London Trip - Day 1

Alright. This is going to be a long post.

I think I never mentioned that I went to London from Monday till Thursday this week. So, yeah, I went with Zakhir which our main objective was to watch a musical called Wicked.

On Monday, I left for the city earlier than the bus cause I wanted to be at the city before it gets dark. I don't fancy walking in the darkness...and it's dangerous! Anyways, so I was just hanging around McD, eating dinner and went to Borders to look around. Then, round 9 p.m. something I head on to Buchanan Bus Station. The bus starts leaving at 10.30 p.m. We took a National Express bus. I sat on the chairs in the main building reading Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me?, which I borrowed that morning.

So, Zakhir came later. Not long after that, we decided to get on the bus. I took the window seat, as always. So, at first we just chatted along the journey. It's kinda hard to sleep on the bus...you know. But, later on, I guess we were tired. Or I was tired. And slept most of the way, although I woke up numerous times to readjust my legs or my hands or my body...

Around 7 a.m., we reached Victoria Coach Station! London!! We were in London!! Next thing, we have to find Victoria Underground Station to take the underground tube to the nearest underground station to our hostel. First, we bought a One Day Travelcard. It costed 7.20 pounds. We get unlimited travelling with any public transport for the whole day. And that one is the price for Zone 1 and 2, where most main places are. There are 6 zones to London and the other zones are further and less important.


At first, we didn't know how to use the tube. We were practically just simply getting on trains and all. There were different lines in operation and we had to figure out the correct line to get to. And each station can be operating multiple lines and we had to make sure we get on the correct tube as well. It gets pretty simple once we figured them out. Didn't really take that long but the first time, we were so confused. LOL.

the tube.

one of the stations.

We reached Bayswater Underground Station, and went to our hostel, Hyde Park Inn. It looked OK from the outside. Wasn't so bad and it was ridiculously near the to underground station and there were so many shops available around it. Was in perfect location actually... The condition inside isn't as good. Oh well, didn't really expect much from a hostel anyway. What's important is it's the cheaper better ones we can get. That's good enough. And we were only there for one night!

some areas around the hostel. nice buildings.

We went in and asked if we could check in. The receptionist said that the people in the room hadn't checked out yet. So, we have to check in at 10 a.m. And, I think at that time, it was only 8 a.m. something. So, we sat down, got some maps and stuffs from the hostel. Put our bags into the luggage storage. And, we went and find a place to eat breakfast. Was so hungry by then.

Found the typical, famous red telephone booth.

Found this place somewhere near called Waffle House and went to eat breakfast there. Was a pretty good place.

took this picture at night. But, we ate in the morning, k?

The only complain I have is that it took too long for our order to arrive. And there were not things that should take that long to prepare!! But, it was a pretty busy morning. We sat by the window facing some street, looking at random people walking pass in the bustling area. And it was not even the city! In the meantime, while waiting, we also discussed our destinations after checking in.

I ordered a Tikir's Breakfast. Cumberland sausages, tomatoes, toast, baked beans and scambled eggs.

My friend ordered a Mediterranean Breakfast. Lamb sausages, toast, olives, some jam, feta cheese, tomatoes, and scrambled eggs. Something different.

All very yummy though. :)

By the time we're done, we went to check in. It was 10 a.m. So, we were given our cards and linens.


And we went in search of our room. We got a bit lost trying to find room number 71. Where is number 71? There's 70 and 72. What happened? So, as we were looking for it, the fire alarm rang. Shocked us to bits. It was damn loud as well. And it wouldn't stop. Ugh. And we couldn't find out room, lugging our considerably heavy bags. So, when the alarm stopped, we asked a cleaner where the room was. Apparently, it was on the other side of the hostel. Like through a few doors and all. And voila, number 71!!

Okay, about the room. It was a 10 bed dorm. Quite a small space for a 10 bed dorm..it seems a bit crammed. But, I'm not complaining. As long as I have a bed, who cares?

me in the room.

We went in and saw a 2 girls. And there's a guy. Whose name is Steve, we found out later. I think they were preparing to go out. So, that guy was like, those beds are empty and so on. And we continued to mark our territory. He asked where we're from and chatted away. And bla bla. Then he went out. And we went on resting and unpacking our stuffs and all.

Oh, by the way, for the record, the place is pretty famous for it's fire alarms going off. Even Steve said that. And, while we were there, it went off another couple of times. Prayed that it won't go off at night. That would be extremely horridifying.

Around 12 p.m., we went out. First, we decided to go to St. James Station and see where we should go from there. We went off to see Westminister Abbey first.

another angle of the Westminister Abbey.

Then, somewhere near is the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben. There're all in the Parliament Square.

if you were wondering, the Big Ben is that clock tower and the others next to it are the Houses of Parliament.

The square in the middle of the buildings.

if you look closely, you see statues surround the square.

This is St. Margaret's Westminister below. All nearby to each other.

me with the Big Ben and shiny policemen. Did you see that hat he's wearing? It's only found in London...or England..

We walked along another road towards the London Eye. Nope, didn't ride it. I reckon it was a tad bit overpriced for something like that.

There's this truck selling crepes. Or pancakes. Or whatever. So, I bought one with nutella and cream. Slrpp..

It was sooo yummy!!


There were some women selling paper made flowers to raise money for some children thing that I can't really remember. I made a donation cause it's starting to bother me...

my paper flower.

the bridge architecture looks nice. Ancient-like.

even the lamp posts looked nice..

After eating and taking pictures, we decided to move to Buckingham Palace.

See all the tourist gathered in front.

The Queen was there. You know how? The flag on top the palace is raised. Means the queen is within.

Opposite the place is the Queen Victoria Memorial. Or something like that. It's like a roundabout...

We wanted to see the changing of guards. But, it's only going to be shown tomorrow. So, in the end, we didn't see it.

I always find it amusing for them not to be able to move while on guard. But, they do march about when the time comes...to prevent DVT.

Someone went in. I wonder who..

Then, we decided to go back. And had to look for a nearer tube station. So, we went through a park. It's called the Green Park.

From the outside, it's surrounded by this golden gate...
And flowers were blooming. Weather was good. Ah. London spring feels good. Not like Glasgow before we went to London...Rain and wind. Ughh. Cold.

And look!! This is the first time I was able to take a picture of a squirrel. Squirrels are normally scared of humans. They run when they see me. This squirrel is less afraid. It's still scared. But, there's this guy giving it food and it's been concentrating on the food that it didn't bother to respond to me approaching a bit nearer.

oh so cute!!!!!

Oh, and the parks have chairs!! Deck chairs!! For rent though. But cute. Haha.


After this, we went back and rest, cause we didn't get much sleep in the bus. And we had to go to a musical later in the night.

Arrived at the hostel round 3 p.m., and I rested for a while and took a bath round 4 p.m. which was horrendous. There wasn't proper place to hang clothes in the cubicle...how to take a bath?? And then the water volume is meagre. Not to mention cold. It does get warmer later. But, I was almost done!! I wanted to get a quick shower mah...

Anyways, so I got back and we got ready and left round 5 p.m. Cause we needed to go collect the tickets for the musical first. And then we need to go find the dinner place. We bought a package of dinner and musical tickets.

So, we arrived at Victoria Station and started looking. At first, we saw Little Ben!!

And then we used the maps and found it! Apollo Victoria Theatre.


After getting the tickets, we immediately went to look for the dinner place. So, based on our maps, we found it!

It was in a hotel?!! OMG!!

Hesperia London Victoria Hotel.

The place for dinner: 2 Bridge Place. I know, a bit lame. Naming the restaurant after the street name? But, then posh leh....

So, we went in and we see a bar area. Wow. Posh. So, where are we going to eat?

We asked the people at the bar and then they lead us to the restaurant. Wow. Posh-ier. The ambience was pretty nice..

The waiter gave us our menu.


The decos were nice too.


We get a complimentary drink each. We ordered a Rose and coke. LOL. I know. It's free!!!

So, after we decided, we ordered.
For a clearer view, I am showing you the menu one by one.


While waiting for our order to arrive, we were offered bread. And the butter was heavenly. Such high class-ness... I am having fine dining!!!


Alright, for my starter, I had a parsnip and pear soup. Sweet and interesting. Not bad..


My friend had a deep fried calamari served with aioli.

For the main course, both of us had Ballotine of Chicken with chestnut, sage and stilton stuffing, roast root vegetables and red wine jus.

For dessert, my friend had pear tatin and vanilla ice cream.


And I had chocolate creme brulee.

Heavenly. All the meals.

After that, we went for the musical. It felt a bit weird, having dinner and not asking for the bill. Like, you just walked off. Weird.

So, people were lining up in the theatre to their seats. Our seats were pretty good. It's quite clear although it's impossible to see the faces as it is but it's not bad...

Inside. Camera's aren't actually allowed. This is taken in secret. Shhhhh...


Oh. The musical was amazing!! It was really, really nice!!! I loved it. Loved it!!

During the interval of 20 minutes, I went and buy myself a souvenior. I bought a keychain. I wanted to buy a T-shirt but it's soo ex. So, a keychain is fine...

Okay, I mentioned the musical is called Wicked. It's the untold stories of the Wizard of Oz. Remember that? It's really interesting. The actors and actresses were really good. Both in acting and singing. They portrayed their characters really well.

So, yeah. It ended at 10.15 and we took the tube back. Went up to our hostel and get some changing and then planned to go a pub for a drink. But, couldn't really find one. In the end, we went to McD. My friend wanted to eat. I just had a drink.

We went back to the hostel. Had some snacks and played UNO.. When we felt sleepy, we decided it's time to sleep. Had to get up at like 8 for breakfast tomorrow morning anyways...

The end of Day 1.