Solo Adventure: Part 13 - City of London

Bangun awal gila pagi tu sebab rugi kalau bertolak lambat. Nanti ndak sempat cover tempat² dalam map HoHo. Breakfast free di hostel untuk alas perut. Adalah dalam 4 keping toasts aku telan, a bowl of cereal, a cup of coffee & a glass of milk. Ntah lah kan aku breakfast untuk berapa hari punya stok. Oi Bie, kau alas perut atau mentekedarah?! 

Anyway, a month before my departure for the trip...I secured a seat with The Original London Sightseeing HoHo Tour through isango.com. There are many HoHo tours available on the net but I purposely chose this tour because it includes the river cruise & walking tours. 

Awal pagi otak aku masih fresh...erm, correction. Masih blur & mamai actually. Uber lazy to search for the route walk so I took the tube instead. Padahal takut sesat kalau jalan kaki dari King Cross to Russell Square. It's only a stop away from KC lagipun. Dari bazir masa baik hop on the train kan. 

So close yet too far! Inilah paling dikesali. Anganan paling tinggi untuk masuk dalam bangunan ni. Since dari Malaysia lagi aku sudah study pelan lantai segala. Tapi harapan hanya tingal kenangan. Plan mau pigi sini petang tu & lepas dari muzium ni kunun terus jak superwalkertapaki balik hostel. One day...one day! Akan ku jejak Kota London lagi & definitely akan allocate one whole day hanya untuk spend time di British Museum! Insya Allah!!

Sebab first plan is to join the walking tour to Buckingham Palace, I was advice to hop off at Whitcomb St. near Piccadilly Circus. Because traffic was a bit massive; few roads closed due to a weekend event held at Trafalqar Square. I walked myself to the Original Tour Visitor Centre opposite the square.

While waiting at the visitor centre, the idea to watch a live musical popped out. Belek brochure, tiba² nampak poster Narnia! Haruslah tanpa second thought terus meluru kaunter & buka beg keluar duit bayar...and confirm akan dapat tengok bila ticket sudah di tangan!

At 10a sharp,  we departed to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. Macam acara rasmi setiap orang yang lawat London lah kunun, jadi of course gue ndak mau lepas peluang. Alang² sampai biar berabisan sana.

The Admiralty Arch. A Grade 1 listed building. Read those wordings carved on top of the arch. Anno: Decimo: Edwardi: Septimi: Regis: Victoriae: Reginae: Cives: Gratissimi: MDCCCCX. (In the tenth year of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria, from most grateful citizens, 1910)

Nampak tiang with crown at the tips...memang sah lah kan kau dalam kawasan istana sudah.

As per my guide, nearly five hundred thousand people come to visit this palace in a year. Tujuan utama memanglah untuk witness sendiri pertukaran Guard. Tabah aku tengok Guard ni semua. Uniform tetap sama regardless the season. Imagine kalau winter; sejuk tahap beku pun kena bertahan. 

Someone in the group helped me take this picture. Pandai kunun aku beramah mesra sama stranger. We walked together throughout the tour. Luckily dia faham English aku yang hancur tahap dewa tiada ampun.

The marching starts here....

Ramai!! 

Victoria Memorial dedicated to Queen Victoria. It is placed at the center of the Queen's Garden in front of Buckingham Palace. 

Window dari zaman dulu kala. Preserved & well maintain di building ni.

Tower Bridge! View from on top of the bus while crossing London Bridge. 

I hop off at the Tower of London stop. Walked  towards Millennium Pier to redeem my ticket for river cruise. Suddenly rasa rugi ndak sempat cruising di Amsterdam. Mesti comel canals tu semua.

Situated just behind the tower.

Dulu² kubu pertahanan. Ni view dari dalam bot. 

The Monument of the Great Fire London. It's hard to take a picture of it from the bus. Memang excited dengar history through the audio guide. The monument was built to commemorate the worst fire in the history of the City of London. The fire started on 2 Sept 1666 & lasted 4 days after! It was built on the site of St. Margaret Church; the first church to be burnt down by the great fire. Didn't know I would have the opportunity to photograph it while cruising. Alhamdulillah, I got quite a good view of it if not perfect.

Under one of the many bridges in River Thames, there is this spa walled with glass window. As per the Captain, on lucky day(??) one would see naked people enjoying their spa treatment. Most fortunate when all rooms are occupants. Turn kami, walau semua bilik ada pelanggan...semua ber-bathrobe. Lawak gila when one of the passenger shouted "Damn my unfortunate day". 

The Millennium or Woobly Bridge. 

Masa atas bridge ni...ada group of dancers performing very unique dance.If I'm not mistaken they were there to promote their school as well. They approached everyone on the bridge with dance rather than smiling nor talking. They were all scattered around along the bridge. 

That women in grey sweater is one the teacher; I presumed. Ahaks. 

View of St. Paul Cathedral behind.

Westminster Abbey during the day. 

James Bond's apartment in Casino Royale. 

Near Victoria Station. 

Marble Arch view from the north side. Its area was once home to the largest cinema screen in London; Odeon Marble Arch. Originally it was situated the chief entrance of Buckingham Palace but was dismantled when new east range of the palace was constructed. 

The infamous Hyde Park. 

At 5p, the bus stopped at the final point near Oxford Street. Since aku sudah ada plan petang tu, jadi perlu balik mandi manda wangi². Mesti gerak awal dari hostel sebab sila maklum malam minggu harus berduyun orang keluar. Ndak mau sesak dalam train. 

Dalam gerak awal pun aku masih lambat sampai Kensington Gardens. Tunggu train satu hal...train lambat satu hal, hujan renyai ok lagi...tapi aku ni yang jalan macam siput sebab kureng energy. Luckily 10mins lambat jak...still kena tunggu luar & watch the show through that tiny screen! Oh, bukan gue seorang ya. Ada dalam 20 orang bersama gue. As not to disturb the other audience, we were brought into the hall group by group. 

Tukar set hence the stage rest for 10 minutes. Adalah sangat sangat ndak boleh ambil gambar dalam ni tapi ehem....aku kan ala kebaruan di situ. Lantaklah kena tegur janji ada kenangan sebiji dua. Ala teguran pun super cute & berhemah...siap ada please. Bersopan santun sungguh!

Show ended at 11p. Belum pun masuk Isya'...still Maghrib ya. Hajat hati continue jalan cuci mata, mau juga rasa Saturday night di kota besar tapi sumpah aku penat tiada ampun. Masa sampai dorm, budak lain bawa keluar lepak...phew, memang ndak larat. Pas solat, terus aku zoom sampai dreamland. Dengan telekung tu aku belayar. Hancur perangai!

Pagi esok kena bangun lagi awal! Nanti miss bas harus tour ticket burn! Menangis darah pun memang ndak berguna. 

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