Musings from London

Twas a night to remember. Last night, I arrived here past 9 pm. For the first tiime, no one will be there to fetch me from the airport -- i have to do it my own. With a big suit and a small bagpack, i combed Heathrow and found the Tube station. I had to change trains so i had no choice but carry those huge baggage up and downstairs without complaint -- like atlas carrying the load of the world. I disembarked at Mansion House station and tried to find where's the road leading to my hotel room. I was standing at an intersection. Relying on my map, i was able to find it, but god, it was a good walk. It took me around 15 minutes dragging my things at past 10 pm.

This is my second time in London, i was here back in 2002 and it seems nothing has chnaged much. The cultured aura and seemingly snotty English way can still be felt in the air. But this is one of the nicest places i have ever been. The culture, the resilience, the diversity of their civilization -- plus the security knowing that you can peer at your map alone in a not-so-well lighted place is really amazing. In the Philippines, sad to say, it's an invitation to hold-up. I wonder why London has been the target of fanaticism these days -- the contradiction of cultural diversity? Europe really amazes me, unlike the bland, and always on the go that is US. The only problem here is the cost of living. You have to make sure that the last single drop of soft drinks gets drunk since it costs almost P100 per can. Already, i am having serious doubts if I can stretch my allowance for the next two weeks of my stay here.

I have visited the British museum today and it was great. The only thing I missed was the paintings which I was told was moved to National Gallery. I was planning to revisit the National Galery -- since this is near to where I stayed the first time I was here, but it rained and I had no umbrella with me (lousy Filipino that I am). Having to visit museum free of charge is again a plus why i like London much better than US. I really can't fathom why the Met or any museum in particular in US charges entrance fee (because the US is the epitome of capitalism?). While at the British Museaum, it made me ponder the moral question whether the Brits have the right to collect historical pieces of various civilizations round the world, like trophie from victorious wars. That was provoked when i remebered some time ago a news that one of those relics displayed at the museum was being requested by the government from where it belongs to give it back, as the government argues that it is very much a part of their heritage. But on the second thought, it came into my mind that if these relics were not painstakingly collected and well protected by the British, will these survive the irrationalities of human beings over time? Will they survive and outlive history itself to serve as a concrete evidence that they were part of the continuing evolution of mankind? This was the thought that played around my mind while I surveyed the vast collections of our storyline. Too bad i was not able to find a single relic from the Philippines (or i just missed it amid the flood of hiostorical materials?).

I will be here til the 27 May. Too bad i will not be able to exercise my right to vote -- but then again given the current state of Philippine politics that becomes dirtier by the day, am I really sure that, at the end of the day, the official tally will be true? That's cynical, and given the magic realist that is the Philippine politics, being cynical is being rational.