Half a day in London on Monday was not to be let go without taking in some more sights. Big ones at that – London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace change of guard, and some quick shopping on Oxford Street. They played the James Bond tune at the change of guard, how about that! We were too late for the start, and there were hordes of people already; I just had a glimpse of the spectacle through narrow gaps here and there.

The surprise of the day was a chance meeting with my cousin right after our shopping jaunt, as we were about to find a bite to eat. Turned out we had crossed paths a couple of times that day, but the stars had aligned just then, and we met. A quick lunch at Marble Arch followed the excited squeals, and we were off on our separate paths before the forecasted rain, but not before a self-timed photo.

Then we got on to the bus that would take us home directly, which had a little scrape on the way, and we had to find another one. As if there wasn’t enough excitement already.

Soon it was time to say goodbye to the Manns and London. Upon landing in Jakarta we learnt that we’d just missed a chance meeting with Hurricane Gonzalo that had swept past England, and shut down Heathrow. Lucky escape there, thanks to Jai Gajanan!