A Walking Tour of London

With just two days in London en route to Kenya, and one day coming back, I had to prioritize how I'd spend my time there. It was my first time to London so I decided to visit as many of the traditional tourist destinations as possible. I usually don't get too excited about tourist attractions, but who goes to London and doesn't see Big Ben or Buckingham Palace?

I landed in Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5. This terminal, a new addition to Heathrow, makes it a point to let passer-bys know that it was designed to be "green". How "green" can the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom be? They supposedly employ a rainwater catchment system, provide recycling bins throughout, and did not build on greenfield land. It is intended to relieve the existing four terminals at Heathrow and other surrounding airports of growing traffic. Well, it's better than nothing.

The first thing I saw after leaving the airport was a tube station. The London tube was a fast, fairly easy and convenient way of travelling throughout the city, although a bit pricey for an American budget.


Typical London tube stop. Escalators in London always provide an initially flat area to get on, then turn into stairs further up. In America, this flat section is too short to notice.

I took the tube to the YHA Hostel - St Paul. The hostel is very close to the Tate Modern museum and Millenium Bridge, which I later visited, but I opted to walk to the London Eye first.


The London Eye is a large, permanent kind of Ferris wheel at the edge of the Thames and a popular way to get a fantastic aerial view of the city.

From there, I passed Big Ben and the House of Parliament:

Within the gates of the House of Parliament there were armed guards keeping an eye on what was happening across the street - protesters of the Iraq war had gathered, pitched tents on the sidewalk, and didn't look like they were going anywhere. It was a very peaceful protest, yet highly visible. I applaud them for taking the time to take a stand. It would be nice to see more people in the U.S. taking advantage of their patriotic prerogative to free speech. Can you believe I have been to this place but have yet to see my own capitol of the United States in Washington, D.C.? The U.S. capitol is about 4900 miles away from home. It costs over 800 USD just to get there. I rely on elected officials to represent me in my government, but my votes for these officials are not even directly counted thanks to the electoral college. If you are not part of one of the two major political parties in this country, it is unlikely you will get elected. What kind of democracy is this?

I passed Westminster Abbey, and spent a long time walking through the gardens outside Buckingham Palace, finally ending up at the British Museum. The museum is floor upon floor of interesting historical artifacts, best known for housing the Rosetta Stone, and probably the best thing you can do for free in London.


The caption for this piece in the British Museum reads: This Thrown is made from decommissioned weapons collected since the end of Mozambique's civil war in 1992. During the war, seven million guns-none of them made in Africa-poured into the country. In 1995, Bishop Dinis Sengulane initiated a project called 'Arms into Tools'. The Mozambican people were encouraged to swap their weapons for agricultural, domestic and construction tools. Artists then turned the decommissioned weapons into sculptures.

Outside the Tate Modern museum near my hostel, was this construction site. London is not afraid to be colorful or creative, a risk I wish developers in Hawaii would be willing to take.

Inside the Tate Modern museum, even the free exhibits are fantastic.

There were many talented street musicians performing around London. Here, a young man plays a beautiful tune on the bells under a bridge near the Thames.

As my days in London came to a close, I noticed how much construction was going on. So many cranes dotting the horizon!

Next time: Into Kenya!