We walked from Lancaster gate to Paddington station which is about half a km to catch a circle/district line train. I have not done so much walking for a long long time....going through the parks, roads, streets and mews covering so many kms. If not walking I'm in a tube or taxis to go somewhere. Never for a moment we got lost because the journey planner for all means of public transport is just excellent. The taxi drivers are a class of their own..The most difficult part from the first time I set foot in UK is getting use to the English weather...when I spoke to my British friend about the unpredictability of the weather, he just laughed and said that's the beauty of English weather where you can get four seasons in one day.. I knew then the best way is to accept whatever is coming. For the whole day we had sunshine and clear blue sky.
In order to go to Tower Hill we had to take a circle line . We had 15 stops before we reached Tower Hill where the London Tower and the London Bridge are located. The Tower had an interesting history when it was built by William the Conqueror in the early 1080s. It was a royal palace, a Fotress, a prison, a place of execution and today its most famous function is as a place where the crown jewels of successive monarchs are kept. It is now accepted as a world heritage. Whilst London Bridge in all its form started during the period of the Romans who founded the city of London. The bridge have spanned over the the River Thames to Southwark in central London. It has been built over and over again in different forms.
In term of the modern steel and concrete structure it started in 1973. Going back to my journey on the circle line which took us 45 minutes to reach, the interesting point that stuck to my mind is the announcement at every departure and stops without failed giving the direction to go and which exit to take and to where. Additionally there is a continous safety announcement to remind the passengers to mind the gap. Everything that is done is always for the benefit and convenient of passengers. Its a week day, yet it is crowded with people into and from the stations as well as people walking to places of interest.You can hear the hustle bustle of school children, university students and ordinary people from every walk of life and part of the world. We could hear people speaking different languages. Its so alive and exuberant. There are side cafes and eateries located at different areas. Its not too pricey to choose food of your liking. Its difficult at this location to find halal food, so we always end up eating vegetarian or seafood. But most of the time we are still spoiled by the quality food prepared by my wife Aziah.
How time flies, without even counting the days tomorrow we are leaving for home by Malaysian Airlines or whatever is left of it. I suppose we are already feeling the stress of homesickness. I thought in this age that is passing quickly I could still be with my family who are married with small children of their own except for my eldest girl and her husband Haidar who due to their job constraint were not able to be with us. I wanted to remember something but at the end of it I'm not sure whether I succeeded or not. Again in this trip there is something unusual as everyday I'm full of inspirations to write. I thus slowly sit in one quite corner facing the hyde park to write whatever I could remember or wanted to say, posting them with all the spelling and grammar mistakes. Only after the posting I or Aziah would do the editting. Actually I rely on my wife to go through and correct since her English is better than mine.
This holiday or the semblance of it since at the sideline of it I met different people to discuss on the issues of Rohingya and other Muslims whose fate is not given fair and equal attention by the international community. I did not even bother to know where I would be or do next.
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