Travel Story / Day 2 / London

Into the sixth day, I must say, I am doing pretty well in quarantine. Slight fever, still no taste and smell, but then not much to worry about and hoping that it continues like this till I am fully recovered. So now I am going to share an excerpt from my time in London. Almost ages ago, but an interesting one that I had penned down on 2nd September 2014 while sitting in the cinema room of the hostel where I was staying in the London Borough of Southwark.

My journey starts with a late wake up call. I was so tired last night that I just didn't want to wake up early to have the free breakfast at the hostel. To be honest the hostel is great. Having a bunk bed in a room of fourteen people, staying with strangers is quite an experience. I was not very comfortable at first time when I stayed in Russell Square in London in 2013 but then I guess as far as I do not talk to anyone and nobody bothers me I’ll be alright. I am supposed to be on a job hunt but then we are talking about London here, it is not as easy as it sounds.

So the day starts and I leave the hostel at around half past twelve in the afternoon, thinking to make up to RIBA headquarters and sort out my accreditation process, which should be enough for the day.

Since I had messed up last day in losing fifty pounds in some stupid electronics place in the Oxford Street area so now I needed to save money, hence instead of taking a ride, I decided to walk to 66 Portland Street, the office of the big guns in architecture who acquired the key to my registration I must say.

I started my journey from Borough High Street, walked towards the London Bridge. The first glimpse of Thames made me think of all the big names in the world who came to this city, struggled and then stood up achieve their goals. This is the greatness of this city, as said by everyone who knows London well. But the thing is that there are so many people here and every one seeking for an opportunity, that one chance that can make their lives, however not all are lucky. We all know that, it is just one of the norms of nature.

I have come here as an opportunist too, but somehow I am getting this feeling that I will not be one of those fortunate people. Yes, all these people are 'lucky' who came here, settled and living their lives, I believe. Somehow they are rulers of the world. For instance, the architectural offices are swarmed by architects, big or small, all throwing their ideas all over the world. They have everything in their hands, no matter how much they complain.

Anyway as I was approaching London Bridge, I saw policemen and cars rushing towards a point. That point had a focus. The focus was a woman in burqa (Chinese), seemed as if she was facing difficulties in jumping off the bridge… a suicidal attempt, as was put by the authorities when inquired. Everyone gathered around her but nobody seemed to help her in not doing so. Very dramatic, huh! Since I didn’t realize the whole situation, I stood their taking my own selfie with the phone. I have developed this new habit of taking my own photos. Showing places behind wherever I go. This habit developed because I have never had photos of myself in the places that I visited in London during all this time.

Anyway avoiding the scene I passed the bridge and happened to end up in Cannon Street. As soon as I entered the place, it hit me with a memory from the past. I had been here, with my wife and our mutual friend on our first visit to London. I still remember that trip. We came for the New Year’s Eve, from Liverpool with very less money in our pockets. *sigh* … but, good old memories.

Anyway, I was tired already, probably not in a mood of rambling anymore and turned to my electronic map, noticing it would take almost fifty-six minutes to reach my destination if I continue walking. So I decided to find the bicycle stand from where I could hire. And in no time I was standing in front of Starbucks outlet in one of the buildings designed by SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - one of the largest and most influential architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms in the world). I developed my interest in this architectural type during my post-graduate course. Exposed metal enforcements with glazing. The building had a strong character, for sure.

Well, after having a cup of hot chocolate that I bought for 2.5 pounds, I continued my journey. Memories from the trips to this city kept thrashing my concentration all along, as I had visited for documentation of some buildings for the research of my dissertation for my first year of the degree.
I saw a name written on a wall... the NEW LUTYANS and that reminded me of the building that my tutor from university had asked me to find and document through photographs for my paper (Color dichotomy inArchitecture). I still remembered the day, 3rd March 2013, when I came in search of this building, couldn’t find anywhere at that time. But now I could see the tinted glazing and yellow painted beams and columns of the complex. It didn’t look that impressive to be honest, at first, but then no one knows what it would be like after it gets completed.

I had reached my destination and it was time to let go the borrowed bicycle in one of the nearby stands that cost me two pounds, with some exceptions of course. I surely had not read the rules to ride these bikes and might have broken rules while cycling, but then do you think I would care as I was getting late to reach my endpoint. The best thing was that I was in SohoGarden Square. What I know about this place is that it was dwelling with artists from all groups. The streets were narrow, filled with trivial restaurants that were tempting, and some eye-catching bistros and takeaways. The environment seemed very native till I reached the Oxford Street. The premiere shopping street in the whole of London, that’s how it was mentioned to me by my dorm mate. I have been here before, I was there again, I am afraid I do not like it. After almost twenty minutes of walking I reached the last station, RIBA head office. As always I had problems in understanding the confusion regarding my qualification for Part III. I wonder what the fuss was about but then after dealing with my work I continued my journey towards the Regent's park, sat there for some time and rethinking about my future. After all London is famous for its parks too. It was almost 6 pm and I wanted to leave for the hostel now. I hired the bike (Barclays) through the Langham place, the same place where the BBC office is located, passing through the Oxford street again and ending up into a very crowded area. This was the Piccadilly Circus. Time to let go the bike again and continue on foot and as I did, the place reminded me of the stories that my mother had told me of the time when they were in the city during her prime days.

As I passed by the National Gallery, to my utmost surprise there was a huge purple cock standing as a piece of art on one of the strands in front of the arcade. This was the same strand that was a part of Antony Gormley’s project once. I saw the documentary last year. I sat on the stairs. The place was full of people from all the races. I stayed there for some time and then continued my journey towards the hostel. Not forgetting that I had to eat food, I needed something to survive and I was so hungry now that I started shivering, deciding to stop at McDonald’s at the Leicester Square, ready to take away during my trip. I reached the hostel at around 7pm. It was drizzling, and the Shard looked amazing, surrounded by clouds at the top.

After coming to the dorm I met this guy COSTAS from Greece. After a little chat I came to know that Costas was not very happy with work schedules in the city but he just had to do it to survive. He had been in UK for almost 4 years now. Mostly in Bristol, and Glasgow but now he was in London. He was the guy who holds lights and microphones during shoots. A short shabby guy, all tired up and willing to sleep.

So this was the story behind the whole day as I am writing from the cinema room in the hostel.

Conclusion: at times you need to make a run for your goals but end up in not achieving them. This doesn’t mean that you won’t, they will be accomplished but through a different approach.

Travel Story / Los Angeles / chapter 2

It has been four days; I have been stranded in the incubation period of Covid-19. Yes, I have been tested positive and as per the norm I have secluded myself from the world. Body temperature is normal, with a very little cough along with a blocked nose. But there is something that this virus brings in with itself. It causes you to have tasteless tongue and lack in sense of smell, and in my case, it is zero percent. I can only see what goes in my mouth. 

Can you image having all this time to me but then not being content with it. I guess its human nature; you are always complaining when you don't get a chance to focus on what you can do besides what you do every day, and you still whine when finally god gives you a chance to be a part of this historical pandemic and spend fourteen days in quarantine which is a perfect opportunity to know yourself... again. You always knew who you were, just forgot in chasing your dreams in this capitalist environment, so being member of the same family I was doing the same but all of sudden I am at a plot where I can write to finish the unfinished story that I started five years ago - my time in Los-Angeles, the 'city of angels' when I was in the US to attend my younger brother's marriage. 

Yeah! Yeah! A very long time has passed but still I would want to finish what I began... narrating my journey. A series of memories that I would want to save them here for my virtual readers, who I do not know, I might never even know but still god bless you all whoever you are, also the droids.

Now... starting from the point where I left in 'chapter 1':

My consciousness was hit with a surge of anxiety as we were heading towards our hotel that was a straight forward building, surrounded by Californian palm trees with a very shabby looking reception but with a huge pool in its patio. Bingo! At first I thought we had come to a wrong place, but then I didn't know LA and didn't even bother to push myself to search on it before traveling to this piece of land. The best part was when the receptionist told us that they didn't have a room for us and we would be shifted to a motel right next to their building for a night, which seemed very dodgy at first. Well to clear the notion, I had never been to a motel in my life and I didn't know what to expect. We occupied a huge room on the first floor, painted in blue with heavy texture and a evocative bathroom. Maybe the problem was not the room, but this stingy smell coming out of it. We tried to turn on the lights but it didn't seem enough. The blessing was this large window, which allowed us to look outside minding others businesses. Suddenly it so happened that I had to go downstairs to bring in the luggage from my car and I started hearing a woman screaming. Actually they were two, quarrelling over some matter between them. I am an Asian, and I am very much aware of the shit that happens among individuals who are a family and love one another a lot. In short, you try to sort out in one way or the other, at least that is how I was brought up, but I didn't expect of the situation I was about to get in. An African American woman, all naked with a piece of towel runs down from the stairs asking me to help her. At first I was like, wow, a naked woman! lol,  well again human nature, but then there was another cloth less black woman coming towards us with a knife in her hand. At first, it all seemed a scene from a Hollywood movie until she screamed, "I will kill you... I will kill you for having a baby with that bastard," and all started making sense to me…yes sir, I was about to be in the most obstinate situation that I could ever think of.

A baby! What baby? I just couldn't understand until I see this little head pop out of the towel. A new born, must be a week old was in the hands of this unclothed woman who had one of her hand all over me and crying for help. 

Pause: now try to understand my situation. A woman has entangled me shouting and desperate to seek for help, there is this woman screaming and oncoming to me with a knife, and then there was my wife, blaring to what I was doing with the women downstairs and should get my ass up in the room. Well, of course, she was worried.  Can you feel the sense of insecurity, different in nature, which all these women were shattering with on a poor guy like me who didn't even have a clue to what he was doing caught up in such a mess? I was scared, maybe, but to be honest my brain had lost all its abilities to register it. Suddenly I hear this mannish voice from the dark, “Why the fucks aren’t you not helping them.” It was loud, I remember. Suddenly I see this black guy dressed in shags, dangling around; probably hit a jackpot in the drinking pod that night, approaching me to throw a punch. At that moment, I could clearly hear this subdued voice; I suppose my conscience giving me a signal to run into shelter that would allow me to spend the rest of my night, but in an uncomfortable manner. So i bolted towards my room, shut the door hard, hid besides the bed. A not so warmed up signal that could calm my wife down. Yup that didn’t go well with her. The sirens could be heard now, a police car had reached to the occasion and after sometime the black woman with the huge body and with a knife, all clothed on was being escorted by the police men along with the black guy to their vehicle.

I couldn't sleep the whole night; I guess I had never thought of getting caught up in a position like this. Till that moment in my life, such situations only occurred in movies for me, but this shit was real.

Since time stops for no one, hence it was time to get up in the morning and move to our originally booked hotel, which seemed to be scattered with people looking like hippies. That was the moment when I happen to ask the concierge, "Where were we?" The answer was Inglewood and he kept repeating, as if I knew what he was trying to make me understand.

Conclusion: always know where you are going, the area you will be residing in, what type of hotel you would be staying at and lastly the crime rate in the area. Until and unless you are looking for an adventure, never opt for unusual places, stick to the areas that are tourist’s friendly, especially when traveling with family.