London, England I: First impression

London, London, London. What can I say about thee? Honestly, I think I didn't enjoy London as much as I could have because I was on a budget and everything in London was expensive. I would look at the price tag, multiply the price by two, inhale sharply and promptly look away. Another reason why London fell short of my expectations was because everyone was raving about how great, amazing, fantastic London is, how London is their favourite city in Europe, etc etc. So my expectations was POOF sky high. I guess it's pretty hard to enjoy UK on the whole on a student budget but that doesn't mean I didn't have my share of fun.

After breakfast at the hostel, I went out and joined a Sandeman walking tour because I missed the Discovery Walks one. I can't remember any of the stories that he told.. :/ Except one story about this homeless drunk man. One night, many many many years ago, after getting drunk, the man thought to himself, "Hmm, I'm sure the Queen doesn't need so many rooms in Buckingham Palace. Most of them must be empty!" So he decided to climb over the walls of Buckingham Palace and spend a night inside one of the rooms. And of alllll the rooms inside the palace, he entered the Queen's bedroom. Well done, Sir. The Queen was obviously shocked but she kept her calm and listened to the drunk man's rant. Then she asked if he would like a drink. He said yes and the Queen picked up her intercom and said, "Can someone bring a drink up for this poor homeless man in my bedroom?" Guess what happened next. Well obviously the guards came and arrested the man. I think he didn't get thrown into jail, just let off with a warning.

We went to the major tourist spots and I took photos with the royal guards who eyeballed me. Then I decided to head back to the hostel to take a rest because I slept quite little during the overnight bus ride from Paris. I will compile a post about the hostels I stayed in Europe later on. But it was such a lovely day! The sky was blue, the clouds were fluffy. Since good weather is supposedly rare in London, I went out again to explore the neighbourhood around my hostel. National History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrods are all nearby. I really liked the neighbourhood, especially because the beautiful Hyde Park is right across the hostel.

I walked into all the supermarkets that I saw, browsed around, picked up things, put them back, smelled some fruits, eyed the tubs of Ben & Jerry's, and bought a bag of nuts to munch on the way back to the hostel to call it a night.

Thought of the day: Doesn't the London Eye looks exactly the same as the Singapore Flyer or what? Oh I beg your pardon, it should be doesn't the Singapore Flyer look exactly like the London Eye or what?