Travelogue for UK Travelling is an important part of one’s life. The purpose is not only leisure, but also to be a part of learning process through new information, about the places and culture, and our observations. This is what my dad says all the time and thank God I got a father like him, otherwise I have seen dads who do not give travelling much thought, and think it as a waste of time and money as they don’t usually want to acknowledge the fact that they don’t have time for their families and recreation.
Last summer vacations, I had promised myself I would go somewhere. Although there were a lot of options within Pakistan and I would have loved to travel around my country but when I asked my dad, he told me he was not free and nor was my brother those days and I could not go alone. All my excitement came crashing down, but then seeing my face, my dad suggested I could go to England because I could have fun there as well as meet my relatives living there. At first, the prospect of going alone made me reluctant to go but then the excitement of visiting a new place, took over.
The places I had only read about or seen on television, I would get to see them now with my own eyes. So my dad had already booked me ticket. By the time July started I was ready to my fullest. The day came and I went to the airport. After passing last minute goodbyes and hugs to my family, I hurried through the airport procedures. Before boarding the plane, I felt hot July air blowing in my face and thought about the days ahead that I would be spending in the cool and rainy atmosphere of united kingdom. It soothed me to an extent and I waited for the plane to move.
The flight was direct to London and the journey is normally about eight hours long. The plane started to move slowly and the scenery, which was visible from the window beside which I was sitting, became a blur and as soon as the plane ascended I got to see the bigger picture of the area below. And soon I dozed off and woke up four hours later. I had lunch and started observing the people around me as there was nothing else to do much. After four hours, the plane started to descend. I could see a strange view of countless hut shaped, red roofed houses in rows. The weather outside was cold.
There wasn’t any sun and it looked like it was about to rain. The plane landed at the famous and the largest airport in the world, the Heathrow airport, which I had only heard about. Now seeing it myself, I could see the numerous terminals, countless people, the restaurants, cafes and shops, all at one airport. One visiting UK for the first time would surely get lost, because it was that large, I thought. I met my mum’s brother and his family there and two sisters of mum too. I had not seen them for years as they were avoiding coming to Pakistan due to the instability.
They directed me and my luggage towards their cars and that too luxury ones. But looking around I could see cars, which are considered luxurious in Pakistan, all around. Then I remembered that it was not a third world place I was standing on. My initial stay was at an aunt’s home, located away from the London main city, in Ill ford, Essex. I had decided to stay one week each at each of my relative’s homes. Now the fun began. Each day I had a different schedule which kept me occupied all the time and did not let me get bored even a little.
The schedule included all the dinners I had to attend, all the restaurants and places I had to go and above all, observing the people and atmosphere of a new country had to keep me occupied for sure. The food which I consumed at my relatives’ homes was mostly Pakistani. The only difference I noticed was that it was less spicy. But that was okay, as long as I knew I won’t be staying here forever. That first day out was epic. My aunt took me to London city which is the central London and the busiest area of the city, just like the M. M Alam road in Lahore back home.
This commercial area is also known to be famous for the Piccadilly Circus. I was literally dazzled by the entire crowd and those moving neon lights here. This area has got numerous clubs and casinos. I never visited a casino but we were getting very late so we headed back, and ever since then I regret not visiting a casino there as I was always curious and still am. But still, I made sure to have a photo taken outside the nearby casino. The next day, we went to parliament house. Near it, is London’s famous clock tower which is also called “Big Ben”.
I was really impressed by the way it worked and was constructed. It was very cold that day, although I was wearing a coat but my feet and hands were feeling numb that I could not even imagine that it was July. Nevertheless I busied myself in watching people come and go, leaning against a post. Some young cousins of mine running and playing around me, and the traffic going in a rhythm. No signals broken, almost no bikes, no rash driving. Everything was calmly done and there was no rush as compared to in Pakistan. I noticed that the people here were calm, pleasant and forgiving and why won’t they be?
The standard of living here was far better than in Pakistan of course, I thought. Breaking out of the reverse I noticed that night was falling and yes it was beautiful but we had to head back. The following two days were mostly spent in family and their dinner meetings so we didn’t get a chance to go out. Next day we went out to visit the royal palace of United Kingdom, the Buckingham Palace, although we of course couldn’t go inside. It was a beauty from the outside. There were two guards riding on horses, on each side of the main gate.
They were dressed in red coats with yellow ribbons and long black fury strange hats just like I saw on TV sometimes. We took a lot of pictures around the palace. We were so tired by the time that we decided to go back that day as it looked like it was going to rain too. The following day, after early breakfast, mu uncle took me to England’s famous river ‘Thames’. While driving along it, far away you could just make out a shape of a round wheel. Getting closer, it clicked inside my head, what it was. It was the London wheel, also known as London Eye.
It’s in the shape of a huge wheel with big round capsules hanging around the circle. It is basically a ride from the bottom to the top of the circle and people can see a wide view of London city as they ride to the top. We bought the ticket for the ride and stood in a very long queue of people. Every tourist in the UK visits and ride London Eye, so I could understand why it was all crowded, after about two hours of waiting our turn, we got in a capsule. It looked round from miles away but upon entering, it looked a huge glass wallet room which had benches to sit too.
Once inside, the room started rising at an almost zero speed. The whole ride is usually almost half an hour long. We rose and rose and the city came into view. I had a clear view of the way from which we had come in, and the blue river flowing along. The room was big enough for fifteen or more people to wander around enjoying the ride. When the capsule reached the top . I could almost see the whole city. I a lot of photos here to capture the lifetime experience. By the time we got free, it was late. We rushed in to the nearby Macdonald’s to eat as we were starving.
Then we went to the river Thames on foot, to enjoy the fresh air. The bridge on the river is the famous “Bridge tower” very intricately made. We walked on the sidewalk which was again, crowded with tourists from all over the world. Over the next couple of days I attended a wedding which kept me quiet busy. It was my last week in UK and I had to visit the remaining places. Trafalgar square is one of the famous names located in London. The stone lions were marvelously made were a fantastic piece of art. This place was flooded with people.
Some of them taking pictures, some feeding the pigeons and some kids were trying to climb on the lion’s backs. It was a memorable view for me. Reagent Park is a well known park in London. The park is quite famous and has countless types of flowers which were presenting a pleasant view, we just passed through it but all the greenery and fresh air freshened me up. One of the last places I visited was the museum “Madame Tussauds”. It is a strange place that I entered. I found myself in the middle of world’s famous celebrities. But they were actually their wax models.
The wax figures were everywhere. Some I remember which were of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lady Diana, Shahrukh khan, Amitabh Bachan, Pervez Musharaf, Benazir Bhutto, Bill Clinton, Charlie Chaplin and numerous others including Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities. But the thing that irritated me was that there wasn’t any model of Quaid-e-Adam. There was a separate section for the royal family figures. What I noted was that they had not included Lady Diana in that section, which was interesting. When heading back, we went to Harrods which is almost the most expensive store in the entire UK.
Harrods was owned by the father of the controversial Dodi-Al-Fahad, whom Lady Diana wanted to marry. It was that expensive that we just resorted to window shop. It was strange that they didn’t allow anybody inside the store. On my way back I bought makeup from “Super Drug” which is quiet famous for cosmetics. That was the last place I visited before coming back to Pakistan. Coming out of the store we found that it was raining. And one thing I had learned and everyone kept saying was that “carry an umbrella wherever you go” because the weather likes to play tricks and you never know when it’s going to rain.
