We are going to London!

After exploring Dubai my heart was filled with excitement to discover London, home to immense and varied literary talents. While doing Masters in English Literature from an Indian University I always desired to see the country which has produced literary
geniuses for decades.

The moment I reached Honslow I was disappointed. The place did not look very clean as there was garbage littered in many places and I felt I was in India

Not all cities in India are dirty but many are and I was in London expecting a lot more from the city after exploring Dubai which is very new in comparison to London.

The other reason for higher expectation was that the Britishers have ruled so many nations for decades including India and the Indian subjugation by them was for more than a century.

Taking a cursory glance at Honslow from my hotel I felt London could in no way match the modern buildings of Dubai. Then I thought to myself my expectations would be met when I would explore the city during the guided city tour.

The guided tour turned out to be guarded tour as we were hardly allowed to get down from the bus.

We took some shots from the bus of the places of prime importance and sometimes by the time we get could get ready with the camera we would miss the chance as the bus would start moving ahead very fast.

We passed by many significant places beginning with Harrod’s and were informed that it is London’s biggest shopping place where everything can be bought. The tourists on the bus looked at the place with a yearning to go inside the building for shopping and before we could think further we were also informed that this place also houses Lady Diana’s statue along with Dodi Al- Fayed holding dove in their hands.

Soon the images of the tragic death of the charming Princess and her lover Dodi came to my mind.

Then we were shown Wellington Arch symbolising victory of Britishers over Napolean

We saw Westminster Abbey place of coronations and weddings of the Royal family. It is also the burial ground of important people. Then we saw 10 Downing street, home of the British Prime Minister. Before we could think of the British Prime Minister the tour guide pointed to Trafalgar Square which is a place for celebrating victories. We then came across Royal Court of Justice similar to Supreme Court of India. The Indian legal system has mainly drawn from the British legal system. Soon we passed by Saint Paul’s cathedral where Prince Charles married Lady Diana breaking the tradition as most of the royal weddings have been held at Westminster Abbey. We passed by one building after another and I felt I could not absorb anything.

After exploring all the places as I was getting down thinking about the popular buildings cab driver from London asked me where was my partner and the moment I stated I do not have partner his face brightened and he stated he will drive the vehicle all the days.

I just smiled as for the first time I came across a driver who was flirtatious.

I might have enjoyed the architecture in London had I got an opportunity to view it carefully but I feel the modern buildings in Dubai fascinated me more.

After observing our frustration our tour guide later explained during lunch that London should be explored for at least one week and in a smaller group.

Our stay was for a short duration of four days and our group members numbering 47 members however did not seem convinced with him and the talking point during that day was what is more beautiful Dubai or London?

Many voted for Dubai for being more beautiful and moreover during our stay in Dubai I felt I was in India as everyone spoke Hindi. I liked Dubai more not just because of the Indian connection but the new modern buildings captured my heart.
I might have liked London had I got a chance to explore the old buildings leisurely.

Post lunch we went to see Kingsley Hall, place where Meher Baba met Gandhi and since the building was closed we took some shots of the building from outside.

As our group comprised followers of Meher Baba from different parts of India and this International trip to European countries was mostly organized to discover places visited by Meher Baba this place was significant.

In the evening we came to see London eye and this was the most refreshing moment for all of us. We saw the beautiful Thames river with no rush to go anywhere. Some people decided to take a ride on the wheel but I wanted to stand close
to the serene beauty of the river Thames.

Our group which majorly comprised senior citizens then visited Kew garden next day in the morning.

On knowing that the garden is UNESCO’s world heritage site our group members keenly examining the garden.

The group was surprised to know that Kew garden not only houses large variety of plants of exotic plants but also preserves plants which are on the verge of becoming extinct. Entering inside the garden was similar to arriving in the world of fairy tales.

There was not an iota of spot was which looked parched. The lush green garden with magical flowers of different colours, shapes and sizes on all sides was a breath taking view. Some beautiful birds were also found in some corners of the garden.

There was a huge crowd at the garden but as the garden has a huge area it did not appeared very crowded and moreover visitors after entering the garden were dispersed in different parts of the garden.

Walking ahead in the garden I was intrigued by the hive a multi sensored aluminium structure which highlighted the lives of the bees.

Then I decided to take a train ride to further satiate my curiosity about the garden and the fourty minutes drive turned out to be the most fascinating experience with the description of every part of the garden. Then from Kew garden we were taken for a guided city tour of the pristine London but could hardly get down at any places.

After lunch we came to a place from where we could see Tower bridge and London bridge.

Then in the evening we were taken to the most awaited Madame Tussad. While heading to the place I remembered several news paper articles which get published in the newspaper informing the readers about the new wax statues. I remembered that mostly celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood have got their statues erected and on reaching the place I was surprised to see the statues of people from various walks of life.

Statues of people from politics, sports and glamour world did not surprise me much but on seeing the statues of spiritual leaders such the Dalai Lama etc made me very happy.

I was elated to see the statue of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madame Tussad.

Most of the wax statues looked old but I felt that the statue of the Indian cricketer looked most fresh and spirited.

During our stay in London we also went to witness change of guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace. We arrived one hour before the start of the ceremony and as soon as it began people were rushing with their cameras to capture the event. I personally did not enjoy it much as the place was very crowded and it reminded me of the colonial era when the Britishers were ruiling India.

If I think of London again then Kew garden and Madame Tussads were the main attractions.

Our next destination was France. Before leaving from London I imagined France to be country of latest fashion, beauty and Cannes Film Festival. We left London for Dover

port and reached Calais port.