How We Did Manchester and Cambridge as a Couple on a Budget

After having enough funds to make this trip happen, I quickly applied for a visitor visa for Yashaswinee and me. I booked the tickets within weeks. It cost me about 80k INR per person for a round-trip.

I wasn’t too worried about accommodation. I had some money to book accommodations as needed and a bunch of friends in London, where I could crash. Nidhi, a close friend of mine whom I met first during my RCA days, offered us her flat in Liverpool Street. Subha bhai, who lives in Kent, is like a brother to me. I still feel my room in his house is like mine, even after vacating the room last year. He is a man with a big heart and always ready to help people.

As we reached London, I had plans for a photoshoot with an amazing photographer, Ama! She is a friend of Victoria, who is a good friend of mine from my RCA days. I had reached out to her a year ago for a photoshoot after seeing her amazing portrait photography. The day we reached London, we went straight to Nidhi’s place in Liverpool Street. The next day, we were at the Barbican Centre for the photoshoot. She took some amazing portraits.

In the meantime, Yashaswinee used the Nikon ZR I had with me to make some amazing portraits as well. I didn’t have much of a budget for this, so that I could offer Ama a token of £100 as a thank-you. I am glad Ama was accommodating.

Barbican Centre is one of my favourite places in London. I have been there a few times, and I absolutely love it. After the shoot, we went inside and took some more photos of each other. It was the first time I was on the other side of the lens. I will always cherish these photos. Especially the ones my wife captured. She was shooting for the first time with a professional camera in the heart of London. And believe me, she took some absolutely gorgeous photos.

The next day, we went to Primrose Hill and Camden Town with the Kunsquad outfits. I love the place. I had done a photoshoot with Suheda, a girl from Turkey who was based in London during my RCA days. My wife would pull my legs, mentioning the spots where I might have taken photos of Suheda. I love it when it becomes light banter, with smiles and grins.

We had a bowl of vegan Pho from a Vietnamese Restaurant in Camden Town. She absolutely loved Pho's simplicity.

Then we headed to the Wellcome Collection in Euston. It’s one of my favourite bookshops in London with a lovely cafe space as well. And the best part is it’s all free!! There was an amazing exhibition on sign language and its origin. There was another amazing exhibition on birth and pregnancy, which was lovely. I came across a thing called “Scroll,” which I had absolutely no idea about.

We headed back to London and packed for Manchester the next day. We took a FlixBus from Victoria in the morning, and it took about 5 hours to reach Manchester. The Airbnb was cosy, with a lovely bathroom. We did some shopping and got ready for the next day.

I feel lucky that our direct flight wasn’t affected. We had booked a direct flight with Indigo from Bhubaneswar to London via Mumbai. We had a smooth journey without any delays. I would recommend everyone to go for a direct flight, even if it costs a bit more, for such important events. Preferably via an airline with daily flights to London, such as Indigo, Air India, or British Airways.

After a whole day at the conference, we went to the Airbnb to freshen up. Though we had bought dal, bread and fruits to cut costs, we decided to throw ourselves a small party for the beautiful response we got in the conference for our work. So I searched for the best ramen joints nearby, and we decided to go to Hakkapo for vegan ramen called the Vegan Dan Dan. I loved it, though Yashaswinee found it too spicy! I love spicy ramen, btw! It’s on Jack Rosenthal Street, very close to the University of Manchester, in case anyone wants a lovely bowl of ramen when they visit.

That night, they were preparing an Indian buffet for us, without onion or garlic, for my birthday the next day. What a coincidence that there was a large catering of about 150 people at the same time as my birthday celebration, so it all aligned so perfectly. Around 2 a.m., we went home and fell asleep. It takes about 20 minutes from the restaurant to Subh bhai’s place, which always felt like my ‘home’. And I mean it when I say, ‘home’.

I was happy to see Yashaswinee taking a moment to have some gup-shup with my friends. She was meeting almost half of them for the first time. Time flew, and it was almost 4 pm, and guests were still there. We took a group photo and then let the conversation flow freely. Someone commented that it felt like a “Nari Mukti Morcha”, as if a bunch of women had come together after ages and were having a non-stop conversation with each other with whole hearts.

At night, we quickly wrapped up things and headed to Liverpool Street. Subh bhai dropped us off at Swanscombe station. I feel grateful for his open heart and love for me. It’s not even about the money part. This simple gesture of taking the effort to drop us off at the station means a lot to me. In a foreign land, 5000 miles away, you don’t really find people who you can feel like family. Touchwood.

The next day, we packed our bags for Cambridge and headed to Liverpool Street Station. There was a direct train to Cambridge. It was a lovely ride and so short. It felt like we reached Cambridge in the blink of an eye. The moment I saw Cambridge on the station walls, it was such an ecstatic feeling. Especially seeing that with Yashswinee by my side, it felt like a dream come true.

We headed to the shop to get a bottle of water and drank it all. Staying hydrated in the UK is a must, since you don’t really feel thirsty even when you’re dehydrated due to the cool weather. We headed to our Airbnb in an Uber. It was a Mercedes that came in Uber. It’s funny how your dream cars in India become the daily Uber cars in the UK.

On reaching the Airbnb, we picked up the keys from the backdoor garden area and then entered the home. It was a small, cosy home with a living room and kitchen on the ground floor. We had booked a very tiny room for ourselves.

To save some money, I had offered to feed the owner’s cat. I asked the owner if my wife and I could book the single bedroom, and she agreed. I literally got the entire week’s stay for just £150. We had to adjust a bit and sleep in a single bed every day. Honestly, as I look back, snuggling in that tiny single bed was one of our best memories.

After that, we quickly headed out to lunch. We had ten pounds in lunch coupons. I had a baked potato with some beans and a vegetarian panini. Yashaswinee also joined me for lunch. I decided not to force myself to network during lunch so I could spend time with my wife while she shared her Cambridge exploration. In fact, we continued doing the same every day. During lunch break, we would have lunch together and share stories.

Also, Yashasinee had joined me for Dylan’s talk session. In fact, an hour before the session, I had walked up to Eleanor and asked about the talk. I had hardly started to ask about the session when she got exactly what I wanted to ask. Even before I could ask, she whispered, “You can have your wife with you. We should have some space, and we can definitely sneak her in”.

This amount of observational skill and empathy comes only with time and a big heart. I smiled and WhatsApped Yashaswinee to come near the class area. She was so happy to sit in a full-fledged lecture at the University of Cambridge! It felt like a dream come true moment for both of us. I felt so blessed. Eleanor, are you reading this? Thank you so much, my dear. Lots of love and a tight hug to you.

We headed back home on a different, unique route she had discovered. We crossed the Corpus clock, which Stephen Hawking inaugurated long ago. We met Lousie and Pierre too! Pierre is my senior from RCA who also studied Digital Direction. He does some amazing work on music concerts, developing and designing their stage visuals. He is the tallest guy I have ever seen! We bought some noodles on the way and headed back to the room.

The room we stayed in smelled a bit musty. I wish I had bought some room fresheners. Every day we would think about buying one, but then forget to buy one and return home. The kitchen was well furnished. So we could prepare some amazing food with ease. In the mornings, Yashaswinee would prepare a lovely breakfast. It literally made my life easier! I had specifically booked the Airbnb for the kitchen. It almost felt like a home away from home.

Meanwhile, Yashaswinee had gone to the University of Cambridge's Main Library. She sent me some photos on WhatsApp. I was so happy to see it. Later, she joined me for lunch. We had the same Baked Potato with beans and a vegetarian Panini.

After her session, Yashaswinee and I headed to the Brahma Kumaris meditation centre called “Innerspace”. We met Sister Sally there, and then another elderly sister who made us feel at home. She shared many stories about spirituality and her journey into it. It was lovely listening to her. She radiated a very peaceful aura. After the session, she gave us a few books. Post the visit, we headed back to our room.

On our way, we thought of having a pizza at Zizii, but when we saw the 25-pound price, we looked at each other and decided to skip it. Then we bought two frozen margherita pizzas for 5 pounds and decided to make them at home. Sadly, at home, I topped it with a lot of mushrooms and couldn’t figure out how much to heat. I put it in the oven for the second time, assuming the water from the mushrooms would evaporate. Sadly, the pizza burnt.

After dinner, Yashasinwee had a long photoshoot on the Selwyn College campus. I made a 10-minute vlog there. She captured some amazing photos of the flowers there. It was on my wishlist to have this experience at Selwyn College. But due to the high cost of accommodation in Selwyn, I decided to go for a smaller Airbnb, a bit far from the campus. I am so grateful that I could come for dinner and that too with my wife!! Crazy!

We took many photos in the middle of the river. As the ride came to an end, we got down and took some amazing photos on our way back home. It was a lovely experience. One should definitely experience this in their lifetime. On our way back home, we had a Udon Noodle Ramen bowl in one of the restaurants in the streets. Honestly, it wasn’t good. We reached home, packed our things and booked a cab to the railway station.

Later, we went to Bone Daddy in Liverpool Street to have ramen. It was almost like a double date! The ramen was absolutely yummy!!!! Oh gosh, I still can smell the broth.

That day with Nidhi, Sharath, and Yashaswinee by my side, I could see love and hope in those bowls of ramen. Maybe this memoir is not about Manchester, Cambridge or London. It’s not even about conferences or data school. It was all about that last bowl of ramen before I head back to London again.

Till we meet again, my beloved ramen.

Continue reading this story: This five-part series captures the full circle of an unlikely UK research journey, from submitting a cold conference abstract to exploring Cambridge with Yashaswinee. If you would like to revisit how the entire adventure first began, head back to How I Got Into a Major Research Conference Without a PhD.