London | Day 3,4 & 5

... Continuing from previous post ...

Sunday, 24 May 2015

Sunday is cycling day! 

Visits | Hyde Park, Green Park, St James's Park, Chinatown, Shoreditch

Eats| Burger & Lobster, Chinese bakery in Chinatown

You don't have to own a bicycle to cycle here. You can just rent them from Santander which you can find in the cities. It only cost 2£ for 24 hours but only if each ride is under 30 mins. If you exceed 30 mins per ride, they will charge an extra 2£. I know, confusing for first-timers. Maybe it's better to read from their official website. 

Ready with my ride!

Sunday is always the best day for cycling because some of the roads are closed so no cars are allowed on the streets around the park. It is safer to cycle without the traffic as well. Trust me, the cars here are very scary and the traffic is almost always, busy. I didn't try to cycle around the city on normal days.

Cycling with Kimiko Ah yi and Shun Shun.

The parks are HUGE, and jam-packed with greeneries. There's even a lake in one of the park here (the one I know is Serpentine Lake). We cycled through all three parks, which are Hyde Park, Green Park, and St. James Park which are kind of connected to each other. So it was easy to access all of them in one go. 

They even have horse-riding here!

An upside down tree that caught my attention

The tree actually sort of look like a tent. I don't really have any other good pictures of it because everyone was barging in and obstructing my view. So, this is the only good one I have. Until, some kid tried to climb up there. 

At Speakers' Corner. 

People usually go to the park not only to stroll or cycle around. They also come here for horse-riding, football, picnic, and public speaking. Yes, speaking. Anyone can just go to Speakers' Corner and preach about anything (if you don't go over the line of course). People will naturally stop and listen to you if they find you interesting. But of course, usually the topic is of important matters (like current issues, humanity or religious stuff). It's too intense for me. Hah.

Hogging the street to myself. 

Watch out for the horses!

Lunch at Burger & Lobster

The Lobster Roll

This place was recommended to me and I was asked to try the lobster here at least once (it is quite pricey you see). I really like lobsters but I don't really always have the chance to eat them, because they are so expensive DX. They only have 3 choices for the main meals as you can see from the picture above. I wanted to go with the whole lobster but I think it is easier to eat the Lobster roll and I love bread as well. So, it was perfect.

Enjoying ice-cream on fluffy grass before my rendezvous with Michelle

Chinatown

Bought a London version of "Chan Bao" here
I miss the ones in Seremban. Even though it's not the same, it still tasted nice.

Finally meeting her after two years!

I haven't seen this girl for two years now because she was in the UK for her studies. I'm glad we had the chance to meet up and catch up during my holiday there! We went to shop around at Primark (the things there are soooooooooooo cheap!) and walk around Oxford Street. We were just chatting away (a lot of catching up to do) and I was busy hunting for shoes! Then we went to a random chinese restaurant in Chinatown. I don't remember the name of the place but it was just a random restaurant. The food wasn't really nice either, so it's not worth mentioning.

Then it was pre-drink and doll-up time at Mikaela's (Michelle's friend)! She was super friendly and is a chatty one. I felt so welcomed at her room and really comfortable with her even though we just met. :D

Selfies galore! 

Selfies with Mikaela and Michelle

That night, we partied hard at Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch. It was my second time in a club and I'd say I really enjoyed myself. I don't really have much to compare so.. Hahaha. I kind of have this phobia of going to a club because my first time was awful. Mist Club, Kuala Lumpur.... Mmm, not a really good memory. I sort of thought that all the clubs in Malaysia are crawling with molesters and perverts after that very night. I know I should not think all the clubs are bad just because of one shitty experience but it's so easy for my brain to do that. Well, maybe I'll proof myself wrong the next time I'm in the mood for clubbing when I'm back in Malaysia, a higher class one. Since this experience opened my eyes. 

Oh, anyway, why am I talking so much about the past anyway. It was a cat face event on Bank's holiday and I thought it was really cute. Everyone had drawn-on whiskers and nose. And I'm so glad I bought a pair of black flats, dancing in heels must feel like hell. I'm impressed by the ladies that does that. They must have really high tolerance toward pain or they have superpowers.

Stamped!

Monday, 25 May 2015

Visiting the main tourist spots in London.

Visits | Camden Market, St. Pancras, King's Cross Station, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square, Big Ben, London Eye, Piccadilly Circus

Eats | Camden Market, Little Korea

It was already around lunch time when we woke up and we were starving. Luckily, the pork bun that I bought from Chinatown saved me in the morning. 

Props and deco on every buildings.

This part of town looks very "grudgy" to me. The shops along the streets mostly sells gangsta shirts or some funky ghetto stuff. If you are a fan of Breaking Bad, this is the place to buy Mr. Heisenberg t-shirts. There's also a lot of tattoo parlors. What's really interesting though is the decorations of the buildings there. All of them have different themes. 

Going into Camden Lock to get some food

Ze femes Camden Lock. Which works like an elevator for boats. 

There's sooooooo many good-looking yummies here. Very hard to make up our mind on which food we were getting. So crowded too.

Taiwanese Bao in the making. 

I had Mac & Cheese but it was too much for me. I only managed to finish half of it. 

After lunch, it was go time again. Time to visit the tourist spots that I've not yet gone to yet.

At St. Pancras

King's Cross

Behind the scene!?

Honestly, the only reason I came to King's Cross is because of Harry Potter's Platform 9 3/4. I know, very nerdy of me. Well, it wasn't what I expected though. People were lining up to pose with it and there was even an assistant to help you with the scarf-throw effect too! Hahaha. I got very embarrassed and I just decided to just take a picture at the side. It was good enough for me. I don't need a picture of me with the props. I don't know, I just feel like blushing if I were to line up for this. Hahaha.

Beautiful wands in the Harry Potter shop.

Self-checkout machine

I was genuinely astonished when I was using this machine for the first time. I didn't even know the existence of this brilliant thing. LOL. Omg, I sound like I've lived my whole life in a forest or something. Everyone can now be their own cashier.

Next stop, Covent Garden.
I'm so tempted to spell it as Convent Garden.... I'm a Convent girl FYI.

I saw Mr. Bean!! He is still as funny as always.

Apple Market 

No, I've never heard of Ben's Cookie before. Michelle never tried it before either and she heard that is was quite popular in Thailand apparently. So, we thought we could give it a go. It's just soft cookie, but I prefer the chocolate chip one, it is better than white chocolate. 

Enjoyed nomming our snacks while watching the street performance. 

Random fountain I found near St. Paul's Church in Covent Garden

Then, we walked our way to Trafalgar Square

Retro shops along the way

Every kids dream.

Pictures in the big red telephone booth is a must if you're in London!

Admiring the doors of London Coliseum. Googled the place, the inside looks amazing. 

A random entrance next to St Martin in the Fields which I find very intriguing. Apparently it is the entrance to a cafe underground. 

Inside St. Martins. Very different interior than the ones I've seen. I also find the distorted window very mysterious. 

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh and lived among us” - St. John

The National Gallery. Didn't went in though. Because I was kind of confused. LOL.

Trafalgar Square

Crawling with humans

And how odd, the water are filled with bubbles. Not sure if they are cleaning it or what. It's just a very different sight.

Camera selfie! 

The iconic red bus. And this is the old version running on the street! I was very lucky to get this shot.

Okay, random

Big Ben and the Parliament 

A different angle view of Big Ben and the Parliament

London Eye from Westminster Bridge

Oh, speaking about the Westminster, even though I was in the area, I didn't really have a good shot of Westminster Abbey. It was under construction so it wasn't a pretty sight. I didn't visit it either. It's just not in my priority list I guess. 

Dinner at Little Korea

I haven't had Korean food since forever!!! It doesn't really taste like the ones I normally had but it'll do. Korean food craving satisfied. Somehow I felt like the food there is more bland than the typical very flavorful ones.

On the subway back home.

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Experiencing my first play in a theater! 

Visits | Victoria and Albert Museum, Fortnum & Mason, Hamleys, Criterion Theater

Eats | Tombo, Dean Street Townhouse, Cafe TPT

Recommended by Michelle

Totally hooked on the Matcha Sundae!

Loved the Green Tea ice cream and the food is amazing. They have really interesting sides for the main set menu. That gave us some ideas on how to spice up salads. They all tasted so different and yet so delicious. I'm raving about the sides rather than the Teriyaki Chicken. Lol. Tombo, a must go to cafe if you're at South Kensington.

"Got my party dress on and ready to get it down"

Godly statues and doors from all over the world (of course, they are not the original version).

Raphael's Room

Enjoyed our time in V&A for an hour or two, then we're off to tea.

Very English indeed

Even though it was kind of expensive, I figured I would try at least once. I love desserts anyway (that's why I'm gaining so much weight these days). We went to Dean Street Townhouse around 3pm. The set was actually intended for one person but we decided to share because we just wanted to try. Sweets on the top, scones in the middle and finger sandwiches at the bottom. Everything was delicious. I think I had scones before, but I didn't like them but the scones they served there was very very soft and oh, so good. Hmm, lucky I gave everything a try. I think my taste for food has changed drastically over the years. 

Did window-shopping at Fortnum & Mason, quite interesting architecture and products they have there. This picnic set cost around 1500£. Bloody hell. XD  

Also, went to Hamleys to look around too. The pictures are of Lego stuff only solely because my bf has influenced me in his love for Lego. LOL. 

Street performance at Piccadilly Circus before going to the theater.

Watching The 39 Steps, which is a comedy play

We were so close to the stage but it felt very intimate.

I don't think many people would thought of going to a play when they visit London. I originally just wanted to attend a play in the Shakespeare's Globe Theater because it only cost 5£ per person but the downside is, you have to stand the whole time. Lucky for me, I think it was fully booked so Michelle found another one that we could attend. It is truly a very different and unique experience. I loved every bits of it and the actors are very impressive. I mean seeing only a cast of 4 acting as 10 or more characters on stage and they have to move the props around on their own too. I can even see them sweating. Hahaha, must be a good cardio exercise.
A recommended activity for those who are visiting London. :)

Typical chinese set meal at Cafe TPT. The sweet sour chicken was very good. I miss home already! 

To be continued ...