So after a long bus ride up to the English Channel, we had to go through customs to get on the ferry. It was a nightmare! The British lady grilled me for like 20 minutes about everything! She asked me to name the exact cities where I've visited in Europe, my timetables for my entire trip, who I had travelled with and where they were from, where I would visit in the UK and who I would stay with, my opinions on the French and Italians, how much money I had in my bank accounts, the type of house I lived in, and so many other random questions. It was annoying, but they eventually stamped me through. I hung out with a couple Australians on the ferry and had a good chit-chat with them.
When I finally reached London, I was lost. Didn't have a hostel yet, and the subways were EXPENSIVE. So I sat in the park for a bit while I ate some leftover sausage and bread and cheese. While I was sitting there, an old Indian man approached me. He looked like a bum, so I immediately told him I had no money (not a lie). Then he explained that he was a medical student, and that he was just doing a survey for his thesis. He pulled out a nice looking pamphlet, so I decided he was legit. After filling out a rather interesting survey on end-of-life care, I moved along to find a hostel.
As I was buying a metro ticket, I questioned the guy next to me about the high prices of the subways. He said something about an "Oyster Card" (which caused me to giggle), and then he got mad that I was laughing. So I asked him how it worked, and he said (in the best British accent ever), "I don't have time to explain it all to you." So I walked away laughing, which he thought was extremely rude. He started yelling at me and calling me a prick and a twat (which made me laugh even more). I eventually turned around and gave him a thumbs up (which he REALLY didn't like), and I got sworn at even more. What a great first experience. ;)
I found a hostel in a rather nice part of town near Hyde Park. It was soooooo hard just crossing the streets here, because I kept looking the wrong directions, and cars kept honking at me and barely missing me. But I'm still alive, thanks for asking. I slept for a few hours after checking in, trying to make up for the horrible night of sleep on the bus. After a nice siesta, I went out to explore.
I walked to Buckingham Palace first. I think I've seen American prisons that looked nicer than that "palace". And you couldn't get close to the guards! I was so psyched to get a pic with the palace guards, but they were far behind the fences. So gay. So I had to make do with some distance shots. Westminster Abbey was close by, but I didn't feel like going inside. I've seen way too many cathedrals/churches on this trip.
I walked around more and found Big Ben and the Parliament building. Pretty cool. There was a bum camped out right in front of Big Ben, and apparently he has been out there for like TEN YEARS. He had a bunch of signs protesting everything from the war to abortion. I learned that he was actually a fairly rich person, with a family and kids and all. But he left his posh life to make a statement in front of the Parliament building. How strange.
I walked along the Thames River and saw all the bridges and buildings near the city center. London isn't exactly the nicest city. It's really old and dirty, and the river looks like it's filled with sewage. The London Bridge wasn't even cool! It's very plain concrete, no decorations at all. Tower Bridge was much nicer, but even then, it was surrounded by gross looking water and buildings. I felt depressed just walking around London.
I found a cool place to eat. It was like a warehouse turned restaurant. They had live music playing, and a grill outside where I bought a burger and a soda. It was a nice hangout. I went back to the hostel and had a relaxing time watching movies with some new friends. The pubs all close at 11pm, so no one really went out for drinks there.
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