Jim Lind Photo

I’m so used to something going horribly wrong when I travel (ie: missing my international flight from Hong Kong to NYC or visiting a friend for snowboarding in Colorado who had just come down with the flu) that I often find myself waiting for and dreading those moments. However with so many possibilities for my last trip to go wrong, it ended up working without a hitch.

Back in August my girlfriend Ali and good friend Raisa traveled to the United Kingdom for a spur of the moment vacation (or as they call it, Holiday). When I say spur of the moment, I’m referring more about the method I went about planning our travels (more like lack there of). I’ve always been a person who likes the travels to dictate the experiences rather than the other way around, so I don’t make plans too far in advance. The reason being that something exciting can come up on a whim and I’d love the option to go with the wind rather than being tied down to preordained plans. However it didn’t become obvious to Ali of my intentions until she found me planning our arrival to London just 30 minutes before we took off. 15 hours later we touched down in Londontown, only to go on a wild goose chase to northern London (where the riots had started) to meet up with friends who had no idea when our delayed flight was arriving. Many bus and tube stops later and with no phone we ended up casually bumping into them on the streets as if it was planned to happen this way. I instantly reminisced of the not too distant past when people met up like this because there were no cellphones to guide them.

With little rest and empty stomachs, we found out that our first night’s activities were already planned for us and that it started now. Off to a “chill” place in Brick Lane called The Big Chill Bar for some quality burgers with new and old friends. As the night progressed we found out that our night was just beginning, and the next stop was a dance club in the underground techno scene. Some places just don’t need explanations as this place was exactly what you would picture an underground techno club in London to be: crazy, crowded, fun, sweaty, and loud. We retired the night with the most delicious kebabs from a traditional Turkish restaurant and headed back to our good friend (and amazing chef) James’ apartment in Notting Hill. To my delight, we discovered in the morning that our stay in west London coincided with one of the biggest urban festivals in the world, Notting Hill Carnival. It was moments like these that reiterated why I love traveling with little to no plans.

A picturesque walk through all the winding streets to the Carnival, we soon realized just how big this festival was. Thousands upon thousands of people gathering on top of cars, in the streets, on stoops, while still taking the time to show off their dance moves. Reggae music blaring in the distance, sweet smells of Jamaican cuisine and elaborate costumes marching down the streets added up to be quite the experience. Ali and I decided to test our luck on traditional Jamaican food, ackee and saltfish, that when ill-prepared is poisonous. We skipped the Vida-Coco stand and went straight to the men serving fresh coconut water out of the nut itself. Nonetheless we were reluctant to leave but still had so much exploring to do before our departure to Edinburgh in the morning.

It wouldn’t be a trip to London without the spectacular views from the London Eye. We spent a surprisingly short time waiting in the line to get a 360 degree view of London in all in all its glory. After our descent we explored the parts of town that just about every other tourist goes too: Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament, Piccadilly circus, and the Thames riverside. That night we had dinner reservations at a restaurant where we were guaranteed amazing atmosphere and food with little interaction from the others at your table. I soon found out that this was due to the fact that our menus were projected onto our plate as we used a trackpad to cycle through menu items. Little time to talk when you are salivating at  digital projections of miso grilled seabass and tamarind duck breast or playing battleship with the person sitting across from you.

It was hard to have a rested night’s sleep when I knew that we’d be traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Fringe Festival in the morning. Part 2 coming soon..