London Trip with Mom

London never ceases to bore me even as I have visited it many times. Its wealth of culture, heritage, arts and scenic outskirts is constantly amusing visitors. Perhaps my comment is skewed - being Singaporeans naturally makes us more familiar with England since Singapore was once its colony, we are more informed due to Singapore's history. It applies more with my parents' generation, as evident in my recent trip to London with my mom.

I had travelled with my mom for vacations aplenty since my firstborn 11 years ago, however it was always as a family vacation. Over the years, I realised that such family vacations were always centered around the kids - the programs were geared towards kids such as beach vacations, theme park vacations or places of interests that appeal to the kids. Even the choices of holiday cuisine were limited as the children are not as adventurous in their tastebuds. Hence, all of us suit our itinerary and meal choices towards the kids. Imagine no sushi nor sashimi when we were in Japan :-(

Meanwhile my mom will make other travels with her own friends, while I ventured on couple travels or adventure travels, which were neither suited to an elderly lady. My mom's circle of friends always chose Asian destinations (especially China and Japan), likely due to language, culture and cuisine similarity. When I decided to bring my mom on a birthday trip this year, one that's tailored entirely to her needs, she surprised me by choosing London. 

So off to London we went. I planned the entire itinerary, bringing her to the essential sights and museums in London, peppering up with gastronomic experiences. Thankfully London is cosmopolitan, there are great restaurants that serve up excellent Asian dishes to satiate her savoury and spicy palate. We had a fair share of fine western meals too. The highlight was Claridge's Afternoon Tea that was reserved months in advance. Lovely assortment of sandwiches, scones with their infamous dollop of clotted cream, pastries over exquisite tea in a regal and charming ambience. The serving was too much for us but I made sure I had a bite of each. 

My mom was particularly delighted to visit any places of interest that relates to the Royal family - Birmingham Palace, Claridge's, Diana's memorial fountain, etc. She chirped happily and repeatedly that Singapore used coins and notes with the royal queen imprinted during the olden days. Even the post box was the exact british post box we see installed in UK now. Then it dawned on me that she was more acquainted with British history by first hand experience :-)