My Trip to London

Sorry for the long silence, but I'm travelling. I want to share with you some pics from London and later Capetown. I have seen friends and family, who are all well, but some affected by the recession, so it looks like I left at the right time when I went back to Beijing last year. It was good to see some of the old sights again and be reminded what an international city London is. Food of course is important to all Chinese, and I enjoyed a visit to Borough market where all sorts of food is available (pics next time).

Here I am enjoying a traditional home cooked meal: roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Chinese dinners may have many more courses but this meal was just as tasty and filling! No chopsticks and no Chinese tea!

I had to see Chinatown again of course. It's been newly paved over, and the 'pailou' or gateway is still there, but of course not as impressive as the 'real' ones in Beijing, such as near the Confucius Temple in Guozijian (see previous Ancient streets and Ancient scholars post). It was good to see Chinese characters on the street, and I thought maybe one day there might be a Londontown in Beijing with English street names. After all, there's already a Thamestown in Shanghai.

It was also good to see some fine old buildings, such as this local hospital, and Southwark Cathedral.

Despite the gloomy economy and weather, there will always be Xmas lights, such as these just lit up in Regent St, to cheer us up!