Mind the Gap

London certainly made it to my list of favorite cities, in fact, its my favorite city at the moment. I guess its the charm of the city that appeals to city folk like me. It has everything! and food there is fantastic! I would say the history and sight seeing stuff are just normal, but the food is definitely the highlight of London. Where in the whole of europe can you find good asian food at an affordable price!

What else can i say bout london hmm. The transport system is excellent! Fast and efficient although a little pricey (2 pounds for a single trip with an oyster) is the best way to describe the meshed dense network of the tube. And after its revamp for the olympics, the tube has been cleaned up and some of the lines look better from what i remember 5 years ago. okay thing to note, do not travel before 9am if you have a choice because there's a peak hour charge, both on the day travel pass and single trip. Also, single trips are capped at 8pounds everyday. 

Musicals are a must watch in London too! Caught Les Miserables. It was just out of this world fantastic! can't wait for the movie. Still, i want to watch like the lion king, singing in the rain, matlida and so much more! Museums are free and I didn't manage to walk into one. urg. there're just so many things to do in London! got to go back again. 

Fortunately for me, I stayed with a friend who was a great host and i could spend alot on food! If you're reading this, thanks alot for hosting us and sacrificing your sleep time to talk cock with us. 

Arrived on a thursday night, headed straight to our friend's place. had 3 whole days in London. Would really recommend doing the free walking tour with sandermans. I think i had the best sandermans tour experience here in London with our guide Sonja compared to the other sandermans i did around europe. Bumped into some NTU exchange students during the tour too! Did you know, the Elizabeth Tower, previously known as the St Stephen's Tower is commonly mistaken as the Big Ben, the name of the bell inside it. 

Trafalgar Square

Horse Guards Parade

Us, plus the exchange students from Cork, Ireland at Westminster. 

A must go for Asians in London is definitely the Chinatown, a place where you definitely wont miss after purchasing for your half price musical tickets at Leicester Square. Remember to check the prices of the musicals at the many half price ticket booths around the square before going theatre hopping hoping to get tickets. And remember to go to Gold Mine for a meal! Fantastic duck rice! Crispy layer of skin yet juicy succulent meat! It was so nice that i didnt manage to get a picture of my meal. I think it tastes better than most duck rice back home. And if you really miss the taste of home, remember to order sambal kang kong (yes they do serve it here) and the other local dishes that you miss! 

China Town near Leicester Square

Admiralty Arch

Saturday was spent walking around the City of London. First stop, Borough market! Full markets are opened from Fri- Sat and it really does offer a great range of good food! Don't go too early as the shops are still setting up shop nor too late when the crowd comes in. The must tries are, the oysters, mulled wine, venison sausages, duck sandwich and cheese! lots and lots of em! So much yummy things that we spent 4 hrs there!

Us, having breakfast at the cafe, waiting for the rest of the shops to open fully

Borough Market (full market)

some mild cheese that we bought

with our stomachs filled, we walked around to tower bridge before heading to Maryboyle to meet the rest. 

HMS Belfast and the remembrance poppy

it was so cold that day that a warm drink would be nice

So when i realized that the tickets to bichester outlet village cost 20 pounds to get there if purchased from the station, i decided not to go and walk around instead. Book online early to get cheaper tickets.

christmas lights at oxford street

christmas decorations at Covent Garden

So the plan was to meet chuns at Kimchi (71 High Holborn) for dinner. Was great stuff! Try their Bibinbap and kimchee soup! Best korean meal i ever had. After dinner i went to find my dear cousin studying at UCL only to find that she has put on weight! hahha. 

Bibinbap

Sunday was basically spent away from the crowded central london at Greenwich. Greenwich, affectionally known for its meridian line and the Greenwich Mean Time was a pretty big and spacious area. The main attraction being the old sailing ship the Cutty Sark and the Royal Naval College. Greenwich market is a small market compared to Borough and offered lots of handicrafts and food. Try their Churros there. And also, i had this excellent beef sandwich thingy. Its like beef slices with yorkshire pudding topped with cheese melted by fire and scrapped onto the beef. it was heavenly!

rmb to try the beef sandwich here the one with the yorkshire pudding

the cutty sark

The Meridian Line

Being abit too lazy to travel to inner london and hassle with the crowd, decided to check out the megamall Westfield at Stratford station. Headed over to The O2 to have a peak around with the ATP tennis going on before heading back home for some indian take away.

All in all, it was a good trip but it wasn't enough to see London. More musicals to watch and museums to be explored! So I hope i'll have the time to head over again. Cheers!