Post from September 2007 after going on a duty travel on my own.
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And this time I went on my own. Let me tell you this - traveling by yourself is REALLY NOT fun!
Of course I had the advantage of going anywhere I wanted without having to consider other circumstances, but still, it would have been better if I had some company to enjoy it.
I was given the opportunity to attend a forum at Conference Hertfordshire, Hatfield, London. It was a 2-day event and I arrived the morning previous to the start of the event. So, I basically had about 8 hours (+/- traveling time from Heathrow to Hatfield) to do a quick tour around London. I packed very, very light so that I didn't have to lug around a heavy suitcase.
Anyway, when I first arrived at the Underground station in Paddington, I was a bit overwhelmed. The last time I came here, I basically left it to Faeez to guide us which train to take and all. But, this time around, I was on my own to figure out where to go and what train to take. But really, once you got the hang of it, it's really not that hard. And so, my adventure began (I just love being dramatic, if you haven't figured that out yet).
I started from the Eye of London. I decided that I didn't want to spend a lot of time underground. So, I started to walk... and walk... and walk... I walked to Big Ben (which was no biggie), then walked along St. James' Park to the Buckingham Palace. I saw the Horse Guards Parade which was quite satisfying since I didn't see it the last time I was there.
After the Buckingham Palace, I thought I should take a train to the Oxford Street (yup, went to the street again!). I still couldn't figure out what I should do there. But, since I was there, I thought I should at least go into one of the stores and the simplest, most unimaginative place was of course, Marks & Spencer. After buying a few things, I decided to continue my journey to the Regent's Park. And from the mini booklet that I had with me, it really didn't look that far. So, again, I walked... and walked... and walked and it just seemed endless! When I finally reached there, I was relieved beyond imagination. My destination was actually the National Mosque situated nearby the park. Ayah suggested to go to the mosque, so I thought why the heck not. What I didn't know was from the point of entry of the park to the mosque, another very loooooonnnnggg walk was waiting for me. If reaching the park I was relieved beyond imagination, then reaching the mosque was the most wonderful thing that could have happened to me then. My legs were aching for the rest of my stay in London and the flight back home.
But yes, I chose to walk and I took responsibility for my action (remember the 1st of the 7 Habits?).
The rest of the stay was ho-hum. Emm... can't really expect much from a forum, right? I tried to make the best of the workshops, but some of them were just... not exciting. And, risk managers are nerdy people (unfortunately, I'm also part of this group. *Sigh*).
The best part of the whole trip was when I reached home to my precious little darlings' hugs and kisses.
But of course, I didn't regret one bit of the whole trip.
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