After moving away from London three years ago, I am back in “the capital”. I enjoyed the trip, not least due to the fact that for the first time in my life, travelled first class with British Airways. A pleasant surprise! On my arrival it poured down with rain and generally the weather is very cool. It must be around 20 degrees, quite a shock compared to Japan. I was picked up from the airport and the long way to the hotel along congested roads took me past all the sights of London. As can be expected, not much has changed. Surprised to be asked for the way, even though I have just arrived here myself – no longer an obvious foreigner! I am heading out this morning for a nice walk along the river Thames with an old friend, looking forward to a nice pub lunch and a pint!
SO what’s the impact been like of returning to the old playground, huh??? I see the weather still ROCKS!
Hi champ, glad to see you are one of my readers.
Well, it was odd to return after three years. I was somewhat looking forward to it, you know, the glossed-over view of the past. When I arrived I realised that nothing has changed (and why should it?), but I was also impressed by the old buildings and the landmarks. There just isn’t anything equivalent in Japan, in terms of cityscape and architecture. So when you see the real thing you first think you are in a theme park. In fact I have seen references to the UK as a museum.
A closer look reveals the usual shabbiness of London, which makes up part of its flair. There is something dirty about London which makes it fascinating. After several days I rediscovered the old problems: flaky (curious how they want to cope with the Olympics), antiquated (long-distance trains running on diesel; in fact, while standing in Paddington station, I was reminded of Luampong [sp?] station in Bangkok) and expensive public transport (£2 for the cheapest tube ticket, that’s Â¥400, even just for 3-4 stops!),the bad food (with the exception of Indian and Chinese), the standardised High Street with the same shops everywhere. I even found myself thinking “hey, they still have the Pound here, no Euros”. On the positive side however, it is still a fantastic town with plenty of attraction and fascinating sights etc. Yeah, in a way it is a little like a theme park.
So my bottom line conclusion is that London simply is bad value for money and, in contrast to the usual perception, that Tokyo isn’t. Life is more comfortable in Tokyo, but probably also less exciting somehow. And for the money you spend here, you receive exceptional quality and service. I am getting older. When I flew BA first class, I was excited at first, but after a while I thought that if this is the best that money can buy on a top airline, it is perhaps a little disappointing. I enjoy going to London as a visitor nowadays, with money to spend, however I would recommend living there only for people under 30 who don’t know any better yet, or people over 40-50 with lots of dosh who can afford a nice lifestyle away from the common people. Overall, I am not looking back.