London's top 10 Iconic Symbols

I am currently traveling in UK and Ireland. That is the reason I couldn't update the blog for over a week. UK visit was on my wishlist for long time but expensive tickets, not getting long leaves etc delayed my plans. Eventually the visit is happening.

London, UK's capital has long history and importance. It has dozens of things fairly unique to London, giving it an identity, a historic significance. Having seem them in movies and read about these icons, I was looking forward to seeing them in person. As I spent a few days in central London, taking this opportunity to show you some of the most iconic things London is famous for.

1. The Red Telephone booth
The red telephone booth is probably the most popular thing about London. However with time these have become redundant- no one needs a telephone anymore with smartphone in hand. However, I could see thousands of red telephone boxes still standing ground all around London. A few had a phone and were probably operational, others felt left abandoned.

May be these iconic boxes could be re-purposed- as WiFi hub or some kind of kiosk or vending machine?

2. The Double Decker Bus
These buses form the core of city's bus transport system. Upgraded from time to time they are modern, energy efficient (I saw hybrid and electric ones) and many in number. Almost every public bus in London seemed like double-Decker- very few normal ones. You can ride unlimited for an hour for 1.5 GBP. Multiple companies like Arriva operate these buses.


3. London Eye
London Eye is Europe's tallest giant wheel. Located on the banks of Thames river, it moves so slow, we don't even realize it is rotating. Coca Cola seem to have taken up title sponsorship of London Eye. Having tried Singapore flyer and few other similar attractions, I didn't feel like spending 30 Pounds (INR 2600) for a ride, so only watched from a distance.

London Eye-Daytime: Saw it from across the river from Riverbus next day.. looks better at night in my opinion.

4. Black Taxi
Vintage looking black taxis are another thing unique to London. Still operational in large number despite the onslaught of Uber. A few modern cabs which have same vintage design but better features are also on the roads.



5. Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is an iconic bridge across River Thames. There're a dozen bridges across river Thames but tower bridge and London Bridge draw huge crowd of tourists. Tower bridge opens up few times  day to let bigger ships pass through and I got to witness it. More about it in a separate post.

6. London Bridge
Half a mile from Tower Bridge is London Bridge. Immortalized by "London Bridge is falling down" song. Current London Bridge is a new modern super strong structure with half the space left for pedestrians and 4 lanes for vehicles.

I felt London Bridge could have possibly been given a more retro look/theme

7. Royal Mail Post boxes
Postal services still have their importance- cost effective, extensive network and coverage

8. Scotland Yard
Others may not consider Scotland Yard as London's icon, but they are touted to be world's smartest detective agency.

9. The Tube
Underground train service, nicknamed Tube is London's mass rapid transportation lifeline. Dozens of lines cris-cross around the city a hundred meter under the surface, moving lots of people to their destinations in minutes

10. Big Ben
Sadly Big Ben was surrounded with scaffolding, possibly undergoing renovation. Got a look only at night.

There're a lot more monuments and attractions in London but above stand out as top ones. Buckingham Palace, Parliament Building are few other notable ones. Standby while I bring you more posts from UK & Ireland. Which one is your favorite?