Cathay Pacific and British Airways promote their special offer to London these days. 3880 is the round trip fare offered by BA, before tax.

These promotions arouse my interest of visiting London again.

I've written two articles here about London (one about the Tube and the other about Canary Wharf). I first visited this place two years ago and stayed there for 11 days, during which I also went to towns nearby like Windsor, Stratford-upon-Avon, Canterbury and Bath. 11 days was not enough for me. Not only because I didn't watch enough musicals, but also there's still a lot to discover in this city.

What have I missed during the 11 days? Well, one is Notting Hill. Though half of the time in London I stayed at a hostel near Bayswater which is near Notting Hill, I didn't pay a visit there. Another is Natural History Museum. The third is the flea markets. Guess what's the fourth? It's the China Town. China Town is near the Theatreland, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus which I went every day, but I didn't step into China Town and even avoided Chinese food. Though there's almost no such thing called "British Cuisine" (I don't think Fish and Chips is one.), I still thought there's no point eating Chinese cuisine when travelling, unless I'm not used to the cuisine there.

Where have I been then? Popular places like London Eye, Greenwich, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Oxford Street, Hyde Park (I crossed the park diagonally from the northwest to southeast.), Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, British Museum, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery (It's free but boring.), Tate Modern (It's free and interesting!), Shakespeare Globe, Kensington Palace and so on. I've also been to Canary Wharf, London Transport Musuem, National Portrait Gallery and the House of Parliament (I even listened to some MPs debating!). I skipped the churches and cathedrals because I've visited many but I will visit them if I go next time.

Not just the musicals and the tube, I missed the whole London very much. When will I have the chance of eating a cornish pastry on a bench in Hyde Park, appreciating the sunset again?

(P.S. There are six airlines offering a total of 11 direct flights to London daily. They are Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Qantas, Air New Zealand and Oasis Hong Kong. Most offer a after-tax fare around HK$5700 (web price, same below). Oasis, being a low-cost carrier, offers around 3800 after tax and Virgin's after-tax price is around 6800. The tax and surcharges are terrible. )