London - 4th to 7th June
i've always wanted to go to london
perhaps due to the familarity of it, and the english-speaking environment
places like 10 downning street, london eye, trafalgar square etc. are well known everywhere
and i want to see all these well known places!
all packed and ready to leave lund!
took easyjet from copenhagen to london stansted
and easyjet delayed AGAIN by 1hr!
ugh! i was so annoyed! cos we already booked the connecting bus from london stansted to london victoria street!
but in the end, we managed to change the easybus timing, with no additional charge
just that we reached the hostel very late and was super duper tired!
we stayed in Royal Bayswater Hostel, which is near to Queensway tube station
but it was a PATHETIC hostel! seemed to be runned by middle eastern people
the bathroom was SUPER SMALL, and the sink was minature, even smaller than kids' sink!
and to think we need to stay there for 4 nights!
the next day, we headed for the Royal London Free Tour! courtesy of New Europe Tours
met at the westminister arch
i think it is not very impressive
and moreover, the weather was so gloomy and horrible!
kept raining!
they have funny traffic lights overseas
because they have funny modes of transport!
like horses!
well, i can't imagine why the police rather use HORSES than CARS
i dun believe a horse will run faster than a ferrari
and a horse is probably not cheaper either!
buckingham palace
we walked past the buckingham palace thinking...
"IS THIS THE BUCKINHAM PALACE?!"
haha, but none of us dare to ask the guards
else we'll seem super stupid :P
it is definitely not grand at all
aside from the gates where some parts are gold plated
other than that...hmm, looks normal to me
the union flag was also draped everywhere near the buckingham palace
there were so many people crowding around the palace to watch the changing of the guards despite the downpour
we climbed on walls, but could barely see still :(
bits of the guards that i managed to see
hiding under our two umbrellas!
and then we continued on with the tour
quite alot of walking to do and the angmohs really walk SUPER FAST!
for some reason, we were always at the back :S
the guard outside the residence of prince charles
nelson column at trafalgar square
gloomy weather + lousy camera = sucky pictures :(
see that amount of sand behind us?
apparently they are going to use this patch for the beach volleyball segment during london olympics 2012!
well, i think it is quite stupid, since london always rains
the players might as well be playing water volleyball then
10 downning street has been closed by previous pm margaret tatcher (i know i spell wrongly)
but it can be easily recognisable through the many countries' flags lining the road!
and we spotted the singapore flag too! :D
then we arrived at the house of commons, parliament house and the big ben!
i think the big ben looks quite nice...
actually big ben is the name of the bell inside the tower
but nowadays, people just refer it to the entire building
st margaret's church and westminister abbey is just across the road
but it is just overshadowed by the more popular big ben
after 3hrs of walking, the tour came to an end and we headed to VERVE at convent gardens for lunch! the tour guide brought us there, so we had a discount of 25%!
PERFECT! :D discounts rock!!
we were all super tired and hungry people!
my american styled burger!
it was nice! and cost 5 pounds only! before the discount
aside from good and cheap food,
it also has a grand toilet/powder room!
impressed!
the next day, we headed for tower bridge!
and it was a rainy and gloomy day again
does london ever see sunshine for more than 4hrs?!
(well, i know subsequently london was super hot, as can be seen in wimbledon)
us at the tower bridge!
with our brollies.......
this is london bridge
which is basically...nothing
we walked along the river south bank
and it was a pretty LOOOOONG walk! as we were heading for lunch and the london eye!
abit tiring actually, especially due to the gloomy weather which made it worse!
ate at a thai restaurant which is not very nice
took pics, but shall not post pics of unappetizing food!
so after lunch, we headed (rushed actually) to the LONDON EYE!
i was most excited about it, in the fact it was the thing that i was looking most forward to in London!
we went to collect the tickets which we had pre-booked in advance
which was great cos we get to skip the looong queue!
and we enjoyed a 20% discount when booking online too! :D
and we board the capsule!!
the ride was not scary at all
i thought i'd be a little scared due to the height
but it really felt very safe!
only thing was, there was not much to see except for river thames, big ben, various bridges, and that's about it. the rest were just normal buildings!
there were alot of people in the capsule
not sure how many, but it was spacious enough though
due to the boring scenary, we decided to take funny photos...
haha!
and soon, our 30min 13.5pound ride came to an end!
we started heading towards the shakespeares globe theatre afterwards
and there were many interesting street performances along the way!
of course we were not street performers!
but i just quite like that picture :)
we were going to watch romeo & juliet at the shakespeares globe!
it was completed sold out! but we got tickets earlier online
standing yard tickets cost 5pounds! the others cost like 30pounds or smthg
but it was very tiring standing for 3 hours!
the play was really really impressive
of course there were many words that i could not catch
but overall, it was really a good play! with songs, dance, the theatrics
however, it was just abit odd that romeo was black
not being racist here, it just seemed abit odd!
as there is strictly no phototaking inside the theatre,
i took photos of the exhibit and posters
this is how the shakespeares globe look like!
nothing modern like the esplanade, but traditional theatre instead!
that night, we also tried fish & chips too! apparently london is famous for it, which i totally did not know until i read some online article
never be fooled by such a poster with the word 'BEST'
cos we were fooled
this fish TOTALLY SUCKS
i'm quite sure school canteens fish and chips taste MUCH BETTER!
that was how bad the fish was
it was bland, no taste, and awfully oily!
on our last day in london, we wanted to do some shopping and headed for oxford street
many stores were not open yet, as it was a sunday! :(
but there were many people queueing up outside the doors an hour before it opens!
oh man, londoners must love shopping!
primark - land of cheap things!
the quality may not be very good, but it's worth it for the price!
i stocked up alot of basic tees in primark, not this primark though, another one in uk and each basic tee cost about 2 pounds!
there were even men's working long sleeve shirts which costs 2 pounds too!
dirt cheap prices rocks!
after that we hurried through hyde park to meet rk at imperial college
though we hurried, we were still late though...
hyde park was amazingly big!
we kept taking photos with the word 'imperial college' haha!
after that we went for dinner at a jap place, ramen! :D
before visiting rk's dorm, and also xt's dorm to borrow her printer
cos we had to print out our ryanair boarding pass for later journeys
witnessed how utterly messy angmohs are, as xt's roommate is angmoh
it was really A MESS THAT I COULDN'T STAND!
and angmohs sex cravings are really true
xt walked in on her roommate having sex with her bf before :s
and ran out haha!
well, after 3 days and 4 nights in london,
we headed for PARIS, FRANCE!
which i'll blog about soon! :)
