London Day 1

i lurbe london. day one.

leaving copenhagen on friday morning was easy simply because it had started to snow on that very morning and i was eager to leave the cold and grim behind. i arrived at the airport a good hour early and was pleased to have considerable time for breakfast. unlike scenarios at changi airport, i was hardly spoilt for choice but settled for a pecan tart.. the tart's crisp flaky caramelized finishing resulted in a pastry that was surprisingly good, despite the fact that it had probably been sitting around. the plane was delayed for around fifteen minutes because of the bad weather which resulted in a traffic hold-up as they had to de-frost the plane.. haha..

upon arrival at stanstead, i was greeted by warm sunshine which i felt was a good start to my journey.. my bus ride to victoria, though long, only had me reeling in excitement and anticipation. in order to treavel cheaply, i had made a reservation at the astor quest hotel at bayswater.. my first experience with the hostel and luckily i wasn't too shocked or put off by anything. the room sure was modest- four double-decker beds with an ensuite bathroom. though stripped at a hotel's little luxuries no bedside chocolates? , it was just a place to spend the nights so no complains there..

i spent a good part of the first day alone as yang's train was only due for arrival at ninish-ten.. so with loads of time to spare, i rekindled my love for high street kensington. though most of the major brands -zara, mango, topshop, anyone?- could be found in singapore and copenhagen, i loved how put-together the street was. with stores such as office and faith,

shoe-shopping in london would have been sensational if only i could carry the shoes out of the shops in a shopping bag instead of just lusting behind the window display..

restraint was the order of the day- takes some fun out of life but keeps me on parental support.

determined to make the most out of my day trip rail ticket, i made an inpromptu trip to harrods.. by then, day was slowly giving way to night and harrods, drapped in fairy lights was stunning and pompously-so..

pretty huh?

when yang finally arrived, we made a beeline for four seasons for their much coveted duck rice. no not some pishy-poshy five-star hotel duck rice but a terribly un-eye-catching chinese restaurant that blended right into its surroundings, just opposite bayswater station. note: which is why no other hostel location would have been good enough.

here's where the fun begins, we ordered the mixed meat rice which consisted of roast pork, roasted char siew and roast duck piled up harmoniusly on top of rice that had been drizzled in dark sauce.

it was a classic case of when harry met sally, except tonight, it was when poor deprived student mets plate of roasted fatty meats .. the plate of duck rice was met with whimpers of desire and almost-tears of gratification.. not forgetting how it was polished off with ease that would have put the japanese hotdog-eating champion to weener-shame.

we then took a short walk to tesco which was closing and eventually back to the hostel where clean, hard mattresses called out to our satisfied tummies and achning bodies. sigh..