How to get around London Borough of Southwark

At completion of my isolation period for Covid19, totally bored and beat staying in a single room for this long, honestly, it has been quite an experience for me. If I look at the bright side, it could’ve been a blissful time to prepare myself to adhere re-focusing, to imagine useful ideas for future, to re-organize my personality traits, but all I did was to watch a lot of movies, one of them being ‘Vivarium’, and it surely blew my mind.

The movie revolved around a young couple who find themselves drawn into and trapped inside a 21^st century suburban nightmare; a neighborhood populated by an endless sprawl of homes of the exact same sizes and shapes, isolated from the world and crushed by the vicious monotony of their surroundings. The message of the movie was that there are still some liminal spaces in this world where humans simply aren’t meant to set foot.

Laugh out loud! …the movie reminded me of my time in London on my third day. In what way? Well, I was waking up every morning in hope of finding a job. I kept running around neighborhoods, every door I knocked to drop my resume, a face came out who would welcome me, collect my papers and ask me to wait for their call, which I never received, so all my efforts went in vain. It seemed like I wasn’t meant to be in the city for this purpose.

So this is how I could relate my situation with the movie’s message but then, of course, in reality it was not like it. For me it had only been three days in the city and I should have mustered up my courage with a little patience, which would have helped me think about the city in a different way. 

But this is how it went, my third day in the city, an excerpt from my diary:

“I managed to get up early today and having a hefty breakfast was all I could think of before getting ready to leave for my venture in the city. After having it, I came back to my dormitory, got myself ready and suddenly got hit by a reality check; everything seems so difficult when you are on your own, especially when you have to make your bed, living with so many other people that you don’t know. You have to present yourself as the neatest person on the planet.

It’s easier to commute in London, if you have the post codes of the places you wish to visit and I didn’t have them. As today was another day for me to drop my resumes to the offices personally. I had not done my homework the previous night; I had not jotted the addresses down in my diary. Therefore I had to spent a lot of time using the internet, in finding them, how to get there and not to forget the routes that would take me there. I even had to make calls to confirm the addresses, but finally I left the hostel. I walked towards the nearest cycle stand, paid the fee to hire a cycle and off I went to get to my first destination.

While cycling, I happened to pass by the famous Borough Market in Southwark. This appeared to me as a very strange piece of encroachment. It was beneath the train lines. I could find all types of food here, from Guajarati to Thai, German to English. It seemed like office were having their  lunch breaks as the place was full of people from all circles of life but mostly well-dressed working class. Probably they had come out to grab a good bite.”

A little history and facts: The market was established in 1885, and is renowned for artisan prepared food, and fresh organic produce. This market is very near to the Shard, a marvel created by the Architect Renzo Piano, to dominate the skyline of the city on River Thames. The best time to visit is between Wednesday and Saturday, when the full complement of traders comes to flaunt their wares. You’ll still get the Borough Market experience on Monday and Tuesday, but it’s a more limited affair – just make sure to avoid Sundays, as the market takes a day off. The Borough markets are one of the best places to visit in London if you have an exceptional appetite for food, you would also find wonderful restaurants, cafes and pubs here. Also there are plenty of snack bars on the periphery, especially along the Winchester Walk. Most of the vendors sell for cash only so make sure to have some extra monies in your wallet, however, you would find adequate availability of ATM’s around the market. There are enough stalls that you could spend an entire day there if you tried to hit at each one. 

“Exhilarated by the whole experience, I decided to walk. There were passageways that lead me to the ruins of Winchester Palace’s, the wall that is left of now. It was a 12^th century palace located in the south bank of River Thames on what is now the Clink Street near Southwark Cathedral. Grade II listed remains of the demolished palace survive in the site today, designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument, under the care of English Heritage. Clink Prison Museum is also located on Clink Street, near to the original site at Bankside, Southwark. The museum tries to recreate the condition of the original prison and trust me the experience is quiet ghostly, narrating you the prisoner's conditions, who were kept back in the 12-century till the day its last days of operation.

Video: the Globe

Moving my way towards the Southwark Bridge I came across Bankside, an area where the Shakespeare’sGlobe is located.”

Historical facts:

Who built the Globe? In 1576 James Burbage built the theatre just outside London. The theater was among the first playhouses in England since Roman times. In the later days the Burbages lost their lease on the Theatre site and began construction of a new, larger playhouse, The Globe, just south of Thames that was also partly owned by Shakespeare himself.

The Globe, which opened in 1599, became the playhouse where audiences first saw some of Shakespeare’s best known plays. In 1613, it burned to the ground. A new, second Globe was quickly built on the same site, opening in 1614.

What was the Globe built like? It was a multi-sided structure with a central, uncovered yard surrounded by three tiers of covered seating and a bare, raised stage at one end of the yard. Spectators could pay for seating at multiple price levels; those with the cheapest tickets stood for the length of the play.

 “Anyway I had to scoot, traveling over Thames, passing by Cannon Street, then Monument to the Great Fire ofLondon, I reached to a point with a grand courtyard that was part of the ‘Guildhall’ in the area of Moorgate. It is a listed building – Grade I, built in 1440."

What is the purpose of the Guildhall in London? The day-to-day administration of the City of London Corporation is now conducted from modern buildings immediately to the north of Guildhall, but Guildhall itself and the adjacent historic interiors are still used for official functions, and it is open to the public during the annual London Open House weekend. There is also an Art gallery in the basement of this building.

“Most part of the building was getting refurbished so it wasn’t accessible, but still was full of people, mostly tourists, the sun was surely shining bright today. I carry forwarded myself without losing time, passing through comparatively narrow alleyways, ending up in Shoreditch. The roars of the city life had become subtle now. The office building I was looking for was on the Banner Street, facing some straight forward apartment buildings. It seemed as if I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, so a confirmation was important that I did by asking a couple walking by who were considerate enough to cooperate.

Now imagine, I was standing right in front of the office and instead of walking in, I decided to give them a call. And the biggest surprise was when I got shut off by the attendant telling me of the vacancies which were closed however I could drop my portfolio at their door if I wanted. Indeed, I was astonished because to this day I thought that getting a job in the office wouldn't be a problem. A representative from Eric Perry Architects had come to deliver a lecture in one of the seminars back in Liverpool. He made us all assured that the office had vacancies and we were welcome to join any time of the year. I guess he was trying to sell us the ticket to his burlesque fantasy show for promoting his practice.

Dismayed by the fact, I hit the road back to the hostel. But then somewhere deep down I also knew that life brings in more opportunities only if I count on it. So I did what a vagabond should when he is on the road all on his own. Seeing the road side café that offered sandwiches, the Shepherd's Café, I decided to over joy by buying myself this marvelously looking sandwich being prepared by a woman in the café. This woman made it sure to welcome me with her loud and firm voice. While I sat and ordered chicken & bagel sandwich that cost me 4.20 pounds, it got served in a shape of a big burger and inclusive of a cup of tea for 90 pence; it proved to be quite a delight to eat.

Thinking what to do next, after finishing I grabbed a bike from the nearby docking station and headed to Haggerston Park. Shocked by the look of it, this was the park where I had come on my second visit to London for creating a photographic documentation of buildings for my dissertation.

The sun was setting already, and as I was reaching river Thames I decided to find a corner where I could spend that time. It was dark  and time to get in my den finally. Again, I rode the cycle through Hackney road, and over the London Tower Bridge  meeting with a swarm of people on the way, the Shard was shining bright and it didn’t take me long to reach my hostel since it was right next to it.
Lastly it was time for me to have a shut eye. After all, it had been a long day of walking and cycling.

Video: River Thames

Conclusion: Keep making ways towards achieving your goal. Tough times never last, but tough people will always do. The belief should always be that there are a thousand of beautiful things waiting for you. Your thoughts will become monotonous at times but always remember that time shall pass too, moving you towards a brighter future.

  

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.

Travel Story / Los Angeles / chapter 1

We were driving on Interstate 15 towards south west. It was 10 pm and from a faraway point we could feel the warmth of light that shimmered in the sky, setting a sign of curiosity, attempting convincingly to enter the boundaries of a place unknown.

As we were charging on the roads of America, we were about to enter a city that we thought would be mesmerizing enough to hold us in its awe for some time. We were to enter a place that would give us the sincerest experience of all time.

But... after reaching this city, one could only feel a dis-relation, where you could only survive if you knew the norms of it, where infinite permutations raced around of dos and don'ts, where every second would make you feel regretful of that decision of coming to this place. Obviously, it was only me who was having these fits of rage. Maybe, only because I was so unaware of this place, it made me feel displaced.

As we proceeded further, we could witness the same shimmering light reflecting from the glass of the windows of the tall enough buildings scattered all around. Till now we were pretty much satisfied by the overwhelmed welcome of this place. Well! who wouldn't, we had traveled almost hundreds of miles from Las Vegas in the late hours of the day with no stay over in between, in search of this piece of land in the state of California.

However, the route we were heading on was ripping us apart from our connection with the city lights. It seemed as we were going to a different area now. We were following the 'global positioning system', which showed our journey did not end at this exhibition of lights. Our location appeared to show us crossing the downtown area of the famous city named 'Los Angeles'.

So where were we going? My heart kept sinking, my brain was unable to think due to exhaustion... and this was making me worry because we still had a journey of almost half an hour and we had crossed the great city. Its skyline was blurring out and the road started to get over crowded with cars of all shapes and sizes, honing at each other. The drivers seemed to be very impatient, the middle finger being the figure of expression for that whole journey.

... and we disengaged from LA. 

Now, this suburb we entered was a mystery in itself and it remains unsolved till date... for me at least. My consciousness was hit with a surge of anxiety as we were heading towards our hotel... to be continued.

"the disengagement" ~ art work (LA01) by Sameer Aftab                    
(Prints for sale - order now)

I thought that my words would not do justice to describe the place so I started drawing my experience of it, an art work that would exist in my memory forever. Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words, they say. Although an unfinished work, but it forms the bench mark for starting of my travel story. Some places that we drove through, some hotels that we had to stay in, some eateries where we had to buy food from, and who can forget the motel where we stayed for a night.

[Heart] of Sharjah

 

 

The day I got my offer letter... last year in the UAE.

At my friend's place in Sharjah, I received a call from Australia, early in the morning. The voice told me that I had been chosen to serve the firm that provided services in the healthcare sector.

Puzzled! haan...

0800 hrs___I felt like celebrating but then also crying as I was half asleep and the horrible ring tone of my phone had struck my ears like thunder bolts. However, there was only one thought going round and around my brain, and that was a place that I had been reading and researching since days.

" a visit to the Heart of Sharjah"

How did I come to know about it? It is simple if you are a freak at exploring places. Try using guide books that you can find at every forgettable corner of the airport. It will give you a very rough idea about the related city. The rest depends on yourself, how you want to explore its discovered or hidden gems.

If you ask me, I would always go for the places that are not touristic, the places where every traveler would not go. Such places make you more aware of the city's essence.

Somehow, this place reminded me of a city with which I have very strong connections named 'Jhang' back in my hometown, Pakistan. Therefore, a visit was quite necessary, I suppose.

A place that reminds you of home is worth thousand visits, I believe.

1100 hrs___ I should treat myself... right? A new job for a person who is new to the city deserved a special treatment on this particular day. And how was it supposed to happen. Not one of the most celebrated ways but I just grabbed a bus to reach this heritage site.

Travelling in Sharjah is comparatively easy and cheap, lets assume. I really did not know where to get down and somehow the maze of streets that the bus was running through made me more and more anxious, until I saw a park where I could see people running like ants. So I decided to make my first stop over.

This was not an ordinary place, it was the "Rolla Square Park" a memorial park built in remembrance of the plantation of the first banyan tree in Sharjah in 1800s. Locally this type of tree is called Rolla, hence the name for the landmark was kept to commemorate that moment.

History! history! history!

I had already started to enjoy the unorganized historical patterns of the city. This was the time where I felt the urge to use a city map that would take me to the place where I had planned to make my next stop.

It was a long walk and somehow my urge for seeking absurd architecture details made me detour. And then what I saw is right below...

On the outside___



As I walked through the back mid-rise residential areas, I could see a long endless wall.



 

Now this is pure vernacularism... the construction technique of the wall spoke of a technique used in a specific time without technology serving the basic need. What does a boundary wall do? It provides 'privacy'.

The are coral reefs used as building blocks for the walls.

The back entrance to the site and guess what! no ticket required... it is all for free.

At the inside___

Alright! now this is interesting. This is from the inside of the Sharjah National Theatre. They had hung hundreds of portraits of members from its first days till date. I managed to meet a couple of actors too, they were just spending some time as you can see the place is very cosy. I will say it was a 'Diwaniya' for people who did theatre.

At your right are the stables for horses that were kept in the past.

Observe!... the mystery of the architect's imagination.

This was the entrance to a small museum... the entrance fee is 5 dirhams as far as I remember. It is worth going inside and read a bit about the area.

On the roof___

 

1700 hrs___My visit to this forgettable piece of land was a feast for my brain. Vernacular, but from the time when this city started to build up. The architecture spoke of stories of people who once lived here and imagined a prosperous emirate for future.