Well, I am actually back in grey depressing Shanghai. Can you believe it’s been a month since I left and it’s STILL grey, overcast and sad. So I’m going to ignore Shanghai for a bit longer and continue the London posts.
On Thursday I became a tourist in my home city and visited The London Eye. It was a gorgeous day as you can see. Perfectly blue skies, no clouds and bright sunshine. I have to emphasise this because many Chinese readers assume London is foggy all year round, 24 hours a day!
Yes, it’s another Superdry tee shirt!
The London Eye was the largest ferris wheel in the world when it was built in 1999, although of course, the Chinese had to go one better and built the bigger Nanchang Star (南昌之星) a few years later in 2006! The London Eye has 32 capsules that each hold about 25 people at a time although for a very reasonable price you can have a romantic “cupid capsule” ride with a personal butler to serve Champagne and chocolates, for just 299 pounds.
It costs 17.50 pounds per person for a 30 minute ride which is roughly how long it takes to do one complete revolution. It moves quite slowly but never actually stops, so you get on and off while it is moving. They call the rides “flights”, which I thought was a bit pretentious but perhaps it’s to do with its heritage as it used to be the British Airways London Eye until they terminated their association with the attraction.
Looking east towards St Paul’s – the reflective glass can cause some problems with photos
You can book online and enjoy a 10% discount (and I recommend you use this booking method) even for same day flights which is handy as you can see what the weather’s like before you commit and it saves queuing up to buy at the ticket office. You don’t need to show up at the exact time you book either, just somewhere in the vicinity. I booked for 2pm but got there early and was on the wheel by 1.30pm.
It is a bit odd being with all the tourists who were almost exclusively from outside of the UK on that day. While lining up to board, one of the staff asked where I was from and I said China, after which he started speaking a few words of Chinese in an over exaggerated Chinese accent that bordered on racism (reminiscent of the scene from Breakfast At Tiffany’s!). I should have just said I was from west London!
All in all then, I had a great time and can whole-heartedly recommend it if you’re ever in London.
October 12th, 2009 at 6:02 am
“It is a bit odd being with all the tourists”
Awww, I feel like I just got duped. I had assumed you were on the one with the butler and champagne. WoAi slumming it?
October 12th, 2009 at 6:08 am
Cool photos- it has been sunny here though, the whole October holiday was ace- clear blue skies every day.
October 12th, 2009 at 6:33 am
a few words of Chinese in an over exaggerated Chinese accent
London is a great place to visit just as long as you don’t speak to anyone while you’re there.
October 12th, 2009 at 6:35 am
thanks WoAi, can we join you? wow , it’s beautiful
here in london .. lol
October 12th, 2009 at 7:30 am
@Hopfrog – Would have been slightly weird with just me and the butler but yes, in this harsh economic environment, even WoAi needs to tighten the purse strings.
@James – Yes I heard it was nice but I wasn’t here and nobody has photographic proof.
@David – Shanghai’s a bit like that too.
@Anthony – Sure, come on down.
October 12th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Welcome back!!!
October 12th, 2009 at 10:43 am
What is Superdry t-shirt? Where is it from?
October 12th, 2009 at 11:07 am
@Shopgirl – Thanks.
@Jen – It’s a UK clothing brand, fairly trendy and urban in style. You’re obviously not paying attention:
http://blog.friday-nite.com/?p=285
I wrote about the brand last summer (2008).
October 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Wish I could speak Korean in an over exaggerated Korean accent, maybe people wouldn’t laugh in my face in 7/11, the restaurant, department stores, the bedroom etc.
October 12th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Looks beautiful. Spoke to my mum last night though, and she said London was back to cloudy wet weather!
Can’t believe I’ve still not been on the London Eye. Am waiting for Beijing’s super tall version to be finished, it’ll clearly have much better views.
October 12th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
i hope you were being sarcastic when you said £299 was “a reasonable price” to pay for a 30min ferris wheel ride in a capsule by yourself! i never bothered going on it when i was in london as it just seemed too gimmicky, not to mention expensive (though i guess, that applies to the entire city).
i’m in shanghai now too! i actually like the fall weather since it’s not too hot or cold and since i’m @ work from 9-7, it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s sunny or overcast! haha
October 12th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
also, I HATE IT too when non-chinese people try to speak chinese to me, even if they’re trying to be friendly. to me, it just seems racist. esp since most ppl only know “ni hao” and “ni hao ma”
October 12th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Welcome home – it may have seemed quick to you, but to your humble readers, it has been a long month…
Loved the photos of London – Sept and Oct in the UK are usually pretty good, weather-wise. I went on the London Eye back at Christmas and it was so cool. By the time we went up it was night and it was great to see the city at night. Last month I saw the one in Nanchang too, but never bothered to ride it.
Had to laugh about the t-shirt – I was going to make a comment, but saw you made it under the photo – lol
Are you going to start updating the photo blog any time soon? A nice picture of Tommy should get us rolling…
Good to have you back and I won’t even attempt any bad Chinese on you. I am surprised that the guy didn’t pick up on your accent – you sound so utterly British to me. Most people I speak to these days have no idea where I am from (which considering where I am from, it is a good thing).
I
October 12th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
@R-Seoul – In the bedroom? No offense, but are you sure it’s because of your accent?
@CP – I can’t believe you haven’t been up it either. Don’t you have some professional motivation to go look?
@Mandy – A capsule holds 25 people at 17.50 per head that’s over 400 pounds so 299 is a significant concession. But I wouldn’t pay it. It’s more the sort of thing James would do.
So you’re here. I remember you asking advice about Shanghai. So how are you finding it and when are you taking me out for cocktails?
@Kim C – The Eye is a marvel of engineering. When I was at the top, I tried to imagine how they would build it. Maybe CP can shed some light on the matter. He’s an engineer. Nanchang? You really get around don’t you. Now I see why you need the Go3 podcast to keep you company during the long, lonely nights. It was the guy ushering the people in the line along, so I did not say a word except “China” which is hard to get my west London tones from such a short one syllable word. Ok, two syllables. Math’s isn’t my strong point. You’re from Essex aren’t you?
Nice of you to say it was a slow month. Usually, most people say “are you back already?”. You’re special!
I think I may need to run another poll so readers can vote on their most favourite WoAi Superdry tee!
October 12th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Haha – almost as bad, I am from Luton, not Essex!
For the record I vote for the London Superdry tee.
CP: How do they build those whirlie things?
October 12th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
And thanks for the Yor’re special! comment. I get that a lot, but never in a good way.
It is usually in a sarcastic tone or care in the community way – haha!
October 12th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Only you and the butler! Whoa, whoa, don’t tell us its been a mini-tripod holding the camera all this time. I’ve had all these wonderful images conjured up of WoAi, man of mystery, roaring down the countryside with the top down on the Porsche and a mystery guest at your side.
@mandy, one of the things I hear American expats complaining about all the time is how condescending the Chinese are when they say “Helloooooo!”…. I think most of it isn’t meant to be that way at all, just people trying to be friendly. Same with all the “Ni Haoooo!”‘s.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I think the fact that they at least tried to speak some Mandarin to you shows how far the UK has come. I can’t imagine that happening 5 years ago and doubt if it would happen anywhere in the UK outside of London. The poor guy was probably just reading from a crib sheet but at least he was trying.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Weather’s picked up after all the rain. Nice and sunny today, but cold. Just cold enough for a nice leather jacket from say, Superdry!
October 13th, 2009 at 2:30 am
@WoAi – O I C…noted. You look younger and handsome wearing those Superdry T-shirts.
October 13th, 2009 at 3:46 am
@woai: i like shanghai so far…haven’t yet had my wallet stolen or scammed (to my knowledge), so can’t complain much. j/k aside, i like big cities and busy streets, so SH fits the bill perfectly. as for cocktails…name the day/place
October 13th, 2009 at 4:12 am
London IS always grey, isn’t it??? Have you photoshopped those images???
October 13th, 2009 at 4:30 am
Supposedly it was sunny in Shanghai over the Holiday. It’s only since you’ve returned that it’s gotten all autumn-ish.
October 13th, 2009 at 4:40 am
how come you tagged this post ‘amusing’?
October 13th, 2009 at 4:41 am
@Charlie – I like your optimistic outlook. Okay let’s assume it was all good intentions.
@Rich – Just in time for your birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
@Jen – *MORE* handsome and younger? I didn’t think that was possible, but thanks.
@Mandy – Glad you’re enjoying the Shanghai experience. Dingle, James and I are recording episode 8 tonight at my place. How about you come over and help make the tea?
@Maxie – Yes, you got me. That’s actually Sydney Harbour behind me!
October 13th, 2009 at 4:43 am
@T – Autumn-ish? I thought autumn was supposed to be sunny and clear after the rainy Shanghai summers! But okay, I’ll shoulder the blame for the crappy Shanghai weather and world poverty!
@Dingle – ALL my posts are amusing.
October 13th, 2009 at 6:34 am
Not to mention the crappy salad I ate today.
October 13th, 2009 at 7:43 am
I agree that T’s crappy salad was amusing
October 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Wo Ai – I think it’s part of an initiative to gear london up for the Olympics (more so at locations such as the Eye which are tourist hotspots); the same as went on in Beijing and is now going on in Shanghai with Expo approaching.
October 14th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
it’s 11pm and i’m still at work
how’d the podcast go? i thought shopgirl was spsed to make an appearance?
October 14th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
@T – Sorry I refuse to take the blame for that sandwich.
@charlie – You might be right.
@mandy – Poor thing. Let’s go for cocktails when you’re done. I’ll pick you up at midnight. Oh the podcast went okay thanks, first time all 3 of us were together in about 2 months! Should be ready to download tomorrow evening.