Wow! It’s been ages since I wrote about the trip! Darn you procrastination bug.
NS has been (mostly) fun so far, thanks for asking. Really, just that I get really lazy on weekends to update the blog. But it’s my 5-day block leave now, so might as well make some progress here!
Back to the trip!
The 11th of June was Mum’s birthday and our first day in London. We had plenty on the itinerary. So many places to go, so many things to see! First up on the list was Buckingham Palace, to witness the Changing of Guards. A Royal way to start the day! The place was PACKED, even on a Thursday.
It was hard to get a good view, especially of the section of the Parade being held within the Palace compound. So I clamoured around to try to find a good, elevated spot. Eventually I took to the steps of some old fountain.
It wasn’t the best, but at least I could see something now.
Teehee, the march out was about to begin! The military band was playing some familiar tunes, including The Incredibles theme song, Happy Music by James Last, and the like. You can imagine, it was really hip! The band was very professional, as you can expect, and I really enjoyed listening to them play. Boy, what I’d give to experience it again!
Here’s a video clip to give you a taste of what it was like. I apologise for the shakiness of the video and the wind noise. If only I had a deadcat mic, or maybe a bearskin hat….
(Remember to watch in HD!)
After the Changing of Guards, we stuck around for a bit and then took a stroll to the Tube.
Along the way I saw some guys in Green Berets hanging around an inconspicuous white Ford Transit. Royal Marine Commandos. OF COURSE I had to take a picture with them!
Our next stop was Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and London Eye area. It was reeeaally crowded as well. To be honest, the place was quite a tourist trap. There were many vendors along the way, prices were marked up and what have you. While the place was amazing, the atmosphere wasn’t really quite right. And so we took some mandatory tourist photographs and walked along Westminster Bridge.
The London Eye side of the River Thames had more to offer. Besides the expensive restaurants and cafes, there were many buskers who had some real talent! Wherever you go, from the Underground to the London Eye, the buskers in London give you your spare change’s worth of performances. You’d have to set aside a “Buskers” column under your UK holiday expenses, because really, it’s hard not to be impressed!
And there was The Tom Show, featuring Tom. It was hilarious! I attempted to take a video of the performance, not knowing how long it would be. Quite long it seems. When I was pointing my camera towards Tom with video recording on, he pointed at me and asked me in simple English (I think he thought I didn’t understand his native language), “Taking a photo?”.
I nodded my head, cos I was too lazy to explain I was taking a video instead.
“Here take a photo of this…”
“And a little bit of this…”
The crowd (and quite a large one by the time) erupted.
“I think he’s going to enjoy this when he gets back tonight..!”
Hahahahaha!
No Tom, I’m straight. HAHAHA.
For real though.
Anyway, the rest of the performance was great. There was plenty of humour, audience interaction, uni-cycling and juggling. There was a part where he went, “If you enjoy the show, at the end of it, I’d be glad if you run up here with your change, flapping in the wind, and leaving it in the hat”. Hahaha.
(I’ll have to remind myself to upload some clips of the video I worked so hard to film onto here.)
After the end of the show, of course I had to give Tom some change. And when I went up, I tried to give the straightest smile I could. But to no avail. AWKWARD. Hahahaha.
Soon, we left the area and while walking to another Tube station, we came across the London campus of King’s College. I realised that over here, in London at least, the Universities don’t have very clear campus boundaries. Anyone can waltz in. Which is cool.
Then we made a detour to Vauxhall Bridge to visit my future workplace for a bit.
Already received my first assignment, Covert Liaison for Effective Area Neatness & Elegance Requirements.
Aka C.L.E.A.N.E.R.
Sorry, can’t tell you more.
Mum was a bit flustered by why we had to go out all of the way to take a picture of a building. But how am I supposed to take on the role of a C.L.E.A.N.E.R. if I didn’t know the ‘A’ – Area? Important stuff Mum, can’t say more.
Anyway, after that secret agent fiasco, we headed to Piccadilly Circus to end the day by watching Les Misérables. Les Mis shows at Queen’s Theatre, which is a stone’s throw away from the Soho district in London. I don’t know about you, but usually one would relate Soho to atas-ness right? So we decided to explore the area to look for a place for dinner.
WRONG. It was nothing like I had expected. Every few shops down I’d see things that I’ve never expected to see in my life. There was a bar with tattooed, burly, bearded men in biker gear, getting really intimate with each other. I kid you not. You’d expect these guys to roll up in choppers, smoke cigars and have damn deep voices, but there they were, arms around each other’s waists like lovers.
Like one hot-tempered British celebrity chef would say, “..Bloody hell..!”. (Actually he’d probably say something else, but for censorship sake)
We all felt rather uncomfortable in the area, so we quickly found a decent place for dinner. Thankfully there were decent diners there as well. Looks like we’ll have to leave the celebratory dinner for another day!
After dinner we headed straight to Queen’s Theatre and settled ourselves in. It was a good respite from the outside world.
Then the show began.
I have to say, Les Mis was fantastic! The amount of effort put into the musical was tremendous. From the props and costumes, to the acting as well as the music, you could see that hard work was put into every single aspect of the musical. It’s definitely well worth the money. DEFINITELY.
And for you lucky folks, Les Mis is coming to your doorstep! Well not literally, unless you sleep at the Esplanade. If you haven’t watched it before, I highly urge you to do so. It opens in May next year, so you have seven months to save up. No excuses young man/young lady.
When the musical ended, we made our way down the stairs and out of Queen’s Theatre, sanctified by the wonderful performance that was Les Misérables.
Les Mis, being the first musical I’ve ever watched (Disney on Ice doesn’t count), definitely opened my eyes to Theatre, and I look forward to watching my next musical!
Anywho, the trip back to our hotel was uneventful, and we were all looking forward to some sleep, glorious sleep, after a long day.
thefruitbar 