Solo Adventure: Part 12 - Camden Market & Tower Bridge, London

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong!

Lots of friends suggested Portobello Market for Saturday activity. But because the brilliant moi bought the HoHo London Tour ticket online, terpaksarela let go PM. According to my itinerary, after Arsenal Stadium I would have my Bath-Windsor-Stonehenge tour. Again, I could only plan. Ketentuan pada Allah. Ticket should be bought at least 2 days prior the tour date. I arrived from Amsterdam in the late evening the day before & the travel shop at the hostel has closed.  

Luckily Camden Town menjadi penyelamat. Before heading to Arsenal, I quickly googled for CT. Jadi kebiasaan sudah kalau mau pigi somewhere, I will search info about the place. Untuk ambil feel lebih poyo, aku berangan through the pictures uploaded in the net. Yet I have to skipped that part because I need to manage my time wisely. Berangan boleh buat once sampai Malaysia! 

Thanks to the London underground app in my phone, I encountered no problem going to Camden from Arsenal station. It took less than 20mins to reach the town. Sampai tu sudah tengah hari, memang cun bertembung peak-hour kan. And Camden Town underground station is equally busy as in King's Cross. 

The first market I saw once out from the tube station. Originally known as Buck Street Market. It is a 200 stalls in narrow alley-ways. 

Love at the first sight. I was spoiled with choices in this alley! And yeah u got it right, I ended up buying 2 things. Spent only half an hour here because I know the longer I stayed the more I can't resist myself from buying. 

 Unique stores along the street. I enjoyed watching different kind of fashion donned by the youngsters.

Sewing machine is the main decorative items in this store. Superbly creative. Bestie; Ernie found one shop with the same concept in London as well.

Tiba² feeling Venice kan...

For your information, I got lost in this market. Yeah sesat lagi! Pusing sana, pusing sini...I can't seem to find the way out. Tapi ndak panic sudah sebab mustahil lah kan ndak kan jumpa langsung jalan keluar. Kalau sudah confirm ndak jumpa, harus activate friendly hormone. Tanya orang! Bukan berlagak kera sombong ya.

Sebab perut sudah start music dangdut hence kita soru dulu! Apa pun jadi belakang cerita. Selalu otak aku jammed sebab lapar. Sudahlah cuaca mendung, temperature pun around 15'C jak time ni. Lagi bertambah lapar. And yes, masuk jak area food stalls terus bergendang lagi kuat si Perut. 

Again, I was spoiled with too many choices. Kiri kanan makanan super sedap. Juling mata! Halal food pun berhamburan so I don't have problem making my choice. Spot that lady in PINK hair. Super cool! I purposely sat at the table near her...enjoying my lunch with super cool view in front of me. 

I bought my lunch here. ALL FOR £4 ONLY! Malu pula mamat tu aku snapped gambar. Hihi itu tapau aku ya! Ikut hati memang semua lauk tu aku mau. Tapi aku ingat lemaks jak. Muntah darah pula aku nanti terlampau berjenis lauk masuk perut. 

To Grunge with lotsalove; u could now pick the best that suited ur taste! 

The horse welcomes u to the market. It gained the name from its used back in the Victorian times. It's a horse hospital; treating injured horses suffered from pulling the the canal barges down the canals. Now, this market is the largest of Camden's popular spaces. Selling various kind of goods.

Walking down the tunnel did give me the feel of something so ancient. Try imagine kuda tu suddenly came into live. Ok, aku dulu pengsan.

Signboard biru tu adalah yang paling dicari & paling paling dihargai sepanjang aku di bumi Eropah ah.

I had my lunch at the open area...free seating. Makan sambil cuci mata tengok orang limpas, orang makan, orang masak, orang beli makanan, orang bercerita etc etc. Also admiring minah rambut pink!!!

Habis makan...round² lagi stalls yang ada. And voila, ntah macam mana aku sudah di tepi jalan. Maknanya sudah jumpa my way out from the huge market. Ndak sia² isi perut, bagi otak function semula. I went back straight to the hostel from CT. Took my shower, performed my Jamak then off to Westminster City I went. 

Memang awal pagi tu sudah plan mau menikmati view of Big Ben during dusk. Tapi harapan tinggal kenangan since the sun refused to go out that day, jadinya impian sunset aku ke laut. It was already 10p when I arrived here. Masih terang bumi Allah kala ni. 

Anggap jak lah orange-reddish hue dari lampu tu adalah cahaya mentari senja.

Ehem...jadi friendly minta tolong orang. Perlu kot kalau mahu gambar kenangan sendiri; yang macam ni.

The London Eye. I don't know why but I just don't have the urge to ride on this eye. Pelik bah tu perangai.

From Westminster, I took the tube to Tower Hill station. Keluar dari station, aku macam bingai ikut signboard that lead me to the opposite site of the bridge. Patut out from the station, crossed the road & turn right at the first traffic light. But I took the left turn instead. Buat kesekian kali, jadi peramah. Asked around. Lucky me, it's Saturday night. So memang ramai orang bersukaria. In less than 5 minutes, I was already standing before the Tower Bridge! Magnificent view in the evening it is! Lampu biru-pink tu lip lap ah. Changing every second. Well, as expected mestilah aku tunggu sampai lampu kaler fav baru sibuk snap.

Perfect timing! Even the stranger who took this pic for me know my color! Yeah, sila continue berangan kosong Bie!

Another view from the bridge. Southwark bank of the River Thames & Canary Wharf. Also seen is the London Bridge Tower; the skyscraper in London. It is the tallest completed building in Europe! The misshapen egg building at far left is the City Hall. Kawasan tu macam 'new' London lah kiranya sebab most of the buildings memang modern. Unlike buildings di 'traditional' London yang masih preserve senibina lama. Masih utuh! Sangat tinggil nilai sejarah.

Best ja aku feeling jalan sendiri menikmati udara senja without realizing the clock almost hit 12a. Lagipun masih terang benderang kan. Nasib ndak leka sangat. Sempat berlari kejar tube. Because I was a bit exhausted, I hop on the bus in front of the station. Sampai hostel in less than 5 mins. Phew!

Right in front of the hostel I stayed, there are few Halal cafes. Operated by the Pakistani. Memang kebulur gaban sudah, semua aku nampak pun sedap! 

Mula tu hesitate juga bila nampak 'ham' in the menu. Therefore in order to clear my curiosity, I asked the man at the counter. Manalah tahu kan, ada tanda Halal tapi diorang serve dish yang non-halal sebab ada certain restaurants macam tu di sana. Ndak salah menanya. Alhamdulillah, itu bukan sesuatu yang perlu dirisaukan. Turned out it's a Turkey ham kot! Ngek. Aku super lapar jadi aku order pizza. Ada 6 slices....3 aku telan malam tu juga ah.  Siap minta extra cheese! And extra capsicum! Sekian lah perut buncit.

Erm, suddenly sangat rajin minum plain water. Siap beli berbotol². Bukan 500ml tau. 1liter terus aku hentam. Ya bangga aku!

To quote Dayang "Orang yang ndak minum plain water jak bangga mampu minum air".

Kejam oii statement. Gugur bulu mata aku sebab tertelan cili kau baling!

Malam tu tidur awal...sebab the next day ada acara solo jelajah bumi London. Ndak mau lambat nanti ndak sempat join tour superwalkertapaki to Buckingham Palace. 

eryantierdabdulkarim