Once, only a city my friend had moved to four years ago and
then only a new place I wanted to explore this birthday, somewhere within a
week of my visit, I am telling Sarah, "...if I find someone here, I will
get married and settle down." More than half of the world probably shares
my sentiment for very good reasons and of the fortnight I spent in London, I
wanted more of it, not as a vacation, but as a place I could call home 'indefinitely'... as Anna said to Will, I
will say to London.
It all started with an impression of Mumbai on the
Piccadilly service line with sightings of old buildings built in red-brown
bricks, followed by an NJ impression of row houses with cars parked in front
and then dense gardens that screamed so loudly green in my face that my mind
pondered over green spaces that one could possibly spot through the western
rail service of Mumbai (apparently almost nonexistent).
After the tube and over ground train ride was done, I found
myself soaking in the chilly weather that a downpour had left behind, by
elephant-grey rock-platforms that welcomed everyone to be seated at Kings cross
station. I smiled into the sky to have finally arrived, patiently breathing in
and out, allowing myself to be immersed in the eerie London cold. After Vishal
arrived, we walked down to a canal, noticed some mute swans enjoying a swim and
bath, followed by our first coffee. It appeared as if I had taken a two hour
flight, like I usually do for Bangalore (though technically Bangalore is only
1.2 hour away), and come to a place I
already knew in my heart. May be it was Indian (or Indian looking) population
at the customs, I cannot be sure, or the welcoming waitresses at the coffee
shop, that made the place familiar. I felt like a freshly baked bun in the
otherwise cloudy Saturday. I must confess, the service staff in London, in my
experience, is very hospitable.
The fortnight that ensued will be one of the loveliest
vacations I have had.
That Saturday succeeded into a visit to Borough market, tasting
bread and olive oils, and drinking a glass of champagne to celebrate my
arrival. The next morning was dedicated to the Columbia flower market where I
discovered Sunflowers are my most favorite of the flora species. Their
bright-yellow, perky exterior balances with a soul that is high on energy,
proteins and vitamins. My dad owns a piece of land and I have very often
wondered if I should grow sunflowers there someday.
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| Mute swans & PDAs at the Hyde Park |
As the week began, Vishal couldn't babysit me logistically.
It was time to experiment with the tube and transport by myself. Word has it
that I lived in one of the most happening areas of London, 5 minutes walk from
the Hoxton station. I decided to start with buses, a relatively comprehensible
mode of transport, and took number 243
to Waterloo. London is a walk walk walk city, and walk is all I did with street
side location maps and some google as references, randomly exploring places,
initially by chance and then by decision. On my first day of solitude exploration,
I browsed through familiar sights of London wheel, Big Ben and houses of
Parliament, until running into some Horse Guards. That later took me to St.
James park and a closer interaction with ducks, geese and swans of London.
After spending enough time with them, on the bright, sunny London afternoon, I
walked into the Green park where I had my first revelation: "London has to be one of the most
romantic cities of the world." The green density of the park, the fallen
brown maple leaves, and a chill in the weather complemented by shining sun, I
knew better, that this park should be walked with a lover. Speaking of lovers,
Londoners aren't bothered with public displays of affection. You see them very
often on escalators, streets, open bars until I found a couple seated behind me
on an almost empty bus. I could hear the noises of *mwah* so loud that I hoped,
although in vain, to have carried my ear phones. Being raised in a country like
India, I believe such PDAs is a true measure of being free. Anybody should be
allowed to kiss anybody, both consenting, without heed to time, place or
surroundings.
As far as weather goes, I found myself comparing the
September weather of London to the February weather of Kodai canal, chill in
the air perfectly complemented by the shining sun.
It is at Green park that I decided to pay Hyde Park a visit
another day, my first conscious decision to see a place and what a delightful
place the Serpentine lake was. Mute swans, alike the London visitors and
locals, do not shy from PDAs.
For an Indian tourist, taking a leak in London is expensive, a whole
50 pence, which is a decent loaf of wheat bread in India. Answering the call of
nature therefore has to be strategically considered ;-). One strategy is to hydrate oneself only at
home, or carry a plastic bag to pee in the event of emergency, which I actually
saw a teenager do on a train. Bizarre, right!
I celebrated the birthday evening with friends at Sushi
Samba, a restaurant on the 38th floor of Heron tower, by ordering some champagne. Although the view
was sensational, the pocket did hurt. See, that's why I think money is
important in life. One should be able to spend without having to think of what
one can afford - that's how rich one should be materialistically. Only if
wishes were horses, sigh! But then again, birthdays come only come once a year,
I find myself justifying.
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| Tomato Mozzarella cheese croissant |
After the few initial bus rides, Liverpool street station
became my go to place for the London tube travels. Pret A Manger became my breakfast
place with the simplistic, tomato and Mozzarella cheese croissant as my favorite
delicacy on a vegetarian day. Covent Garden was my first destination on the
tube and turns out it is not a garden, just a hoity-toity shopping street with
its Godivas and Diors. I bought my first Sketchers here, and boy o boy, I was
completely smitten by the feather light shoes they make. People all over London
wear really fancy colored shoes; the
clothes may be navy blue or black, but the shoes definitely stand out. It is a
stunning sight to watch Londoners jog on a sunny afternoon at 1:10 pm in the
middle of the week; the British sun is simply stimulating to spring you into
action or exercise. Apart from its green gardens, I am in awe of how
brilliantly laws have preserved old architecture and buildings that marry its
modern constructions in complementary union. Then as another weekend arrived,
we went to the famous Portobello market of Notting Hill fame. I didn't research
much on the blue door but it was wonderful to explore an area where my second
most favorite film was shot. Turns out, the number 23 bus, 23 being my birth
date, travels via Notting Hill to the Liverpool street station. How fancy is
that? Also, 20 is the local area or city code used to dial to London, which is
same as Pune's. Double fancy!! ;-).
Of course there was the great food in restaurants (Tibits at
Regent street for vegetarian food deserves an honorable mention), pubs, bars,
discotheques et all that came packaged with the vacation as a definitive
London-thing-to-do. I did some of these
bits as well.
I loved London, every single bit of it and London, in turn,
treated me nice with bright, sunny days for more than 80% of my stay. September
isn't all bright and sunny, I was lucky, I was told.
I was so enamored that I found myself wondering why I never
decided to make London home, given its practical benefits of English
speaking population and close vicinity to India. By the end of the fortnight, I
navigated the central line as if I was meant to do it every single day. I had become accustomed to hopping on and off stations and boarding diverse lines in tune with destinations. I very often hoped, that India would have a transport system as efficient
as London. With £31 oyster pass a week, I could use any buses or trains and explore my lungs out in zone 1 and 2.
What did I really love about London? I can't really pin
point one thing. It will have to be a combination of old and modern
architecture, efficient transport systems and the gardens in no chronological
order. I also loved that people really dress up to work in suits
and women do their own sexy things. Canary Wharf on a Friday evening with the setting
sun and beer for company is definitely SOMETHING!
I didn't do the Shard, go inside the St. Paul's Cathedral,
do the champagne experience on the London eye, go and see the Kohinoor, buy a
fancy London-looking pair of shoes, and more importantly visit Madame Tussauds. I
didn't want my first Jolie meeting to be in wax, how much ever skilled the
artists are; I want it to be in flesh and blood. So I will probably do some of
my didnts and some of my dos already done in the future with a lover. May be I will bug the hell out
of somebody on the last seat of a bus with loud * mwah * sounds.
A piece I will treasure forever with me as part of my London
experience is the friends I met and the friends that made this trip happen.
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| (L to R) with Sarah, Mrinal, Deep, Alex, Kiran and Vishal @ Kings Cross |
If getting older is aimed to make you wiser, I believe,
London also gave me an important lesson: Friends who host you, invite you over,
spend time with you, make a point to meet, do ordinary things, sometimes extraordinary
gestures, deserve a special place in your life. Their actions will always speak
louder than hollow words of coulda-shoulda-woulda.
