I cannot begin to describe how much i have enjoyed traipsing across England and Scotland, all without a single plan in mind! I have been incredibly lucky and spoiled along the way, meeting great new friends and hosts, and having loads of new and fun experiences :)
It all began at Memmingen airport near Munich, when i had hours to spare before the flight. And what better way to while the time away than meeting new friends... so i turned around, introduced myself to Heidi and Archie, and had a fun time chatting away till we split in London! There, i orientated myself around, caught shuttles here and there to get to my host, Dan's place! He works till night as a bartender, so his housemate Dean settled me in. We shopped and cooked dinner, and i chatted with his other housemates, like Emre from Turkey and Mario from Columbia. Exchange of cultures!
The next day, i harried down for the free walking tour, and met the brother-sister-and-her-bf group, Dan, DL and LX from SG. I connected easily to them, and in the end spent the next two days attached to their itinerary :p Anyhow, the tour was a quick, interesting whirlwind adventure through the city, loads of stories on London's history and culture. Everywhere you turn, there is a monument, an artefact of culture. Still, it does get a little kitschy somehow, seemingly touristy at times.
Personally i loved the nation's commitment to the arts scene: keeping the best museums in London free is a fantastic idea, and we made the best of it by immersing ourselves for hours in myriad museums of art and history. I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent in the Tate museum of modern art, especially the beautiful yet sobering exhibition, "Burke + Norfolk: Photographs From The War In Afghanistan", and emerged with some new perspectives towards truth and beauty. "Beauty is a useful tool," Norfolk surmised, as he masterfully crafted beautiful lorelei photos to entice the masses into the ugly truth within, like moths to a flame... Only then are we baptised by the blazing truth, of war, death and destruction.
Night after day, a memorable musical to wow. Personally, musicals felt way too arty-farty for my taste, and I thought i'd be getting over my head by going down for the new award-winning musical, "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert".
Yet it completely blew my mind.
Within the ludicrous premise of a group of crossdresser friends searching for a place they can call home, a ton of magic happened and vivid characters came to life and danced and sang to their hearts' joy. Ours, too, leapt countless times in thrill and amazement, sorrow and sympathy, love and heartfelt gladness towards the end. It was not a production; it was a dream, a lovely dream that we all woke up from feeling refreshed and alive, saying to each other, 'That was great, wasn't it?'
And it truly was.
Two days later, after going through various tourist hotspots, Harrods, Primark, Camden market, a model agency, and a goddamn missed train!%#$*... I left London for Lichfield town near Birmingham, bringing with me solid memories of London and the new friends and experiences i've made.
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