Over and Out

this is my last post from London - that most wonderful and gorgeous of cities.

i've had a wonderful two weeks here and Edinburgh (another wonderful and gorgeous city), and i've come away very impressed with so many things. there was plenty to learn and to take away from my two weeks - and plentier (?) to aspire to.

i'm sorry that i have to leave, but we will not know what a good day is if we don't have normal days and bad days. so i'm happy to be able to go home where i will go back to work and do the things that i love.

i loved London's parks and wide open spaces, providing such respite from a busy city. i was in Regent, Hyde, Green and St James Park - i can't decide if i love them more than i loved the second bench from the Westminster Bridge facing west and Houses of Parliament? that same bench where for the first time i fell asleep in the sun, in public.

i loved London's energy, and how everyone seems to walk faster than me, and how i couldn't keep up even when i tried so hard. and every few minutes, there was always someone wearing iPods jogging past me.

i loved London's excellent transport system. they deliver you almost to the doorstep, and everything is highly integrated, and the London Underground is a world-class icon. i felt safe, there were plenty of directions, and the stations were all so personable and alive (they had Sherlock Holmes pictures all over the walls of the Baker Street station).

i loved the theatre and the myriad shows available all year long. they had Waiting for Godot as well! there is so many things to do - comedy clubs, pub quizzes, concerts and bands. and so much shopping - all the brands in the world are here - except Bata. and despite Jimmy Choo being malaysian, the best place to go Choo-shopping is still London!

i loved walking in London. i walked from Westminster to Trafalgar Square to Oxford Circus to Bond Street. i walked from Emirates Stadium to Kings Cross, Twickenham to Richmond, i walked from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge, park to park, tube station to tube station. it was sunny, it was rainy, it was cold and it was windy - i walked all over this city!

i loved the purchasing power in this city. if you don't multiply by 5, London is amazingly cheap. you go shopping in Tesco and fill a cart, you only spend £25. you buy a tee for £8, and books for £9 and a Sony laptop for £399 and a BMW for £11,000, things that cost RM35, RM42, RM2399 and RM300,000 in malaysia. but the amazing thing is, you earn the same amount over here!

i loved the amazing variety of food. i am haunted by my significant other telling me about rotten bananas she saw in Giant Penang, but here everything is large and colourful and abundant and cheap! i had African, Mediterranean, Vietnamese, Italian, English, Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, microwave - all in one city, for very reasonable prices.

i love London. i guess it's clear huh? :-) but i'm glad to be going home, and to the one i love.