Adventures in UK - Part 3
[continuation from Adventures in UK - Part 1 & 2 <--sorry, it's damn backdated. it's a 1 year ago punya story :P]
Day 7 - Shopping @ Camden Town
May and I took the tube to up north to Camden Town. Upon reaching, we went to a tavern to fill our tummies as we were both famished (I didn't eat much since morning).
For those of you wondering who May is, well..she is one of my cheemuis. She has left to work in London for more than 2 years now.
Camden Town
Camden Town is famous for its funky, crowded markets and its associations with popular culture. In the 1960's, the Roundhouse was a centre of alternative culture, and later on Camden Town evolved to its associations with punks and goths.
Camden Market
I was pretty disappointed with the goods here. Everything was so tacky looking, kinda reminds me of stuff from Sungai Wang (yeah, you get to see lots of those tacky tops from China here) and the only difference is: you see the pricing in pounds. Like a top for ₤15-20.
Seriously, even the stuff from Mont Kiara bazaar are nicer.
So we decided to head to Camden Locke Market instead.
See the brown building in the background? That's Camden Locke Market.
You can tell how it's gotten its name...
Camden Lock is a traditional manually-operated double canal lock operating between widely separated levels.
A large complex of weekend street markets has mushroomed there since the 1970s.
There's the outdoor market selling inexpensive trinkets, food, and clothings.
As well as the indoor shops selling kinky gothic costumes, expensive accessories, sex toys, bags, shoes and other funky stuff.
May had to drag me outta the place as she reckoned i seemed as if i was spending ringgit.
True true. Afterall, ₤14 for a strand of beaded necklace isn't RM14. And I was buying heaps of stuff.
True, I wasn't earning pounds, was i? I wish i was though :p
It was late evening by the time we were done.
We ended up chilling at a pub near Camden Lock.
I had this fantastic strawberry flavoured beer - Strawberry Frulli's. Now, I wished I had more.
Can someone please bring this to Msia? Pretty pretty please? I betcha lotsa ladies will like it. It's damn yummilicious. Also, lethal cos you can keep going and going and going and you'll never know when it hits you.
Met up with the rest of the gang at Four Seasons Restaurant. This place is the place to go for duck. And remember, to reserve a table or else you'll have to wait forever. :)
Coincidentally, I bumped into my student while dining there too. Yups, he was studying in University of Hertfordshire then. But, he's darn rich and all so he usually spends the weekend at his London home with his sister and friends. What a small small world.
Pix: Alfred, me, May, Jason, and Joyce.
Alfred and Jason are both high school friends. Joyce was Jason's fiancee then. Now, they're happily married. :)
We then headed to Bar O (in Soho i think) to club. Gosh, it was such a crazy night. I saw a girl pee in the wash basin/sink as she couldn't 'tahan' and didn't wanna queue. It was damn smelly and disgusting. And i was on the verge of puking at that point too. :P
Jess, Jason, Joyce, May, a pretty pei Carrie and Alfred.
Actually, I can't really remember much about my london trip, except for the fact that we were boozing every night and I got really 'jelak' (sick) of alcohol for a while after that.
Day 8 - Visit to London Zoo (no kidding!)
My friends thought it'd be a swell idea to check out the London Zoo since we've never been to one in a long long time. :P
May and I were the earliest to arrive. We had to wait at Camden Town station.
Why? Cos it's within walking distance to London Zoo. Not far away is Regent's Park, a large and pleasant park which was formerly Henry VIII's hunting chase.
I got bored while waiting, so I decided to take some piccies of the punk holding Ad boards/banners. Then a couple of punks approached me and asked me to pay if i wanna take their pictures. He quoted me ₤2 for a pose. What an ass!
So i decided to delete those pictures I've taken, so that they won't harass me anymore.
Gosh, you get to see so many weirdos here. Junkies were everywhere too.
Regent's Canal.
London Zoo is situated at the northern edge of Regent's Park, where the Regent's Canal runs through it.
What a picturesque sight right? Someone mentioned that this kinda reminds him of Denmark.
If I'm not wrong the entrance fee to London Zoo was around ₤14.99. We had some vouchers for those '3 for 2' purchases, so it was pretty good saving. If you're holidaying in London, look out for discount vouchers and stuff like this from those travel guides, etc.
A lil bit of backgrounder on London Zoo..
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on April 27 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study.
It was eventually made open to the public in 1847. Today it houses a collection of 704 species of animals, with 16,802 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom. [source: Wikipedia]
One of the first few animals we saw were these African Hunting Dogs, which I thought looked pretty hyenna-like. I got goose bumps all over when I saw these scary looking dogs!
Pumba!!!
How could i had the feeling that the entire Lion King clan was here.
I thought these Red River Hogs were cute. :P
Introducing the Ikapi.
We couldn't figure out what it was though. Was it a zebra?
Or a donkey?
Aww..the Ikapi is pretty adorable actually. :)
The llyamas were cute too!
This one sports a cool hairstyle. I likes~
Next we headed to the aviary...
Are these pelicans? Or storks?
Flamingos...
Hornbill. It's a beauty!
I'm not much of a bird person. But I kinda like the Kookaburra. May be the influence by my girl guides days.
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!
Up next, the Insect House.
You can tell I wasn't very keen. :P
I dodged that place and checked out some pretty butterflies instead.
I could not believe my luck when a pair of reindeers walked by. I've never seen a reindeer before. Oh wow! :)
I like this zoo a lot. The monkeys were left uncaged and roaming free in their designated trees. It was really cool being able to interact with the monkeys at such close proximity.
They were showing off big time. It was pretty entertaining actually. I had lotsa fun watching the monkeys doing their thing.
I love love love the penguins too. They're darn cool!
Don't you think giraffes are damn ol skool? I dunno everytime i see a giraffe (or an elephant) it kind of brings me back to my kindy time. I feel like a 5 year old kid again.
Introducing the first public aquarium.
I only took pictures of the fishes i fancies.
These are baby cardinal fishes.
Can you find nemo?
I dunno the name of this striking pink + yellow fish. But it's damn pretty lor.
Last stop was the reptile house. Which to me, was the scariest and freakiest of the lot.
You see that big fat tail under the tree trunk?
Question, can you tell what this thing is?
It's a Gila Monster.
I've heard of Gila monster, and I used to think it was some kind of joke or something. It was surreal to actually see one!
And whoever who named this reptile gave it a spot on name.
Yups, our little zoo tour ended closed to 6pm.
We all decided to stroll along Regent's Park before catching the bus for dinner.
OMG. This must be the prettiest park ever! I was told many couples have their wedding here. I want a garden wedding too!
I love love love tulips!
Part 4 coming up soon (i hope). :)
