My wife taught me a cool trick y’day.

Did you know that - A good head/ear phone in a Mic port equals a low quality microphone?
I didn’t believe it till I tried! 

I am told that as far as physics goes, headphones and microphones are basically similar. There is a major difference though! One turns electrical signals into sound waves and the other turns sound into signals. 

Don’t expect a too much and you’ll not be disappointed. 

Cheers, 
Rosh 

CityStay is a comfortable, reasonably priced, small hotel located right next to Bow Church DLR station in London. 

The address is 94, Bow Road, E33AA.

I have been staying with them for a week now. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay here. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. I thought of adding a review for them on booking.com but alas, i do not have the booking pin with me. So I thought my blog had to have a mention of this lovely place and it wonderful hosts.

The pros:

• The room is small yet tidy. Definitely value for money.
• It has a good room heating that can be controlled via a thermostat. Each room has a tower fan too.
• Each room has a LCD TV with Freeview and a DVD player of it’s own.
• Wi-Fi is available for free for all the guests. 
• You have access to a full fledged kitchen. An additional cost of 3 GBP is charged for the usage of the kitchen stove for the entire day. Other utilities can be used for free.
• Kitchen is stocked with fruits, eggs, milk, cheese slices, fruit juice, bread, crackers, cookies, cereals, cupcakes etc. which may be used without incurring any additional charges.
• The lounge boasts of a huge LCD TV with a SKY connection.
• Friendly staff. They are quite capable to keep you engaged in an entertaining conversation.
• Bow Church DLR station is right next to the hotel. Bow Road Underground station is 5-8 minutes’ walk from the hotel. Bus stop is also adjacent to the hotel.

The cons:

• No tea/coffee maker in the rooms.
• Hotel is located directly opposite to a Police station. Loud police sirens are common during odd hours.
• No proper breakfast is served. But, on request the staff is capable to ruffle up scrambled eggs/ omlette on toast.
• No Sky TV in the room. I know I am being quite demanding now;)

Hope this helps you to decide if CityStay is the right place for you when you visit London.

Cheers,
Rosh

1> Carry loads of woolen if you are visiting in peak winter. A woolen skull cap is a must.

2> De-list Sims Park/Botanical Garden/Rose Garden from your itinerary. These places are best visited in Apr-May.

3> Carry a good lip balm.

4> Preferably book a hotel that provides room heating. If not, make sure that the hotel provides you with additional blankets if required.

5> Going to Mudumalai Forest Reserve, I found, is a waste of time. Unless you are really lucky you won’t find any wild animal apart from few monkeys, deers or a stray elephant.

6> Stay away from Blue Hill Hotel @ Charing Cross. The food is outright junk and the service pathetic.

7> Buy fresh carrots. They are cheap and a good snack during your long trips.

8> Buy woolen @ Tibetan Market. The prices are generally 1/3 rd of what you would pay for the same elsewhere.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Rosh

Pre-travel:

1. Read about the UK culture. You may find some details here.
Note ~ If you have been to the US, you will definitely find UK to be poles apart.

2. Immigration check at Heathrow airport is a tedious affair.
Make sure that you get a chest x-ray done prior to the travel. In India, you can get it done for 200-500 rupees.
You will need to present it at Heathrow immigration. UK is reporting an increase in Tuberculosis cases, and thus the scan. There is a provision to get it done at the airport too, but it will needlessly cause lot of delay and embarrasment after a long haul flight.
‘Strutting around, bare-chested in extreme cold for half an hour’ - If this sounds exciting to you then you may land in UK without the X-Ray.

3. Make sure that you have made arrangements for stay prior to your travel. You will need to quote the address during immigration.

Note ~ A short duration of stay could be easily arranged at a bed and breakfast.
This is similar to a paying guest facility in India. The charges may depending on the duration of stay, locality, the proximity to rail/tube and bus stations, single/twin sharing and season.
But these are, any day, much cheaper than booking a hotel room.

4. Note down the numbers of travellers cheques and credit cards. In case of any loss/theft, please contact the Bank(or relevant authority)

5. Please note that most airline carriers place a luggage restriction of 23 kgs while travelling from India to UK. If you are a student, you may get additional baggage allowance. ‘Pack judiciously’ is the mantra.
Let’s make a list of items that you might want to carry from India.

• Formal clothes - Most of the time you would be in formals. So carry as many as you might need. Apparel is expensive in UK. Best time to shop would be during January when almost all the shops would hold clearance sales.
• Woolen - It will be pretty cold in UK. Some areas have snowfall too during winter. Carry good warm clothes. If you are in Bangalore, Eastern Stores on Commercial Street have a large stock of woolen.
  A thick trench coat or a thermal jacket is a good buy. You may want to carry a good pair of woolen/leather gloves, thermal inners, muffler and a woolen skull cap.
• Kitchen stuff - Plan to carry some plates, pans, and some basic cutlery. A good pressure cooker may be a good buy. Please note that you cannot carry knives in your cabin bag.
• Cosmetics - If you plan to use a particular brand, please carry a good load of it. You may not find the same brand there.
• Medicines - Please carry few strips of Crocin, painkillers, antibiotics, digestive tablets and other general medicines that you might need. In UK, you have to have a prescription to buy most of the drugs.
  For cold and flu, you may get OTC medicines at any drugstore. You may also want to carry a pain relief spray, dettol, band-aids, cotton etc.
• Sewing needle - Carry few sewing needles and some colored yarn (apart from the common black and white) that you anticipate need for. Comes in handy at times (Most commonly to sew the buttons that come off your favourite shirt).
• Shoe-Fix - Carry a tube of all purpose strong adhesive or a shoe-fix. You may not find cobblers on the street as you would do in India.
  In case your sole comes off, you may use the adhesive to fix it or buy a new shoe. It is your choice.

6. Dont forget to arrange and keep all your original certicicates. Carry it in your cabin baggage. Have an additional copy in each of your check-in baggage.

7. Another thing to note is that flights to UK allow only 1 cabin bag per person. Your handbag, or for that matter even your camera bag is considered one bag.
So if you want to carry your Laptop, camera, certiciates, etc all on board; buy the largest allowable cabin bag. Remember to check the dimensions for the carrier of your choice.
Also note that there is an upper limit on the weight of the bag too. It is somewhere between 6-9 kgs, depending on your airline carrier.

8. It is also wise to carry some spices and masala powders that you might need. Till you find an Indian store (which you will find aplenty), these will come in handy.

On arrival:

1. Go through immigration check. Be polite and DO NOT jump queue.

2. Avail a Black Cab from the Airport to your Hotel. Note ~ Though it seems a fun way to travel, it will be heavy on your budget. If you have a friend, or a relative in UK, ask them to book a cab for you.
There are many other cab services in UK and they will be easier on your budget. You may also book online here.

3. Open a bank account. You would need another identification apart from your Passport. This is very important because you might need it while renting a house.

4. Coming to renting a house, there a various options. The tedious one being - browse through various websites(http://www.loot.com/, http://london.craigslist.co.uk/ etc).
Generally people prefer to approach a Letting agency. One has to pay for availing their services. The fee can be anywhere from 150 pounds to 500 pounds.
Most houses are let in multiples of 6 months. Renting a house usually requires some proof of employment which can be easily obtained from the employer.
One might also need to deposit some advance with the landlord.
The lease agreement must clearly state the tenure, terms of payment, renewal clauses, and onus on payment of Council tax, water, gas and other charges.
The letting agent will also mention on the agreement the condition of the house along with a list of amenities provided at the time of checking into the house. Cost of housing varies based on type (studio, i bed room, 2 bed room, etc.), furnishings provided, and to a certain extent on proximity to railway stations and high streets.
Note ~ Do not rent council houses/ or in the vicinity of council houses. These are prone to theft and violence.

5. To avail free healthcare services in UK, one needs to register for NHS. Find the nearest GP here.Fix an appointment and get yourself and your dependants registered.

More tips on what to buy as soon as you land in UK, in the next post…

Cheers,
Rosh

Last week, I received a bookmark from a member of Campus Crusade For Christ. It had a list of study tips that I felt were quite useful.

Here they are:

• Have a proper study place, free from distractions.
• Make a positive affirmation - "I can and will learn anything".
• While reading, sometimes it helps if you prepare notes.
• Manage your time well. God has blessed you with ample time to study. So use it wisely.
• Avoid postponing.
• Have a healthy diet.
• Love and appreciate the subjects that you study.
• Use early morning hours for study. Sleep early and wake up early.
• Utilize different memory techniques like a story or song or linking method.
• Revise. Even though you feel you are the expert on the subject, you still need to revise.
• When you are tensed and unable to study, take some time off. Try deep breathing. It is a good tool for relaxation and improving concentration.
• Knowledge is never complete. Keep learning all the time.
• Reading aloud also helps some student to remember.
• Clarify all doubts with your teacher or peers. Do not keep clarifications for later.
• Group study also helps.
• Pray to God for wisdon and ask his help to aid you with your studies.

More study tips can be accessed here.
Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Rosh

If you are a UK Work Permit holder and want to take your spouse/dependant children along; you will need to create and submit their application online or fill in the the dependant application form VAF2 and submit to the nearest UK Embassy.

You will also need the following:

1. Passport or travel document(Both, your’s and your spouse’s).
• a copy of the pages from your passport showing your permission to stay, if you are already in the UK, and
• your original work permit and supporting documents if you are applying before you travel to the UK.
2. A recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) colour photograph of both of you. This should be:
• taken against a light coloured background.
• clear and of good quality, and not framed or backed.
• printed on normal photographic paper, and
• full face and without sunglasses, hat or other head covering unless you wear this for cultural or religious reasons.
3. The visa fee. This cannot be refunded, and you must normally pay it in the local currency of the country where you are applying.

Apart from the above, you will also need the following supporting documents.

• Marriage Certificate(or, Marriage photos, invitation cards, and sufficient proofs to affirm your relationship with the sponsor)
• Sponsor letter, saying you would like to sponsor your husband/wife to join you in the UK.
• Bank statements of the person who is sponsoring. This is to establish that you are able to support your dependant without need of any government aid/fund.
• Rent agreement or Mortgage papers to show that you have big enough house for two persons to live in.