Travel To London, England - EuropeTrip Part 1

TRAVEL TRIP (AUGUST 2011)

London. I just love the city. Everyone who loves travel will plan to visit London at least once in his or her lifetime.

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It is the most populous city in the United Kingdom, with an urban area of over 9 million inhabitants. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium.

I came to London from Nottingham.

TRANSPORTATION

1. From Malaysia
If you are travelling from Malaysia, usually you will departure from KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). KL or Kuala Lumpur is the federal capital with lots of city attractions.

To book the airlines ticket, you have two choices. Try AirAsia (www.airasia.com) for a better rate as this is Malaysian low-cost carrier. AirAsia flies only to few international destinations. You must check where is your departure airport in Malaysia because most of AirAsia flights fly from KLIA2. For another option you may also check MAS (www.malaysiaairlines.com) as this is the national carrier of Malaysia, price could be higher. But you will be surprised during promotion, price is very competitive. MAS definitely takes off from KLIA, not KLIA2. Journey will takes about 14 to 15 hours by direct flight.

MAS will lands in Heathrow Airport while AirAsia in Stansted Airport, London (check for update information).

2. From Nottingham
By Road:
You may travel by car/bus/taxi to London. Journey is about 2 to 3 hours. The National Express coach is very reliable. National Express is an intercity coach operator providing services throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

You can check this website for more information on UK National Express: www.nationalexpress.com.
You can check these websites for car rental: www.avis.com.my, www.europcar.com.my, www.thrifty.co.uk, www.hertz.co.uk, www.enterprise.co.uk.

By Rail:

If you want to travel by train, please check this website www.thetrainline.com or www.raileurope.com. The journey will also takes about 2 hours. Train to London will departure from Nottingham Station and arrive in London Kings Cross or St Pancras Station.

ACCOMMODATION

Before deciding on places to stay in London, you need to choose which area is your preference. There are 10 favorite neighbourhoods with its own characteristic that may help you to decide:

1. London Central (Paddington, Hyde Park & Bayswater)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Bayswater is West London, not to be confused with the West End theatre district just west of The City. Bayswater is north of Bayswater Road and Notting Hill Gate, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. It is a residential area, with stately homes and foreign embassies. The Bayswater (District Line) and Queensway (Central Line) Tube stations and are just a short ride to many of London's top attractions including Buckingham Palace, Westminster and Royal London and shopping at Harrods in Knightsbridge. Of course, traveling by Tube will require you to change lines and master the mysteries of the Underground.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Kensington Palace, Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall, the London Toy and Model Museum and the Saturday market at Portobello Road.

2. West London (Central-Baker St & Marylebone)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: There are no attractions or tourist sites in Paddington which is next to Bayswater and just south of Regent's Park. It's a busy neighborhood and a good place to stay if you're budget minded. Paddington is served by Tube stations in Paddington, Bayswater, Queensway, Lancaster Gate and Marble Arch so you have good access to central London and the tourist areas.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Hyde Park.

3. London Central (Knightsbridge, High St. Kensington)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Knightsbridge is next door to South Kensington as neighborhoods go and is home to Harrods the London shopping icon that is located adjacent to the Knightsbridge Tube stop (Piccadilly line). Stay here and you have an easy Tube ride to Piccaddilly Circus, Green Park, Leicester Square, Covent Gardens and Westminster (Royal London and Parliament).
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Harrods, Hyde Park, Wellington Arch, V&A, Science Museum, Natural History Museum.

4a. Central London (Strand, Covent Garden & Holborn)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Theatreland - Covent Garden is open air cafes, pubs, street entertainers, shopping in the Piazza and Central Market and home to West End theatres. Holburn, known as legal London, is home to the Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court. The area is served by Tube stops at Leicester Square, Charing Cross, Temple, Embankment and Holborn.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tragalgar Square, Theatre Museum, Royal Opera House, Theatre Royal, Adelphi Theatre, The London Coliseum, London Transport Museum, Courtauld Gallery, St. Paul's Church, Victoria Embankment.

4b. Downtown "Royal" London (Mayfair, Park Lane & Oxford St.)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: "Royal London." Hotels abound in this area, located in Hyde Park Corner, Grosvenor Square, Leicester Square, Marble Arch, Mayfair and the like, just north and west of Buckingham Palace. This is four and five-star hotel territory. The area is served by Tube stops at Hyde Park Corner, Green Park, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Saville Row, Bond Street, China Town, Fortnum & Mason, National Portrait Gallery, Speaker's Corner, St. James Palace, Trafalgar Square.

5. Central London (Victoria, Westminster & Waterloo)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Hotels in the "Victoria Area" are located in Westminster,Waterloo, Vauxhall and Victoria, on both the North and South banks of the Thames between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Tube service is via the Victoria, Westminster, Pimlico, Vauxhall Underground stations depending on the hotel you choose.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Clink Museum, Tate Modern, National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, Old Vic, London Eye, London Aquarium, Gabriel's Wharf, Imperial War Museum, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament.

6. West London (Earls Court & Hammersmith)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Earls Court has numerous budget hotels, restaurants and books stores. It's a busy "convention area" with all that that implies. Easy access by Tube, Earls Court station is served by both the District and Piccadilly lines and is just four stations from Westminster and Royal London. South Kensington is one of the more desirable of London neighborhoods with embassies and consulates dotted about, premium shopping in Knightsbridge and museums. This, as you would expect, means expensive hotels. Served by the Circle, Piccadilly and District lines.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The V&A, Royal Albert Hall, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Brompton Oratory, Albert Memorial, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gardens, Harrods, Serpentine Gallery, Speakers' Corner, Earls Court and Olympia Exhibition Centres

7. North London (Regents Park & Hampstead)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: North London refers to Hamptead, Highgate, Regent's Park, Marylebone area north of London. Stay in Hampstead and you're really out of London in what amounts to a Georgian Village. Hampstead is served by the Hamsptead Tube stop (Nothern line). Regent's Park is served by Tube stations at St. John's Wood, Marylebone and Baker Street.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Hampstead Heath, Hampstead Village, Highgate Cemetary, Freud Museum, Keats House in Hampstead. The London Zoo, Queen Mary's Garden, Madame Tussaud's, Planetarium, Regent's Park, Sherlock Holmes Museum in Regent's Park.

8. West End Neighborhoods (Kings Cross/St. Pancras, Euston)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: This is the Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia areas of London known for their literary leanings since the early 1900s, restaurants on Charlotte Street and Tottenham Road shops. A great location from which to explore London. Stay here and you are just north of the cafes, shopping and theatres of Covent Garden and The Strand; Soho and Trafalgar Square with its theatres, night clubs, restaurants and museums; and Holborn and the Inns of Court (Legal London). The area is quiet and well served by the Circle, Northern, Hammersmith, City and Central lines by Tube stations at Russell Square, Euston, Kings Cross, Euston Square, Tottenham Court Rd, etc.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The British Museum, Theatreland, Dickens House Museum, The British Library, and many historic streets and buildings.

9. East London (City & Tower Bridge, Docklands)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: City refers to "The City of London", the financial district, built over the original Roman city, across the river from Bankside and Southwark with its theatres, London Eye, Tate Modern and markets. The City is about a square mile in area and is well served by five Underground lines, 10 buses and taxi service is excellent as you might imagine given the businesses in the area. It's a great neighborhood from which to visit many of London's top attractions.
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: St. Paul's Cathedral, Christopher Wren's masterpiece, and historic attractions and buildings including the Tower of London, Mansion House and Old Bailey.

10. South London (Kingston on Thames, Croydon, Sutton)
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: South London actually refers to the area south of London... the Kingston on Thames, Croydon and Sutton area nearer to Hampton Court than central London, not to be confused with Southwark or the South Bank (Victoria Area- below).
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Hampton Court Palace, Chessington World of Adventures, Kempton & Sandown Park Racecourses, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, Twickenham Museum of Rugby.
Source: http://www.offtolondon.com/where_to_stay.html

PLACES OF INTEREST

You may find and read about a lot of interesting places in London, but each traveler might personally have his/her own taste of attractions that must be visited.

I would suggest these places:

1. The Monument

2. London Bridge

3. Leadenhall Market

4. Tower of London

5. Tower Bridge

6. Borough Market

7. London Central

8. Royal Botanical Kew Garden

9. Thames River

10. St. Paul Cathedral

11. Piccadilly Circus

12. China Town London

13. Big Ben

14. Buckingham Palace

15. St. James Park

16. National History Museum

17. Royal Albert Hall

18. Harrods

19. Hyde Park

20. Camden Market

I was in London for almost a week. Since London is such a big city, a week is still not enough for me to cover everything and explore the whole place.

As I walked on the pavement street of London, I was amazed to see all the historical buildings are well preserved. They were all magnificent. From my architectural perspective, I was thrilled to see how did the urban planner of London managed to control the rhythm of this city skylines. All of the buildings are respecting each other’s height, therefore when one landmark is created, it makes a strong effect as these landmarks are all outstanding.

Sadly in Malaysia we do not appreciate our historical traits. Instead of conserving these valuable heritages, we demolished them all to build modern buildings. At the end Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's image resembles exactly like China, Dubai etc. We have no core identity. We let the sky-crappers built high up to the sky without respecting the surroundings. The rhythm of the skylines is very chaotic and disproportionate to the other architectural elements surround themselves.

My favourite spot in London city was when I walked through Westminster area around the famous Big Ben. I love the place so much. The feeling was grandeur. The signature of this place felt really strong.

I also adore St James Park. It is very huge with a lot of green spaces. People seem to enjoy the summer sunshine very much too. I saw there were a lot of them laid on the grass doing nothing, some having picnic or simply just reading. Unlike in Malaysia, because of the heat, we tend to run away and find shades for protection. It was totally an opposite feeling.

And not to forget Leadenhall Market where Harry Porter Diagon Alley scenes were shot there.

Other memorable places that I went were the Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Tower of London, Royal Albert Hall, Tate Modern Art Gallery, National Museum, Victoria Albert Museum, Covent Garden, London Eye, Kew Botanical Garden, Marble Arch and Piccadilly Circus.

Among all the neighbourhoods in London, I was mesmerized by Paddington residential area very much. Very classy indeed. Most of the houses price reach Millions of Pound. The area also looks much safer than the other neighbourhood, peaceful and the most important it is close to Bayswater, where most of the Malays are. You can easily find some Malaysian restaurants there. Few souvenir shops I went to even gave more discount to me because I'm a Malaysian. At the cashier, when I mentioned I am from Malaysia, the shopkeepers cut the price down more.

Another neighbourhood that I fell in love with was I went to Amy Winehouse’s House in Camden. I am her big fan so when she died, I felt a little sad. Since I was in London so I thought of paying her a visit. Her house number is 30, close to Camden Square.

Finally, I have to say that London's nightlife is freaking awesome! Unlike Nottingham, even on the weekdays the city didn't just die after 10pm, there were so many people, thousands of them wandered around the city and bar hopping from one place to another. I went to club with two friends who live there. At first when I entered, I felt a little shy. But as soon as I warmed up, I took off my shirt and started to enjoy crazily. Aahhh...love the club and crowd! Damn, I miss this moment...!

-Alvy-