London Day One: Sunday Markets

sadly; this is the only Matt Smith I've seen in all my two days in London so far...

Arriving in Kings Cross Station, I had mixed emotions. I had high hopes for London; and I was rather surprised at the sheer amount of things that were different to what I had expected.

Guaranteed, I have yet to see the major tourist attractions, (Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Houses of Parliament, London Bridge, London Eye…) so perhaps that is why I feel that the city is “different” to what I had seen in Lonely Planet guide books.

Regardless though, London is definitely a city I can envision myself doing an exchange in for the future.

on the way to London in the train ^_^

The people here are not as friendly as they were back up in Durham, but that is to be expected at any country in the world. I too noticed that while I was in Japan. The people that lived in Tokyo were far too busy with their own lives to bother with friendly conversations with strangers; whereas people that lived in Osaka tend to be more open and bubbly.

Traveling around New Zealand, you’d notice a clear difference between people that resided in Auckland, and people that resided in Wellington too.

However- the people here in London have been rather honest and kind-hearted.

Though I’ve been warned of pickpockets here in London; I’ve dropped my wallet and railcard on two occasions, and the locals have taken the time to chase me halfway down the street just so that they could return them to me.

These last two days in London have been an absolute whirlwind. I met my friend Kat from Japan, whom I haven’t seen in a year and a half. She’s studying here in London at a design college, and has offered me accommodation and food for my stay here. Her knowledge of the city and how to get around is rather impressive. Considering how I’d still get lost on occasion in Tokyo even 3 months into my stay there- I think I still have a lot to learn about the art of reading a map.

No doubt that getting around in London is definitely easier because the directions to places are written in English; but the map reading thing is a skill I need to acquire soon.

Speaking of things which I need to acquire soon…

I really need to get a part time job for next year.

Austrian chocolate!

Tufnell Park Student Hall 

I arrived in London two days ago, and after saying goodbye to R as he went to prepare for his JLPT N2 exam, Kat and I headed back to her student dorm to settle in. It was generally quite confusing for me at first, because seeing student accommodation in Durham, I had anticipated something similar for London as well. As uncultured as that expectation may be- she has her own shower and bathroom in her room, and the kitchen is pretty large considering that only six people live here. We didn’t do much the night I arrived as it was late, and traveling somehow sucked out all the energy out of me.

Brick Lane Market

very "gourmet" indeed... ;)

Yesterday we went to visit a couple of Sunday markets, and I met up with R just before he went back to Durham.  

Brick Lane Market had a large variety of foods on sale; and they were considerably more expensive than regular Sunday markets in New Zealand.

Perhaps the price of produce itself is higher in the UK? I’m not too sure. The food here in London has also been rather tasty so far. As far as stereotypes go, I’m quite pleased that food in the UK is not as “disgusting” as the media has made it out to be.

In fact; I had what would apparently be the “best tasting beigel” in all of London.

I also discovered that bagel is spelled as “beigel” here.

All in all, Brick Lane Market was an interesting experience. I didn’t buy anything apart from a bag of apples and a bagel, and though it wasn’t aesthetically laid out, the atmosphere of the hustle and bustle was somewhat nostalgic to that of Shibuya in the late afternoon.

I am starting to make awkward comparisons between the places I’ve visited in Tokyo, and places I’m visiting in London. It’s quite obnoxious of me to compare the two against each other, considering that it’s only been two full days since I’ve been here in the UK, but I can’t help but do so!
It’s rather exciting that I’ve visited two of the top most reputed cities in the world. (according to Guardian UK anyway :P)

bikes that you could rent for a day...and never return...ever...

The second market we visited, Spitalfields Market, was visibly more catered for tourists than the former. I thoroughly enjoyed the general atmosphere of the place, and it reminded me of Minato Mirai in Yokohama during Christmas time. The prices in Spitalfields Market could not rival that of Brick Lane’s (a good example being my 3 pound custard donut. Sorry Mum), but I did practice extreme self control in resisting what would be a $150NZD splurge on a leather handbag.

I do not often visit markets in New Zealand- nor have I ever taken much interest in visiting markets whilst living back in Malaysia. Nevertheless, I’m extremely fortunate to have visited, and wouldn’t mind going back solely for the purposes of tempting myself to buy that bag. I do recommend a short visit to Spitalfields Market if any of you do decide to visit London (and if it conveniently happens to be a Sunday afternoon)

After visiting the markets, Kat took me through Soho, and we visited a store called Paperchase. Despite all the Christmas decorations and cute stationary available, I am adamant that it’s a store to splurge at only if you have a spare 100 quid or so to spend on fancy scrapbook materials.

I did buy friends and families back home some lovely postcards though.
Hope you all receive it in the next week or so! 

To celebrate R’s success in actually sitting for the JLPT, we went for Japanese dinner in what would be the “dodgy” part of Soho. Throughout the day I attempted to mental map my way around London, but I think I’ll save that for a day when I’m exploring the city by myself. Somehow having a tour guide with you, you’re not as observant about what’s around you or where you are.

I definitely accustomed myself to Tokyo faster in the later half of my exchange, and I also found my bearings around Durham easier when I wandered around the market square alone.

Although R nearly missed his train back up to Durham because we were too busy eating ramen and udon, we somehow managed to get there on time. Though the map indicated that we would need a total of 30 minutes brisk walking speed to get there, combined with intense short distance running and power walking, I would say he got there in less than 15 minutes.

I admit that I gave up about 2/3 of the way, and he had to gap it alone to the station, but don’t forget that I have not been to the gym since exams started!

Somehow I miss going to the gym- it was nice to have the security of stuffing my face without my waistline suffering in consequence.

It’s already the first week of December, and though my family back home doesn’t celebrate Christmas to the extent of which people here in the UK celebrate it- I’m really looking forward to snowfall. In Durham it is about to snow really soon, and imagining how the castle and cathedral must look like amongst all that white snow!

It’s a huge pity that London itself doesn’t snow.

Taking into consideration the filth on the streets and such- maybe it’s a godsend that London does not snow. However, it would make for some beautiful postcard/desktop background worthy photos to see Central London covered in fluffy snow.

It might be challenging to upload all my photos so far considering I have no wifi at Kat’s place, but I suspect I will have easier internet access soon.

I hope you are all having a brilliant summer ahead of you- and that you are pleased with your results from last semester!

All my love always,

April