London's Reunion

London oh London..!

I do not know, why? But London is my obsession since I was in Junior High School. I really want to have an opportunity to go there or even to gain my further knowledge in one of those famous universities in England. Then, I found out that was not possible for me to make my dream come true according to how bloody expensive the tuition fee also a total amount of living cost in London except I have a sponsorship.
Apparently my life has leads me to another direction. I went to Germany instead of going to London which is could be another way for me to visit London sometime.

So I just can not wait for my self to go to London. Finally, I have had a chance to go to London on winter season 2002. I went there with one of my best friend and we were lived in my friend house. I was so excited during our flight on the way to London. As soon as we were arrived in Stansted Airport, I have got used to heard kind of British dialect which is I find it so sexy.
From Stansted Airport we were heading to China Town to have our dinner. I was so surprised at the time coz I really feels like home! Not because of my dream come true but its all because London is look like Jakarta in one and another way. Within a hectic traffic jam, the highways, what a crowded town, and its hard to find a free parking place there (its more effective to go with underground/metro or Londons famous red bus.), dirty, and so on and so on.
My first impression was, OMIGOT another version of Jakarta apart from the language of course. But still it does not reduce my curiosity of London. Especially with all of my lovely friends there who really kind to make my trip WONDERFUL!

London is not a place to do in a day or even a week. To experience all this cosmopolitan and historically rich city has to offer would challenge even the most cultured of locals! Lying in the south-east of England on the river Thames, Greater London is home to 9 million people. With world-famous landmarks such as the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace Garden, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, St. Pauls Cathedral (the second largest dome in the world), Tower Bridge, Millenium Dome, Big Ben, National Museum, the London Eye, and still many more obliged places to see. For those who really like shopping than London is the right place to go. London have so many big and famous shopping centre such as: Plaza Shopping Centre (Oxford Street), Victoria Place Shopping Centre (Buckingham Palace Road), Covent Garden Market (The Piazza), The London Pavillion (Picadilly) and many more. And for those who loved Indonesian food, then never forget to try Bali-Bali Restaurant (the food is amazing, not because one of my friend working there!), Satay Restaurant (they have a very big portion, delicious of course! And a lot of Indonesian people work there including my friend. Btw, bener kan ya Mam namanya..gw lupa2 inget!), and Melati Restaurant (we had our farewell dinner in this restaurant, the food is also delicious especially rujak-nya!) Hmmm..,yummy!!! And for those who loved Japanese food, do not forget to come to Wagamama Restaurant (Soho, but there are several places of this restaurant in London.), one of the most famous Japanese restaurant in the world. For those who loved clubbing, there are so many great lounge and club to hang out but remember everything is so expensive in poundsterling.

London is no stranger to destruction, mourning and reconstruction. The Great Fire of London struck in the seventeenth century and gave Londoners no chance to recover from the great plague which swept the city just before. In the twentieth century, it was the first and second World Wars which claimed their toll on the nations capital and its people. Despite this, the ever-present resilience of the Londoners has seen the rebuilding of this grand, exciting and prosperous capital to be enjoyed by all its visitors in the new millennium.

London has never made much of an attempt to be one of the most beautiful European capitals and nor does it pretend to be such. Instead, as the architect Piers Gough put it, 'London is a dirty, gritty, hard-working city', which is seen by many as one of its endearing characteristics. The gradual growing together over centuries, of towns, villages, peoples and cultures has made London into the exciting, unpredictable and varied place it is today.
Two weeks just not enough for me to explore London, I would like to go there again next time! So London, just wait for me, I will come to you!


London in memoir! Winter 2002/2003


*Thank's to all of my friends in London who makes my journey WONDERFUL.., especially to Imam for being so nice to gave his room for us!*