A student left that message on my wall, not knowing that I had oredi arrived at the UK!
But if she had been on time, I would have to answer in the negative – although I feel the question was more rhetorical. After all, who loves London and the UK as much as I do? Who always talk about the good old days spend there, who always never fails to mention about what a brilliant place it is, and who always expresses his longing to be there? Yes, those too are just rhetorical questions!
Yet, there was no excitement at all. I even surprised meself!
I remember when I went back there again after I got home for good. The thrill was evident, I was like a kid on Christmas morning! If memory serves me right, there were tears in my eyes – and I felt like I was gonna explode with excitement! I must have had this silly grin on my travel-weary face.
But not this time.
So what happened?
No, dun get me wrong! I was glad to be back!!! Maybe it’s cuz I had been so so busy before flying over, I din have time to get excited!!! No time to think about it, to look forward to it as there were so many other things on me mind. And when there wasn’t, I was just too tired to think of anything else.
Perhaps another reason – maybe the more plausible one – is that I’m so familiar with the place. And the place hasn’t changed much – so the excitement and the anticipation of going to a new place is absent. It was like coming home. I really want to be home. I’m glad to be home. But surely u understand why I’m not excited anymore.
Familiarity breeds contempt, some say, but there is great comfort in familiar surroundings, isn’t there?
I walked out of the plane, greeted by the HSBC ads. Costa Coffee was the first outlet I saw.
It's a sign!!!! ;-)
It was the from the same tube station that I left the airport from, boarded a similar underground carriage and looking thru the same old names of the many stations along the Piccadilly Line until I reached the center of the city. I was using my old Oyster card.
Interesting ads in the tube
In the city center, things were still the same. I saw the same sights, admired the same paintings in the National Gallery and ate the wonderful roast duck in Chinatown, it tasting just like how it used to (the siew yoke skin was still deliciously crunchy!).
Same old Trafalgar Sq with Big Ben in the background
The National Gallery where my fav paintings of Claude and Vincent are still there
Siew yoke ngap farn at Wong Kei
Oxford Street was as busy as ever. I still cannot make out what in the world the train driver (engineer?) is saying over the PA system. The embankment is still a lovely place to walk along. The buskers were doing their thing at designated spots in the tube stations and all over the place.
Free performances at Covent Garden
Busy and colourful Chinatown
Sure, there were some differences – like this time round, I arrived at Terminal 4 Heathrow – no longer the usual and familiar Terminal 3 where the opening scene of Love, Actually was shot, and where I stayed for half a day while waiting to be picked up to go to Essex, and of course, the very first place in the entire UK that I set foot on way back in 1993!
Terminal 4 - from the outside
I was shocked to find out that Borders has closed down in the UK.
Leicester Square was closed as they were getting it ready for 2012! And the Swiss bells have been removed!!!!! =(
Used to be such an attraction, ppl standing below it waiting for the clock to strike the hour!
The hand prints are all covered up now
Well, this is better than the naked pregnant lady that was there back then
But all these did not change the place much. It was pretty much the same London that I have always known – and learnt to love.
So yes, there was no buzzing excitement when I went there – but there was the same warmth in my heart and a feeling of happiness of being back there again. It was like returning home after a long holiday. And it was like as if we never said goodbye.
*Taken from the musical Sunset Boulevard.
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