Europe 2009 – London Day #2

Migrated post from Blogger.com.
Refer to Europe 2009 Blog Migration.

Today’s weather was not as hot as yesterday; it rained briefly in the afternoon. Overall it was not quite as crazy as yesterday:

1. Walked down Great Dover St to the London Bridge Experience.
2. London Bridge Experience took one hour, met two Malaysian girls on the experience… Originally from Sabah, the older sister studies at the Uni of Nottingham while her younger sister was visiting the UK from Malaysia.
3. Together, the 3 of us walked to the Tower of London where we parted ways.
4. Tower of London – from 12pm to about 2:30pm. Did an audio tour and saw the crown jewels.
5. Briefly saw the Tower Bridge and had lunch at The Brasserie – fish n chips!!!
6. Walked around Tower of London to Towerhill Tube, headed to Camden Town.
7. Met up with my cousin who took me around the markets – very impressive!!! Loved one shop and product that I bought it – a very cool shirt with LED patch that reacts to noise!!! Spent good 3 hours with cousin before leaving for 7pm appointment.
8. Met up with a good church friend at 7pm at Canary Wharf. Went for dinner and then he drove me around the area to get photos of Canary Wharf skyline and the O2 stadium.
   He also kindly dropped me off back at Borough, getting home at 11:30pm…
9. Met my host’s younger brother who had also returned from outside of London. He has a really interesting part-time job… A blog-reviewer for an org that promotes theatre viewing by young ppl… Gets tickets to shows and reviews them!!!

Thoughts:

1. Tower of London, particularly the Crown Jewels exhibit is way too crowded / popular… Kinda spoils the experience…
2. I have visited most of the main attractions that the London Bus Tour includes… I should have bought the package thru them and would’ve saved ~£20…
3. Experienced light showers in the arvo while at Camden Town but nothing major…
4. another day of lots of walking… Need to be less ambitious in things to see…
5. started window shopping; prices are borderline reasonable for clothes….
6. Camden Town is worth a second visit! A highly recommended destination for visitors to London!!!

2014 thoughts:

Had I had a Fitbit pedometer, I think these two days in London would have seen me hit 20K each day. Apart from the light rain, the weather was perfect for walking and exploring London. My initial thought on the tourist crowds is part of a wider issue that globalisation has truly impacted tourism. Unlike what we see on television shows, the global tourism industry has reached a point where the sheer volume of travellers is potentially harming the appeal of being a tourist, exploring “new” places. The reality is such that there are very few places left on earth that have not been explored or discovered.