London
Trip Start
Sep 24, 2008
1
5
132
Trip End
Jul 21, 2009
London,
England,
United Kingdom
Saturday, October 4, 2008
This is not just because every single reality show (and the Office) in the US is an exact replica of the British version (oh Sheryl Cole, when will you leave Ashley). London is a great city, and despite the accents, cars on the other side of the road and a corner building on a road older than the US, it didn't feel all that different than New York. It is equally as cosmopolitan and diverse as New York, you can grab a cup of joe at a Starbuck's, a sandwich at Subway and find yourself in a discussion on the US Presidential election at a pub. However, you can also watch Didier Drogba go down and Arsenal squeak by in the Champions League (despite failing miserably in the Premiereship) in primtime at a pub with a bunch of raucous Englishmen.
My days were spent wandering around the city, dealing with Peace Corps related admin and getting prepared for India. Having been to all the tourist sights before, I enjoyed walking by the parliament, Piccadilly, Buckingham, Hyde/St James/Green Parks, Tower Hill, Financial District, Trafalgar Sq. I was particularly struck by the WWII memorials in Green Park. There is a huge one for the five million "volunteers" from the subcontinent, Caribbean and Africa who fought alongside the British. They neglected to mention that Gandhi suggested the Indians fight in arms with their colonial masters in exchange for independence for all India and not what actually took place in 1947.
Most of my nights were spent re-connecting with friends from the past and the new friends I met while on my magical mystery tour in Turkey this past summer. I met up with Aditi, who had no sense of direction in her own town despite telling me which tube station to meet her at (sorry, had to call you out); Jerin-Lei, a soon-to-be recored jazz artist who will eventually be touring near you (www.jerin-lei.com); Nicky on our trek out to Southall (a South Asian neighborhood that has good, but not to die for earthly pleasure food especially given the hike, sorry Bip); Zoe in the Angel area and went to an amazing and authentic Turkish restaurant, Gallipoli, that took us right back to the Mediterranean coast (where are you Bayram?); Dan, better known as the road manager of the Indian dance sensation, Chocolate Thunder. I partied on Friday with Dan and his two Aussie friends who just relocated to London, Dave and Janine. They spent the better part of July touring (on cycles) along with the Tour de France. Dave is a maniac, an asmathic, he hauled it up Alpe Huez in 90 minutes (Lance did it in 38). Quite impressive. The four of us attended the Concrete and Glass music festival at Cargo, a tiny venue in East London, mainly to see the band TV On The Radio. It was quite a memorable evening as I participated in my first mosh pit probably since I was in college and went saw Green Day at BFD with Lewis. It was also on this evening that I made a grave error. There were two Canadian girls that I met at the venue, chatted up one of them and introduced Dan to the other. Long story short, I picked the wrong one. The morning after, we all cruised by this amazing outdoor market near London fields. Saturday afternoon, Ankit rolled into town - his first foray into Europe, a 10 hour layover in London - and we enjoyed his first beer at an English pub near Covent Garden.
That night we both took off for India - him straight to Kolkata and me in transit through Mumbai. While not optimal, it did provide me the opportunity to have a delicious masala dosa for $1 while I waited in the Mumbai domestic terminal. After a week of getting my wallet battered in London, I think I'm going to like this developing country thing. Next up, first impressions of Kolkata.
Note: There once was a guest blogger by the name of Ankit, arms like tree trunks and blazing red hair. Look out for a slightly different perspective in some of the blogs over the next few weeks.
0
Comments
Hey!
Hey my man, congratulations on having a blast in London...well, outside of those Canadian chicks! :) I see where the European markets are starting to tank hard due to the Wall Street collapse. You're hitting the developing countries at the right time my man...enjoy! :)
Rob
tell me more about this guest blogger...
he sounds glorious...