London and Paris in a new light
A search for sites associated with the late Princess Diana adds interest and poignancy to a whirlwind tour of two capitals

Jarunee Taemsamran


The "sea of flowers" outside Kensington Palace was gone. Three weeks after the death of Princess Diana, people were getting on with their lives again.

But for a visitor who had both London and Paris on her itinerary, the trip had taken on added significance, since if offered a chance to see places where the princess had lived, and where she had met her tragic end.

I had actually confirmed the trip with British Airways Holiday before Diana's death. As I prepared to depart I thought about the sites associated with the princess, but also about the many other storied attractions in the two European capitals. For a first-time visitor, there would be more than enough to see.

We arrived at Heathrow on British Airways in the early morning after a 13-hour direct flight from Bangkok. Given the time of day, the world's busiest airport was quiet, but we encountered a warm, welcoming Thai smile. The woman who greeted us is part of the BA Program to help Thai passengers through the airport formalities.

In no time we were in a taxi on the way to the Selfridge Hotel. (And we encountered the first of many price shocks when we saw the taxi fare and converted it mentally to baht at the post-float rate of 60 to the pound!)

Check-in was quick, and our luggage was soon safely in our rooms. We had breakfast at the hotel and started to explore the city at our own pace.

BA Holidays is not a fully packaged tour, so customers can design their own programmes. It's a good option for independent travellers who know London well.

Still, you should have a rough idea about the places you would want to go. You also need to manage your time because some bookings will have been made in advance, such as entry tickets to museums and palaces or day-tour programmes. Therefore, it requires a bit of discipline to follow your schedule.

For example, if you book a day-tour through BA Holidays, you will have to link up with others for the coach journey-and you have to be on time.

With only three days in London, I wanted to see as many highlights as possible. A sightseeing trip with Open Top Bus Tour was the quickest way to familiarise myself.

The journey takes you past the City of Westminster and London where you will see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and St Paul's Cathedral, to name but a few. On board, an audio guide explains these interesting places to passengers.

In fine weather the tour is pleasant, but don't expect to get to know all the places you see on a single journey, it's more like a snapshot.

The afternoon was free time. One person in our group, a London University alumnus, introduced us to Covent Garden. We found it a good place for a leisurely walk, to talk, shop, eat, drink and enjoy ourselves. We saw many young couples walking hand-in-hand, exchanging romantic hugs and kisses.

Coven Garden is a flea market where old furniture, clothing, souvenirs and other products can be found. The pity was that I couldn't afford to buy anything there. I just couldn't help calculating the prices in baht. If there's government award for helping keep the current account deficit down, maybe I deserve one.

Buskers staging impromtu performances made the scene more lively. Crowds stopped to enjoy the entertainment and toss a few coins the actors' way. It was a very long walking day and my legs were weary. But the unexpectedly fine weather had made it a happy day as well.

That evening we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown area. I noticed that Chinese restaurants in London were equally popular with Asians and westerners.

On the second day, we had planned for a one-day tour to Hampton Court Palace and then down the River Thames to Windsor Castle. The tour was arranged by Frame Rickards, a local travel agent. From the hotel, we took a taxi to the meeting point where we had to join others for the coach to Hampton Court.

At the luxurious palace, there are six routes to tours that help explain its rich history. Inside, you can see the State Apartments of Henry VIII, probably Hampton Court's most famous occupant and its first royal owner. Also worth seeing the Tudor kitchens, the king's apartment, the queen's state apartments, courtyards, cloister and palace garden.

After two hours we got on the coach again to transfer to the River Thames tour. "This should be great," I thought to myself. I recall to a novel set on the Thames, were the hero and heroine met and fell in love. I couldn't help day-dreaming.

But I was a little bit disappointed when I saw the less-than-romantic boat. A modern craft, it was just like the ones used by the River Jet service along the Chao Phraya river. Worse, I saw no handsome prince waiting for me-most of the occupants were sweet, elderly couples. Never mind-by this time, hunger was the main thing on my mind. Lunch was included in the package but drinks were extra.

An hour later we arrived at Windsor Castle, located 40 kilometers west of London and overlooking the Thames. Inside we enjoyed displays of ancient ceramics, Queen Mary's Dollhouse and sculptures of knights and armour. The place was crowded with Asian visitors.

I enjoyed the whimsy of the surroundings outside Windsor Palace: Mc Donald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and other shops all done up in a gracious style as befits their royal surroundings.

As we returned to the center of the city, the coach drove past Harrod's Dapartment store. In the front window were pictures of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed. Some flowers left in the mourning for the couple could still be seen.

After that we had time left for shopping. In central London, brand-name outlets are everywhere and the window displays are tempting. Memorabilia of Princess Diana were plentiful. Most bookstores devoted big shelves to all kinds of books about the princess, while the just released Candle in the Wind stole the show in record-store displays.

The highlight of the following day was Phantom of the Opera, the musical spectacular based on the tale of the masked man who haunts the Paris Opera House. Phantom, which has been performed on countless stages in cities around the world, is said to have changed the face of theatre forever. But it is best to see it in London, where it originated. I am not normally a fan of this kind of musical drama, but during this 2-hour show I was excited by the magnificent backdrop and the perfect performance.

We were lucky that during our stay in London there weather had been so bright. We boarded the Eurostar train at Waterloo station, and within an hour we were in Paris.

We arrived Paris in early afternoon. The weather was quite hot with strong sunlight and I was reminded of the heat in Thailand. However, if you walked in the shadow you could still feel cold.

Paris is so charming and romantic, it's sometimes that the whole city has been intentionally designed to cater to visitors. No wonder why it is the world's most popular tourist destination with more than 10 million visitors a year. Visit any attraction-Notre Dame, I'Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Tour Eiffel, Musee d'Orsay, Montmartre-and you will find crowds.

We had booked a sightseeing trip arranged by Cityrama. It was a marvellous experience except for the rush-hour traffic-another little reminder of Bangkok.

The presence of so many elegant historic buildings reinforced in my mind the saying that Europe is where the "past is present."

For art enthusiasts, the rich variety of museums in Paris is highly satisfying. But Versailles, the most famous palace, remains first among France's tourist destinations.

We took a half-day guided visit to the palace, built in the 17th century for Louis XIV, the Sun King. We admired the reception area of the King and Queen's apartments and the 'Grand Apartments', followed by a stroll in the beautiful gardens designed by Andre Lenotre. Entry is permitted to the reception areas, the Queen's bedroom and Hall of Mirrors, plus free time in the garden.

During our tour of Paris, we were surprised not the encounter any Thai tourists. I thought they might have been staying at home to save money. Wrong, as I found out at a duty-free store in the Opera area.
I almost forgot I was in Paris because the store was full of Thais. Most of the staff were Thai, speaking Thai, and most of the customers were Thais shopping for 40-percent discounts on brand-name fragrances and cosmetics. The staff appeared to discriminate a bit-treating well only those who dress well. But I didn't care.

Another place in Paris appears destined to become new to tourist attraction-the site where Diana was killed.

There was nothing left in the tunnel. But right above the tunnel stands Liberty's Flame, a replica of the flame held by the Statue of Liberty. (The original statue was a gift from the Frence to the United States. The Flame was in turn a gift to Paris from the International Herald Tribune newspaper.)

For now, this site is serving as the monument to Princess Diana. Several coaches were bringing tourists, some bearing flowers.

You won't find it listed as a tourist attraction yet. But don't be surprised if somewhere, someday, an enterprising operator puts two-city Diana package.