Disclaimer: This post is written primarily that these memories stay with me.. rather than for a third person
I had been thinking about a trip to United Kingdom for a long time (maybe a year or two). And finally was able to action it over the last week.
Why UK?
1. Matter of Convenience - A Known Language & Boarding & Lodging options available in London
2. Saravanan being there. It has been five years since we met..
3. History is an area of interest to me..
How planned I was?
Other than a day trip to Edinburgh, none of the other dates were scheduled in my trip. But had a distinct understanding that Saravanan would be taking me to Lake District trip for the first two days. And most of the other days would be spent in London & nearby areas.
Day 1 & 2:
First day, I travelled to Windermere and spent the entire afternoon and evening in the lakes. Especially spending an hour in a self-driven boat was an experience in itself.
After figuring out that there would not be much to do at Windermere, we travelled to Blackpool Pleasure Beach - UK's most visited theme park & one of the oldest in the world. Just suffice to say that it was a day of adrenalin rides.
Day 3 - My first plan for the day was spend just a half day in British Museum. But i found the museum so good that i spent the entire day in the museum. One of the happiest moments of the trip was to see the million year old hand-axe from Chennai, Tamilnadu - proving that Tamil civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Other areas of interest were Assyria, Babylonian & Egyptian empires because of their linkages with Israel in the Bible. Entry to British Museum is free but an audio guide will make your museum visit memorable. A Must for anybody visiting London. Evening was spent in Trafalgar Square, Piccadily Circus & Buckingham Palace.
Day 4 - Plans for the day was to spend the morning @ Madame Tussads(Wax Museum), afternoon @ UK Parliament (Guided Tour) & Evening @ London Eye. But Madame Tussads was a dud - Came out in an hour. Marvel Comics 4D Movie was the only good thing about Madame Tussads. UK Parliament Guided Tour was enjoyable - good to know the system behind our imperial rulers. London Eye does give an bird's view over the city. Since there was time left, went to the famous Tower Bridge & Tower of London.
Day 5 - Visited Edinburgh. And this was the best of my 8-day trip to UK. Visited Edinburgh Castle, Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace. And was lucky to watch Royal Edinburgh Military Tatoo.. (Bought Tickets in Black and watched it)
Day 6 - Travelled to Windsor Castle.. Took the conquer the towers tour in Windsor Castle.. It was great. On the way back, visited Robert anna & IJ akka. They convinced me to come back on Saturday..
Day 7 - Visited the state rooms of Buckingham Palace & St. Paul's Cathedral. Buckingham is the richest palace that i have ever come across. Wealth amassed from conquered nations were displayed proudly in the palace. St. Paul's Cathedral is one of the most beautiful cathedrals. If you have time, do climb the towers. On the top, you will get to see one of the most beautiful sights of London.
Day 8, Sunday - Went to Hillsong church london in the morning and science museum in the afternoon. Time out with Lovelyn & Robert anna after the fiver year gap was lovely. And with that - one of the most beautiful vacations of mine came to an end..
Interesting Things I Noted:
- There are 2 Britain - a cosmopolitan London and a common-man Britain seen outside of London. It is because of this common-man London, Britain's future is secure
- Contrary to my misconception, British people are not as rude as one seen generally in Heathrow Airport.
- Scots are a proud people and bent on preserving their identity even in this small nation. Made me to think when was the last time - I was proud that I am from Tamil and have a different culture, identity to people from other parts of India.
- Surprisingly the cafes in the palaces of London are a lot cheaper than the cafes in Indian palaces..
- Most of the tourists to London are from other European countries. But expect to see quite a few Chinese on your trip.
IndiansSouth Asians are everywhere. Can't even spend 5 minutes without seeing another south asian on the roads.- Britain's current fashion Trend among Teens: Weird is Cool
Altogether a lovely & memorable visit.
