Lone wanderer

Travelling alone is never fun – or so I thought till I went to London for Christmas. The trip by itself was not too great, but my experience and realisation were worth the trip.

It can be quite tiring and boring to be wandering the streets of a strange city all alone – no one to guide you, no one to share anecdotes with… but it can also be quite a relief. You can actually do what you like.You don’t have to apologise to anyone for talking the wrong turn. You can eat when you want to. On my last day in London I just got into any bus which came my way and got down at any stop I felt like – it felt great (not particulary useful, but great none the less). Maybe with someone, I would have to justify my random behaviour – but when I was alone, I could get as dog weary as I pleased without having to worry about anyone.

I wanted to get a feel of the city and being alone helped me do that. By the end of my trip I was confident that if told to live in London from the next day, I could probably do quite well. That feeling – the feeling that you explored a city on your own and now know it quite well – is exhilarating. Yes, the fact that it is next to impossible to actually get lost in London is a major factor. But still for someone who is doing this for the 1st time in life it is a great feeling.

Living in a hostel, sharing a room with strangers from around the world, meeting new people on the breakfast table, going for long walks with people you have known for approximately 10 minutes of your life – all these are unique experiences. In the 4 days I was in London, I learned as much about Greece and Australia as I did about London.

I shared my room with two girls from Greece. For the lack of anything better to do after you have had a tiring day seeing every tourist destination London has to offer, we got talking and it was a cultural revelation for me to know about how Greece functions as a country, what they like (meat obviously), what they hate (Turks, I’m told), how they swear ( they do that a lot) and a lot of other aspects of their day to day lives. It was refreshing to hear a new accent and generally know a few people without having the obligation of having anything like a commitment towards that short lived relationship.

On Christmas morning (when the whole of London closes down, which I thought was quite absurd. It is London, for crying out loud! How can everything in London be closed??? Anyway……), as there was nothing to do, nothing to visit, I went on a 5 hour walk with a primary school teacher from Australia, who was 4 years shy of her retirement. It was interesting to see London and generally the world from her point of view. I came to know Captain James Cook’s adventures of how he discovered Australia, how Australia functions as a country today and what are their political issues (I was surprised to know that they have political issues!)… Also I learned a trick or two about how to read maps, not that it will really help me. If I openly admit to being a failure in anything it is directions and maps!

I went shopping all alone. Not that I particularly enjoy the activity of shopping, but it was Boxing day and boxing day sales in London shouldn’t be missed or so I had been told. So there I was buying all kinds of stuff that my Dad would have disapproved of.. but see that is the advantage of travelling alone – Dad wasn’t there. Though you miss the obviously necessary company of someone to comment on what you buy and give you essential fashion advice – not that I would have adhered to any fashion advise anyhow… I would be far better dressed if I were to listen – but that’s another discussion all together.

Walking along the Thames and being trigger happy on my camera I had time to think, contemplate and in general, appreciate what I was seeing and experiencing. Realisations that I had not had before, senses that I was not aware of before were awake and throbbing… it was great – I felt alive!

London Bridge is falling down....

....or so I had heard.

But no siree.. its standing strong across the Thames and it looks beautiful across the river in the night light - its bright red.

I have been in Europe for all of six months and was adviced that the four must see cities of Europe were London - for its barbaric character, Paris - for its beauty, Rome - for its culture and Barcelona - for Gaudi (what else!).

So out of curiosity about the barbaric character, I went to London for Christmas and it was an experience indeed.

First of all, its not as beautiful as is rumoured to be. Actually, its quite ugly in many places. It is a city where the ancient, old and new are trying to stand shoulder to shoulder, unsuccessfully. The modern glass high rises against the Tower of London or the Big Ben at the background of London Eye - it just doesn't gel. The South Bank Complex is one of the most ugly buildings on the banks of the Thames. The river does not hold any charm either. The water is just as water flowing amidst one of the busiest cities on planet should be - dirty, murky.

Secondly, there is an acute shortage of dustbins in the city. After 7/7, the city council must have apparently decided that the most dangerous things to attack the city would be dust bins. As a natural consequence the city is dirty - quite dirty for a European city.

Thirdly, there are only Indians living in London, or so is the impression that you get when you walk the streets. You can catch snatches of conversation in Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil and Malayalam.. you kind of wonder where all the English people of England are!

Fourthly, you do see its barabaric character - the whole of Tower of London is barbarism personified, the statues outside the Royal Residence - all are reminiscent of the bygone bloody era of the British empire.

Fifthly, the public transport system of London is absolutely superb. It is difficult to get lost in the city, unless you are just too dumb or are on a mission to get lost. This is one area which I sincerely wish India could adopt. The system is efficiency potrayed to a hilt - its almost perfect! The only problem I could think of is that it would be terribly hot and sweaty in the underground in the summer.

Sixthly, though the goverment of UK is unanimously known to wag its tail to everything that USA says, the people think otherwise. There is open and widespread ridicule towards all that is American.

It is a city so warped in its history and so caught up in trying to be modern that it ends up no where. It has its moments but not the best city I have seen and I haven't seen many. Maybe the expectations from the city are astronomical and it just falls short of them...

Definitely worth a visit, but I don't know abot it being one of the most beautiful cities in the world! I wouldn't vote for it.