady driver for good five minutes before proceeding. I
realized people just travelled with time, went with the flow and time is not a
scarcity at all. I simply loved it because I was on vacation too with no hurry
to reach my destination but after good 30 mins for 9 miles finally reached
Llanberis.
Llanberis
is a small village at the foot of snowdonia with a small road just passing off
as the high street. The hotel that we
stayed was a very local B&B with a lot of welsh flavor to it!!.. The hotel
manager dint ask for the payment upfront but said we can pay as we check out.
That was the trust locals showed in the tourist which I simply loved.
The next
morning I went for an early morning walk by the lake at Llanberis and happened
to chat with a local who was canoeing to practice for a boat race. I asked him
why are there no fishes in the lake to which he responded that the quarrying
activities on the mountains has chemically polluted the water and no fish
survive. I was completely heartbroken on hearing this as the lake surroundings
were so pretty and serene and may be in next decade or so this beautiful
landscape would change as we human beings mess up with the eco systems for our
own greed . That conversation with the local guy is still lingering in my head
and feels a pang in my heart every time I remember it.
Now , was
the time to climb the mountain. Went up to 2 pit stops as my friend gave up
even before starting the walk !!... On the way up to the mountain saw families
carrying their kids on their back . Some kids were as young as 1-2 years old
and I simply loved the enthusiasm and determination of the family to do that . Met
Americans , Europeans and also Indians on the way up. All cheering and
encouraging each other. Helping , cracking jokes . All nobodies just without
language come together to achieve one common goal to climb the Snowdon Mountain.
The human spirit is awesome , splendid and that what I have carried back from
this trip along with a nice even tan J !!
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