A Night in London
Recently, by a stroke of luck, I got a chance to see London. My incoming flight to London from Colombo was delayed and I missed my connecting flight to Boston. I was the only passenger who was elated to miss flight and work. I was allowed to stay in London for 24 hours and they gave me accommodation in a nice hotel. I wanted to get out of Airport ASAP and go sight seeing in London. But, it took a long time to finish immigration and other formalities at the airport. London's Heathrow airport is very big, but I really hated travelling from one terminal to other. We have to take a bus for terminal connections and they have security check at every terminal. By the time I reached my hotel, it was almost 7pm. Even thought I was dead tired, I decided to go out and see London at night.
Usually, I prepare well before I go to any new place. But since this was unplanned, I was not sure of what to do and where to go. I just took a tube(London Subway) map from the hotel and started my trip with that. I took a train from Heathrow to the center of London. I got down at Piccadilly circus, which is a mini version of the Times square with all its lights and stuff. From there, I walked all the way till Big Ben. No wonder that it's called the most famous Clock Tower in the world. The clock tower is situated at the north-eastern end of the Houses of Parliament and it was just spectacular at night. I found out that it is often mistakenly called "Big Ben" — which is actually the main bell housed within the Clock Tower. Right across it is the London eye, which was closed at night and I missed the chance to get into the tallest observation wheel in the world. I really liked that area, especially crossing Thames river on the Millennium bridge. The London Millennium Footbridge is a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the River Thames.
I spent most of the time that night asking people for directions, nearby attractions and their significance. I walked for couple of hours and bumped into famous places like Trafalgar square, Downing Street and Diana Memorial. By the time, I was done with my walking trip, it was 1pm and I was totally exhausted and I had a morning flight to catch. I found out that it will take one day to see Tower of London and so it was ruled out for me. I badly wanted to see London Bridge at least, but it was too far from where I was. I decided to see Buckingham Palace before heading back to my hotel.Tube stops running around midnight and so I took this rickshaw to the Buckingham Palace. I was surprised to find our Desi rickshaw kind of transportation there. Buckingham Palace was huge and very beautiful. I ended my trip by taking a black cab back to my hotel to get the much needed few hours of sleep.
On the whole, it was an exciting night at London. Apart from the Tower of London and changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, I have seen most of the sights. London is a very nice, grand and an expensive place. It has history, Royal majesty, traditional Black cabs and old-fashioned Red phone booths.
Usually, I prepare well before I go to any new place. But since this was unplanned, I was not sure of what to do and where to go. I just took a tube(London Subway) map from the hotel and started my trip with that. I took a train from Heathrow to the center of London. I got down at Piccadilly circus, which is a mini version of the Times square with all its lights and stuff. From there, I walked all the way till Big Ben. No wonder that it's called the most famous Clock Tower in the world. The clock tower is situated at the north-eastern end of the Houses of Parliament and it was just spectacular at night. I found out that it is often mistakenly called "Big Ben" — which is actually the main bell housed within the Clock Tower. Right across it is the London eye, which was closed at night and I missed the chance to get into the tallest observation wheel in the world. I really liked that area, especially crossing Thames river on the Millennium bridge. The London Millennium Footbridge is a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the River Thames.
I spent most of the time that night asking people for directions, nearby attractions and their significance. I walked for couple of hours and bumped into famous places like Trafalgar square, Downing Street and Diana Memorial. By the time, I was done with my walking trip, it was 1pm and I was totally exhausted and I had a morning flight to catch. I found out that it will take one day to see Tower of London and so it was ruled out for me. I badly wanted to see London Bridge at least, but it was too far from where I was. I decided to see Buckingham Palace before heading back to my hotel.Tube stops running around midnight and so I took this rickshaw to the Buckingham Palace. I was surprised to find our Desi rickshaw kind of transportation there. Buckingham Palace was huge and very beautiful. I ended my trip by taking a black cab back to my hotel to get the much needed few hours of sleep.
On the whole, it was an exciting night at London. Apart from the Tower of London and changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, I have seen most of the sights. London is a very nice, grand and an expensive place. It has history, Royal majesty, traditional Black cabs and old-fashioned Red phone booths.
Labels: Travel
posted by Harish at 2:55 PM
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