London in bits and pieces
I had the opportunity of visiting London twice and each stay was for two months in summer. The first stint was mostly solo travelling in London and a short trip to Scotland with a friend. The second trip was one that I enjoyed the most as I had a group of friends to hang around. I got a chance to visit Cornwall, Devon, Bath, Brighton and the beautiful Durdle Door. More on these destinations would follow, here is a short list of some random things about London.
Titbits about London
- London follows the left hand driving rule
- Driving License acquired in India are valid for driving on the streets of London for a year after arrival
- Driving in central London is a nightmare in terms of parking charges and tickets levied for breaking rules
- The difficulty level for clearing the practical driving test is high and not many clear it in the first instance
- Central London is costly in terms of transport and stay
- It is better to stay in the outskirts and commute for work
- On most days Londoners carry an umbrella that they call brolly
- London is divided into boroughs and zones
- Central London falls under Zone 1 and the outskirts suburbs extend up to Zone 5
- The London underground transport system is more than 150 years old
- Travel to Zone 1 by tube is very costly. People prefer taking the tube till Zone 2 and then commute by bus to Zone 1 to avoid the cost
- You cannot take or make calls in the underground as signals are practically zero
- You can find display of beautiful paintings in the tube stations and also in the train.
- Mind the Gap experience is one that shouldn’t be missed. Travelling in a tube rail is one interesting commute
- Rush Hours are from 8 to 9 a.m. and in the evening from 6 to 7 p.m.
- In case of tube maintenance and repair works in a particular area it is announced well in advance and there is an increase in the frequency of buses to compensate
- The black and yellow cabs are ubiquitous to London
- Britishers love the sun and would never trade it off 🙂
- Come summer they get into their skimpiest best and head to the sea shore
- Brighton is one hot destination amongst the other beaches lined with bikini beauties
- There are shingle and sand beaches in and around London
- Caravan Camping, Trekking, Hiking, Cycling and Fishing are vary dominant in summer
- Londoners travel out of London with their gear and get off the grid every summer
- The river Thames is murky and brown
- They are die hard football fans and cheer for various well know clubs
- Traffic is heavy during match days to Wembley Park Stadium. There is change in tube routes during these days
- The British love their coffee and their English breakfast. For lunch they mostly grab a sandwich
- Fish and Chips is a well known dish in Britain
- They love to catch up with friends in the company of a drink. Thursdays pubs are frequented and on Fridays they are overfull and people spill out on the streets with their mug
- Beer is considered cheaper than water
- Most Londoners switch off their work around 3 p.m. on Fridays
- Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street, Westminster, London Eye, Parks, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace are frequented by tourists
- Tourists flock to check out the change of guard sequence in Buckingham Palace
- Indians are pre dominantly found in and around Wembley, East Ham, Southall, Croydon areas
- Wembley is dominated by Gujaratis, East Ham by the South Indian community and Southall by Punjabis
- Indian Food is easily available in London
- Performing Art, English plays are very dominant in London. Some running for almost a decade.
- You can claim your taxes in case you leave the country in a brief period
These are some observations from my end in the city of dreams.
So fortunate of you to have visited London twice. 🙂 It’s my dream destination. Fun facts about London.
Yes Renuka, I have been twice lucky. My job took me overseas. You have a great blog out there.I have subscribed at your site 🙂