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Published: September 13th 2006
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London
London Bridge Back to Europe. Wow. After nearly a year on the road, I am back to where I started from. I remember how excited I was before my trip started, talking to Adriana the night before my flight to Delhi about all the places I wanted to see and the people I was bound to meet.
Honestly, the trip went far beyond my expectations.
But back to my last days in Bangkok. After Wolfgang left for Cambodia, I spent the next few days preparing for getting back home. I bought souvenirs for everyone, I drank as many mango shakes as possible, and I had a suit made (which I was very happy with).
My flight to London left in the early hours of the 28th. I flew from Bangkok to Dubai, had a 5 hour wait, and then I flew from Dubai to London. The flights were really good - no screaming kids, no talkative Canadians, and lot's of good movies to choose from.
When I arrived at Heathrow it was around 2 pm. Since I had planned to stay at Jamie's, but he was only arriving back from a trip to Amsterdam late in the evening,
London
Irish Claire + I I had planned to meet Mark in town. So I gave Mark a call, and we planned to meet at Holborn tube station.
After a half hour tube ride I arrived at the station. When I made my way to join to central line, I came around a corner and saw Mark waving to me! It was great to see him again, and we made our way to the Bank tube station (where Jamie lives) to sit and chat. We ended up going to a pub with all my bags, and we just sat there for a few hours chatting away. It was strange to finally see someone who actually knew me after so many months of constantly meeting strangers.
At around 5 I gave Jamie a call, but he told me he was still about 4 hours away, but he told me to call his flatmate Dave who would let me into the house. So I called Dave, and he told me the directions to the house. When Mark and I found it, I made plans to give Mark a call the next day, and called Dave to come open the door for me!
Turns out
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The Jeddah Gang! Jamie wasn't exaggerating when he said he lives in a penthouse flat right on the Thames. Cause that's what it was - a four-floor flat with an amazing view of the river, and enough extra room to start up a club on the first two floors.
Dave turned out to be a great guy - with a very interesting past. He is half french, half belgian, speaks 6 languages (including Japanese), and is working in IT. He's very enthusiastic, and I understand why him and Jamie get along so well. While waiting for Jamie to arrive, Dave gave me a tour of the house and then we ended up chatting in the kitchen for a few hours.
At around 9...Jamie arrived! It was great to see him again, although he was exhausted after 3 days of constant drinking. He had been working as a tour guide on a long-weekend trip to Amsterdam. So he went to bed at around 11, promising to have more energy the next day.
During the next few days, I met up with LOADS of friends! On Wednesday I met up with Malin - who was in London for a shopping trip with
London
Trafalgar Square some friends from Sweden. To my surprise, as I was waiting for Malin at the tube station Arvi arrived!! Malin hadn't told me he was coming, so I was ecstatic! When Malin arrived, there was lot's of screaming, hugging, and dancing around! It was great.
Matt from Uni also joined us for dinner, but with three old-Jeddah crew around, I'm sure it's hard for anyone to be heard...let alone a shy guy like Matt! We ended up continuing to a few pubs, and had a great night laughing, chatting, drinking, and dancing.
The next day I met up with Uni friend Diane. It was great...we chatted and laughed for hours. great great great. On Thursday night I made my way to Crawley - where Diane used to live, and where her parents still have an house - for a wild RnB night. During uni (and South Africa), Diane and I always went to dance at clubs together - and this night was probably one of our best!!
Since Malin was flying back to Sweden on Friday evening, I left early from Diane's to go have lunch with Malin. I ended up joining Malin and her Swedish friend
Bangkok
Final Mango Shake at Monument Station...we went to a weekend market to find something to eat. At around 2 Malin had to leave, and it was sad to say goodbye once again.
That night Diane came for a quick visit, since she was heading back to Warrick (where she studies medicine) the next day. We were meant to join Jamie and Dave on a night out, but Diane wasn't up for live music, and she was running out of money. That wasn't a problem, though...it meant that Diane and I were free to chat the night away as the boys went out.
On the weekend Dave, Jamie, and I went to the gym to play some squash and go to the spa. I also met up with Mark a few times. On Sunday Jamie and I went to Sherperd's Bush where he used to live for a bit of daytime partying. We went to a few pubs, and did some good old drinking and dancing. It was nice to spend some time with Jamie, especially since he has a busy schedule during the week!
When the new week started, everyone was at work all day, so I started to look
forward to getting back to Finland and starting my new life there!! I DID, however, get a chance to meet up with some old Tenteleni friends (Matt, Irish Claire, Blond Claire, and Faye) at lunchtime on Monday. AND in memory of India, Jamie took me for dinner on Bricklane one evening.
My time in London was great...I loved the fact that returning from my trip was such a positive experience!
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