Travelling alone in London ; Part I - Westminster Area

It's 0135am but I felt like updating before I start backlogging and also I have extra 1hr since daylight saving just ended lol. I try to make it a point to update every week, so I've to be hardworking in this. Otherwise when final project is hectic I probably wouldn't have so much time to sit down here and update so frequently.

So 2 weeks ago, after my first studio submission, a sudden hit of my head I felt like heading to London to explore just because I was free that weekend and I wanted to catch the Serpentine Gallery before they dismantle it on the following Sunday. But I didnt make it anyways cuz it was too last min and the tix price went up, so decided to head down last Friday when it was selling for 11GBP to and fro. Putting a night in London is not gonna be cheap and besides, its just a 2hr 30mins journey from Bristol so I don't mind sacrificing abit of time and sleep in the bus to save some money so explains the spontaneous decision. Sorry students cheapskate like that! hahaha.

My friend was supposed to meet me up in the morning and tour me around but instead I thought it was in the evening so I scheduled my exploration in the morning and made it free at night. So basically, if that's the case meaning I will be solo travelling the whole day. Waa, instant mindfck the moment I see her reply and I started panicking cuz I have NEVER EVER traveled alone and its my first time in London! Basically I was only in London when I touched down at Heathrow airport and then headed to Bristol straight and technically Bristol was my first stop in the UK.

 As a typical Malaysian, obviously safety is the question la whether will it be safe, and what to do alone and how to travel alone since I've heard stories about London and all. But in the end, she told me she wanted to head down to Bristol and visit Bath as well, so she also spontaneously bought a tix and met me up at the coach station when it's time to head back. 

Long story short, time to start the London trip! Btw, the whole post is just gonna cover areas in Westminster just because I wanna really explore London slowly and not like a typical tourist, so Imma save other parts of London for some other time since Im planning to go there quite often. So yeah, only routes around Westminster ok?

Victoria Coach Station > Victoria Underground Station > Buckingham Palace > The Malls > Duke of York Column > House Guards Parade > Admiralty Arch > Charles I Statue > Trafalgar Square > National Gallery > Old Bond Street > Westminster Pier > Big Ben > Westminster Palace > Westminster Abbey > Hyde Park

First stop was the Victoria Underground station cuz I needed to get an Oyster card. Didn't really gave a thought whether I will be using the tube or the bus much (most probably foot since its all walking distance) but got it anyways since I needed it to get to South Kensington to catch the pavilion. I was 2hrs ahead time since the bus driver allowed me to board an earlier express bus so simply find a spot to gobble down some breakfast even though I had breakfast before I left.

Breakfast while exploring the tube route! I've gotta agree with people saying that the tube is confusing cuz eventhough I followed the signboard but it leaded me elsewhere and I got lost inside the subway for a moment, haha. But eventually found my way to the line I wanted, so everything's fine. 

Totally in love with how they suspend the glass bottles up and going for an industrial look for their table and chairs.

Headed down to Buckingham Palace 10mins by foot straight after that. Almost took a longer route and walked the opp direction just cuz google maps went haywired at that point. I really hate how google maps somehow will confuse you somtimes, or I'm probably just noob enough to get confused. But luckily I figured things out and rmb my surroundings earlier before when I was walking, so I just walked and walked and walked and eventually followed the crowd when I was almost there.

The scheduled time for Changing of Guards was at 1115am and I was lucky enough to catch the whole ceremony with a very clear view and less crowd. A friend told me its gonna be packed like shit, same goes to my mom but it seems quite clear to me. I even got a spot right infront of the traffic light at the intersection there and manage to catch everything! (not sure if thats the best spot cuz I figured after that standing right infront of The Malls road was the best road, but who cares la. I can't be teleporting myself to all angles). I read somewhere online that the whole ceremony was gonna take about 15-30mins but I didn't know it was gonna be an hour? Freezing my ass off standing the wind blowing and alot of rude people.

I think this marks the midpoint of my journey. From here, eventhough I had GPS but still got lost and I walked one big circle to back to Trafalgar Square again. Even randomly walk half way and find any park to rest from the GPS. The reason why is because I was looking for Old Bond Street to get the chocolate truffles that was recommended by a friend, so the I didnt mark down the route according to my scheduled journey. 

My feelings at that point: tired, cold, phone running out of battery, feet pain like hell, leg breaking, shoulders are sore carrying the camera around and sibeh pek cek with alot of things out of no where I had no idea why. I just didn't feel like continuing walking on. Found the shop at last and happily bought back 2 boxes for Christmas, speaking of satisfaction. 

Still didn't feel any better but headed on straight to Westminster Pier anyways. The moment I step out the station, the first thing I saw was London Eye. And then I mistakenly thought that Big Ben was part of the Abbey and didn't realise it was actually the Big Ben, lol. And then I thought, since over here d still got time might as well finish everything. Sorry no pictures at tht point my camera was playing tricks on me couldn't focus pictures didnt turn out nice. 

I was talking to my mom and told her that I wanted to give up and just rest in the Abbey cuz I thought it was free to enter and I didnt knw there was a freaking queue and had to pay 17GBP just to see the Abbey. Gave up seeing and headed straight to South Kensington cuz the pavilion closes at 6pm and that was the whole point of the journey! 

I was really really satisfied after seeing the pavilion, all considering all the pain and sore was all worth it. At this moment, the only thought that I had in mind was to go toilet ASAP. Felt like my bladder was gonna burst anytime soon cuz I was too kiamsiap to pay for public toilet and I didn't dare use the toilet anywhere. So while walking back through the South Kensington tunnel, V&A museum entrance was somewhere in the middle and cuz I'm THAT kiamsiap I went in just to use their toilet cuz it will definitely be clean and it was free entrance anyways, and it somehow became my pit stop to rest cuz I was so exhausted and my feet was so sore. Didn't dare stay too long later people start asking questions lol. 

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So, to end the post, here are my thoughts travelling alone. 

1. Is it safe to travel in London alone?

I would say, I'm gonna go all honest here. The moment I reached London, I was all excited seeing how different the buildings are in London compared to Bristol, and most importantly, I'm FINALLY IN LONDON! Honestly I'm not very worried, more like excited compared to worried, but definitely keeping my eyes and VERY VERY AWARE of my surroundings because I realised the people there in London is just so different compared to Bristol! Bristolians are generally friendlier and more helpful, whereas Londoners are just minding their own business.

2. How do I feel travelling alone?

Seeing the world in a different perspective I would say. I actually thought that I made the right decision and live life to the fullest and no regrets yo! #YOLO. I mean, HOW MANY people actually dare to travel alone? Obviously there are tones of female solo travelers but pretty sure alot of girls dont have the guts to do it. In this trip, I actually do enjoy travelling alone, taking my sweet time seeing things, taking my sweet time photographing, don't need to wait for people or be rushed by people, rest and eat in my convenience. I realised how independant I can be, and how much time I have wasted constantly waiting for friends or company to accommodate each other's time to travel together. Of course having a company is always great but, definitely worth the experience and this should be in your YOLO to-do list, and have a different experience! But please, find a safe country to visit in and not simply picking a country with safety issues! 

3. What was the first thing to do when I reached there?

Luckily I planned ahead of my journey and what to visit and how far all my destinations by walking distance. First thing to do was to get an Oyster card to commute by tube and the rest was just purely by foot and I've gotta say my feets were so sore the night I lay on my bed. It's easier travelling by bus and tube and all, but I just find it simply amusing exploring the city by foot and besides, the best way to experience and explore any place are by foot! The thought of stumbling upon places/spaces and some hidden gems are so satisfying!

4. Any regrets?

No regrets yo! Definitely an eye opener for me, and I had plenty of time thinking about things in life, realizing so many different parts of me I never knew and what how to continue my path in life. I've also learned to expect for the worst scenarios *touchwood*, to look out for myself and be more aware and alert of surroundings, what to bring and wear for future travelling. Basically its like a time out from everyone and you've got the whole world to yourself to think about things. I think the only regret was I didn't wear thicker jacket and wore a flat shoe thinking that my boots are enough to keep me warm but it had heels. I never thought that its gonna be full of cobble stone every where in London and I also thought that Bristol was colder! But all in all, I'm glad I paid this trip down and meeting my friend at the coach station at the end of the day. 

Will blog about Bath trip soon! or probably Copenhagen, or whichever excites me more to write about, hahaha.

xx