Destinations :: London

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From Margate we headed for London. A distance of about 150 kms takes little more than two hours. As we had taken a bus it took us to the central depot known rather archaically as the Victoria Coach Station near Victoria Station also called London Victoria. Known as Belgravia, we arrived at seemingly a very fine place. We had bookings in a

Westminster

B&B joint in one of the outfits located, I was informed, in one of the buildings that were built with the money of East India Company.

I would rather not describe all that I saw in London, which in any case was much less than what I would have liked, as many of my friends must have been to London and have had a better induction into the city. We spent only three or four days and the sightseeing was also not quite structured. We would generally hop into “hop on,

Big Ben from a nearby bridge

hop off” bus and see whatever we could. It was such a pity that we passed by Piccadilly Circus, May Fair, Hyde Park, etc on an “hop on, hop off” bus which perhaps would have been better viewed from ground level while walking through them. I took some pictures – some of them came off well and some are of indifferent quality. Nonetheless, they provide me with the feeling of having been to one of the greatest metropolises in the world and, that too. on my own steam.

The other thing is about British Tourism’ efficiency and dedication. We hed personal experience of their

At carnaby Street

comprehensive attempts to cater to the needs of tourists. When my wife, after waiting in a queue for a good part of an hour, got to interact with the lady across the counter it turned out to be complete and comprehensive job. My wife booked two-ways ticket to and from Edinburgh, a B&B joint in Edinburgh and London, a bus ticket to

At Trafalgar Square

Ramsgate for our return journey and our tickets for the catamaran for getting back to Oostend. For the B&B at Edinburgh she had to call various joints to check availability and eventually fixed one for us near the old Theatre. What was amazing that she never complained for putting load on her which she seemed to bear quite happily. Along with her patience I also admired the

patience of those who were waiting in the queue.

Sitting on the steps of Queen Victoria Memorial I kept staring at the Buckingham Palace. It was as unimpressive as Westminster was impressive. It was like a block of stone without any distinctive character. Maybe, it was gorgeous inside but from outside it was as plain as ever, even pedestrian. From childhood we had heard of Buckingham Palace but when I was up in front of it was disappointing. Our Gwalior Palace of the Scindias is much better looking. Designed by an unknown architect, Michael Filose, it is grand from outside and inside.