After a very long flight from Sydney to London, not really helped by 6 hours in a hotel room inside Kuala Lumpur's international terminal, i've had a great week in old blighty. It's been four years since i was there last and 10 years since i first landed at Heathrow, an 18-year-old wearing board shorts and singlet top in January.
In a lucky - but also unfortunate - twist of fate my friend Megan was going to Cuba the same day i arrived in London, so while i wouldn't get to see her this time i was able to stay at her lovely flat in Wimbledon. Being back in London was both exciting and nostaglic. Nothing was new to me, but instead sites felt like hazy memories which became clearer the more i walked around the tourist areas and my old favourite spots. It's a strange feeling being in a city i once called home but was this time just passing through - i was neither a true tourist nor a local, though i could still provide reasonably accurate directions to the odd tourist who mistook me for a Londoner. Few of my old friends are still there though it was great to see some new friends who have moved there in last couple of years. The weather was unseasonably lovely for the first five days and as i slowly got over my jetlag i shopped and walked, and shopped and walked some more.
To say England is excited about tomorrow's royal wedding is an understatement. I'm glad to have left the city and its hype, which seems rivalled only by the upcoming olympics (the ballot for tickets closed yesterday which provided temporary distraction from the wedding).
It was good to be able to use my time in London to get on top of some of my freelance writing and set up this blog properly. I also met with the tour guides to finalise arrangements for Sean to come to Africa for 3 weeks in June. However it didn't feel like my adventure had really started, being in such familiar territory so i was looking forward to getting on the plane for Egypt.
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