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.

Immortalized in Wax

We rode the London Eye and got 20% discount on our entry to Madame Tussauds. Well what do you know... the offer is valid till today. Click here to grab it. This pass also includes your entry into the brand new 4D cinema.

Madame Tussauds is on Baker Street and to get there from Clapham Common, we had to ride the Northern and Bakerloo lines and walked a short distance till we were at the doorsteps of the museum.

Oh man the crowds! Lucky we had a quick pass, which helped cut the line but not much though. The crowds can be quite a putting off experience especially those who do not respect the works of art these sculptures are.

Inside the museum you go through different sections - A List, Premiere Night, the Royal Family, Sports, Music Stars and Historic figures. Well it was hard not to pose here. OMG Justin Timberlake, Hitler, Shrek, Lance Armstrong... may be this will be the closest I ever get to any of them.

After checking out some of the figurines we headed to the Chamber of Horrors. And it was horrible! This part of the exhibition included victims of the French Revolution and newly created figures of murderers and other criminals. There's no telling from what is real and what is created. Live models at every corner ready to spook you. I lost Tan here and it was seriously scary. Holding onto God knows who I finally made my way out. And man was I so glad to see Tan.

Oh God. Deep breaths does it. It took us quite some time to settle down. OMG what an experience!

The last part included learning a little more on the history of this place, how it got started and the lady, Madame Tussaud, herself.

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.

Day 23 cont... An Evening in London

In the evening after a short nap we set out along with Ryan to get acquainted with London. From Clapham Common we take bus no. 137 to Oxford Circus. Here we head to Primark, a must visit store for all bargain buyers. Unfortunately we would have to come back later as it was closed.

We then head to Victoria and from here to Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is a beautiful place, and the architecture in almost black stone was alluring. 

Having spent a few minutes here we then head to see Big Ben.

On the banks of the Thames we also catch a glimpse of the London Eye before we head to Buckingham  Palace. The residence of the British monarch, this square has beautiful gardens and the famous changing of the guards. We sat here, clicked some pictures before making our to Hyde Park. 

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in London and known for the concerts that take place here. It was a sad that there was not a single gig during our stay here.

In just an evening we covered a lot of London walking about. The thing about London is that it feels a lot like Mumbai, except it's way cleaner.