When you find yourself practically living on the equator, surviving the forever summer of Singapore, every holiday is an answer to the urge to fly west. And while a summer in Europe seems like the perfect winter for souls living in Singapore, the grass is always greener on the other side.

So early June, we made our way to London. And the 34 degree surviving me who is perpetually found complaining here in lah lah land, froze like a kulfi in the 11 degrees of UK spring. Trench coat became my daily uniform. Most thin cotton pants I packed for the trip never saw the light of day that was available from 4.30am all the way to 10pm.

“The weather is pleasant”, as the Brits would say only to receive a roll of eyes from yours truly. It was during the few days of stay in the outskirts where we rented a cottage in a tiny village called Coberley that I realised how pleasant it could feel to wake up to a crisp, cool morning breeze, birds chirping, the fragrance of fresh roses cropping up like money plants all over, bees buzzing about, ducks swimming in a little pond on the farm next door, mother hen on a hike with her chicks and not a building in sight for as far as eyes could see.

My younger one was so tempted to stay put, thanks to the family that hosted us on their airbnb, that she put herself up for adoption almost instantly. All this for living in a village that has a single school with a strength of 60 pupils, a church, a pub, cosy cottages, a pretty landscape in every garden that could make for a magazine cover and a house with 2 cats, 1 dog and four horses. Phew, could I even try to match up?

I won’t bother answering that stupid, rhetorical question. Point is, we were elated with a life that involved plenty of tea sipping with scones and clotted cream for company, feasting on delicious dairy and driving on roads that don’t know the ‘T’ of traffic.

And as we got talking to the retired owners, a story came up. Turns out, the father of the owner served in the army and was posted to Singapore soon after his son was born in the Edinburgh Castle. And since paternity leave was unheard off back then, he had to make the hard choice to sail without family. Mr.A, the airbnb host travelled at the age of 3 months along with his mother and an older brother by sea. His family lived in Singapore for the next three years. When he shared the tale, he was happy to connect with a family that actually lives in Singapore. He wants to visit some day. And his wife kept mentioning how she would love to move to Asia for the warmer climate, a more comfortable life and a great weather all the time.

I dropped my jaw at that. But soon realised, winter in the west isn’t for the weak. And certainly not for me.

P.S. Living in a busy metro all my life from Mumbai to Singapore, I have always dreamed of enjoying the first snow of the season, a cozy cottage in the woods with a fireplace, and the chance to dress up in different attire that changes with seasons. Very filmy? Well, did you expect any different?

Little do I realise, it is the sheer density and warmth of people that keeps me alive. The convenience of living in an apartment that lets me socialise rather than spend time only looking after the house. And it is the chaos around that tells me I am happy. The grass always looks greener on the other side, only in spring and summer. For every other season, there is the little red dot!

Notes to self – I love to flex my commitment. Had a class until 10. But I was looking forward to sharing this story.