ARRIVED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX,FALMER,BRIGHTON,UK

 Hi,

Have you visited my earlier posts? If  yes, then, here I have something more to share with you.

After my family said good bye to me at the Dabolim Airport, I met  my friend Mr. Dias.  We spoke for some time and after looking at my luggage, he felt it was going to be more than the permitted limit by Qatar airways. He asked someone to weigh my bags and we found that  it was 40 Kgs.(17+13+10=40). I showed him the privilege card I had of Qatar air ways permitting extra 10 kg. weight . Normally any travellor by Qatar airways can carry 30 kgs. luggage.Through his good contacts I could go ahead easily. Then at the emigration counter I met  one of our ex-students  who is an Inspector working for Customs. To my surprise, there was Ms. Gaonkar who was checking the documents. These connections helped me in getting through the customs and emigration with ease. I boarded the flight at 4:1 5a.m. on 2nd October, 2010. The flight was on time and reached Doha at 5:50 a.m.(7:30 a.m .IST). After a couple of hours I boarded the Doha to London flight. It left Doha at 7:50 a.m. and reached Heathrow airport at 1:10 p.m (6.40 p.m IST). Here, at Heathrow airport I had no problems to get immigration clearance since I was an Academic Visitor. From the airport I went to the Central Bus Station which is in the basement of the airport. I purchased National express bus ticket for £ 25. The buses are available for every one hour. I missed the 2:30 p.m bus. So, I boarded 3.30 p.m. bus which reached Brighton at 5:40 p.m (11:00 p.m IST). Close to the bus stop was a taxi stand. One unknown person realized that I cannot carry all my bags at a time to the taxi stand and helped me. A taxi dropped some passengers at this stop. I got into the same taxi and told the taxi driver to take me to the University of Sussex at Falmer. He dropped me at the IDS (Institute of Development Studies), in the University campus and charged me  £ 22. While travelling I came to know that the taxi bill here is not on the basis of distance but the time taken to reach the destination.

When I reached IDS,  I kept my luggage at the main entrance. It was raining at that time.  I had received mail from Dawn saying that I should follow the instructions sent to get accommodation, since the Resident Warden was not available. I started searching as per Dawn’s instructions . At this time, Mr. Gabriel who had come out of his room to smoke, was surprised to see the bags at the entrance. I saw him and asked about the KEYSAFE. He helped me to open the KEYSAFE with the code number sent to me earlier by Dawn. When I opened it there was a slip with my name and the room number allotted to me. I was very happy at that moment and entered my room. It was 7.30 p.m then.(1:00 a.m IST on 3^rd Oct). The room is nice with all facilities such as kitchen, laundry including Wi-Fi connectivity.

After entering the room I took a wash and left the room to find out the place to have dinner and to telephone my wife Rekha. I went back to Brighton city by bus ( the bus fare is  £ 1.80 one way). I telephoned my wife, disturbed her sleep, who had checked her mail and waited for my call till 11.30 p.m on 2nd October. After having dinner I returned to my room by bus at 9.45 p.m. I slept well.

On 3rd October, Sunday, I was told that breakfast is available at IDS between 8.30 a.m and 9.00 a.m. When I got up from fast sleep it was 8:15 a.m. I had never slept till 8:15 a.m in my life. Immediately I brushed and went to the canteen where breakfast is normally served. To my surprise, it was closed and there was nobody there. I returned back to my room. While opening the door I saw a girl who is also staying here at IDS, I asked her about the breakfast. She showed me the kitchen where things are kept and told me to help myself. I was very happy. First I checked everything and opened all refrigerators to know what was available. I prepared my breakfast and as I was eating a lady entered the kitchen with her son. We greeted each other. As they were preparing their breakfast, the lady asked something to her son in Hindi. Immediately I asked them which part of India they came from. They are from North India. She (Seema) is working in Bangladesh and frequently visits University of Sussex for her project work. Her son (Shantanu) is studying second year Economics at SU. Seema is staying at IDS. Today Shantanu had come to IDS to give his mother company for breakfast. Seema and Shantanu gave me a  lot of information  about the shops where Indian grocery is available, monthly/half yearly bus ticket, sim card and so on. When we were having breakfast, another guy entered. He is from Ethiopia and a frequent visitor here. Thus, I had a wonderful time at breakfast. After breakfast I went to my room to write this blog.
 I’ll be in touch with you.
Bye,