Best way around London
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- Written by Yajun Deng
- Category: Best Way Around
Have you ever seen an Indian couple the woman in a white and beautiful sari, having a wedding banquet and laughing, in a Spanish restaurant? Have you imagined a Turkish couple having a wedding ceremony in an African restaurant? Have you ever tried French patisserie cakes immediately after you had fried dumplings or dandan noodle from China Town just 10 yards away?
Where do you imagine this could be? That’s right London! It’s one of the most interesting, dynamic, culturally diverse cities in the world, and I think what makes it so interesting is exactly the mixed culture.
In the supermarket, you may find the person standing on your right side is white, then on your left is black, then in front of you is Asian, behind you is Latin American. Same in the buses, shops, or on the streets, everywhere, any time. So my favorite thing to do is to sit on the top floor of the bus, watching the people on the street. Their appearances, fashion styles are just so distinctive. When you walk pass them, especially on the most famous high street—Oxford Street, most of them are actually not speaking English. So you can see how many migrants or tourists there are in London. And with this diversity of people, London is definitely heaven for food lovers. It has almost every kind of food from all over the world: Northern Chinese food, Szechuan food, Korean food, Curries, Thai food, west Indian, Latin American, Russian, Mediterranean food, Japanese food, African food, French food, and of course lots of British as well. And the best place for you to try out all the food is definitely Camden market, which is in the north of London, and very easy to get to by either buses or underground.
Once you got there, you can’t miss the giant cartoons on the walls and young people dressed in all sorts of stylish clothes. Camden market is full of odd, interesting things, like funny old costumes, creative arts, original hand-made T-shirts, Cuban cigarette. Apart from that, Camden market has the big attraction, which is definitely food! Fried prawns, Chaomian, Indian pancakes, Mexican food, chocolate ice cream. Walking pass the food stands one after the other, you just can’t stop licking your lips and staring at the food. The lovely smell and beautiful sights grab you again and again. After walking past all of them, you can’t decide which one to start with, you just wish you can have a taste of each of them. With 4 pounds, you can get a big portion of hot fresh food. Why not? Also Camden market has a pretty loch running through the middle of it, so it’s absolutely gorgeous to sit along the bank, eating the food and enjoying the sunshine or if you are lucky, you can see people boating.
In London people from all over the world talk to each other in the same language, and live in the same place, so you can imagine how much they can learn. Because of its diversity, it attracts lots of young people coming to study or work, so people keep coming and going, and this city is constantly being refreshed by new blood and ideas. Also people in London are very open, very confident and sociable. People there keep talking and talking, in the pubs, parks, anywhere, anytime, exchanging ideas, and creating new ones, so you won’t be surprised by London’s leading position in fashion and other creative industries.
Surely besides experiencing its diverse culture, London city itself is very beautiful to look at. Walking along the street, you will be fascinated by the extraordinary architectural styles, Victorian, Art Deco, Turkish, Roman can be seen everywhere. Here, every corner, every wall, every shop or café might have a big story or long history behind it. All you need to do is to slow down, walk around and talk to people.
There is a famous walk in central London along the South Bank. A good way to do it is to start at the British Museum in Great Russell Street. This is wonderful so don’t miss it. Then go out of the museum and turn right, walk along to Tottenham Court Road, then go left and keep walking straight, then you will be in Charing Cross Road. Just keep going when you are half way down you will be at Leicester Square tube station. If you went right you would go into China Town, left you would go to Covent Garden. But if you carry on straight down then you will reach Trafalgar Square. Then just go left to Charing Cross station and walk down the side of it, which is Villiers Street. At the bottom of that is the River Thames, walk across the bridge and you will be on the South Bank. Just go left over the bridge and you can walk along, past Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern gallery, and all the way to Tower Bridge and the famous castle called the Tower of London!
For shopping ladies, who are not so bothered about architecture, you can go to world famous shopping centers, like Harrods or Liberty’s to have a peek at the decorations inside while walking along and popping in your credit cards. (you will need plenty of these).
Here we have a few restaurants to recommend. If you by any chance are around them, go and have a try.
Paul: everywhere, with lovely cakes and apricot slices.
Jen Café: located in China Town. It has the best home-made, fresh fried dumplings. With chilly sauce, vinegar, it’s delicious.
Patisserie Valerie: all sorts of delicious, creamy, good-looking, fruity cakes.
London is a place you can fall in love with immediately. Try it, you would never want to leave.