London City

Journey back

Took pains to travel from Manchester back to London…. partly due to the long hrs of driving…. but more importantly due to the merry-go-round we took in London city. We went from the outskirts of London where we met one unhelpful shopkeeper, a few helpful but unsure train maintenance crew, and a car of ang moh ah bengs who drove off in fright when our car parked behind theirs… to finally hitting the central part of London after spotting a not so obvious road sign at the round-about… All these… without the map of London.

Cool… even when we managed to reach central London, finding accommodation (without booking) was even more of a challenge. In the process of finding the Water-bay street (main hostel area), we conveniently drove pass some of London’s main attractions like London Bridge, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster.. And mind you, the time was 3am in the morning…. kaoz…

Even managed to take a few night pics despite our lack of sleep and not having found any accommodation… I guess we were prepared to sleep in the car all night long?? A scary thought…. 5 hrs of driving and then you tell me that I’m gonna sleep in the car?!? No way lar!!

Haha…. I soon fell asleep while LC and rest topo-ed (with the help of his memory from his stay in London 2 days ago) their way to Water-bay…. By the time I woke up… I was told we had found a roof to cover our heads!! Apparently the gals + SY went from door to door along the cooooolllldddd street of Water-bay, asking the hostels one by one if they had room for 5 poor kids stranded in the middle of the night (4am). One of the hostel crew even offered his heater to the gals cos they were shivering right in front of the counter… omg… salutez to their efforts….

Anyway… the important thing was that we finally got to our accommodation… and it was a blardie gd deal I tell you…. Palace Court Hotel….. big beds, good bathrooms, and affordable price….. shiok…. So, it was pure determination and self-belief that eventually brought us to a proper place to bunk over the night…. Talk about impromptu traveling..




Sight-seeing

K… so we only had like 1 day to walk the streets of London… when dear friends like Andrew spent 4 to 5 days and still found it too short. Omg, how are we supposed to cover all the attractions in just one day?? Jialat jialat…..

So, we went on a hit-and-run tour about London…. managed to cover a few famous attractions in the fastest way possible… uncharacteristic of us since we are the nua type. But I guess when you are desperate, it leaves you with very few options.

Hello Mr Policemen!! Shot taken outside one of the souvenir shops nearby waterbay tube station

Saw this cute (and elegant of cos) little car outside our hostel...... chio beh...

Kensington Palace

In memory of the late Princess Diana.... remembered that I quite like her in the past.. =)

Buckingham Palace

Didn't manage to wake up in time to watch the change of guards... and the parade... a pity.

Big Ben/ WestMinster Abbey

I was awed at the sight of Westminster when I first stepped out of the tube station... The features of the architecture is unbelievably detailed... inhumanely grand... I'm sure matt will love it.... simply marvellous building.....

London Eye

Well, so we thought we'd take the Manchester Eye cos it was cheaper... but it turned out that we missed both. A pity cos we were running both out of time and out of cash.... haha.... sob sob... Oh no... I could almost hear hou ger saying.... " 大钱都出了，小钱算得了什么？” OMFG... yet another famous line from our very own poet..

Tower Bridge

Beautiful bridge.... the pic says it all...

London Bridge

Well.... i particularly liked the pic on the left, not because the london bridge (far end of pic) was nice, but cos the sun setting into the skyline creates a brilliantly illuminated scene.... would make a good piece of art if it were to be painted out... heh.....

And we even had time to hop by Highbury stadium..... ooooo... Arsenal homeground.... matt's fav team!! see... I'm such a nice friend, cover the fav clubs of my buddies except my own club.... knn....

Highbury

Okie dokie.... guess that's all for one day London... would like to go back there again if time and money permits... but i guess the chances are low..... currently lacking in both departments man. Din get a chance to catch any of the famous plays like "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera".... not that I'm into plays but could at least try to appreciate the beauty behind them...

Next stop:: Barcelona