Day 1 Hello London

After almost 22hours of flying and 2 hours transit in KL we finally touched down in Heathrow. The stiff back I suffered from seating for such a long time seems to ease slightly when the PA announcement informed us that the aircraft was taxing to Terminal 4, and although we are reminded to keep our safety belt on till we come to a complete stop, at least this time around it is not for bad weather while suspended on air.

Turning to my kids, I could see the look of relieve and excitement on them. Making our way out from the aircraft towards the aerobridge filled with anticipation, we can't help but feeling rather tickled for a moment when the few first faces we saw did  not quite match to the images of Londoners we had in our minds .... Have we mistakenly boarded a plane to India rather than England?  Oops sorry but we can't help our notion. Suddenly, I recalled a joke by Russel Peters when he mentioned that  UK is Indian homeland.  No offence please,  and darn Peters for putting such ideas in my mind.

Clearing immigration and customs were pleasantly rather easy, and after claiming our luggage we make our way to the taxi line. I was hoping to board one of thosee famous London cab but as our turn came, a merc van was in tow, so riding one of those London cab will have to wait for now.

We left Heathrow and make our way towards the city amidst a humid London weather. It was almost 6 in the evening but the heat was not cooling down and even the van air conditioning could not withstand the outside temperature. We noticed most cars had their windows down, it is a hot summer this year in London it seems.

After an hour in the van and having to endure London traffic during its 'after work rush hour', we finally reached our accommodation for the next two days in east London. The two bedroom apartment was the best available as most of the hotels in the city were booked up due to the final week of Wimbledon Open.

Soon as we stepped into our apartment, we were pleased to find a welcoming retreat. The furniture and amenities were well appointed and every single item is in pristine condition. The hotel apartment has just opened its door recently and although at the edge of city, it is still within zone 1, therefore making our travelling expenses on the Underground tube quite reasonable.

From our living and bedroom windows we were thrilled to discover the ‘gherkin’, an imposing state of art building looking very close to us. I remember watching how the 'gherkin' was documented on the amazing structure series not so long ago and having to see it live was amazing. I even made Adam and Shasha stands next to the window and captured the photo below.

30 St Mary Axe, also known as the Gherkin and the Swiss Re Building, is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004. With 40 floors, the tower is 180 metres (591 ft) tall, and the eight highest buildi

And from the balcony,  out in the distance to our right we could spot the two structures that made up the Tower Bridge and down beneath we could see row of houses, shop and factory buildings. Standing for awhile at the balcony, away  from east London where he used to stay in Maida Vale some 30 years ago,  the surrounding were all new to Tim too.

The kids and I decided to unpack the luggage while Tim head downstrairs for a quick checkout of the area to the local supermarket for some basic groceries and to check out the nearest Underground tube.

It was almost 9pm when the sun finally sets in and what a day it has been to for us. Jet lagged from the long flight and trying to adjust to the new time zone prompted us to stay indoor to rest and recoup.  We must have been pretty weary that none of us had the appetite for dinner and we instead settled for a mug of tea and coffee for nightcap bought from the Tesco round the corner.

Out on the balcony, the city lights beyond us were brilliant and the illuminated 'gherkin' tower were such a sight to witness. Soaking all these views and lullabied by the soothing evening breeze was such a lovely feeling to start our vacation ...