It had been more than three years since I last stepped foot in London, a city I
once knew well. In that relatively short time there has been major changes. I don’t find the changes surprising so much as how quickly they took place.
--London has never been cheap, but the cost of living or traveling there is now astronomical. Sure the value of the dollar has gone the way of Monopoly money in recent years but I’m talking about inflation. As an example the cheapest single ride tube fare in 2006 would have cost you two pounds sterling. Today that same ride will cost you four pounds ($8.00). London’s public transport is now the most expensive in the world. This photo of an HSBC ad campaign taken in the bowels of Heathrow Airport sums up the cost of living.
--The iconic Routemaster double decker buses have been replaced with a redesigned modern version. The Routemasters, produced in the 1950s and 1960s, were phased out on all but two routes in central London, which are frequented by tourists.
--Many Mom and Pop shops have closed and been replaced by chain stores and coffee franchises. I’ve seen this happen in New York City in recent years. Real estate values have risen to record levels and so have rents pushing independent merchants out of business. I only had a little time to wander in London but noticed this distinctly in Notting Hill. Some of the vintage home furnishing shops I loved checking out on regular basis, for example, have bit the dust.
--A large Eastern European community has emerged following the expansion of the European Union. What’s unique about this group is that many won’t necessarily immigrate to the U.K. They will work in the U.K. for a few years, where there are far better wages and employment opportunities, before returning home. In some respects they are the new migrant workers, skilled and international.
--The best part of Camden Market, The Horse Stables, has been demolished (more on this later).
--There is construction everywhere due to the real estate boom. The global credit debacle has already started to slow this down.
Some things were exactly as I left them:
--The local lives. Pub culture is still alive and well (but smoking is no longer allowed).
--The extraordinary amount of languages you hear when walking down the street.
--The tube stop closest to where you need to go on the weekend will no doubt be closed due to track work. A bus replacing the route will turn a 15-minute journey into an hour-long odyssey.
--London cabbies are the best in the world but at a price (see above).
--My old neighborhood Little Venice hasn’t changed a bit (more on this later).
Lined with hundreds of vendors you’ll find plenty of bling in the Gold Souk on the Deira side of the creek.
Not far from the Gold Souk is the Spice Souk. Used for millennium you will find an abundance of Frankincense and saffron here.
The Bur Dubai Souk on the other side of the creek has many textiles and every day items. The glittery Arabian slippers caught my eye on more than one occasion. In fact a pair is housed in a closet not far from where I sit.
--The iconic Routemaster double decker buses have been replaced with a redesigned modern version. The Routemasters, produced in the 1950s and 1960s, were phased out on all but two routes in central London, which are frequented by tourists.
--The extraordinary amount of languages you hear when walking down the street.
The Burj al Arab is the ultimate example of contemporary Arabian decadence and luxury. But the concept of its shape is true to Dubai’s roots, the sail of a dhow.
Sadhus are Hindu holy men who give up the material life to seek enlightenment. You’ll see them all over Varanasi, one of the holiest cities in India. It is visited by millions of religious pilgrims from all walks of life. At sunrise they take part in ritual bathing in the sacred Ganges.
London was a big part of my life for about a decade. In addition to living and working in London for a year I would travel there frequently for business and thanks to a long distance romance (I never had a knack for falling in love with men in my own backyard) to see my beau at the time.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews were imprisoned within the walls of the ghetto before being transported to concentration camps. Most of the wall was leveled following the month long Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was the largest Jewish resistance during World War II. This month marks the 65th anniversary of the uprising, which began on April 19th 1943.
Air conditioning without electricity? Now there is a concept that would sit well with today’s green movement.
The Mohammad Al Amin Mosque in Beirut, Lebanon was built at the beginning of the new millennium.
The Jumeirah Mosque must be the most photographed house of worship in Dubai. It opened its doors in the late 1970s.
The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco was completed in the 1990s and can hold up to 25,000 worshippers.
The design of Burj Dubai is so modern it makes Tokyo’s Shinjuku look retro. It was the first thing I saw out of the airplane window after landing. Like a mountain on the horizon it always appears closer than it is.
Dubai’s government doesn’t like blogger. It appears the government has been intermittently blocking blogger altogether, which explains why my posts were a bit sporadic last week.
Dominating this small charming city’s landscape is the 12,000+ feet Vulcan Agua. You can see it from virtually any of Antigua’s many cobblestone streets.