Back for probably the most exciting thing to blog about for the UK trip.
11th April 2014:
Whoever knows they are going to step in England will definitely be excited to visit the capital, London, even if others told you there's nothing much to do in the capital compared to the other cities. Similarly if you know you're going to Japan/Korea, you'll be excited to visit Tokyo/Seoul. I think it's just a perspective kind of thing. For me, i don't need to visit places with super fun activities line-up, or places that look like a heaven on earth. I mean if i get to go such places, i will be more than happy to do so. But for a capital in a developed country, i am satisfied to be able to step on their iconic attractions. Because that truly makes me feel like i am a tourist on a holiday.
I have to re-emphasize how wonderful this trip is for me, for the fact that i get to visit eye-opener places, beautiful cities, breathtaking picturesque towers, tourist attractions, and i get to experience lots of first-times, and see alot of things i never get to see in singapore. I mean the UK is truly an amazing country, and i've never regret for setting up this decision of an independence trip with xuan.
Everyone always ask me "You're not scared to travel so far alone?", but no i'm not. Because i want to experience all these beautiful experiences at this age of mine. I think my age right now is the most suitable to dump all my fear and go for all the things i am dying to try. Is what they say YOLO, and what i say living with no regrets. And probably why my dad is supportive with me on this trip.
On board our bus when the sun rises. Settled all check-in needs and started our tour for the day!
^ And yes we stayed in Tune hotel again!! London's one was slightly bigger than Scotland's, but still as good :)
^ We got the Oyster card which is usable for all types of public transport in London!!
One thing i must say about London's public transport (mainly the underground tube; MRT) - it's super duper convenient. Not only is the train travelling at a fast speed, it also have many stations that is located everywhere in London. So that means you don't have to fret flagging a cab if you need to go to the more remote places, because even the tube can get you there. And in addition, the next train always come surprisingly fast, so they don't keep you waiting at the platform for too long. I major love london's public transport :-)
^ but this is how the London underground tube map looks like. If you are finding the smrt map in singapore really hard to understand, then this will definitely be the real cause of your death.
So we first took the tube from Kings Cross St. Pancras station to Ladbroke Grove station, because it's where the Portobello Road Market is located!
^ Tbh, i've never been to a real kind of market that i see in the UK. I mean the wet markets in Singapore yes, but those kind of market i don't. It's likewise Bugis street in singapore, but they sell even more food and vintage clothes, and they also sell furniture and utensils. No wonder the markets in London are a must-go!
^ So xuan and i have decided to try as much finger food as we can in the market! But we end up feeling full after these waffles and a falafel wrap!
^ This is the fish falafel wrap we ordered and shared! Pardon this low quality picture because my camera cannot focus on the food all the time!!!!
But anyway this falafel wrap (a local dish) is really good!!!! I was taken aback because i didn't expect it to be so good!
With no other itineraries in mind, we decided to visit the Buckingham Palace, where Queen Elizabeth is currently staying! :)
^ Weather is soooo good, it makes me happy too when i look up into the sky :)
^ Beautiful and crowded Buckingham Palace :)
Took our own sweet time to explore the area and ended up at Soho! (similar to Clarke Quay)
^ Had Koya Udon for dinner :) Affordable and good, recommended by LadyIronChef!
Tessa recommended Snog's frozen yogurt to us, and we had that for dessert!! It was reaaaaally good based on the fact that i am a froyo lover, i'm even craving for it now ;)
^ I had their natural yogurt flavour with bananas and caramel sauce :)
We continued walking around until we bumped into a street artist where he do self-portraits!!!
Doing a self portrait painting has been on my wishlist for this trip and i immediately bargained to 15 pounds, but only to realise after the end result comes that it is a cartoon version. For a real-life version, it cost 40 pounds (SGD 85).
^ The artist kept on telling me how beautiful and cute i look when i smile, i know it's their tactic of pleasing the customers, but it still flattered me alot ;-)
This completes my first day in London!!!
School tmr, please just kill me in my sleep. Goodnight sweeties x.
