I have always been interested in exploring Scotland – its tradition and pride in its roots, where men wear colourful plaid skirts. The Queen’s yacht Britannia is moored off the Edinburgh waterfront and has been converted into a museum to commemorate Britain’s glory and mighty empire. Edinburgh’s famous National Museum houses Dolly and a superb Millennium Clock. Scotland represents a mix of tradition and modernity. A train journey from Cambridge station to Liverpool, coupled with a beautiful three-hour train journey through the countryside, brought me to Edinburgh’s Waverly station on a late July afternoon.
When I travel outside the US, I like to stay in local hotels that are different from the American brands. In Edinburgh, the Royal Scottish Club Hotel is a symbol of tradition and charm, in a boutique hotel style with Scottish military history. It is located in the heart of Princes Street, opposite the beautiful Queen Elizabeth Garden, within walking distance of Waverly Station, the National Monuments and the Royal Mile. At the entrance to the hotel, the welcoming and smiling portrait of Princess Anne, the Club’s royal patron, symbolizes royal tradition and culture.
I decided to walk from the station to the hotel as it was only 15 minutes away. However, it ended up being a 45 minute walk as my Google Maps didn’t work without internet. I resorted to my Indian way of asking people which led me in different directions. I got lost and also got drenched in drizzle. On the plus side, I got to know the walk from the station to the hotel which passes several monuments including the famous writer Sir Walter Scott, the National Museum of Art and the sprawling Princes Street Gardens.
I was hungry. The receptionist at the hotel recommended the local Scottish restaurant. I had my favorite fish and sweet potato fries with some salad. The waitress was loud but kind and motherly. She advised me against ordering olives with my meal. “Personally, I don’t like them,” she said, adding that I didn’t need to order more food since I had ordered “a big meal.” Her words were like a breath of fresh air. In America, this would never happen. Everyone minds their own business and I was grateful for her advice.
The next day, the hotel’s breakfast room was cozy and elegant, with tea and food served on real china. The waitress who came to the table to ask what we wanted for cooked breakfast was like a retired military man with no smile and was serious, as if she was on a mission. The choices were limited – scrambled or poached eggs and meatless bacon for vegetarians. A white lesbian couple from Austin, Texas, were having breakfast at the next table. It was their last day after two weeks in Scotland. They both raved about Mother India, a local Indian restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh. I perked up my ears, determined to find it.
I was sick of eating fried or scrambled eggs with fried tomatoes and sweetened baked beans for breakfast every day. Of course, I liked croissants and pastries the most, as opposed to the heavy, greasy American ones. The bland breakfast is the defining feature in London, Edinburgh and Ireland and is ubiquitous in every hotel. The saving grace was the freshly brewed tea, the best that I looked forward to. For the first time while travelling, I did not miss my home-brewed tea and the fresh tea leaves were tempting. No wonder the British, the best tea makers, are known to be creatures of habit and how could we colonialists forget their greatest gifts to India other than cricket?
As I boarded a hop-on hop-off bus that afternoon, I asked the Scottish driver if he knew anything about this Indian restaurant. He replied that the popular restaurant was just across the street in St. Andrews Square.
The line was long at Dishoom. I learned that this famous restaurant opened in London in 2010 and has several branches. Paying homage to the Iranian cafe of 20th century Bombay, the founders introduced Dishoom – a little-known aspect of Indian culture that represents diversity, cosmopolitanism and cultural fusion. I saw Pav Bhaji on the menu; we had to wait 30 minutes after lunch and too early for dinner, but it was well worth it. Enjoying chai street style by the glass, sweet potato chaat, kadhai paneer and dal makhani in the heart of Edinburgh was worth the visit. The sweet Sicilian waiter from the port city of Catania served complimentary chai with the incredible pista kulfi. I learned that this restaurant has staff from 26 different nationalities. For me, the food, ambience and personal attention from the waiters made the meal exceptional.
A must-see is Edinburgh Castle, the greatest pride of the Scots. A popular tourist attraction, it is known for its rich history and military significance. The castle is one of the oldest monuments in Europe and has been visited by people for at least 3,000 years. Once a royal residence, military garrison, prison and fortress, it was once home to Scottish monarchs. On July 17, Queen Camila’s birthday, we witnessed a traditional military parade and 21-gun salute. The castle is still an active military base known as the ‘Defender of the Nation’. I saw huge posters preparing for the hosting of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the Castle Esplanade in August.
My story would not be complete without mentioning Queen Elizabeth’s luxury yacht, the Royal Yacht Britannia. It served the royal family for 40 years and is now housed in the Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, a visitor attraction with over 300,000 visitors annually. At the end of a three-hour tour of the royal family’s public and private rooms, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s honeymoon suite, we became royals for an hour and had tea in the cafe on the observation deck. It was quite a surreal experience.
It was time to leave the Scottish world. I had a late flight from Edinburgh to Dublin, which gave me plenty of time to see the famous ‘Dolly’ and the Millennium Clock. So I headed to the monumental National Museum and used the day to hop from floor to floor. Dolly was the first cloned mammal, created from an adult cell, in July 1996. Dolly’s birth was hugely exciting for the scientific world and the public. It’s a huge museum – it was unforgettable to learn about the Viking invasion, the marriage between the Vikings and the Scots, the Scottish military’s contribution to the British colonisation of the rest of the world and the significant Scottish diaspora.
Scotland is characterized by a wonderful combination of tradition and modernity. The Scots are very proud of their roots, their culture, their courage and their loyalty in the midst of scientific inventions and advanced technologies.
Annapurna Devi Pandey teaches cultural anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and was a postdoctoral fellow in social anthropology at Cambridge University, UK. Her current research interests include diaspora studies, South Asian religions, and immigrant women’s identity formation in the diaspora in California. In 2017-18, she received a Fulbright Fellowship for fieldwork in India. Dr. Pandey is also a prolific documentary filmmaker. Her award-winning 2018 documentary Road to Zuni explored the importance of oral traditions among Native Americans.
