London Tube Stories ... Nice Chat & Incredible Act of Kindness

London Underground, a.k.a. "The Tube"

While living in London, my main source of transportation thus far has been the tube (underground subway). It's pretty easy to get around and use, not confusing at all, and relatively quick...except during the weekends when there are constant delays and "planned engineering" activities (seems like a common excuse for only God knows what). I've used the buses only handful of times, mainly because there are so many of them I honestly have no clue which one goes where...but I should at some point.

Anyway, I had a couple unique experiences this weekend using the tube. The first was Friday night (actually Saturday morning) coming back home after a long night out. The other was Saturday evening, while the night was just beginning.

Nice Chat

Friday nights have been (so far) pretty long and fun. They usually begin right after work, around 5:30/6 PM and can last anywhere until 2-5 AM...so far they've been closer to 5. Anyway, this Friday was no different. Right after work we headed to a local pub, drank an English amount of beer with no real dinner (according to the locals here "eating is cheating"), then decided to extend the night by going to a night club. Pubs/bars close at midnight, so this is quite typical...who wants to go home at midnight?

We ended up at a pretty fun club, I believe it was called Cafe De Paris, staying until close, which I think was right around 4 AM. Afterwards we roamed the streets searching for some drunk-food. Normally, at least from my experience in the States, this would usually consist of either pizza or a burrito. In London, however, your options are much, much bigger. In a city with such a diverse culture there is literally everything and anything you can imagine...doesn't matter what time of night/day.

We ended up at a pretty authentic chinese restaurant, which was odd to me since who goes to a sit-down restaurant at 4:30 AM? It proved to be a great decision. There were about 6-7 of us, so we ended up ordering family style. Soup to start, multiple entries, lots of rice, and of course tea. It was easily one of the best drunk/late-night meals I've had in a while, not to mention pretty good chinese (I'm not a huge fan generally, it all tastes the same/similar...but it probably helped being drunk and starving).

After eating we all separated, heading to our respective homes. I hopped on a bus with a friend, who was nice enough to help guide/advise me on how to get home. The bus ended up taking me about halfway home, at which point my buddy said to just take a taxi.

As I got off the bus I instantly recognized where I was (slowly getting familiar with the city), and realized there was no need for a taxi. I could just hop on the tube and be home in no time. Maybe so during a normal weekday, but not a chance at 5 AM on a Saturday morning.

I ended up riding the train for a good hour, most of which consisted of the train stalling midway to a stop or waiting stationary once reaching the next stop. As frustrating as this may seem, the ride was actually quite enjoyable. There was only one other person in the same car as I; a young girl, similar in age, and mildly attractive (but that's beside the point, haha...also keep in mind I was not completely sober, so the level of attractiveness is up for debate).

We ended up talking for the majority of the ride, which proved to be most entertaining. At one point she asked where I was from, to which I replied "guess?" She thought for a couple minutes then said "South Africa?" I couldn't help but laugh...I'm familiar with S. African accents and they are very different and unique, quite opposite from American accents. Anyway, I explained that I'm Serbian but grew up in the States, to which she replied, "hm, that explains the dodgy accent"...I guess. Overall, fun night and an interesting end to it. Random conversations are always fun, especially when you're in a new city and country...

Incredible Act of Kindness

Saturday night I was heading out to meet up with some friends for dinner and some drinks. I boarded the closest train and was on my way for a short ride to the restaurant/bar we were supposed to meet at. As soon as I got on the train (it was rather busy), I squeezed my way through to the back of the car. I usually don't like to sit on subways/trains (especially for short rides) since those sets should be left for older people, children, etc...I honestly have no reason to be that lazy...but in all honesty, I'm pretty lazy throughout the day (lounging/laying around), so I figure 5 minutes of standing won't kill me.

Anyway, as I stood at the far/back end for the car, I noticed a clearly drunken, older man sitting down near the middle. As the train started to leave the station, the initial jerk threw him out of his set. He was so drunk, however, he did nothing to prevent this. He simply face-planted in the middle of the car, rolling a bit until he hit the feet of the individual he was previously sitting next to. This man was roughly my age (mid-20's), sitting alone, and texting at the time this occurred. He continued to sit there, finishing up his text, as the drunken, old bastard continued to unknowingly lean against his legs.

Once finishing with his mobile phone, the young man moved his feet, looked at the drunk on the train floor and nicely tapped him on the shoulder, trying to get his attention, hoping to wake him up. After a while he noticed this was no use. At this point, everyone sitting around the scene got up and left, making the ends of the car even more crowded...leaving the middle essentially empty.

The young man got up, picked up the old man, sat him down on the seat next to him, and proceeded to talk to him until he came to his senses. The entire time he had his arm around the man, encouraging him to stop drinking (or drink less), and even asked if he need assitance to get off the train and home. I honestly couldn't believe how patient and understanding the young man was.

I made an effort to pay attention (as I think most people on the train did) to hear what they were conversing about. The older, drunken man kept insisting he was ok...and then at one point seemed to come to his sense and asked in a very shocking manner, "are you Muslim?" This was very evident as the young man was sporting traditional Muslim attire and had a typically Muslim beard (not to sound stereotypical or racist, but he was). The young man took no offense and responded "yes." They continued to talk for quite a bit, laughing together most of the time, and the older gentlemen ended up getting off the train (with assistance from the young man).

It was a very refreshing thing to see. I can't honestly say I would react the same way (probably not), but I wish I would have that amount of patience and courage. No one else in that train car (and it was a very diverse crowd) did anything to help the older (albeit drunken) man out...they all, including myself, shied away or moved farther from the situation. It just goes to show that people's perceptions and stereotypes of others (whether it be due to age, race, religion, etc.) mean absolutely nothing...