Insights from the trip to London

Insights from the trip to London

1. Buy food from Waitrose or any supermarket for an affordable meal.  You can buy warm bakery food from little Waitrose at King's Cross station.
2. Burger King is cheaper then MacDonald at London.
3. If you don't need to cross Changing of Guards off your bucket list, you can just give it a miss. This is especially so if you tends to skip the marching ceremony in National Day Parade.
4. Troublesome to bring young kids and elder there because of the uneven ground.
5. You don’t really spend too much time in the museum, so don't need to plan too long.
6. Don’t plan much till late night cause you will feel tired in the evening. 
7. Bring or buy a water bottle because you will need to drink plenty of water to counter the weather there. 
8. If you want to save money on food, bring instant noodles from home and cooked it for dinner at Airbnb accomodation. Instant noodle just taste so much tastier overseas. 

Interesting things about Metro

1. Metro stations only have lifts and staircase, no escalator.
2. Lift is sensored and automatic.
3. Some metro station don’t have door. It is up to your own ethics and whether you are law abiding enough to tap in and out of the station.
4. Some metro do not have air conditioner, but it is cooling enough with the weather.
5. Their seats are like the coach seats.

Time Required To Spent In London Museum

If you are not really into analysis of the arts like me, the following duration spent in each museum can be for your reference.

1. Tate Museum 
• Time spent: 1.50 pm - 3.40pm 
• Duration: Around 2 hours
• Type: Modern Art
2. The British Museum
• Time spent: 10.30 am - 1 pm
• Duration: Around 2.5 hours
• Type: Different countries art
3. National Gallery
• Time spent: 3.30 pm - 4.45 pm
• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Type: Paintings
4. National History Museum
• Time spent: 2.30 pm - 5.30 pm
• Duration: 3 hours
• Type: Animals 

4-Day London Itinerary on a Budget - Day 4

London Day 4: 24th May 2018 Thur

We checked out at 11 am.

We went to the British Library beside the St Pancras International at 11.35 am. You can leave your luggage there for free. There was an open exhibition to see some old artifacts. However, you wouldn’t be allowed to read their books without a reading card.

A big book bench near the entrance

Storeys high bookcase

At the Lower ground floor, Between the cloakroom and the lift, there was the picture of Paradoxymoron which was very interesting.

There was some painting on the second floor too.

Newton by the sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi can be found outside the Library

There are water cooler and free toilet in the Library.

Beside the library was a impressive building

We left our luggage at the library and decide to explore the King’s Cross, where Platform 9 ¾, a famous scene from Harry Potter was available for photo taking. Indeed there was a long queue. We didn’t bother queuing though.

A fair in front of King's Cross

We bought some food and chocolate danish from Waitrose there. It tasted nice and it was affordable. Would strongly recommend buying food from Waitrose cause it would be cheaper than eating in a restaurant. They sold warm food there too.

Chocolate danish is worth it!

As we walked out and lost our way, we chanced upon this colorful background. This is located on the way out to Granary Square and Pancreas Square. A nice surprise. 

Outside, there is a Bird Cage Swing installation. From research, it supposed to lit at night.

It looks quite whimsical

We went back to the library to take our luggage and make our way to St Pancras International. 

St Pancras International platform

After going through the gates and custom, we have to wait at the waiting area. There are many chairs so shouldn't be hard to get a sit. 

We set off at 4.31 pm, taking the Eurostar to Paris. 

Not much impressive scenery so don’t need to be too disappointed if you didn’t have window seats.

Their washroom is spacious. It will sound when the door open or close, so seats near to the washroom may not be ideal for a nap.

After the train moved, there will be train attendant checking the train ticket. It is okay to just have one person taking all the tickets. Just tell the attendant will do.

~*~*~*~

Summary

1. British Library
2. King’s Cross - Platform 9 ¾
3. Bird Cage Swing 
4. St Pancras International

~*~*~*~

If you want email notification for future blog post, do subscribe to my blog by clicking the word on the top right! 

4-Day London Itinerary on a Budget - Day 3

London Day 3: 23rd May 2018 Wed

We reached Monument Station around 10 am. Walked past The Monument, a tall monument, on the way to London Bridge.

I didn't even know what was this when I took the photo

It was a cold morning. There were many people crossing the bridge and there were traffic jams.

From the London Bridge, we can see the Tower Bridge but it was actually quite far, so we weren’t able to take a clear picture. At the start of the bridge, we walk down the stairs to be a little bit closer to the Tower Bridge and the River Thames. There was an introduction of the London Bridge. From the Bridge, you can actually see the peak of The Shard.

View from London Bridge

Passing by Southwark Needle, we walked to Hay's Galleria.

Southwark Needle

Walking to the end of  Hay's Galleria, you can have a closer look at the Tower Bridge. However, there were boats blocking it so we didn’t manage to get a very clear picture. We only entered Boots, a drugstore like Watson, other than that we didn’t shop much at the shops at Hay’s Galleria.

There was a ship in the middle of Hay’s Galleria

Walk right straight ahead and you can see this

The view of the Tower Bridge from Hay's Galleria 

Reflection of The Shard near Hay's Galleria

On the way to Borough Market, we get to see a clearer view of The Shard.

Borough Market

We crossed through the station to get to the Borough Market. We planned to get our lunch there but the food there wasn’t as impressive or as special as I thought it would be. Price was also an issue. There weren’t as much food stalls selling food as you would expect. We saw stalls selling Singapore Laksa for like tripled the SGD price of what you will find in Singapore. 

Nice presentation

We decided to give it a miss, hoping to grab a bite on the way to the National History Museum. There was Burger King, but we give it a missed since we ate it once. How I regretted the two chances of getting food. Cause on the way to the museum there wasn’t any restaurant! 

Pastries for lunch

Apparently, on that day, patrons were supposed to visit it using certain entrance, but we ignore the notice outside the Metro thinking it was just telling us how to get there (and we thought the direction from Citymapper was the same. But it wasn’t!)

I managed to walk further to grab some pastries in the end for lunch. There were other restaurants there but I wasn’t willing to fork out the money to buy them.

So I would suggest grabbing a bite at Borough Market. There was a stall selling Fish and Chips that supposedly to be award-winning, perhaps you could try that and tell me did I really missed a gem. 

There are other stalls selling exotic meats like kangaroo.

At National History Museum, there were many lifelike animals. You can learn much educational information about animals there.

The architecture of National History Museum looks impressive

Doesn't it look alive?

Even the arc have animal sculpture

There are water coolers, free toilets, and benches in the museum.

Around 5.30pm we left the Museum and walked to Harrods to clear it off the to-see list. On the way, we saw the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Around 6.10pm, we reached Harrods. After window shopping for just a short while (perfume room is too overwhelming), we went back to Airbnb for home cooked food.

Harrods

~*~*~*~

Summary

1. The Monument
2. London Bridge
3. Southwark Needle
4. Hay's Galleria
5. Shard
6. Borough Market
7. National History Museum
8. Harrods

4-Day London Itinerary on a Budget - Day 2

London Day 2: 22nd May 2018 Tue 

We reached The British Museum at 10.30 am. On the way, we saw a class of young students with a few teachers exiting the Tottenham Court Rd Station. I guessed they were on the way to the museum, and I was right! So next time, if you get lost on the way to the museum, consider following the kids.

The British Museum

At 1pm, we went to Burger King to eat lunch. The toilet in the basement can be used. Though it was for customers but there wasn't any lock or password. Burger King has free flow of soft drinks. So drink to your heart content. We filled up our water bottles with the soft drinks before leaving the restaurant.

It's quite nice

At 2pm, we decided to make a quick stop at Primark instead of coming back late at night. There was some crowd but not shoulder rubbing crowds. I didn’t see any super cheap deals. Their price range are like Cotton On. The place was big though. 

Would like to spend more time here!

The next stop, we took the Metro to Charing Cross Station then walked to National Gallery. We entered through the side entrance. You will go through the security check but they didn’t really check.

The front of National Gallery

We rested on the sofa at the lobby before walking around.

We saw Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers. 

Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers

There are many big paintings. The details in the painting were fascinating. It even looked like 3D image. Be aware of your standing position though because the reflection from the lights may hinder you from viewing it at its finest view. There are benches around, so you could always seat and admire the painting while resting your feet.

Note: There wasn’t any water fountain at National Gallery and the tap water in the toilet was not potable. Luckily, we filled our water bottle with juices at burger king previously. There is a free toilet to use though.

Around 4.45pm, we exit the National Gallery. There were some performances right outside the National Gallery, before moving down the stairs to the fountain.

Walking down the stairs is the Trafalgar Square. There wasn't anything much. Just a place where people enjoy the breeze and watch people. We lingered there for awhile and took photos.

Then around 5.20pm, we went to the left of the Gallery (facing the Gallery), and realized there looks like another wing that we didn’t seem to walk to. We re-enter the Gallery. This side of the Gallery was much quieter. Outside of the toilet at this wing, we found water cooler! Time to refill our water bottles again.

After browsing through we make our way to the Piccadilly Circus. On the way, we saw The Majesty Theatre (5.38pm).

The Majesty Theatre

We reached Piccadilly circus at 5.50pm but there wasn’t anything much too. Just another people watching place. There were the Eros statue and the large billboard. We didn’t want to sit on the steps as it didn’t look very clean. There were many people sitting at the steps though. As we were leaving, we saw some musicians setting up their stuff. Perhaps it will be more happening at night. 

 

Eros statue

Piccadilly Circus

We traveled from Piccadilly Circus to Shoreditch High Street. Around 6.30pm we reached Boxpark Shoreditch near Brick Lane. We window shopped for a while. It wasn’t as big as I thought it would be. There were some small shops at ground level and on the second level was the F&B restaurants.

We were thinking of what to eat but in the end, we decided to walk to the famous Beigel Bake. We bought one Beigel to share and try. It was part of our dinner. It was nice as the meat was salty enough and the bread was warm. Do eat as fast as you can as the cold weather can make it turn cold within 20 minutes.

On the way there and on the way back (we took another route) to the metro, we saw many street arts.

~*~*~*~

Summary

1. The British Museum
2. Primark
3. National Gallery
4. Trafalgar Square
5. The Majesty Theatre
6. Piccadilly circus
7. Boxpark Shoreditch