Reading & London

20th December 2014 - 23rd December 2014

England (Reading & London)

w. mates & brandybear

Reading because Bun is there. So we bunked with her by night & explore London by day via a 14.65quid (+ 16-25 railcard) day travel pass.

Reading.

It's a small town, really. Doesn't take more than a day to explore.
It is a town and not a city.

Took the bus pass around Reading.

As long as you look like a university student, you could get the Solo Reading 1 Day pass (2.40quid), which is supposedly for under 18 years old, from the bus driver itself. 

It is much cheaper than buying two singles.

If you were travelling on weekends and there were 4 students in total, there is also a Reading Group 1 Day pass (5quid for 4 person). 

Since I was travelling from Reading to London, I bought the 14.65quid Day Travel Pass at the train station. It covers my train from Reading to London (which would have costs 11quid for return) and my travels in London (unlimited, including underground and buses).

You won't believe how convenient it was to have the Day Travel Pass because I basically hopped in and off undergrounds without worrying about costs and same goes for bus. 

As long as a bus happens to stop near me, I go for it. If not, I was happy to have walked on.

Reading University had this amazing sunset while I was there on my first day.

A rainbow just melted and coloured the sky.
It would have been a fav spot for photography junkies.
Unfortunately, I only carry with me a semi-pro.

London 

London is my kind of city. I love the countrysides but I would stay in a city.
I don't particularly enjoy the constant bustle of the city but I'm lazy and I love convenience. I want to be able to walk down the street to the supermarket, not drive half an hour away for the nearest one.

I spend about a total of 2 days in London. That was no where near the end of my journey in London. There's a reason to stop at every corner for me.
Did most of the symbolic-touristy monuments and went for the christmas market. That's basically it.
Missed the museums, the Michelin restaurants and more.

I'll be back.

My travels in London was worth it solely because I bought the day travel passes. You wouldn't believe how expensive it is to travel London Underground.
Since the Underground was as iconic as everything else in London, I wasn't expecting it to be new as well. I was right to set my standard for the Underground in parr to Malaysia's Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM- Malaysia's oldest rail transportation dating back to British colonial era).
I couldn't directly compare the London Underground to KTM without irregularities (ie. the connections available for KTM was no where as good as the reach of the Underground).
However, a comparison between the Underground with Dubai's Metro is less irregular. On that point, Dubai won hands down in terms of pricing and hygiene. The Metro may be 50 years younger, but it costs a lot less despite the technological advancement it is equipped with (ie. driverless trains).

My Winter Wonderland dream; candy. 

Liquorice in England is much more cheaper than in Australia.
Its usually 1quid in England but AUD3 in Aussie.

Bear trying to win me a big Minion plushie.

Good try.

I still love you anyways.
Been indulging ourselves in these games at the last few Christmas markets we visited.
We all know the probability but it's Christmas, so let's all be a good sport about it.

Grilled salmon!

The fire, the heat, the fish! 

Winter Wonderland London is a tourist trap. Everything is ridiculously priced. 

Go for a walk, enjoy the atmosphere and leave.

You are better off having dinner elsewhere.

Walked the entire stretch of The Mall street after the Arch and didn't realize that the road was the long one leading to the Buckingham Palace, as seen on television.

 Buckingham Palace. 

The Queen is home.

When you've read and studied all the bullshit, they tend to grow on you. 

The Westminister Abbey.
There's something dark about the abbey when night falls but so majestically-divine in daylight.

 The Supreme Court.

Its existence caused much pain.

Big Ben.

Visited Camden Town while in London as well.
I put Camden as a must-visit place. It's so unique!
Always visit the Camden Lock (market place), I think you could just about everything there.
I spent half a day there but I could very well spent one whole day exploring the place.

Chairs are too mainstream.
Camden does half-cut motorcycles.