Visit to London

28 April - 2 May 2007

The moment I stepped out of the bus, I was screaming (silently though) with cold! Damn it, talk about travelling light...now not enough warm clothes, shit!!! It's never right to trust the Belgium weather...sunny in Brussels don't mean sunny in London too, though they can be quite close! So...yes, damn it!!!

And stepping into the traffic, little direction printed on the edge of the road reminds me to look right before the left. Yes, the left-hand drive, something that I used to be familiar with, now I need some constant reminder...sigh...

Next thing that hit me, it's English, yeah!!! :D Finally I can understand everything! Hahahaaa...what a relief!!! But somehow, it also seems to sound so foreign to me becoz of the 'BBC' British accent, omg! I think Singlish is more sexy now ;)

The very-grand Buckingham Palace has served as the London residence of sovereigns since 1837 and is today The Queen's official residence.

Trafalgal Square is landmarked by the Nelson Column which is topped by the statue of Admiral Nelson killed in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The base of the Column is guarded by 4 giant lions.

The British Museum, founded in 1753. Although the museum houses many collections of human history and world cultures, there are just too many people around for you to be in the mood for appreciation and admiration, thus I left the museum feeling bit of suffocated by the mass crowd of people in the museum.

Grand old British style buildings, many of which are still in use for parlimentary and administrative purposes. Showing the Royal Stock Exchange, and the Old Bank of England...

The very-famous London Eye dominates the whole skyline along River Thames. Don't under-estimate its simplicity, becoz there are lots of merry-makers who queue ages for the ticket and the ride...not cheap either...

On the opposite bank of the London Eye, we can see a series of buildings: the House of Parliment, Victoria Tower, St. Stephen's Clock Tower (Big Ben), New Scotland Yard, Westminister Abbey...

Tower Bridge, most significant landmark in London. At some point, the bridge will rise to let ferries to pass through, it's quite a sight with the boat siren and stoppage of traffic at both sides of the bridge...

The Reds Collection: Wah so amazing, everything is red! Found the apparently-traditional-looking postbox and telephone booth, but they are everywhere littered along the streets in London though. All the buses roam in fiery reds!!! Caught a RED cab, a really rare one roaming around, but finally caught this reddy little cab...

Also took their Tube, and it's noisy, becoz they are always buzzing with reminders after reminders, gimme a break, I KNOW!!! Sound familiar ah, Singapore also like that...

I took the overnight bus cum ferry across the ocean to London, and I returned via the bus (again) but this time through the EuroTunnel (travelling beneath the ocean)! So amazing, it's like a capsular train, all vehicles go into the metallic capsular train, then the door seals and the entire train will move along...

The main shopping area stretches from Regent Street to Oxford Street. Regent Street is lined with expensive brands, while Oxford Street is more for the mainstream shoppers, simply just cheaper with greater varieties :D Also the exchange rates are much better in Oxford Street than anywhere else :D Also speak Chinese in Chinese shops, guarantee got good discounts :D

Also lots of express coffees in London, Starbucks, Hoya etc. FYI, no Starbucks in Brussels ok, I can't even dream of it in Belgium, totally non-existent!

Not forgetting, the most important task is to visit dear Peijing in London :) and steal some free accommodation ;) But it's really some times ago we met in Singapore, great that we can still meet and catch up :D

There are simply so much to do in London, musuems operas music & dance events...or simply chilling out along River Thames or sun-bathing in the green parks or go shopping or small escapes to neighbouring cities or go to Brussels (seriously just 6hr drive, hahahaaa...) But seriously, London is interesting, I feel I want to explore more and learn more...