London trip - Day 1

Day 1.

After 13 hr flight from Singapore via BA flight. Right out of the plane at the custom checkpoint. i did not find that the interrogation part of the passport clearance process quite friendly, but i do not have any choice but to bare with it. Ryan took the other flight which he arrived slightly later . we waited for him before my uncle picked us up.. the weather was sunny and bright a tad bit cold at about 15 degree. from his new Mercedes wagon, we were driven to his place at Richmond borough about 30 mins away.

Richmond is a affluent district next to Thames river. and his place is near the bridge at Twickenham also known as the putney bridge.

We were shown to our rooms on the second and third floor. Jeff being a light sleeper gets to have a room by himself on the second level while me and ryan stayed on the third floor with a toilet built in.

Had breakfast cooked by my uncle, while we watch UFC (Ultimate fighting championship) matches on the satellite TV. After which my uncle drove us down to the Tube station where we bought 6 day season ticket for Zone1-4 at tube station Which set us back about 33 Pounds.

Great fire monument
Took train to monument station from there we climbed up the great fire monument 331 steps in total. But we are rewarded with a wonder view of the Thames river and its surrounding city scape. (remember to bring your own binoculars or you can pay 1 pound for the stationary binoculars there. On the way down you can get to received a cert for climbing the fire monument.

Next the old church at St Dunstan-in-the-East this church was destroyed during world war II bombing it became a garden of sort .

Next we head down to lloyds of london, Which is an insurance market. The building is rather unique as it looks as if its a industrial factory or a building stripped of its exterior.

We also caught a glimpse of the Gherkin also know as the swiss re tower. boy does it look like a banana!

A little bit down the street is leaden hall market, ironwork roof market which has alot of cafes and restaurants not to mention delicatessen and fresh produce. The only place i had a rude encounter is when i tried to take a photo of the shoe shine guys i was given the wave and gesture not to take their photos. Come on its just a photo .

Along leadenhall st we came upon the city center , which has the bank of england and royal exchange which is a shopping mall with all the branded shops ,

Next was the St Lawrence Jewry infront of the guild house, there was a piano recital practice inside quite lovely. The church was destroyed a 2 time, first by the great fire and then by world war II bombing but it was rebuilt again .

Finally we get to have a lunch break over at a sandwich cafe along close to the museum of London, We saw a segment of the old roman wall still standing after so long. We then head into the museum, interesting exhibits welcome us , from prehistoric to roman occupations (which london was know as londinium) and present history. Current display includes the great fire very interactive.Oh one good thing about the museum or most of them museum and gallery are free entry!

Next we came across postmans park ,which has some tiles that commemorates ordinary people who sacrifices their live to save other. heroic deeds in deed. but kinda creepy to me.

then heads to another park known as christ church greyfriars.

We drop by st pauls cathedral but unfortunately it was rather long queue to get in so we moved on to the

Temple of Mithra's remains, to me its quite a let down all i can see is just a marble floored open space that used to be a roman temple oh well..

We then head back via monument tube station.

Still unfamilar with the route back, called upon my uncle to pick up back for dinner. The rest of the night was just watching TV and chit chatting before retiring.

London trip - Day 2

Day 2 was rather eventful we woke up early in the morning about 9am had breakfast made by my uncle (cheddar cheese on slice of bread and baked in the oven). We had like 2 to 3 slices each and this time my uncle brought us down to the station by walking down the duck walk lane and to the main road. Took some photos of the bridge , river and pubs .

We went to get tickets to lady salsa which will be playing at the local Richmond theater at about 15 pounds each for the next day show.With Many location to cover today we hurried down to the train station and off to Westminster station.

First stop the big ben , icon of london it stands infront of the thames river,
the distinct gothic tower clock is just right next to the parliament house , unfortunately due to the 9/11 incident we aren't allowed in.

Next to parliament house is the parliament square , protester against war etc share their voices
With statues like churchill too :)

not far down is the parliament garden which is quite scenic with the view of the thames river and benches to relax by. A bit high up for my comfort thou.
Next we cross the lambeth bridge to the garden museum.


Which thinking its free entry i entered it but turn out a donation of 3 pounds is required. Arghh not to lose face i gave the money. All i can say is if you are not into garden history you can give this place a miss.
Was looking forward to visit the first palace, the lambeth palace but guess what its under renovation or restoration arghh.. so took some photos from the outside instead.

We then made the walk back the lambeth bridge and to westminster abbey. Its one of the main churches for famous tombs/commeration of kings, queens, poets , writers etc. It is also here where Princess diana service was held before burial. Too bad no camera is allowed inside

After westminster abbey, its already quite late so off we went to this little eatery cafe churchill for some food along parliament street, I had fish and chips (which will be my staple diet for the next few days), jeff on the other hand has craving for pizza.
Yes we get to see more monuments of the past wars...
Downing street where the PM works is off public access what a pity.
The horse guards parade , was next on the agenda . we came just in time to witness the change of guards parade. Its interesting to see that horses are being used to guard the building .I kinda like their uniform except the boot, perhaps abit too tall.
Heres a panoramic view of the horse guards parade area

As we are walking towards the churchill bunker, we saw a motorcade coming out from downing street. Could it be the PM brown? i guess we will never know.

The bali bombing memorial was just outside the treasury. It has all the names of the people killed on the fateful night, most are australian .
Well this is churchill bunker and war room during world war II took us some time to find it . Thats tells us why the germans cant locate it. We aren't much of a war buff so didn't went in .


Tree lined avenue along the parameter of st james parkPrincess diana memorial walk and ryans taking a photo of it

St James's Park Lake, looking east from the bridge. The Shell Tower and the London Eye can be seen behind the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Basking in the sun is quite a pastime for folks in london. Unfortunately the chairs are on rental the staff seems to have an eagle eye on who has rented it and who is freeloading.. ermm that would be us.
Later we headed down to convent garden , cause we are supposed to meet up with a friend of mine heng. Who happened to be working in london for 2 days . While waiting for heng we spotted this unique building connector looks really twisty. We also visited the London transport museum which was unfortunately under renovation.
Also met up with joey who is michael's sister (michael is from the salsa scene) .

So joey took us around traflagar square, and then to piccadiliy circus for a taste of authentic chinese HK restaurant. Not to mention their famous crispy duck which is a variation of the peiking duck a must try when you are in london.
With a hearty meal its best to dance it off , so from 9pm we were at"the sound" a club which had salsa on tuesday nights. Michael sister is really a boogie machine , with a diploma in dance . She really good but a bit rusty with a year off from salsaing.
We stay for a about an hour before heading back. You won't want to take a cab back , i heard it can cost more then 90 pounds to get to richmond.
Had a great night and hopefully a better one tomorrow.