Sunday, April 24, 2011

Getting around London

At first we were all about the underground. Tube ke sana sini. However, after a few days, we prefer the bus more.

Ya rabbi, the staircases around the underground station is BRUTAL! If you have luggage, it will be even tougher. We did come across a few that has escalators, but the rest....dream on. And sometimes, you feel like a rat goiing thru the maze of nook and corners to get to a different line. Bila dah penat, this is not exciting at all. My motto every time met with a staircase is DIG DEEP! Tah berapa kali la aku dig deep. Nasib tak patah kaki.

From the area that we stayed there's a lot of buses that goes to most of the London main attraction. I love it as we get to see the view and not stuck underground, and of course we can forgo the nasty staircases. However, unlike KL, the buses, though it's passing the whole stretch of the street, it will not stop at all the bus stops. So you will need to check one by one... which sometimes, before you know it you have trotted half a mile already!

A few tips though

1. We bought the daily pass after 8am, which is after peak hour. So it cost 6.60 rather than 8.20 during peak hour.

2. The daily pass works on the trains as well as the busses. Naik la sampai nak tergolek pun.

3. The cab is not that expensive, so if you have too much luggage, naik je la. Dari patah pinggang angkat bag naik tangga. The black cab may cost more, so you can also ask your hotel manager to call the local cab. Aka mcm taxi sapu. Just check the price first.

4. If there's any escalator, it's always hidden. If rasa nak cacat naik tangga tu, spend a few minutes looking around first.

Anyway, one of our memorable bus ride was from Stamford Bridge to Oxford Circus. We sat on the top deck and got a great view of everything. The bus went thru Chelsea and South Kensington area (kononnya apartments yang hip lagi happening). Dapat la berangan kejap.



The streets are packed with super cool cars such as this. Bila la nak drive kereta ni.



Then it passed the Victoria and Albert Museum (which I wanted to visit, but just didn't find the energy to..)and then it came to.. Harrods!



We didn't really plan this, so we just jumped down at the sight of the green (emerald) building. Harrods was every bit that people has been talking about. However, I suppose we were tired and the sight of thousands of people milling about in it, just don't do it for me. And we did went thru the food hall... there's a smell that just bothered me, so we skipped that as well. Note to travellers, never go here during weekends I suppose. It does have the same vibe as Sogo, during Aidilfitri sales.

We then, took the same numbered bus to continue our journey to Oxford Circus. Why are we looking so much forward to Oxford Circus? Well... it's not really about the lights and all... but we heard about this one shop called LilyWhites.

It's 6 stories of nothing but marked down sports item. Anything you want (well almost), they got it. Disebabkan nak separuh mati naik tangga kedai tu aje aku tak beli everything in sight. Is it really cheap? Boleh la... the main agenda was to look for running spike for my nephew. After the main agenda (which of course must be located on the 6th floor) is aquired, anything goes. Sudahnya... we ended up with a big bag of god knows what.

Opps sidetracked about shopping.

Right. Back on train and bus rides. Well, the train rides wasn't all that bad. One thing that I would tell anyone who would want to visit London, go and enjoy the architecture of the train stations. You know those 4 stations that is on the original Monopoly Board? Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street, Marylebone and King’s Cross. Visit those if you have the chance and take a peek at how beautiful and quaint the buildings are. It's free and inspiring. Even some of the platforms inside the underground is pretty cool. Very Potteresque movie.

Unfortunately, I realized this all to late and only able to admire the view from far for a split second. Here's some of the shots that I managed to snap:

This one is taken while waiting for train at Paddington Underground.



This one is the outside of St Pancras Station. (The terminal for Eurostar).



Tapi I suppose, the one tube station that I really want to go was Warwick Avenue.



Why? Sebab saya suka lagu ini:

Warwick Avenue by Duffy

When I get to Warwick Avenue
Meet me by the entrance of the tube
We can talk things over a little time
Promise me you won't step out of line

When I get to Warwick Avenue
Please drop the past and be true
Don't think we're okay just because I'm here
You hurt me bad but I won't shed a tear

I'm leaving you for the last time, baby
You think you're loving but you don't love me
I've been confused, out of my mind lately
You think you're loving but I want to be free
Baby you've hurt me

When I get to Warwick Avenue
We'll spend an hour, but no more than two
Our only chance to speak once more
I showed you the answers, now here's the door

When I get to Warwick Avenue
I'll tell you baby that we're through

I'm leaving you for the last time, baby
You think you're loving but you don't love me
I've been confused, out of my mind lately
You think you're loving but you don't love me
I want to be free, baby, you've hurt me

All the days spent together, I wished for better
But I didn't want the train to come
Now it's departed, I'm broken-hearted
Seems like we never started

All those days spent together when I wished for better
And I didn't want the train to come! Oh, oh

You think you're loving but you don't love me
I want to be free, baby, you hurt me
You don't love me, I want to be free
Baby, you've hurt me

1 comment:

zaimah said...

kahkah. escalator pun mendongak semacam rs mcm nak terbalik kebelakang.

gross ps: ko cek tak kaler lubang idung kau tiap kali kelua dr underground? superhitam!