Walking London (Partially)

Revisited from August 30th.

Last night, I was answering some emails and stumbled across the newest Ridgeline instalment from Craig Mod. I needed a second glance. A Few London Strolls? That sounds familiar.

He’d been following some of the exact same paths as I had. Angel, through Clerkenwell and Holborn in a winding, unplanned fashion, through Covent Garden, and into chaos. In the exact same timeframe. Of course, that wasn’t the only area he walked. But still, small world. Craig was one of the leading influences in me deciding to commit to this entire trip, even more strongly its focus on both walking and Japan, plus walking in Japan.

Anyway, I meant to write about the walk I did in London last week. I was only around town for two days. First, the All Points East festival. Then, a day to explore before returning to Cambridge.

With only one afternoon in the chamber, I decided to just walk, solo, and figure the rest out. Great decision.

The sun showed up, so I decided to follow it. Rather than wandering around with head-in-phone, I figured the sun would roughly stay on my right if heading towards the Thames (it was afternoon). It worked fairly well with getting me in the right direction. If it didn’t, it still worked really well, as I found myself in streets I never would’ve otherwise.

The multicultural identity of London really stood out as I walked the suburbs. Of course, a smattering of Ukrainian and Palestinian flags, but also Ghana, or Iran, or Jamaica. Clear Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. Far more. Naturally, immense culinary diversity, too. Although, I didn’t really have the funds to sample everything this time around. Unlike Asia, London isn’t exactly cheap.

We did still go out for pasta and to the pub with some friends, though. Wonderfully lovely friends we met in Yunnan of all places. I found it slightly ironic that some of the closest friendships we’ve made this year were built in a remote area of China, with hardly a foreign tourist in sight, rather than the hotspots of Beijing or Shanghai. Or Seoul for that matter. Bangkok. I think that speaks to both the bystander effect of too many people, and also the shared experienced of being well out of your depth. I felt I already knew something about others who were keen to hike in Yunnan.

A complete tangent. Alas. The epicentre, perhaps, of London was cool. Theatre. Lots of it. Chinatown. Piccadilly. Trafalgar. Whitehall. Strand. Half the Monopoly board. But, yes, seriously. I didn’t intend on it, but I ended up all the way at Buckingham Palace. St James’ Park. Big Ben. Westminster Abbey. The headliners and such.

I feel like I overlook just how long it has actually been since I visited London, beyond just the airport. I couldn’t tell you in which year I was last there. So, walking around, being a tourist—it was nice.