London: Arrival

I wanted to start out the story of our trip saying, “We got to London without any problems!”  But of course, that rarely happens when one is traveling by air.  Our plane left JFK airport 2 hours late.  I really don’t remember why because I was already half asleep by the time I was in my seat.  The entire flight felt unpleasant from what I can remember; it was freezing cold in the airplane and I can never sleep soundly sitting almost upright.  But we landed in London Heathrow airport safely.  We went through immigration (another slow process), picked up our backpacks and went off to catch the London Underground and made our way to our hostel. 

The London Underground kind of reminds me of the subways in Japan.  Ok, not entirely true.  But they have a line called “the Circle Line” which loops around the inner part of the city.  An equivalent of the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, if you will.  They also have a something called “the Oyster Card”; after doing some research, I found out that traveling with the oyster card makes it much easier to get around by the Underground.  It reminds me of the SUICA Card in Japan that everyone used.  All you have to do is scan your oyster card on the card reader, and it’ll prompt to open the gate.  So much better than a friggin metrocard!!!

Upon exiting out of Bayswater Underground Station, the diverse restaurant collection that exists overwhelms you.  They have your typical fastfood restaurants like Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Subway.  They have your choice of Italian and Chinese restaurants.  Then they have your Lebanese, Moroccan, Persian, Thai, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, and even Halal Chinese Noodles.  Halal Noodles!!!  And of course, they have your Starbucks.  But not on every corner, like in the US.  Instead of Pinkberry and Red Mango, they have a store called, “Frog”.  I haven’t tasted their yoghurt yet, but I personally like the name Pinkberry better.

The hostel we’re staying at is called “Hyde Park Hostel”, near the infamous Hyde Park.  We actually walked past it the first time around because it sits on what looks like a residential street, and it looks like every other building on the street.  The only thing that distinguishes iteslf as a hostel are the tiny letterings on the column that reads “Hyde Park Hostel”.  It was the cheapest hostel I could find last minute, and I certainly got what I paid for (and nothing more).  We were told our room was on the 3^rd floor, which actually means 4^th floor for us Americans (no elevator in the building).  The room has 5 bunk beds, and a tiny sink in the corner.  Each floor has bathroom and showers.  The kitchen, dining/tv room are in the basement and the computers in the front lobby on the ground floor.  So far, only one of our roommates speaks English (not fluently).  The majority of guests seem to be speaking either French, Spanish or German.  I wouldn’t know since I don’t speak any of those languages. 

We arrived at our hostel late into the afternoon.  We decided to walk around the neighborhood and explore to get an idea of what was around us, and to grab an early dinner since we were starving (last meal we had was breakfast on the plane: croissant and beverage).  With Alex’s suggestion, we decided on a Lebanese restaurant.  This place had outdoor seating on the sidewalks, where most customers chose to sit and smoke their hookahs.  We seemed to be the only ones seated inside, and ordering a full meal (like we cared).  Alex ordered Chicken Kebab and I ordered something called…well, I can’t remember what it was called.  Basically, it had chicken stuffed with cheese, garlic, chili, cilantro and all these yummy ingredients I love; it was delicious.  Now I know some of you are scoffing at me for not going out and getting England’s Fish & Chips.  Relax.  I will write in detail about my fish & chips experience when it happens.

After our dinner, we took a stroll through Kensington/Hyde Park and took the Underground to catch the views of the London Tower and Tower Bridges.