On the road to Bala: The long way round

"Just one flash,
and its all gone.
One wrong turn,
and you are upside down.
A little mistake,
can claim everything you own.
We went down the hill,
into the mouth of madness.
Through all the chaos,
Life found its way." ------ ME

This weekend started off amazingly well. On Saturday a few of us were to embark on a journey to North Wales and Snowdonia. The books and guides promised it to be a visual delight. Mountains and lakes, valleys and rivers, cows and sheep ...hehehe

However, Saturday morning was spent fretting over a leak in our plumbing system which drowned the kitchen in gallons of water. Every time someone decided to shower the pipes decided to give the kitchen a good washing and the over shoot sprayed our garden and back door. So all systems had to be shut down and therefore a few of us couldn't shower. The un-showered headed to the swimming pool close by to cleanse themselves as our house had robbed them of that opportunity.

Once everyone was ready and clean we sat in the car discussing where to go. Still parked in front of the house, we sat and argued. Until someone had the bright idea of heading to a reservoir....I really cannot remember what it is called. It all seems a bit blurry to me. What I do remember was being thrown into the back seat and having to occupy the middle section. The drama queen was not happy about this. Anyway, so began the journey.

And true to their descriptions (the guidebooks) the country side offered a feast of natural beauty one after another. The first stop was lovely lake on the way to the Snowdon mountain range. However we stopped somewhere earlier and explored the trails around it. Throwing stones that jumped or plunged was becoming competitive by the lake. So I took off in search of subjects to photograph. The sepia coloured picture was taken there...by me!!! (oh by the way this trip made me realise that I should be a photographer too). There are few more worthy of praise from the area, but due to lack of space they will be reserved.

The weekend was fun and entertaining, there were constant jokes and halts for food. God knows how much food I must have dumped into my body. We were to spend the night at Bodwina Chalet in the Isle of Anglesey close to Holyhead. Needless to say, we got lost. Despite having the GPS device (Lovingly named 'Suzy'). Though to her credit she had shown us the right way, but when she said "You have reached your destination" none of us could see the tiny drive into the chalet and drove on and on. In the end, we called the manager at the chalet and asked for directions, realising that Suzy was right all along (wink).

The chalet was cozy and tastefully done. I was sad that we were just going to spend one night there and not more. It was a kind of a holiday home you would love to buy. Not just that it even had a stable of around 40 horses. I was already at home there. I woke up in the morning and outside my door was a beautiful black horse, just like black beauty and a brown mare who seemed pregnant to me. Both the creatures looked serene in the morning mist which chilled me to the spine but I stayed, staring at them and clicking away frantically (the smarty pants that I am I had forgotten to take a jacket along).

Now the journey began towards Snowdonia early in the morning. The sky was grey and gloomy but we hoped that the clouds would clear and we'd be able to make our way to the top. Unfortunately the weather seemed to have other plans. So we just loitered around at the foothills as the mountain train was not running and hikers were cautioned not to go up due to poor visibility (not that i planned on hiking...i was shivering already....no jacket ....my own layers of fat..still not much insulation)

So after a heavy breakfast there, we headed to an Italian village tucked away somewhere in north wales... I think it was called Porthmeirion. It was a kaleidoscope of colours and art however it didn't really seem every Italian to me. It had all sorts of influences, it was like a mad house of colours and flowers and statues and houses. All thrown in. After lunch and loads of 'Italian' ice cream we were headed to the tiny village of Bala to see another lake when all hell broke lose.

At 90 mph our car skid off the road and down a hill taking with it everything in its way. It fell about 15-20 feet at an incline before crashing on its head. The events that followed are a blur. It comes back in flashes the sudden turn, the fall, and the topple and the crash. In seconds we were all out safe and unhurt (barring a few cuts and bruises).

We spent a major part of that evening in the back of ambulances and police cars. Unable to get back we stayed at The White Lion Hotel in Bala. A heritage hotel of some sorts. It had an old world feel to it. None of us seemed to be too shaken about the events that occurred. We drank some wine and ate our dinner and joked about the accident. I don't know if it was defense mechanisms at work or just plain indifference because we had lived.

Ravi joked about buying a new car, I went back to poking jibes at Anand, (who btw, right after emerging from the car proclaimed that his astrologer had told him he was going to have an accident...who also was the one who fished out his camera from the wreckage and started taking pictures), Easwhar made a few wise cracks and showed off his wounds and we all retreated to our respective rooms. I spent half the night soaking in the bathtub with a bottle of wine...fell asleep, woke up and slept in the bed.

The next day was bad. We waited for the insurance company to deliver a spare care. We waited and waited. Breakfast happened, we checked out, loitered in the lobby until lunch time. Had lunch at the cafe bang opposite the hotel and all that while, Ravi kept darting looks at the hotel whilst consuming his soup. Looks darting speed: one look every 5 seconds. Finally the car arrived at 4:30pm and we started our drive back to civilization. (I WAS STUCK IN THE BACK SEAT IN THE MIDDLE AGAIN!!!!)

The others had to be dropped to Bristol and we reached there at about 8pm. Yes! and that was time for dinner. So we all went to Yum Yum Thai on Park Street. It was not as Yum as they would like you to believe and the prices were even less yummier. Dinner ended and obviously it was tooo late to drive back to Swansea. So we stayed. One more night. My journey didn't seem to end. This morning the M4 was jammed with traffic and I kept falling asleep. The weather didn't help either.

But, its 4am now and I am wide awake. In my own bed. Wondering why something so scary has not shaken me out of my slumber. Instead of embracing my life and getting started on my dissertation I stay awake writing this blog and looking for the best deals in SLR cameras!!!

Anyway, this was real life drama for the princess....and she survived!!! Without making a big deal (well without making a REALLY big deal out of it).