During my first trip to Germany, I had a weekend in between to spare. I was determined to explore some city – not sure which one though. Also, the avenue of having a travel buddy was closed. So it was going to be a solo trip. Since it was purely my choice now, I had narrowed down the list to Rome, London or Amsterdam. As I contemplated towards making a decision, several thoughts crossed my mind. What was I going to do – just walk around by myself like a goof? Eat alone? And who was going to click my pictures?

It struck me – why not? I could do anything I wanted and visit the landmarks that appealed to me. That made it easier to solve my conundrum. I just had to pick the city which had most to offer to me. What do I love? Cricket – So London it was! I quickly booked my tickets and sketched up a rough itinerary, with my favorite things included.

My favorite things # 1: The train

Yes, I had booked a 5-hour train journey with a stopover and not a 55 min flight. My journey consisted of 2 trips– the Thalys high speed train to Brussels and then the Eurostar to London. Growing up, I had seen numerous documentaries about the Eurostar and couldn’t be more excited.

I rushed through my breakfast on Saturday morning and just about caught my regional train to Cologne Central Station and jumped to the adjoining platform for the Thalys. The maroon-colored French-made train slowly pulled into the platform. It stopped for a mere 2 minutes before we were on our way. I was a little surprised to see no security or passport checks for an international journey. The interiors were as red as they could get – but still classy. As we rolled into the foggy countryside, the train started catching speed. We hit 200kph – the fastest I had travelled on road or rail till that point. But it didn’t really seem fast. Honestly the Rajdhani Express in India felt faster. This was just too smooth. The lack of ricketiness and wobbling was unlike the train rides I was accustomed to. It was a thrill nevertheless.

We crossed the border into Belgium and an hour later, we reached Brussels. I made a quick dash to the Grand Place of Brussels in the 2-hour layover, overheard a guided group tour to get some history pointers, before prepping for the next leg of my train journey. I found my platform and was all set to jump into the train. But I had to hold my horses. Trains to the UK had an immigration check. So I had to fill out the form & then answer a series of questions including why I chose the train when flying was more convenient. I considered delivering a movie-style speech describing the romance of a train and the associations with happy memories from childhood, related to summer vacations. I settled for – “I enjoy trains”, which the officer agreed was a legitimate answer.

 

So there I was on the platform, with the rather old, yellow & white rake of the Eurostar in front me. Artistic logic dictates that I should’ve run towards it in slow-motion with a twinkle in my eye. But there was a queue at the entrance. We would chug off soon. The ride was fun – still at 200kph – no faster. The stretch under the tunnel is one of the claims to fame for this train. Mind-blowing engineering feat indeed, but journey-wise it was just 20 minutes in the dark – not sure what more I was expecting though.

At around noon, we pulled into London St. Pancras International. As I stepped out, the moment of reality was upon me. I had done train journeys alone before, so this is where the challenges of a solo-trip began. First task, I needed to find someone to get a picture of me with the train. I resorted to the first of many instances of the phrase that would be my travel buddy in the near future – “Excuse me”!

The next challenge was to figure out how to get around. Thanks to my love for big cities, I had a knack of effortlessly picking up metro routes. I took the tube to Baker Street, where my hotel was located. Now, I had been living alone for a while, but any new place has its own eeriness. So I quickly checked under the bed and the armoire for any hidden surprises, dumped my backpack, texted my mom and set off.

My Favorite Things # 2: The Big City and everything British

It was drizzling outside. But this was expected as a part of the London package, so I wasn’t complaining. I opened my umbrella, and stepped out. As I walked towards the Underground station, I realized that 221B Baker St – Sherlock Holmes’ apartment and the Madame Tussauds museum were just a few yards away. Yes, I just used an imperial unit – which only begins to describe the mood I was getting into! Everything about the surroundings made me want to carry out a regal and sophisticated demeanor.

Even my route’s name had a British air to it. I was supposed to take the Hammersmith and City line. It was relatively empty for a Saturday afternoon. I took a seat and tried to soak it all in. While many of my fellow-commuters had their earphones on, I just enjoyed the music that was the British accent of the ladies sitting next to me. So sweet was their elocution that it contradicted their conversational theme of ire. This was my first of several eavesdrops for the day. I resisted the urge to fake a British accent, to avoid the risk of being seen as a bloody lunatic. India’s freedom fighters from the British rule would have been so proud of my feelings!

I got down at Tower Bridge and intended to cover a string of tourist attractions in the heart of London. A ferry ride on the Thames followed next, after which was Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and then a walk across Westminster & Millennium Bridges. It was pure joy to witness modern architectural marvels planted in a bed of Victorian buildings– the ever so queer Gherkin tower, the Walkie-Talkie building that melted a Jaguar and The Shard, London’s newest and tallest skyscraper. I couldn’t but resist reliving all the scenes from my favorite movies and shows – Friends, Sherlock, Namaste London – the list is endless.

The showers were incessant and Blimey, it was starting to get chilly! So I decided to go atop the London Eye. The visibility wasn’t great, but the enclosed warm capsules gave me a much needed breather. I made stop at Piccadilly Circus next, before calling it a night. The dark side of solo-exploration would be apparent to me in a dark avenue, when a snooty man wanted to sell me some “stuff”. He had a Yorkish accent, which took me a few attempts to comprehend. In hindsight, this might have led him to believe that I was already high and perhaps ready for some more. Oh Bollocks! Anyway, brushing that aside, it was time for some supper. I wasn’t really in the mood for Fish & Chips and not prepared yet to eat out alone. So I took out an order of Chicken-Tikka masala from an Indian restaurant. So touristy right? Well, in my defense, this was officially a British dish. So I was still complying with the when-in-Rome rules.

 My Favorite Things # 3: Cricket

For Sunday, I had booked a tour of Lord’s cricket stadium. It was a contrastingly beautiful day, with the sun out in full glory. I had some time to spare, so I took walk to the nearby Primrose Hill Park for a breathtaking view of the London skyline. After that I took a double decker to Lord’s.

This was it. I was at the ‘Home of Cricket’: the most prestigious & historical cricket ground on the planet.  As the tour began, I couldn’t contain my excitement. For once, I was that annoying know-it-all boy who would raise his hand out of turn to answer the tour guide’s questions. A member of the renowned MCC (Marlybourne Cricket Club), he would lead us to the Lord’s museum. I would go on to see the original Ashes urn, India’s World Cup trophy from 1983 and several other priceless collections. This was followed by the players’ dressing rooms, where I was elated to see the famous honor board with Indian names, like Rahul Dravid & Bhuvneshwar Kumar, interspersed on it. And finally, the moment I was waiting for, was beckoning me.

We were lead towards the player’s balcony. After my eyes adjusted to the brightness outside, the first sight from the other end was the famous media center. The 1999 World Cup was when this modern design gem came into the limelight. This was about the time I was starting to get passionate about cricket. I remember having a book with trivia about all the English grounds and the image of that media center was on the covers. I looked down on the wooden bench I was sitting on and one and only one thought hit me. This was where Sourav Ganguly had taken his shirt off after our famous win of 2002. That finale was still fresh in my and every Indian cricket fan’s memory. It was pretty late at night for a 9^th grader. My mom & I, were watching the seemingly lost chase, when two young batsmen began to raise hopes of a stunning rearguard action. We munched through half a box of Kellog’s Chocos. As I nervously watched the climax unfold, my mom held my hand. To her dismay, it was freezing cold. I think that was when she realized my love for the sport.

The tour ended beside the lush green outfield, the famous slope more evident now, than ever on Television. I resisted my urge to jump onto the outfield and play some shadow cricket. After all London’s prison was not a part of my itinerary and I had no time for last minute additions. All in all, it was an emotionally fulfilling experience. The only unquenched desire was to witness some actual cricketing action. I would go on to watch a test match at The Oval, a year later.

With that, it was time for me to reluctantly bid farewell to London. As my Eurostar pulled out of St. Pancras, I got one final glance at the lovely London skyline sparkling against sun’s reflection. I reflected on my first solo trip and felt a sense of pride. I had pulled it off after all those apprehensions with no dull moments. I was definitely ready for more of this.