the London report

guess who's back?
hi folks, sorry for my rude drop-off after Day 1. i hit a spotty patch with the ol' internet for a few days, attempting to survive without the luxury of in-room wifi.
though extremely tough, what enjoyment i lost in surfing & blogging, i made up for with touring the amazingly vibrant city of London. i had such a good time. really.
maybe it's the Brit in me, returning to my roots.
or maybe it was the uncharacteristically sunny March weather. whatever the reason, i leave this place seriously thinking that i could live here one day.

now, that sort of bold statement might make one assume that i did everything on the tourist check-list.
let me take the initiative on the Q&A:

how were the museums, Rich?
don't know, i actually didn't go to any.

how many shows did you get to?
none.

the view from the London Eye must be spectacular!?
i'm sure it is, but i didn't go up.

generally speaking, it wasn't that kind of vacation. thanks to a few loyal freedom fans, i was helped along in my travels with the unique knowledge that only a local can provide. the insider edge to the best places to go, the best cafes and pubs to indulge, and some cool neighbourhoods to explore that aren't necessarily going to show up in the city guide top-10 lists. in my opinion, you can visit somewhere based on what a book tells you, or you can experience it like a local would.
simply put, locals know.

of course, there's only so much you can do in half a fortnight. i'm sure there are plenty of things i missed out on (including the Oxford-Cambridge boat race), that i'll have to catch on the flipside. in the meantime, i'd like to pass along some of the learnings from my trip for anyone thinking of kicking it, London style.

Do - check out the many parks that central London has to offer, including Hyde Park and Regent Park.
Don't - go for a jog in the park without a map. I was limping around for a few days as a result.

Do - take advantage of the expansive subway system, known as the tube, & grab yourself an Oyster (pay as you go) card. All you do is swipe and you're in business.
Don't - get stuck in the tube without any money on your card. you won't be able to top up inside the gates and you'll be forced to nearly piggyback the guy in front of you just to sneak through the turnstile.

sticking with the tube for a sec,
Do - download the Tube app before you set foot on it. it's free and it helped me endlessly, with a route planner mode and easy access to the tube map. it didn't ultimately prevent me from going the wrong way on the tube about 5 times, but it could have been a lot worse without it.
Don't - run ahead of your partner when trying to catch a connecting train. One minute you'll be saying 'pick up your knees, hon!', the next minute you'll turn around and he/she will have hopped through the nearest open train door. Not good for many reasons.

Do - sample the amazing variety of cuisine a global city like London has to offer. I recommend a curry on Brick Lane (east London) or a secret wine bar/bat cave near Charing Cross.
Don't - eat McDonald's while on vacation. it's not becoming of you or anyone. did i eat McDonald's during my stay? well, yes i did...BUT, i had a really good reason. it was 2am, drinks had circumvented dinner...and i needed something....ugh. i'm guilty. if there's any positives from this, when i told my taxi driver to stop, i didn't refer to it as MacDonald's, like most Brits.

from a hotel perspective,
Don't - stay in an area called Docklands. far doesn't begin to describe the proximity between it and central London. 3-4 tubes and/or 40 quid for a taxi are what you'll be faced with. that said, i shouldn't/shan't complain about the hotel too much, given it was a freebie. given the choice though, Notting Hill was a much superior location. after my long days of touring & transport, the hotel did provide the comfort of my daily afternoon routine of workout/swim/hot tub.

Do - check out the various district markets, especially for fresh food and/or crappy vintage gear. Portabello market (Notting Hill) and Borough market (London Bridge) were two that stood out.
Don't - be afraid of Covent Garden. i had memories of this place being a little seedy and tainted with street performers. although the latter is true, and is somewhat a commercial stop, they have at least kept all of the original buildings intact. one of these so-called restorations just happens to be the Apple store, where a certain someone decided to line up for 6 hours on a whim and the prospect of buying the new iPad 2. am i crazy? yes, a little. was it worth it? not sure, check back when i have a buyer. that said, i don't think i have ever lined up for anything like that in the past. no overnight waits in the movie ticket line or Black Sunday queueing outside Wal-Mart. i figure we all should experience this kind of desperation meets humiliation meets geekiness at least once in our lives. check.

i'm writing this, having returned to Hong Kong. jetlagged a little, but happy to be back in the home space. romo is in good shape (thanks Team A), and now back to the mission at hand - make some money. teaching & iPads should help cover London...but Bali is a month away.
you want fries with that shake?

oh, and of course, some pics of the whole thing.

day 1 - fireworks & foot patrol

i shut myself down extremely hard last night for bed.
it was around 9pm local time i believe, which i must again reference was close to 5am back in HK. the couch could have been a cloud full of pillows for all i cared...it was good night wet nurse for me.
that is of course right up until the fireworks started.
yes, real light 'em up fireworks, colours and multiple bang type of fireworks.
i have no idea what time the festivities began, probably around midnight i suspect.
normally, i would use words like annoying and hooligans to explain my reaction to these types of events. yet, given my somewhat spacey orientation, i felt like the bunker was under attack...seriously. i couldn't understand what in the hell was happening. perhaps there was a major holiday in the UK on March 20 that i was unaware of....or somehow i had slept right through to the 4th of July (which doesn't make sense for a number of reasons i realize...)
it was crazy.
heart racing, eyes shifting, i finally simmered myself down after a couple of minutes and i was once again back to dreamsville.

4:30am comes and i'm wide awake, yet somewhat happy at the same time for putting in almost 8 hours. refreshed & excited, the first thing that came into my head, strangely enough, was to go for a run around Hyde Park. hmm...odd choice really, given i really don't run back home. i guess there's just something about a large well-known park that makes people convince themselves that it needs to be enjoyed at pace, i.e. Central park or Jurassic park (give it up for the 90's, people).

i gear up, including a borrowed toque from my so-called roommate given it was a little frosty this morning and start the stride. if i were to compare my running style today to someone else, there's no question that i was definitely Forrest Gump out there.
and i quote:
"For no particular reason I just kept on going."

well, actually, there was a reason. i'm crap at directions.
the plan, before i left home base, was to run in a straight line to the park, do a portion inside the grounds and basically circle back and return as i came.
didn't quite turn out that way.
who knows what happened; maybe i got caught up with all of my fellow early morning runners out there, to the point where i think i followed a few of them the wrong way out of the park. for real.
a few minutes go by and i'm definitely not remembering any of these streets and certainly cannot see any of the breadcrumbs i'd dropped.
screw it, i'm lost.
lucky for me, i'm running with my iPhone...and even though it continues to prevent me from connecting to 3G, i still have the gps/location services working.
come on, blue ball, tell me where i am....
it does just that and it's confirmed - i'm nowhere near where i should be.
for a real runner, this wouldn't be a problem. just figure out the proper route and hightail it back. for me, i was already spent. nothing left in the tank. in fact, i would need to run even further back home than the first half of the leg.
nothing left to do but suck it up and start the jog-walk combos.
jog then walk. jog then walk.
you're gonna make it, buddy, even if it takes you til Noon, you can do it!
and i did. hooray for me.
all-in, a funny (typical) experience for me.
here's the Family Circus/Google Map track for you to see. i will remind you, this should have been one straight line from A to B and back.

how was the rest of your day, Forrest?
well, actually it was great.
covered a lot of ground, from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, Big Ben, Parliament, kids (yes, i already used that one yesterday, but you gotta give it up for European Vacation). my dogs are barking, enough for one day i say. some much needed downtime, perhaps a quick nap, and then a few pints to round out the evening in all likelihood.

a quick post freedomites, i know....with little-to-no real London content; yet i ask you,
are you not entertained!?