Hi friends,
Greetings from London!
The UK feels like home. Warm like Seattle, where I’ve spent the last 3 summers, but more cloudy. Diverse like Sydney, but with fewer East Asians & more Indians and Muslims. Young professionals can be seen in dress shirts & trousers imbibing in outdoor pub culture after work.
A Few Personal Updates
Thanks!
for hosting during my first few days in London. My original plan was to stay one-week, but after purchasing a 1-mo gym membership, I decided to stay for a full month.Honestly, my month has been rough. After I realized I can’t pay my engineer, my startup is now on pause. My 12-month travel challenge is coming to an end & my funds are dwindling. I had such an anxious period of “What’s next?” that I broke down in front of my friend. Also, I’ve been consumed by dreams. I’d hit the snooze button, and during those 9 minutes, I’d have 9 vivid dreams. It’s all terribly disorienting.
Oh, I also got robbed. Somebody broke in 2 hours before my tenants came back from their weeks-long camping trip. I found the bedroom door ripped off and my iPad and chargers stolen. Though I’m mentally & physically fine, the situation was certainly not ideal.
On the Agenda
(Travel) Paintings vs Real Life 🖼
(Travel) The Gist of London 🎡
(Travel) Would You Live Here? 🏡
(Bonus) Fashion Community 🛍
One Year of Travel, New Year New Me Series ✈️🌍
On 8/31, I left my software engineering job to embark on a “One Year of Travel, New Year New Me”® challenge, where I spends 12 months in 12 countries. So far I’ve lived in Bali, Portugal, Vietnam, South Africa, Argentina, Colombia, Australia, and Japan, Spain, Holland, and England (in that order). Follow along!
1. Paintings vs Real Life
Before cameras, people saw cities through artists’ paintings. Many artists (eg. Monet) loved the River Thames. On Ingrid Wallenborg’s (Blue Badge Tour Guide)’s walking tour, we compared & contrasted paintings and their IRL appearances.
Exhibit A: The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, J.M.W Turner, 1834
Note: The Great Fire of 1834 was caused by negligence.
Exhibit B: Westminster Bridge, with the Lord Mayor's Procession on the Thames, Canaletto, 1747
Note: The modern bridge seems to be a downgrade.
Exhibit C: The Thames Below Westminster, Claude Monet, 1871
Note: The tall spire in the Monet painting is fictitious.
Exhibit D: Hungerford Suspension Bridge, William Henry Fox Talbot, 1845
Note: London was 36x more polluted in 1845 than today.
2. The Gist of London
What pictures describe a city? For Tokyo, it might be a bowl of ramen. For New York, a subway rat. For Cape Town, it’s definitely Table Mountain which surrounds 3/4 of the city. What about London?
Exhibit A: Red Telephone Booths
Most of them are rusted, broken, and barely work. But at least they look nice?
Exhibit B: Red Double-Decker Buses
London has a fleet of 8,600 buses, half of which are hybrid (gas + electric), 950 are fully electric, and 20 are powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Tip: A ticket is £1.75 (or $2.25), but if you get on a second bus within an hour of the first, that second ride is free.
Exhibit C: The Tube
London isn’t complete without its metro system. Trademarked “The Underground", known colloquially as “The Tube”.
The metro cars are curved inwards (like a tube), so make sure to bend your head when it’s busy time…
Besides the “Underground”, London also has an “Overground”. Guess what the difference is?
Exhibit D: British Parliament
The UK loves politics. With 800+ years of political history, starting from the Magna Carta in 1215, the country is known for its debate.
US vs UK? Very similar. Both have two major parties: Labour (equivalent: Democrat) and Conservative (aka. “Tory”) (equivalent: Republican). Both have two legislative branches: House of Commons (equivalent: House of Representatives) and House of Lords (equivalent: Senate). While the US President is both the Head of Government & State, the British Prime Minister is the Head of Government while the King/Queen is the Head of State.
Compared to the US, British parties are more moderate - and switching sides is O.K. The National Health Service (NHS) is said to be the one institution that binds the two parties together.
Every Wednesday, the Prime Minister hosts a televised Q&A session, called: “Prime Minster’s Questions”. Two things surprise me. First is the respect & the speech mannerisms. Seriously, “The Honorable Gentleman”? Second is the quality of insults or “roasts”. They are top-notch. Watch a session here.
Exhibit E: The British Disposition
I stumbled across this statue of a woman with her arms crossed in a defensive stance. I thought this captured the British ethos well.
Your Turn: Reply with a few images that capture the gist of your city, town, or country. What makes your place special?
3. Would You Live Here? 🏡
Game Rules: I will present you with a series of 10 images describing a life in Southwark, London. Your task is to respond to the prompt: “Would you live here?” in the affirmative (aye) or the negative (no) at the end.
Photo 1: The Neighborhood
A suburban town in South London
Majority black population
30-45 min bus ride to / from Central London
Photo 2: The Streets
Often overcast skies
Photo 3: The Food
The nearest grocery store is 10-15 walk away
Photo 4: The Park
Burgess Park is a 15-minute walk away
Photo 5: The Crosswalk
Photo 6: The Desk
You have your own desk with fast Wi-Fi from which to work from
Photo 7: The Gym
A 24hr gym is located 15-min away
Photo 8: The Studio
You can travel to the city to take dance classes: House, K-pop, Hip-hop, waacking, popping, and more.
Photo 9: The Art Class
Art classes are available to you
Pictured above: nude modeling charcoal drawing drop-in
Photo 10: The Crime
You might witness a street fight or two
Based on these photos, would you live here?
4. Fashion Blog? 🧤
Fashion is way too girly, glitzy, and out of my lane, yet it holds a special place in my heart. Beyond safeguarding the body, clothing is a form of self-expression. I appreciate the creativity as well as people simply being well-dressed.
Get Started: Watch this Balenciaga x Simpsons episode. It’s a satirical advert on the ridiculousness of high fashion: the €19,000 dress, the Parisian-centeredness, and the obsession with Anna Wintour.
Here’s the link again: Balenciaga x Simpsons.
If you have any London recommendations or you’re in the area & would like to meet up, please let me know! I’ll be here for 5 more days until the 25th, then I’m off to Eastern Europe (Austria, Hungary, Czechia) for August!
Thanks for reading! Have a great week, and feel free to drop me a line on WhatsApp +1 978 844 1678.
Leo A
If you’re new here, welcome to Leo’s Lemonade! My name is Leo Ariel, and I am a World Traveler, Writer, and Vlogger.
Every week I write a postcard to you from wherever I am in the world. Generally, I like to share travel tips, personal essays, and cultural observations from life.
My readers have previously enjoyed Why Did Amazon Pay Me $170k/yr to Update a Wiki Page?, Growing Up in an Asian American Household, and Top 5 Life Advice for 23-Year-Olds.
I would greatly appreciate it if you would share this with your friends. It would help me out a lot :)
This was such a complete meal of an edition, Leo! Thanks for sharing your unique perspective of a city I thought I knew so well, but now see through a different lens!
I am really sorry about your theft experience. Not proud of that side of the city.
...sorry to hear about that ribbery bud...glad you are safe though and travels still looking amazing...loved the photo and art compares today...