For my stay in the UK, I bought a TalkMobile Pay-As-You-Go mobile connection. (Quick tip: It is the cheapest option to call abroad while you are in the UK. All incoming calls are free for you. And yes, It just takes few minutes to get activated) 

Honestly speaking, it worked quite nicely. But I was shocked, when I ran out of balance and wanted to recharge. I guess I had only 5p balance left when I called their helpline 5888 so that I can get a top-up by credit card. And then I heard the funniest thing - "We need to put you through our account executive to register your credit card. This call costs 25p. Since you do not have enough credit in your account, please top-up your account and call back"

Give me a break. I called up to top-up! So are you saying that - "I will charge you a fees to pay me!"

Sounds stupid. I hope they get back to their senses and stop losing business.

And, I still did not get, why they will not have an on-line top-up facility. It is surely cheaper than working with 72,000 stores (including Tesco, Sainsbury, Post Office, etc.) across the UK (a joyful announcement that they sent proudly to me through SMS). It is high time that hi-tech telecom companies adapt technology in the right way.

P.S.: Even after this stupid flaw, I will still recommend them for the quality / price combo - It is a good value for money.

Here is a funny incident that took place when I was exhibiting at CeBIT 2007 in Hanover.

I was in Hanover with my friend - Srish Agrawal for CeBIT 2007. After a tiring day at the exhibition hall, we were looking for a decent dinner. The only problem was our being vegetarian.

It was quite late and we were hunting for a restaurant near Kropke. We could not locate a restaurant which will serve a proper main course vegetarian dinner. Suddenly I spotted the famed golden arch down the road. We decided to compromise with a vegetarian fast food instead of a proper dinner. Something is better than nothing.

When I reached the counter,

I asked - "Do you have vegetarian burgers?"

The lady on the counter got puzzled. She rushed to consult her senior. There were murmurs and finally she came back to the counter.

She said - "Sorry Sir. We only serve normal food."

We could not stop laughing.
That day I learnt - There are two kinds of food - Normal & Vegetarian.

We finally managed to find a small mom-and-pop shop which baked us a pizza with toppings of our choice. The guy was really friendly. The pizza was fresh and his hospitality worth a mention.

Few more difference we experienced which is worth a mention –

1) Diet Coke is known as Lite Coke

2) Mineral spring water is not common. You generally get "gas water" or "sparkling water" which is equivalent to soda water.

If you had any funny experience hunting for vegetarian food or your-kind-of-food, feel free to post. I would love to know!