England Travel Diary Day 1: London City Tour

2004.06.02 England Travel Diary Day 1: London City Tour

This England trip was really the big trip my wife and I gave ourselves before ending our DINK days.

After more than three years of marriage, people kept asking, "Any news yet??" If we said we wanted a few more relaxed years as a couple, someone would answer, "Maybe you should see a doctor?... Both of you should go together, that works better~~"

Honestly... so annoying...

So that year we finally decided to take one serious trip before welcoming a new life. Once we had a child, I figured Europe would probably be off the table for the next ten years. Since we were going anyway, we might as well make it big... so... a twelve-day trip to England it was ^.^

First stop London: spending hurt, but bad sleep would hurt more

When we traveled, the exchange rate was painful: 1 British pound to 64 Taiwan dollars. We had a great time, but every payment stung...

Although we stayed in London for six nights, most of the trip was actually outside the city. We only went into central London on the first and last days. The other days were for Cambridge, Bath Spa, Brighton, Leeds Castle, and a four-day rental-car trip to the Lake District.

During the London stay, we were at the Nortel London West Hotel in Zone 4. The hotel was decent, with 635 rooms. At the time, I saw reviews saying many Japanese tourists stayed there too, and that made me comfortable enough to book it. It was around NT$5,000 per night...

After all... I was no longer that young. It was not like my student days, when a few classmates and I could stay at the YWCA in Vancouver for several nights and be fine. These days, a trip abroad does not have to mean a luxury hotel, but it cannot be too rough either. If you lose one night's sleep, the rest of the itinerary is basically finished ~.~

Before leaving the room on the second morning, we got stuck on a tiny but very travel-like question: should we leave a tip?

I had the impression that tipping was not expected in England. But if we were going to leave one, how much was appropriate? At the time, one pound was about two US dollars. Leaving a one-pound coin looked impolite, but the smallest banknote was five pounds... I was not that generous. My wife and I spent quite a bit of time just discussing this @.@'"

In the end, we left nothing. When checking out, we found that a service charge had already been included. Later I looked it up and found that, outside the United States, many places do not have that same "you must tip" culture. Still, that was my 2004 travel experience. Anyone booking now should check the current hotel terms and official information.

Around Westminster: expensive water and backlit photos

Once we finally went out, we walked toward Westminster. Then I suddenly got thirsty and thought I would buy a bottle of water from a roadside stall. One bottle cost one pound... seriously... I nearly fainted...

That was the mood of our first London day: every scene felt familiar, and every price made itself known.

View toward Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament from near Westminster. — Looking back toward Big Ben from the Westminster area.

Black London taxi on a street near Westminster. — A familiar London black cab, the kind often seen in television dramas.

Looking back toward Big Ben from Westminster, with those London taxis moving through the streets, I kept stopping for photos. When you first arrive in London, every view seems to remind you: this is not a postcard. You are actually walking inside it.

Stumbling into the guards: we only meant to walk, then followed them to Buckingham Palace

On the way to Buckingham Palace, we suddenly saw a large square where a group of the famous guards were drilling. If this had been a planned event, it probably would have felt tiring. But when you simply bump into it on the road, it feels like a bonus.

British guards in formation during a drill near Buckingham Palace. — A group of guards drilling in a square on the way to Buckingham Palace.

After watching for a while... wait, why were they walking out?? Where were they going??

British guards marching along the road toward Buckingham Palace. — The guards started moving toward Buckingham Palace, so we quickly followed.

It turned out they were heading to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. Since we had already run into them, of course we followed.

Crowd gathered outside Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. — The palace gates were already packed with people waiting for the changing of the guard.

By the time we reached the palace, the gates were already packed with people. There was no way to squeeze in for the full ceremony. Since we could not get into the crowd, I took a photo of the golden monument outside instead... proof that we had been there, at least...

Golden monument outside Buckingham Palace with the palace area behind it. — The golden monument outside Buckingham Palace, photographed after we could not squeeze into the crowd.

Then, just as we were leaving, we happened to catch the mounted guards coming in.

Mounted guards entering near Buckingham Palace. — We happened to catch the mounted guards entering as we left the palace area.

And the guards going out.

British guards marching away from Buckingham Palace. — The guards leaving after the changing ceremony.

Not bad luck at all. We did not get the best viewing position, but it became a different kind of Buckingham Palace memory: not a scheduled performance, but a walk that followed the guards and the crowd as the moment unfolded.

St James's Park: English wildlife has a good life

Before the crowd scattered, we hurried over to St James's Park.

The park was full of life, and the animals were everywhere... completely unafraid of being caught and eaten @.@'"

Two birds standing near the water in St James's Park. — The fearless birds in St James's Park.

Squirrel standing close to visitors in St James's Park. — A very confident squirrel in St James's Park.

Look at those fearless birds, and that very confident squirrel. If they had not been lucky enough to be born in England... who knows whose stomach they would have ended up in ~.~

Tower Bridge, London Bridge, and the Thames: seeing the city again from the water

In the afternoon we went around the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. After a full morning of walking, this part felt like connecting several big London landmarks: Tower Bridge, London Bridge, and then a boat ride along the Thames back toward the city center.

Tower Bridge and the riverside area in London. — Walking around the Tower of London and Tower Bridge area in the afternoon.

London Bridge over the River Thames. — London Bridge, the bridge from the familiar nursery rhyme.

View from a boat on the River Thames in London. — Taking a boat along the River Thames back toward central London.

The good thing about taking a boat was that our feet could rest. The bad thing was that, for some reason, everything was backlit that day... Big Ben never came out right >.<

Backlit view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament from the River Thames. — Big Ben was backlit all day and never came out quite right.

Harrods: the department store was ordinary, the doughnut was not

Later in the afternoon, we went to Knightsbridge to take a look at the famous Harrods department store.

The result... I did not think it was that special. Compared with Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Taipei's Xinyi District, it felt kind of similar... though it really was huge. In London, having a department store occupy an entire city block in the center is impressive by itself.

What I remember most about Harrods is the fresh doughnuts in the food hall. Wow... so good... I still have not had a better one. But one doughnut cost 90 pence.

By early evening, we were tired and decided to head back to the hotel around six. That happened to be about rush hour on the Underground, and I learned that "century-old subway" sounds romantic, but riding it is another matter.

On the way back from Harrods, the train was packed, there was no air conditioning, and the whole carriage was filled with sharp perfume mixed with heavy body odor. It almost suffocated me. Honestly, the old train cars and dark, dirty platforms were not impressive.

By comparison, Taipei's MRT was much more comfortable~~ P.S. except for the "Zhahu Line" @.@'" This is an England travel diary, so I will not rant about that here...

Note: the England trip was in 2004, but I only started writing this diary in 2010. Please forgive the time gap and the comparisons across different moments~~