London: My Experience

London, the city I never thought I would live in, I was living in. From the fish and chips, to the Barclays Premier League craze, I was part of it all. But, from a country with the status of “Developing” to a country with a status of “Developed”, can be like chalk and cheese. So, to answer the question everybody asks me of “Kaisa Hai London?”(How is London?), I have decided to write these posts.  

Being a student has its own advantages here.  For example, student discounts. Every student has the liberty of availing discounts of approximately 20-30% off, making it easier for us kids to convince our parents to buy expensive clothes or gadgets. This also includes discounts on tickets for the museum, the movies, tourist attractions, memberships, pretty much whatever you think of. Even travel can be made cheaper, which you will read about ahead.

Living in Mumbai and travelling in the yellow brown local trains, where the sight of people hanging from doors is completely normal, seeing the London Underground(Also called the ‘Tube’ or ‘Subway’) altered my perception of a train system. The London Underground is a diverse train system, consisting of over 8 lines, connecting the whole city as well as many county’s and districts, all together. You can literally go from one corner of London to another, just using trains. But, you NEED an Oyster Card. An Oyster is essential for living in the capital.  The Oyster card is basically a form of an electronic ticket, which can be used for buses, the Tube, and trams(quite rare, but do exist).There is an option of buying tickets as well, but the price of one ticket is the double of what an Oyster card will charge, so people don’t usually go for the more expensive option. Oysters are a very common sight in London, and almost everyone has one, but during rush hours there are queues along the ticket counter. But again, you need to know what type of Oyster you need. There are zone Oysters, TravelCards, Pay-As-You-Go Oysters, and 10 others. I have a Kid Oyster, which involves applying for it by filling up 4 forms, a hundred formalitieas, passport data, and a lot of struggle, but it reduces the travel cost for kids by half, in comparison with a regular oyster. 

This is how a regular Oyster looks like. Many kinds of others. 

One thing which you will do in London is sit down with a cup of tea and admire the view in front of you. No matter where you live, probably a 4-5 minute  walk away is an extravagant display of scenery, enticing you into admiring the beauty of architecture and nature. For example, right from my residence, you can enjoy the view of the Thames River(dubbed as “London Ki Ganga” by some), and watch as it glistens in the occasional sun. Places like Westminster, to name one, has a stunning display of architecture, which will most probably leave you in awe. 

This is the Thames River.
Standees on the sail are real people. REALLY. 

These are just some of the many things I have experienced in my 2-3 month stay until now. I will be here since a long time, so you will see many of these posts, at least another 2-3 more. Do stay tuned, as I have a lot of free time and I will post every week. 

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