Brick Lane

Blasted computer hanged not once but TWICE just now. I had to retype 3 paragraphs of my essay twice!
Went to Brick Lane - the London equivalent of Little India - today. Not really interesting save the sheer number of Indians on the street (just a statement I'm not rascist!) and the number of Indian restaurants - Pakistani Muslim cuisne, Bangladeshi specialties and the various Indian spreads. You've got half the restaurants proclaiming that they are the "Best in Brick Lane" or the "Award-Winning Indian Restarateur 2001" or even the "Spiciest Curry in Lonon". Hah ... the English must really be as generous with their culinary awards as they are with their knighthoods.
Funny how these ethnic enclaves are always so close to buisiness districts - Chinatown in London is near Leicester, Brick Lane's near Liverpool Street and in Singapore, both Little India and Chinatown are within a few stops of the CBD. When I was younger I'd figured that such places, which are traditionally run-down should be relegated to some obscure corner of the city. Haha but I've since come to appreciate the fact that I'm not a city-planner. Chinatown here is a mere half an hour's walk or a FREE 10 min bus ride from home.
Just so happens that the essay I'm cracking my head over has to do with ethnic diversity and divisions. It seems that no matter how integrated a country may appear, the various ethnic groups will always find the need to cluster with their own kind. Indeed from my experiences in London, many people spend most if not all their time with members of their own ethnicity. I'm no exception really.