 |
| 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.
2.
If you’re museum freak, you will smile
from ear to ear
 |
| Freezing..... |
 |
| Our bodies aren't designed for cold weather |
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 |
  |
| 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 |
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.
0 komentar