7 (plus 2) Interesting Things about UK

Big Ben
Buckingham Palace


When I said London or UK or Britain, what comes up on your mind? Will and Kate? Or Buckingham Palace, Princess Diana, Thames River, red telephone box, double decker bus or maybe you may say, James Bond?
Yes, there are so many interesting things about this country. From its history to its people, from its architecture to the stories behind those fascinating buildings.
UK especially London has many things to offer that will fascinate you.
I am very grateful to see and feel what the UK looks like, especially London. My experiences are my personal perspective so don’t bother if you are not in the same page with me.
Here they are, 7 things I found very interesting about London and UK.

1.       Lovely place with horrible weather

Never in my life, I watched TV just to check the weather forecast. And I did, almost every day when I was in the UK. Oh, my God, the forecast was so so so accurate. I went there in late February until early March, so the weather was still so-freaking-cold for my Asian body.  It’s not about the cold, but also the rain and the wind. Buy an umbrella, and it won’t last long due to the wind. Use thick coat with fur, I suggest you. The fur will hold the wind and keep your head and neck warm. Just be ready with the gloomy weather of the amazing UK.
From the cities I visited during my trip, Stonehenge would top my rank as the place of  I-hate-this-weather-so-bad. None of my travel mates including me could stand long to get close to the Stonehenge and took many pictures due to the freezing weather.
Freezing.....
Our bodies aren't designed for cold weather
2.       If you’re museum freak, you will smile from ear to ear
Many many many museums have free admission. Yessss it’s free. Not only is the free admission, the collections are also superb. British Museum has mummies. How cool is that? Mummies are the real things. And I saw it with my own eyes without costing me any money. Coooolll… You can explore and see other collections like the famous Horse from a long time ago, the history of Gods and Goddess and many exceptional things that broaden your knowledge.  Natural History Museum has dinosaurs. Oh yeah baby, those giant dinosaurs’ bones, you can see it in one of its sections. Victoria and Albert Museum is full of dresses, painting, statues and furniture collections from hundred to thousand years ago. And I got the chance to enjoy Lockwood Kipling exhibition. It blew my mind...

British Museum


The real Mummy!!!!

Natural History Museum



And Dino says hello....
Victoria and Albert Museum
3.       “Mind the gap, between the train and the platform”
You will hear this famous line every time  you use tube in  London and its area. Another country has a subway or MRT. London has underground stations commonly called as Tube Station. It’s so famous that you can buy T-shirt with the logo of the tube and the ‘Mind the Gap’ line. There are old tube stations (more than decade I guess) and quite new stations which bigger, brighter design. The biggest tube station is King’s Cross and St Pancras. You can change lines from there and also take picture on 93/4 platform like you see in Harry Potter movies.

The busy schedules of King's Cross Station




4.       Are they street musicians, seriously? Not the famous singers??
When you use the tube and move from one line to another, it’s very likely your ear will hear something nice and lovely. The street musicians are that serious to do their business. The good quality of sound system (I’m very curious what brand they use), the songs they choose (popular ones obviously), and their talents playing the instruments and hit the notes with their beautiful voices. It’s so mesmerizing to have eargasm in such common places. Not only in a tube station, they usually do their magic in open space like at Trafalgar Square or in front of Harrods.
5.       It’s 6 PM? Yes, they are close….
Never before, I was rejected in store/shop because it closed at 6 PM. Usually in Indonesia, I still do shopping until 8 PM, even sometimes many department stores hold midnight shopping. When I was hanging around Trafalgar Square, I entered the nearest Boots and suddenly the Supervisor scolded me and said that the store will close in 5 minutes. It meant, I only had 5 minutes to shop. Oh my….
Once I was in Oxford, I entered the shop at 5.30 PM and they were prepared to close the shop. I did ask them why they close so early, and how different it is with Indonesia. The answer was, it’s solely because in Indonesia or other countries, the owners have employees whereas in UK they don’t have any and they should take care of the store on their own. Second reason was they’re going to have fun at the pub or dinner with the family. Oh, well.
Empty road of Oxford
6.       Primark!!!
Hahaha, for those who haven’t got the idea what the Primark is, beware. You may spend lots of your money in this place. No, it’s not a casino or famous boutique. Instead, it is a famously-cheap-department-store. You can buy many many things with cheap price. I even don’t use word ‘affordable’ because many of the products are cheap enough. You want to give keepsakes for your relatives and your friends? Grab a cute bag, or purse for only 9 pounds. Or maybe you can bring home two-pound fragrances. Run out of shirts and jacket? Buy one for only 15 pounds. The real deal, right….
7.       Want to go to movies? Go to Vue.
Yes, that’s right. There are so many theaters in London yet they show plays, not movies. The Vue itself is not as big as what we have in Indonesia (Jakarta in particularly). In tube stations, you might see many ads of famous plays like Wicked, Dream Girls and Kite Runner. Too bad I didn’t have enough time to enjoy the plays and the Vue.
Bonus(es):
It’s difficult to find instant noodles, however it’s super easy to find chips
Based on my amateur observation on some convenient stores, I might have the assumption that they love chips than instant noodles. There are so many varieties of chips crackers. It’s like Lays or Chitatos in Indonesia but they taste better. Love the chips but sadly enough to know that it was kind of difficult to find good instant noodles. My stomach loves instant noodles more than chips.
Shop-till-you-drop in Bicester Village
It may locate outside London and take approximately 90 minutes – 2 hours to go there, but it doesn’t stop many tourists to come here. Lines of branded shops await you once you get there. Do you love Longchamp, Furla, or maybe want to add your collection from Hermes or just grab cute bags from Cath Kidston? Go ahead, enjoy your time and spend your money wisely in those shops.
You can also ask for tax refund, just don’t forget to prepare your credit card to fill the information in the form.
Bicester Village
You don’t have much money but you want to enjoy some luxuries? (it’s so me!) Go to its toilet. It smells good, very clean and they also provide branded body lotion for you to use. Well, not as luxury as toilet in Harrods that gives you a chance to splash your body with Channel no 5 and other branded perfume, but it’s all worth trying on. Or you can just relax and sit around the area and enjoy the view of tourists that go back and forth from one shop to another.


Well, it’s really a good experience for me to enjoy and feel about London and other cities in the UK. For those who had been there, I believe you have different opinions but that’s okay. Every person has their perspective about anything, right?
Last but not least, I will always miss London and want to go back there again and again and again.

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