It is 3 AM, and I am currently in the center of London, on the street. A cool breeze blows around me, roadsides filling with piles of garbage, and drunken young Brits move in loud crowds. Those all are signs that another weekend party took place in London last night. I have already heard about these parties and their vulgar nature, but this time I also was one of their victims.
Let's start from the beginning, visiting London was a spontaneous decision. One of my best friends from childhood Roberts has settled in London and leads a comfortable life. Just another year when he sent out invitations to his birthday and, I was already planning to write the same answer as every year — I can't make it, a lot of work, though I would like to be there, but then I caught myself and realize the absurdity of such answer. I reminded myself that this time everything is different. I have spare time, my finances are not pressuring me, on the contrary, it's time for an adventure!
So, I bought tickets before answering to my friend that I can make it and will be there. Surprisingly, he took it completely calmly and said: “Well, prepare for the best party of the year!” The week before I went to London, I devoted myself to work to make sure I was ready for any type of expense. As London is one of the most expensive places, and my friend, let's put it this way, knows how to spend money to have an enjoyable experience.
When I arrived in London, feelings of humbleness washed over me. The whole city seems like a huge, thoughtful machine to make money, spend money, and make even more money and again spend more. Usually, it seemed a little scary to me, because even the cleaning person earns and spends more here than the director of a company in Latvia. But this time I could fight this piety wittingly. And so, when I met Robert and his friends, we immediately went to the restaurant on the skyscraper with a view to the center of London. During dinner, Robis shared stories about the adventures in London and I tried to keep up — reminded about Latvian girls and shared my latest adventures. Robis with a smile admitted that the coolest girls are back home, however, in the following days he promised to show me what the nightlife in London can offer. Bring it on! Before hitting the streets, as Robert's birthday had not yet arrived, I insisted on paying the bill.
I cannot recall any specific details about the following days. My head was buzzing from equal parts of adrenaline, alcohol-induced positivism, a surprise of what I have seen, and the desire to experience each moment repeatedly. I know that after the restaurant we went to the “chill out” club with the most delicious Mohito cocktails I have ever drunken. I recall that during an enthusiastic conversation with local friends we were already in the nightclub lobby. I vaguely remember dancing with girls, calling shots for everyone, personally saying to the DJ that I love his music. From the next day, I remember the morning at my friend's apartment, who was still suffering the consequences from the afterparty last night. I felt closer to the local friends’ circle. The next day, we repeated the previous scenario, just crazier and louder. The culmination of the weekend was the birthday celebration with a home party. Lucky for me, I didn't have to get to know the guests anymore, because I already knew most of them from events of previous days.
Also, the last day was spent in a similar manner, but this time I was able to get out of the company for a couple of hours. The reason was the girl I was dancing with at the very first night, but only at the birthday party, I gained the courage to address her. I don't know how I succeeded, but here we were. I and Michelle. I, a Latvian guy, who spoke English with an accent. Michelle, a 22-year-old young, wealthy English girl, who is still looking for her meaning of life, but knows how to party well. Her brown skin contrasted with a perfectly white smile, and her best trait was to laugh vitally and then, as if being shy for such direct expression of her emotions, gracefully adjust her hair and look deep into the eyes. Although I was completely in love now, I realized that this gaze will allow the girl to break hundreds of hearts over the next years. The evening continued very well, by getting to know another part of life in London that I never hoped to, however that was my last night in London, thus unwillingly but this harmony needed to be broken off. I quickly dressed, and I promised to come back for a visit soon. I don't know how true it seemed to her, I had no clue how realistic it seemed to me that she would still wait for me if I do come back. I promised myself that I will at least try.
On the last day, I packed my stuff and got myself a little surprised. Oh shit! Damn it! And I could coarse more roughly! I have accidentally bought a plane ticket back to Riga a month later than needed. One of the friends said that he had almost done the same. This is a system of Ryanair. Namely, the situation is that when you book a flight on the Ryanair website, you can choose the dates you need for your flight, but the return trip is automatically offered in the next month. In my opinion, Ryanair has created this unsuccessful system for selfish reasons, the customer easily gets confused. Tomorrow I must fly home, but unfortunately, no tickets to Latvia are available. At this moment, being still a little tipsy and together with my friends who fly out to Morocco tomorrow, I thought to be spontaneous and browse if I could get a ticket for a flight with them. What a coincidence, it was possible to buy tickets to fly to this warm African country!!! I bought them straight away. Since I didn't take shorts or sunglasses, but the weather in Morocco is about thirty degrees, this could be an interesting and quite fascinating adventure. Let’s go!
Since my plane departed early in the morning, I could not stay up too long with my friends at the bar. We had a couple of drinks, a couple of shots, I thanked for the hospitality and repeated the promise I gave to Michelle — I'll be back! So, I went to the hotel after my stuff and then looked for a taxi.
This is how I ended up in the streets at 3 AM in the morning, surrounded by signs of another London party, and the first opportunity to gather my thoughts on the experience. Despite the fantastic time, I've become one of the innumerable victims of partying in London, who are already planning the next one while departing.
Adventure continues...
Let's start from the beginning, visiting London was a spontaneous decision. One of my best friends from childhood Roberts has settled in London and leads a comfortable life. Just another year when he sent out invitations to his birthday and, I was already planning to write the same answer as every year — I can't make it, a lot of work, though I would like to be there, but then I caught myself and realize the absurdity of such answer. I reminded myself that this time everything is different. I have spare time, my finances are not pressuring me, on the contrary, it's time for an adventure!
So, I bought tickets before answering to my friend that I can make it and will be there. Surprisingly, he took it completely calmly and said: “Well, prepare for the best party of the year!” The week before I went to London, I devoted myself to work to make sure I was ready for any type of expense. As London is one of the most expensive places, and my friend, let's put it this way, knows how to spend money to have an enjoyable experience.
When I arrived in London, feelings of humbleness washed over me. The whole city seems like a huge, thoughtful machine to make money, spend money, and make even more money and again spend more. Usually, it seemed a little scary to me, because even the cleaning person earns and spends more here than the director of a company in Latvia. But this time I could fight this piety wittingly. And so, when I met Robert and his friends, we immediately went to the restaurant on the skyscraper with a view to the center of London. During dinner, Robis shared stories about the adventures in London and I tried to keep up — reminded about Latvian girls and shared my latest adventures. Robis with a smile admitted that the coolest girls are back home, however, in the following days he promised to show me what the nightlife in London can offer. Bring it on! Before hitting the streets, as Robert's birthday had not yet arrived, I insisted on paying the bill.
I cannot recall any specific details about the following days. My head was buzzing from equal parts of adrenaline, alcohol-induced positivism, a surprise of what I have seen, and the desire to experience each moment repeatedly. I know that after the restaurant we went to the “chill out” club with the most delicious Mohito cocktails I have ever drunken. I recall that during an enthusiastic conversation with local friends we were already in the nightclub lobby. I vaguely remember dancing with girls, calling shots for everyone, personally saying to the DJ that I love his music. From the next day, I remember the morning at my friend's apartment, who was still suffering the consequences from the afterparty last night. I felt closer to the local friends’ circle. The next day, we repeated the previous scenario, just crazier and louder. The culmination of the weekend was the birthday celebration with a home party. Lucky for me, I didn't have to get to know the guests anymore, because I already knew most of them from events of previous days.
Also, the last day was spent in a similar manner, but this time I was able to get out of the company for a couple of hours. The reason was the girl I was dancing with at the very first night, but only at the birthday party, I gained the courage to address her. I don't know how I succeeded, but here we were. I and Michelle. I, a Latvian guy, who spoke English with an accent. Michelle, a 22-year-old young, wealthy English girl, who is still looking for her meaning of life, but knows how to party well. Her brown skin contrasted with a perfectly white smile, and her best trait was to laugh vitally and then, as if being shy for such direct expression of her emotions, gracefully adjust her hair and look deep into the eyes. Although I was completely in love now, I realized that this gaze will allow the girl to break hundreds of hearts over the next years. The evening continued very well, by getting to know another part of life in London that I never hoped to, however that was my last night in London, thus unwillingly but this harmony needed to be broken off. I quickly dressed, and I promised to come back for a visit soon. I don't know how true it seemed to her, I had no clue how realistic it seemed to me that she would still wait for me if I do come back. I promised myself that I will at least try.
On the last day, I packed my stuff and got myself a little surprised. Oh shit! Damn it! And I could coarse more roughly! I have accidentally bought a plane ticket back to Riga a month later than needed. One of the friends said that he had almost done the same. This is a system of Ryanair. Namely, the situation is that when you book a flight on the Ryanair website, you can choose the dates you need for your flight, but the return trip is automatically offered in the next month. In my opinion, Ryanair has created this unsuccessful system for selfish reasons, the customer easily gets confused. Tomorrow I must fly home, but unfortunately, no tickets to Latvia are available. At this moment, being still a little tipsy and together with my friends who fly out to Morocco tomorrow, I thought to be spontaneous and browse if I could get a ticket for a flight with them. What a coincidence, it was possible to buy tickets to fly to this warm African country!!! I bought them straight away. Since I didn't take shorts or sunglasses, but the weather in Morocco is about thirty degrees, this could be an interesting and quite fascinating adventure. Let’s go!
Since my plane departed early in the morning, I could not stay up too long with my friends at the bar. We had a couple of drinks, a couple of shots, I thanked for the hospitality and repeated the promise I gave to Michelle — I'll be back! So, I went to the hotel after my stuff and then looked for a taxi.
This is how I ended up in the streets at 3 AM in the morning, surrounded by signs of another London party, and the first opportunity to gather my thoughts on the experience. Despite the fantastic time, I've become one of the innumerable victims of partying in London, who are already planning the next one while departing.
Adventure continues...
18.02.20
Traveling