Life in London after 3 weeks .....

Lisa and I are settling in, and getting used to the way London works, and accepting all the negatives and positives of being here.

We’re in the middle of yet another Bank holiday long weekend (this is the second one in may). London hasn’t quieten down because quite a few Londoners would have left the city for some other city in another country for the weekend. For Lisa and I though, we spent the weekend exploring more of London. We went to Borough Market, Burberrys’ factory outlet in Hackney (slightly dodgy borough, or suburb as we Aussies know it). We went to check out Canary Wharf, which is the new London, but looks nothing like London… the buildings and offices there look like Sydney or Singapore, quite modern, and a lot of glass and steel.

Camden Market however is our favorite, it’s bustling full of people, from ALL walks of life. There is a multitude of food from all different cultures, European to African, which we’re really looking forward to taste testing. Vietnamese food however has been disappointing so far, but we knew that, I just needed confirmation. I miss my Pho and Lisa misses her Bun Bo Hue.

Japanese has taken off here in London, but the fresh seafood cannot compare to Australia seafood, so the Sashimi will have to wait till we get back home.

In the UK here, they’re quite big on Fair Trade and Organic food, a lot more than home, and a lot of things is fair trade this and fair trade that. I suppose they have to be since they’re so close to Africa.

Throughout the UK and especially in London, there is a hell of a lot of CCTV. There are apparently 1 camera for ever 14 people, located on the streets, on buses, and trains. Feels like BIG BROTHER is watching you. There’s a new camera that they’re trialing as well, it’s installed on a little remote controlled helicopter, and flies around , and the person controlling it can see where it is going because there is an on board camera to show where it is going. Another trial is for car ticket inspectors to have cameras installed on their hats, so that it records incidents of abuse, or record to provide photographic evidence, in case people dispute infringement notices. At the moment, they’re thinking of installing CCTV cameras to monitor speed cameras as the one’s in the country areas are being vandalized. It seems, they’re first choice solution to problems here, is to install cameras.

Ah, that’s life over here I suppose.

The Sun's out Marge!!!!!

The sun has finally come out today, I just couldn't resist and had to take a photo..... I've missed the sun sooooooo much!!!

When it came out, I had to get out of the building and go for a walk and currently sitting outside my friends place to soak up the sun's rays while it's out. Funny enough, across the road is a private park for local residents, and all the mothers and kids are out in force, enjoying it.

Also, I am using someone else's wireless network at the moment, as most people here tend to use wireless routers, and someone is bound to have it open for the world to use. Thanks neighbours!

London still

Lisa and I spent the weekend exploring London city. We went to Portobello market, which is world famous for Antiques, didn't quite find anything we like. There was also a fresh food market at the end of that, which was really nice and cheap... comparitively. We went to the British museum as well and had a look around at all the displays. It's not as enjoyable to go see because there are so many people going through that it feels like walking through a market place...similar to that of Portobello market, but the antiques here are even older and more precious.

We walked along Regent St, Oxford St, and Charing Cross, it's sort of funny to be walking around area's and streets we know from Monopoly. The weekend was cut little short thanks to the bad weather you get here, and it feels miserble to trek through the rain and people. Now I have to think about what we're doing for this weekend. Our friends Ed and Lyn are moving to a new place so I think I'll be helping the out a little.

London....

(Note: Click on title to see all pictures of London)

Lisa and I are here in London.....the gateway to Europe!.. we've spent the past couple of days trying to re-adjust, get over the jet lag and see the city again.

London is a BIG city with heaps and heap of people. Not only do you have to work your way through heaps of locals, you run into thousands of tourists and also other holiday workers. London just doesn't seem to belong to the Londoners anymore, it's a place where the rest of the world travelers meet.

Everything is approx 2.5 times the price of home, so being unemployed in an expensive city like this does hurt the hip pocket... but there are many jobs around, just have to find it, and the right ones.

London city feels like New Years Eve on the weekends, people everywhere.

Singapore 2007

Lisa and I just spent our 2 days in Singapore to chill out before we head off to London. Thanks to Qantas, the flight is running 3 1/2 hours late, due to depart at 3:25 am!!!

Well, luckly, one of the benefits if flying business class is the use of the Lounge, and because the business class lounge is closed, we unfortunately have to sit in the First Class Lounge. There is an abundence of alcohol, and some food, snacks, and free internet!!! hence, using this oportunity to upload my photos.

Singapore the last 2 days have been qute humid, and I think we're in their Monsoon season, hence raining stop and start. The humidity wasn't too bad, thanks to the rain. We spend the days going around shopping centres to hide away from the unpleasent humidity for the comfort of air conditioning. Singapore is not fun when you don't have intentions to buy anything.

The first day we visited Chinatown and Little India, and ate out at food courts. The food in Singapore is so cheep compared to Australia. Last night we went to Clarke Quay and had dinner, Singapore's famous Chilli Crab, which was nice.

The second day, we spent time exploring the shopping centres around our Hotel area, Marina Square, and also Orchard st. I didn't take too many photos, as the humidity just kills my enthusiasm for photography.

Goodbye Sydney!!

On Tuesday 1st may 07, Lisa and I left Australia bound for the UK and a new life in London. It was a sad farewell to our family who was there at the airport with us.

The past few weeks has been long and exhaustive, trying to wrap things up at home in Sydney for our move. There was so much work to be done, and there's only the two if us to worry about.

Anyways, Bon Voyage!!! hope to see you also again soon, whether in London or in Sydney.