day 1: the road to Limehouse

1/1/2008

London day 1

The total fight time came to 26 hours, after lingering for an extra 2 hours in Hong Kong, apparently due to mechanical problems. They had to replace a flap on the plane’s wing. When we finally arrived in the UK, we were told that we had to alight via the stairs and then catch a bus to the terminal. But my heart truly sank when I saw that there are only 4 officers on duty at passport control to clear the entire plane’s load of passengers.

But there were more fun ahead with the tube ride to the East of London as I heaved and dragged a 20+kg suitcase up and down the long staircases of the tube. The escalators are being ‘renovated’, so it was the stairs for me. Thankfully I was humored all the way by my good friend Ian who picked me up from the airport, and whom I am temporarily staying with until I move up to Cambridge this weekend. A few other things that surprised me was how short and narrow the trains are. Another is how dark it became by about 4pm. There were 3 set of train changes and by the time I got to Ian’s place in Limehouse, I was in a daze and zonked out by 9pm.