[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 17 May 2014. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some info.]
18 January 2014, Saturday
Travelling is always fun, but there’s just that extra sense of adventure when you board a plane alone. As it happened, I flew solo from Singapore to London because my travel buddy, IJ, was on a different Singapore Airlines flight and would arrive in London a few hours after me. Our two other buddies, SY and YS, would join us in London only on 20 January, and at Heathrow Airport itself, just before our onward journey to Iceland.
So on 18 January 2014 at 1:25am, I boarded my Delta Airlines flight KL836, which was actually a KLM aircraft. I think it was due to fatigue, but I had a splitting headache shortly after take-off. My body started to clam up and I had cold sweat, and I felt really terrible. There wasn’t much I could do except to try to sleep it off. Thankfully, it managed to subside after a few hours.
I arrived at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 7:55am (local time) and felt much better once I was on the ground. There was a long transit period of 5 hours 30 min, so I had a lot of time to explore the airport. I had never been to The Netherlands before so I was actually quite happy to transit there, even though I didn’t get to step out of the airport.
Thankfully, Schiphol is a fantastic airport with much to see and do, so I didn’t really feel bored during the transit. There are many eateries, shops and even a casino, museum and a library! After I finished exploring, I settled down at McDonald’s for an Amsterdam breakfast set, which cost 6.25 Euros. Certainly not cheap! Unfortunately, I also gave in to temptation and bought a striking red I Amsterdam messenger bag for shhhhhh…32.95 Euros. But it’s nice, right? Right??
Finally, at 1:25pm, I hopped on flight KL1017 for the short flight to London. It was a small jet and we had to take a shuttle bus to the tarmac to board the aircraft. I loved the snack that they served onboard – a frosted waffle and a small can of orange juice.
I touched down at London Heathrow Airport at 1:50pm (local time). At long last, I was in London! The first thing I bought when I got out of the arrival hall was a local pre-paid SIM card for GBP 20. There were a few options in the vending machine so I chose the Vodafone one that came with unlimited data surfing. That’s all that I cared about – connectivity to WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram!
From Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, I bought a Tube train ticket to Oxford Circus station, costing GBP 5.50. The ride took about an hour, and I alighted at around 3:25pm. The familiar sight of the colourful billboards and narrow passageways greeted me like an old friend, and I couldn’t be more pleased to be back in London.
From Oxford Circus station, I navigated my way to my hostel, YHA Oxford Street, located at 14 Noel Street. It was less than 10 minutes walk away. Great location, with friendly staff and very well-furnished rooms.
YHA London Oxford Street
Address: 14 Noel Street, W1F8GJ, London
Tel: 0845 371 9133
Website: http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/london-oxford-street
Price: GBP 23 per bed per night (after GBP 3 YHA/HI member discount)
The room I booked was a 4-bed dorm. It was very new, and the sheets and blanket were clean. There were individual lockers and pegs to hang your clothes or jackets. Best of all, there was a lamp and power socket beside each bed, which meant that you could charge your handphone while sleeping, and you don’t have to fight with your room mates over the use of the power sockets.
The only downside was that the free Wi-Fi was available only in the lobby and dining area. The signal strength wasn’t strong enough to reach the rooms. But with my Vodafone SIM card, I had Internet access so this wasn’t a big problem for me. Overall, YHA London Oxford Street is probably the best YHA hostel I’ve ever stayed at. Highly recommended!
After dropping my luggage and freshening up, I was raring to go explore the streets. As IJ had not arrived yet, I took the opportunity to do some window-shopping on my own first. I must say the hostel’s location is really good, just a 5-minute walk to the main shopping areas of Regent Street and Oxford Street.
Regent Street is the premier shopping street in London, where all the flagship boutiques are located. I spotted a huge Superdry store and was amazed by the vast collection it carried. As soon as I stepped inside, I felt like buying everything in the store! But this was not the time to spend yet, not so early in the trip. So I just mentally took note of the things I liked and got a sense of how much things cost.
I continued walking along Regent Street and ended up at Piccadilly Circus. It was a nice feeling because I had been to all these places before, during my previous trip in 2009. But somehow, it felt more enjoyable this time, due to the familiarity. I could really soak in and enjoy myself fully this time.
I didn’t venture too far because IJ had touched down in London as well, so I headed back to the YHA to await his arrival. True to form, he did get himself lost, but he finally came through the door at about 6:45pm.
By that time, both of us were pretty tired because of the 8-hour time difference between London and Singapore. It was already close to 3am back home, and I hadn’t had a proper sleep for more than 24 hours. But the excitement of being in a foreign land kicked in, and we headed out for dinner shortly after.
We ventured even further, passing by Shaftesbury Avenue before stopping at Leicester Square to grab a bite. It was fun seeing IJ’s reaction to being in London for the first time. He was just exclaiming out loud how excited he was, and his enthusiasm rubbed off on me. It was a great feeling, to be so far away from home and living the life.
IJ was captivated by the chow mein stalls, but we decided to have some fish & chips, the quintessential English meal. We walked into a diner and ordered a set each. The fish was huge and the chips were overwhelming, good value for GBP 15 I suppose.
After satisfying our stomachs, we decided to take a walk to the River Thames to see the Parliament House, Big Ben and London Eye in their night splendour. It was quite a long walk and the weather had turned rather chilly, but we were determined to get there. On my last trip, I only saw these British icons in the day. This time, the lighting at night made them even more beautiful and grand. It was well worth the walk there.
We walked past the London Eye and eventually headed back to Chinatown and SOHO. The area was still buzzing because it was a Saturday night and everyone was out having a good time. By about 10pm, we were really exhausted and finally decided to call it a night.
End of Day 1, 19 more days of adventure to go!