England : Part 2 - A Day in London

The following day, the parents brought me to London. I went with my penpal. :-) And her soon-to-be husband. And another penpal of her from the States with her sister. The night before, I met her for the first time. We screamed for a bit. Then hugged for a bit. It was exciting meeting her for the first time. She looks exactly like the photo she sent me of her. She was the second penpal I met. The first one was the one from the States where she visited me in Malaysia when I was 17 years old. Then, we did a trip together to Guilin, China.

I digress.

So, London it is today. We took the train from this station. This station has 10 security cameras. Security is really tight.

We took the train to Liverpool Street. We came out and saw Tower of London. This place houses the Queen's Crown, and has jails. It takes a day to complete touring the place. London was bustling with people. It reminds me of Kuala Lumpur.

And I bought corn ice cream. Apparently, it is really famous! It tastes good and it is really creamy. 

Our first tourist spot - the boat cruise on River Thames. There was the Tower Bridge. I thought it was London Bridge since there is such a famous lullaby for it.

The famous Big Ben! And the House of Parliament.

The cruise took about 30 - 45 minutes. We walked to the bus stop that brought us on the 'Hop on & Hop off' bus. We took the bus, and there was an audio for everyone that explains all the places that we passed by.

After the bus tour, we had lunch at an English Pub - The King's Head. I had Ginger Pork & Ale Pie, and a glass of tap water. It was weird placing an order for tap water. In Malaysia, there is no such thing as drinking tap water, unless you want to hibernate in the toilet.

And after lunch, it was a visit to the London Eye!! :-) We were booked for the 4.30pm ride. The ride took us an hour. There was a spot to stand in the pod and get your photo taken. So, all of us stood at the spot, and I bought the group photo of us in the pod for GBP6. 

After the ride, I went to a souvenir shop. I saw these funny packets. I bought a T-shirt, and keychains. The usual tourist souvenirs. :-D

Our next stop was Oxford Station. It was the shopping centre of London.

I love the hat I am wearing.

Next stop : The train to Buckingham Palace. After we got down from the train, we went across a park to go to Buckingham Palace.

The Buckingham Palace. A tourist asked the security if this was Buckingham Palace.

Look, the Queen is in! The flag on top means she is in. Once upon a time, the Royal Guards (the ones in red) were placed by the gates, but the ladies with umbrellas keep poking them to see if they will move. So, they were moved inside.

Then, it was a train ride back to Watford, where the dad came to pick us up.