Wednesday, May 3 2023
Nostalgic and Surreal are terms that come to mind to describe the feeling of being back in London post-pandemic.
Catching up with family and school-time friends again has been great while fitting in some touristy sightseeing in between.
I’ve also been spending time in the places that are most nostalgic to me as a child growing up in Hackney. What with being raised in foster care, I’ve been trying to piece together my childhood by visiting these places to jog my memory.
This is my first time outside Japan since 2019, and I was concerned that I had forgotten how to navigate transport and payments, but local online banking apps made it easy to pay for everything (including travel) using Contactless in apple wallet.
Speaking of which, the only cash we had were the old banknotes - we had no idea they were not in circulation anymore. Now I know why our cab driver gave me an odd look when I handed him some tips.
Transportation seems to be more convenient. There is a new entrance at Hackney Central, and overground trains circulate more often than when they did when I was a kid growing up here.
The weather was miserable when we landed, but it’s been mild since then. A sweater worn over a t-shirt coupled with a hard-shell jacket are enough to get around. It does get rather chilly at night though.
Navigating the streets on foot has been more challenging than before due to the amount of dog poo absolutely everywhere. In Tokyo, you would be lucky to see dog poo on the streets every couple of years, but in Hackney, it’s every couple of yards ;-)
I’ve taken a load of photos on our adventure back home but here are a few snippets.
#smartdoll