I expected to be alone for the day – touring London on the big red, open top, hop-on, and hop-off bus.The last time I actually toured it was when I was 16; so I got a real kick out of the whole idea of again doing so in a city I visit often.
Shortly after I boarded the tour bus at Baker Street, a young Chinese woman (who has lived in The Hague for the past eight years) asked me to take a picture of her. She too was traveling alone. That was the beginning of a nine-hour journey of friendship together.
Jing and I watched the famous changing of the guards, toured Buckingham Palace, cruised down the River Thames and soaked in the other historic sites. An onlooker would have assumed we were old friends: chatting away, laughing, taking pictures together, and catching up with life. In one of the exquisite palace staterooms, she excitedly exclaimed, “Mozella, this really is a fairy tale!”
Jing is an open, warm, intelligent and refreshing reminder that friendship often begins between strangers who simply exchange hellos.
Smile at someone you don’t know!
