Day Four - Tuesday : British Musuem, Tottenham Court Street

The morning, again, repeated itself: the strong sun, felt under slept, etc.

Today the other guest in the B&B, a gay couple from France, planned to visit Hampton Court. I had seen the poster promoting the place a few times in the tube stations. The thing that pique my interest was the Tudor cookery event. Sadly it was not done often and I was either too late or too early for it. Not to mention the cost of transportation to and from the place, though not too bad. Eventually I decided against it, and went to The British Museum instead.

The museum, while not hard to find, took me a while to find it. There was also a hotdog stand in front of the museum. The scent of cooking onions were so irresistible that I finally succumb to buy one. I saw quite a few of these stands on the bridge going to Big Ben earlier and the scent of cooking onions were just... divine. The hotdog was simple, since I did not wants the onion, I just slathered it with chili sauce (from Thailand too) and mustard.

After I finish the hotdog, I ventured inside the museum.

I suppose one can say that it is a fairly typical museum. The souvenir shop, while sell quite a number of interesting items, did not made me pried my wallet open. I was sorely tempted by the Rosetta stone keyring though. But at 3 pounds a piece, only when I am rich :p.

I must admit I had a sense of familiarity when I enter the building and get the hang of the directions, it must be from when I play 'Hellgate: London'... There was a British museum map that got replicated quite realistically in terms of the map design.

Anyhow, I started at the Sumerian area.
Then Egyptian.

And Roman
Then Egyptian mummies on the second floor


And the Roman lifestyles.

After finish touring the museum, I wandered outside to check out the souvenir shop across the road. It claimed to be the cheapest one and tax free for tourists (provided that you show your passport).

Then I wandered into Tottenham Court Street to check out the GPS unit that my younger bro asked me to buy. Admittedly I did not too hard because I think it was rather frivolous of him to buy one.
I was wandering the area looking for an internet cafe, in my effort to try to see if my Micro SD card really broken or not. I suppose it became a bit of trade off, since when I finally went into one and choose the computer, I noticed that one of them have a flashdrive in one of the USB port. I took it with me since no one comes to claim it the whole one hour that I was there.

Meanwhile, my friend (a German who live in London), called me and ask where I was. I told him I was in Oxford street area, which is near to where to he was as well. So I agreed to meet up with him at HMV where he was doing his business.

He was almost unrecognizable. He did told me, through our monthly e-mails, that he gained a lot of weight since the last times we met 10 years ago, from the cheap food he could affords and he wasn't lying. It's like he was wearing a fat suit, from the puffy cheeks and big belly. The sight of him almost brought tears to my eyes and I did tell him that, although I did it in jesting manner... We agreed to meet again before I went home, as I threaten to sell the duty free cigarette I bought for him on the plane to someone else :p

Afterward I took the subway back to the B&B, if I remember correctly, and stay there until club times (late evening).

All in all it was another ok day in London. Quite a lot of interesting sites and sights to see, too bad that it's not a lot of people to do :p

Day Three - Monday: Trafalga Square, National Museum, Soho, and Old Comton road

The morning repeated itself, I woke up way too early by the streaming sunlight and felt rather under slept.

The destination of the day was the National Museum. I figured I could hit two hot spots in one go since Trafalgar Square is right in front of the museum. There are also several location of interests in the area as well.

First the Trafalgar Square. It was bigger than I thought but then I think I got mixed up with the Piccadilly Circus.
The square is right in front of the National Museum.

I did not know what to expect from the place but I enjoyed what I have found. Turns out the museum is the painting museum.

I think the first painting I ran into was 'The Virgin on the Rock' by Leonardo da Vinci. My first impression of the painting was that the skins of all the people in the painting seems unusually pale. I spent quite a lot of time in the museum walking from room to room, looking at all the different paintings. The museum also had a computer room, with touch screen monitor for visitors to use to browse all the paintings in their archive. You can scroll through, read up on the info and tidbits of the paintings, and even zoom in to take a closer look :)

The souvenir shop was also quite interesting. They have necktie, mug, cup, key chain, etc. with the patterns of famous paintings. Like Monet's waterlily pond and Van Gogh's Sunflower. I would be quite tempted, had it not for the fact that I hate wearing ties. Not to mention the price.

After touring the museum, I walked out pass the National Portrait Museum and into Old Compton Street in Soho area. The area that I was told is one of the gay area in London. I even saw the actor Adrian Paul walking through Old Compton Street talking on his cellphone looking rather anxious as if he was already late for appointment.

I walked around the area, almost lost even, and ventured into the China Town area.

It was not big, just one street even, but you will know right away that it is China town :) I think it was in this area that I finally found one shop that do top-up for my particular SIM card.

After walking around so much I started to get hungry. I had my mind set on Italian food this times so I scouted the price of various Italian restaurant, in Soho area of course :P And finally found this one, as the cheapest one :P

I was tempted to order the cabonara but eventually decided on Verdi Lasagna instead which is lasagna with green color pasta. It taste quite good :dd I was not disappointed at all. The place was quite small but seems to be ran by Italians staffs.

If I remember correctly, I went to have another private moment today :P Afterward I bought my first 'Mars ice cream' :dd I Loved it. I wish they would sell it here.

Then I returned to the B&B, they were having dinner so I join in as well. Then I watch TV and chit chat with the owner. And then I went to bed.

Day Two - Sunday: Seeing London Eye, Big Ben, and the Parliament

I woke up a bit early than I want, probably due to the sunlight that streaming into my bedroom as well as the jetlag (I think).

Anyhow, once I freshen up and go down to the living room, the owner is making breakfast so I join in along with other guests :dd The breakfast consists of bacon, scramble egg and wholegrain toasts. The toasts were great, I think I will eat more bread if they sell them in Bangkok.

Then I am off, on my own for the first times, into the city. My destination of the day is located near Waterloo subway station: London Eye, Big Ben and The Parliament building.

First stop, Waterloo station, which is just one stop away from Kennington, I walked through the passover bridge and into the yard area near the London Eye.

There was a very long queue lining up to go up the Eye.

So I decided to walk around the area instead. I start by walking near the river and take a few snaps at the Dali statues.
The building nearby comprised of Dali exhibition, London Aquarium, McDonald, Namco arcade, Fright Lab (a kind of haunted house I suppose), restaurant, and cafe. After meandering around the area for quite a good while, I walked over to see Big Ben and the Parliament.

After I had enough with the walking I headed back toward the station and had my first Fish & Chips. I had to do the take out menu to take advantage of the cheaper price (with a bottle of drink no less :d). It was ok but the potatoes are rather... tasteless... which did not bode well when I finish with the fish.

Then I walk around the area and found an IMAX theater with Dark Knight decor. It was nice, I was thinking about went inside to see the interior but later forgot about it.
Then I found my way into another establishment and had myself another private time :P

Then I went back to the B&B and sleep... I still felt lightheaded and sleepy around 22:00.