London lives up to every grey-cold-wet stereotype that precedes it. At first it's all very quaint to turn your collar up to the cold & damp, and feel like being in a Sting black & white video for 'The Hounds of Winter' and mutter-hum 'mercury falling...' as you go along (I don't even know if it has a video, but if it does, I'll bet it's b&w). After a while, when you have ice cubes (formerly known as ears) stuck to the sides of your head, it all gets a tad bothersome. I had to remind myself towards the end of my short stay, that is world is not indeed grey. I had to force mid-day fantasies of the tropics, of blue-skies and green-leaves. Look at me go, I'm actually so good at being crabby about the weather, I think I have Londoner-potential.
The natural sequence of things would require me to now complain about London prices. But why don't I surprise you, and skip that (besides, nowhere is too expensive if you'll make-do with buttered toast or dodgy shawarmas).
Some views of/from the London Eye:
Having come straight out of a year of (highly enjoyable) confinement in Colombia, it was difficult not to hold London in awe, given it's appropriate world-city stature. The diversity really hit me. Public transportation was the most entertaining experience, looking around in child-like wonder at the plethora of ethnic variations, as people of every conceivable skin colour hopped on and off. What really blew my mind was being on a bus (for example), and hearing 6 or 7 (or more) languages around me. Now compare that to being in relatively homogenous Bogotá, where I, just like the locals, would actually turn around if I heard English being spoken (thinking, 'now, who is this foreign person'?)
Another obvious thing that goes with the world-city stature, is a level of political consciousness that is impressive, and even amusing sometimes. You can hardly walk a few blocks in Central London without having a flyer flung at you about human rights in China, or run into a bunch of protesters outside a tube station, harping about how the US should leave Iran alone, or some such thing. At Trafalgar Square, we even stumbled across what seemed like an Anti-War political rally, complete with stoned hippies and all.
All in all, London was cool. After-all, you can't not enjoy London, if you grew up playing Monopoly :). Notting Hill was appropriately cute. Hyde Park was immense and pretty (and grey-green). Soho was well fun, and Chinatown grub was well genuine. The Tate Museum of Modert Art was trippy. The Indian Food onslaught was impressive (even went to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that Mahatma Gandhi frequented, thanks to KC). The Big Ben, etc is O.K, really. Fabric, on the other hand, was every bit magical.
The friends really made the trip worth every podgy pound spent. Krishna & Soddy are just the best mates. Also met Saki, Sac, Kokie, Srini, Amit and a whole of AIESEC alumni. The 'friendship futon' reunion was smashing – hanging out with Holly, Helen & Chris again was easily the highlight! (Love you guys). I guess some things will never change. Ain't that swell?
