Friday, Dec 5
4:00pm – Landed at Heathrow a while back, immigration went through in a jiffy and changed my 600 dollars to 364 pounds (damn!!). I was distinctively feeling a brit accent now after being so used to the American accent. The signs are a bit unclear since the terminal is new. I had to go to the departures since there’s a pickup point for cars there. Eventually I was able to find my childhood friend Manuj, who had come to pick me up. It is great seeing him after a long time, he hasn’t changed much. We used to go to the same high school using the same bus on and off for 5-6 years.
6:00pm - We are sitting in the Tube (Metro rail) going to Central London/Oxford street. This is the place where every one hangs out on Friday nights. Earlier we checked into a hotel near the airport. Tube is very much like the Delhi metro, though appears a bit older. Our journey time is about an hour.
8:00pm – Oxford Street has so many light and people are walking everywhere. This is much like Delhi with people crossing roads from any where they want to and cars whizzing past them at high speed. Lot of people are lined up to get into the around the place. It is really cold and even drizzling a little, we should find some food.
10:00pm - We walked for a couple of hours around the place searching for an Indian restaurant, however, could not find one. Finally, we got tired and are sitting in a Mc-Donalds. At least they have a veg burger here. It’s getting late now so we will catch the Tube back to the hotel and call it a day.
Saturday, Dec 6
9:00am – I got up early today to make the most of the day time. However, it still took us a while before we could get out of the hotel. Today, first we will go to the Tower of London. We got ourselves a two day London pass which includes some sort of a combo deal for entry tickets to many interesting locations.
12:00pm – We started with the Tower Bridge. This is nice looking bascule suspension bridge that can be opened up in the middle to let the river traffic like ships to pass through the bridge. Many people confuse this with the London BridgeLondon Bridge is falling down”. After this we visited the navy ship HMS Belfast and walked over the actual London Bridge which is further downstream. By now we were very hungry, so we stopped over for tea and sandwiches at a shop “prêt à café”. made famous by the nursery rhyme “
4:00pm – We took the cruise boat on River Thames from the Tower of London to the London Eye and have just reached the Big Ben besides the London Parliament. While my friend who seems to need a tea every two hours is getting some, I am watching the hoards of protesters gathered here protesting about something or the other they feel deeply about. This seem to be a routine affair with some people protesting about the war in Iraq or global warming, while others promoting veganism etc. There is also a troupe from the Hare Krishna Hare Rama sect promoting peace and soliciting donations.
6:00pm - Finally after waiting in line for about an hour we are now taking a ride on the London Eye. This is a giant wheel along the banks of River Thames which is higher than any other building in London. From the topmost point the night time view of the London skyline is totally breathtaking.
8:00pm - We have been walking along the London Eye, Big Ben, Downing Street and Trafalgar Square for some time and now I am totally tired. I think its time to call it a day and go back to the hotel.
10:00pm – BTW, the metro broke down on the way back. Instead of the one train to the hotel, we had to change five trains before we could reach the destination. Phew!
Sunday, Dec 7
9:00am – We started the day by visiting the Arch of Wellington. India Gate in Delhi has been modeled on this monument. It is situated in the Buckingham Palace grounds. While there, we saw a contingent of guards on horses patrolling the grounds.
10:00am – There was a large crowd in front of the Buckingham Palace. This is the home the Queen of England. We visited the Queen’s art gallery inside the palace. It had some very beautiful Flemish painting made by famous painters collected over centuries by the monarchy. This is the first time when I have seen some authentic paintings and I can say they were absolutely beautiful. One can spend a long time admiring the detail and blend of colors present in each one of them.
12:00pm – Feeling a bit hungry, we went to a coffee shop at Trafalgar Square having our daily dose of tea and sandwiches. This is a fairly busy place with lots of bronze sculptures where tourist are getting their pictures clicked.
2:00pm - Being a Sherlock Holmes fan since childhood, the trip can not be complete without a visit to 221B Baker Street, the fictional residence of the famous detective. It was a nice place where they also had a museum containing statues and props depicted in various stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle.
4:00pm –After spending some time walking around Downing Street we were headed to the Royal Albert Hall to look at some fine buildings around the university area at Imperial College London. Then we spent some time the science museum.
6:00pm – This bring us to the end of the day, Manuj had to leave early before nightfall to go back to his home so I bid him good bye. I will also call it a day now as I need to catch a flight back home tomorrow. In all it was an amazing trip and I am glad I decided to stop over at London. Hopefully this will not be the last visit….
12:00pm - Catching the flight back to India. Yayyay !!
