London
The 11.5 hour flight from Sri Lanka to London went without a hitch and a cup holder. We arrived at Heathrow at 2030 local time and it was a cool 8 degrees Celsius. A stark contrast to the 30 degree temperatures experienced in Colombo. I had prepared for this and as soon as I was able to, I changed from my shorts and thongs, into my jeans and jumper. Over the past few months it has been this moment of going through Customs that concerned me the most. Having booked my flights to arrive at 8pm on the 19/04, not realising my visa stipulated that I could not enter the UK until the 20/04, I was not sure whether I would be able to go through Customs straight away. The moment came and after some small talk with the lady about my journey ahead and the fact that I was wearing shorts and she recommended pants (which I had prepared earlier), she stamped my passport and I was into the UK at 9pm. I caught the Tube to Earl’s Court after collecting my baggage, where I was to be staying at the local Youth Hostel. At 10 pm, with 19kg’s on my back I began to walk towards the hostel, well that’s what I thought, until an hour had passed and I realised I was lost. I asked a few people for directions and they lead me in the wrong direction, or I didn’t listen properly, and then I finally came across a pharmacy and the man behind the counter gave me a map and just round the corner was the hostel. Tired and sore, I got my room key, went up 6 flights of stairs to the top level, got changed and fell asleep.
Sunday 20th
My first day in London. I had met two Australians in my hostel this morning and they told me to go and do one of the free walking tours on offer in London. At 11am I arrived at Wellington Arch, near Hyde Park Corner Station, and went on the Royal London tour. The tour took approximately 3 hours and it took us passed Wellington Arch, down Constitution hill to Buckingham Palace, passed Prince William and Harry’s house, down Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall St, the Household Cavalry, Downing St, Churchill’s War Cabinet Bunker, Westminster Abbey and Parliament House. Along the way we learnt many interesting facts and history about these places and the people who have shaped England in some way, from Guy Faulkss, to Winston Churchill, and Florence Nightingale to Oliver Cromwell. During the tour I met another guy from Australia who was spending his last day in London. Together we went on London Eye, crossed London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and saw London Tower. That evening I headed back to the Hostel at 1730, feeling rather tired and decided to have a small nap before the evening. I woke up at 0650 the next morning, having slept right through the night.
Monday 21st
Today I bought a mobile phone and made contact with my friend from GE, Kurt Shrubsole, who had recently come over to London and he is staying in Shepherd’s Bush. Together, with his friend Aaron we headed into town and for lunch stopped in a pub and had a pie and beer. Afterwards we then went to the Churchill Museum and War Cabinet Rooms, which I had passed in the tour the previous day. This museum was situated in the underground bunkers built during WW2 where Churchill and his ministers would meet and strategise to defend against and attack the Nazis. The tour was amazing and showed a large array of memorabilia of Churchill’s life from birth to death. It was a very interactive display and there were many audio pieces of his renowned speeches, and videos during his time as a M.P in the early 1900’s through to his time as Prime Minister during WW2 and right through to his funeral in 1965. We spent 2 hours in the museum, touring the displays and the many rooms in the bunker which had been left just as they were when Churchill occupied them. Unfortunately we had to rush through the final parts of the tour as it had come to closing time. After leaving the Museum we walked through St James’s Park, up passed Piccadilly Circus and through Leicester Square and caught the tube back to Shepherd’s Bush for Dinner at the Walkabout Inn.
The Walkabout Inn is a chain of bars throughout England which all celebrate Australian culture. They have Australian Beers, play Australian pub songs and play Australian sport on TV. While there we played ‘Bogan Bingo’, without any luck, had a few games of pool then at 2230 we called it a night and I headed back to the train station to go back the hostel in Earl’s Court.
The 11.5 hour flight from Sri Lanka to London went without a hitch and a cup holder. We arrived at Heathrow at 2030 local time and it was a cool 8 degrees Celsius. A stark contrast to the 30 degree temperatures experienced in Colombo. I had prepared for this and as soon as I was able to, I changed from my shorts and thongs, into my jeans and jumper. Over the past few months it has been this moment of going through Customs that concerned me the most. Having booked my flights to arrive at 8pm on the 19/04, not realising my visa stipulated that I could not enter the UK until the 20/04, I was not sure whether I would be able to go through Customs straight away. The moment came and after some small talk with the lady about my journey ahead and the fact that I was wearing shorts and she recommended pants (which I had prepared earlier), she stamped my passport and I was into the UK at 9pm. I caught the Tube to Earl’s Court after collecting my baggage, where I was to be staying at the local Youth Hostel. At 10 pm, with 19kg’s on my back I began to walk towards the hostel, well that’s what I thought, until an hour had passed and I realised I was lost. I asked a few people for directions and they lead me in the wrong direction, or I didn’t listen properly, and then I finally came across a pharmacy and the man behind the counter gave me a map and just round the corner was the hostel. Tired and sore, I got my room key, went up 6 flights of stairs to the top level, got changed and fell asleep.
Sunday 20th
My first day in London. I had met two Australians in my hostel this morning and they told me to go and do one of the free walking tours on offer in London. At 11am I arrived at Wellington Arch, near Hyde Park Corner Station, and went on the Royal London tour. The tour took approximately 3 hours and it took us passed Wellington Arch, down Constitution hill to Buckingham Palace, passed Prince William and Harry’s house, down Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall St, the Household Cavalry, Downing St, Churchill’s War Cabinet Bunker, Westminster Abbey and Parliament House. Along the way we learnt many interesting facts and history about these places and the people who have shaped England in some way, from Guy Faulkss, to Winston Churchill, and Florence Nightingale to Oliver Cromwell. During the tour I met another guy from Australia who was spending his last day in London. Together we went on London Eye, crossed London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and saw London Tower. That evening I headed back to the Hostel at 1730, feeling rather tired and decided to have a small nap before the evening. I woke up at 0650 the next morning, having slept right through the night.
Monday 21st
Today I bought a mobile phone and made contact with my friend from GE, Kurt Shrubsole, who had recently come over to London and he is staying in Shepherd’s Bush. Together, with his friend Aaron we headed into town and for lunch stopped in a pub and had a pie and beer. Afterwards we then went to the Churchill Museum and War Cabinet Rooms, which I had passed in the tour the previous day. This museum was situated in the underground bunkers built during WW2 where Churchill and his ministers would meet and strategise to defend against and attack the Nazis. The tour was amazing and showed a large array of memorabilia of Churchill’s life from birth to death. It was a very interactive display and there were many audio pieces of his renowned speeches, and videos during his time as a M.P in the early 1900’s through to his time as Prime Minister during WW2 and right through to his funeral in 1965. We spent 2 hours in the museum, touring the displays and the many rooms in the bunker which had been left just as they were when Churchill occupied them. Unfortunately we had to rush through the final parts of the tour as it had come to closing time. After leaving the Museum we walked through St James’s Park, up passed Piccadilly Circus and through Leicester Square and caught the tube back to Shepherd’s Bush for Dinner at the Walkabout Inn.
The Walkabout Inn is a chain of bars throughout England which all celebrate Australian culture. They have Australian Beers, play Australian pub songs and play Australian sport on TV. While there we played ‘Bogan Bingo’, without any luck, had a few games of pool then at 2230 we called it a night and I headed back to the train station to go back the hostel in Earl’s Court.
1 comment:
Does it make me unAustralian that I never ever ventured into Kangaroo Court (Earls Court) once while I lived in London???
Although I did manage to go to Shepards Bush Walkabout once - my first night in London and fell down the tube escalators after pushing my sister down the middle slidey bit - she fell off and I fell over her...
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