London by Bus

By now we were pretty much familiar with London. However Richie, one of my cousin’s friends whose house we were staying in at London, got us free tickets to ride the Original London Open Tour Bus so we hop on to see the city and get to know a little more about the places and history. Check this out for all the places you can visit.

It was a rainy day again; viewing London from the roof top was out of the question. Still we managed to have a pretty good ride in this mega city and a Free Thames River cruise. Awesome!

We joined the Red Tour bus from Picadilly Cirus and off we went visiting the following sites. Victoria, Wellington Museum, Hyde Park, Speakers' Corner, Madame Tussauds, Regent's Park, Oxford Street (great for good deals on shopping, do visit Primark), Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Statue of Eros, Leicester Square, The National Gallery, Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards' Parad, Downing Street, Big Ben & Parliament, The London Eye, Covent Garden, Fleet Street, St Paul's Cathedral, Monument, London Bridge, London Dungeon, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Shakespeare's Globe, Tate Modern, Sherlock Holmes Pub, Westminster Pier, Lambeth Palace and Buckingham Palace.

We did not get down the bus for major of the tour. While in the other European cities the tour bus proved to be economical, in London however it was short of a nightmare. You get caught in traffic at every junction.

 Tan and I split ways at Trafalgar Square and decide to meet up at Tower Bridge for lunch. So in the meantime I go off on my own. I visit St. Paul's Cathedral. Like the other Cathedrals’ in Europe, this place was rather simple. I guess I was just too used to the grandeur of the Basilicas in Rome. I then walk across to see the Millennium Bridge. I had heard so much about it - the architecture, the design, but I was utterly disappointed by it.  

I get back on board the bus and head to Tower Bridge and meet Tan. I loved Tower Bridge. It's old and it's magical. We spend some time by the park watching the Thames pass by and the beautiful cityscape that I have so come to love. Not toot soon we hoped onboard for our cruise on the Thames. Lovely ride with a standup comic! All good things come to an end so soon and so also it was time to get off at Westminster Pier and head home to Clapham Common.

London: View from the Top

When you are on a budget trip it's all about managing your money smartly. For us discounts, free entries were a big deal. Our London Eye pass also got us a 20% discount at Madame Tussauds. The ticket cost us about 28 pounds. My cousin was of the recommendation that we not waste our money riding this, but it's not everyday that I will be in London and some things just got to be done... like enjoying a ride on the London Eye.

Not many people know this but the London eye or the Millennium Wheel as it is commonly know as is actually named The Merlin Entertainments London Eye. This ferris wheel situated right besides the County Hall on the banks of the Thames is the largest in Europe and is also an observatory tower.

I for one enjoyed my ride on the London Eye. You can see the entire city from the top and it is amazing. Tan and I played a game of landmark spotting and what fun it was. You can see Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Lords, the Gherkin amongst many other sites.

Soon it was time to step off. But not before you are asked to pose for a shot that captures your time spent on board. I still have that photograph, paid a mighty 5 pounds for it but it's worth it. It's one of those once in a lifetime things to do.