London and Essex:7 April 2007

From Legoland, we went straight to Auntie and Uncle Wa's (Auntie De's parents) house in Essex and stayed there for two nights. When we woke up the next morning, we found Auntie De preparing kuey teow for breakfast. She has woken up since very early - both her children were not well.

The Des remained in Essex, while we braved ourselves into London. Uncle De sent us to the train station where we bought all-day travel tickets. We thought of 'going all out' in London. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, London Bridge, you know the lot. Probably have lunch at one of the Malaysian restaurants, and tea at Harrods. But before that, we just had to go to the statuesque Tower Bridge.

It should have been a straight forward journey if Fenchurch Street Station was the last stop, as we thought. We didn't know if it was the Easter holiday or due to some engineering works, but we found ourselves 'stranded' at Barking for one hour or so. There were hundreds of people waiting for the London train like us. The kids started to be uneasy, we almost thought of making a turn back to Essex.

However, we continued waiting.

We got on a train heading to Liverpool Street Station. It was good enough for us. We then took a double decker bus and stopped on London Bridge. (Yes ON London Bridge itself)

London Bridge (NOT the above) is merely a bridge, connecting two lands over the River Thames. We were more interested in the Tower Bridge (the above). Which was within walking distance from London Bridge. First, we had to descend the 'weird' staircase from London Bridge to the South bank of River Thames. Sarah walked on her own. I carried Amar. Babah carried the pushchair. Simple as that.

HMS Belfast

The walk along the riverbank was just a relaxing exercise. I was tempted by this 'posh' looking restaurant serving fish and chips. The restaurant was packed with customers and it was not a priority, so we walked on. There were just so many things to see and do at this area alone. There is Hay's Galleria, where you can read its history here. Also, the London Dungeon, St Katharine Docks, Tate Modern, Tower of London, City Hall London and HMS Belfast.


HMS Belfast was one of the largest and most powerful cruisers ever built for the Royal Navy. It was built in 1938 and it is Europe's last surviving big gun warship of WW2. Now, it's a museum.

City Hall (London)

Informally known as the 'Leaning Tower of Pizzas'. The Headquarters of the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. It has been compared variously to Darth Vader's helmet and a misshapen egg. Also some other funny comparisons, go search the names yourself!

River Thames

How do you pronounce 'Thames'? Here in the UK, it is pronounced as 'Temz' (The 'e' as in ever or get) with a silent 'h'. The history of the word is rather interesting. (I wonder if anyone is trying to say the word out loud...)

Babah offered to buy Sarah an ice-cream as a reward for being such a good girl. Perhaps a way to provide extra energy for Sarah to continue walking on her own.

Soon, she became Hammy from Over the Hedge - full of energy. Running around, climbing up and down the stairs and jumping on and off a sitting stool.

After the running and all, she ended up on Babah's shoulders.You might have guessed that Amar has by now fallen asleep in the pushchair.

To get to the other side of the bank, we have to cross via Tower Bridge (or if you are on the other end, via London Bridge). We had to go up the steep, 'winding' and narrow staircase to be on the Tower Bridge. We looked for a lift or at least a ramp. It was rather difficult to go up the stairs because Amar was sleeping in the pushchair, and I was carrying sleeping Sarah too.

Babah tried to manage Amar and the pushchair when suddenly a kind lady 'instructed' her husband, "Darling, do give this gentleman a hand". We were extremely grateful to the man.

I was thinking how do other parents with pushchair manage the flight of stairs? And we straightaway remember our trip to Paris, where we (I rather) continuously complain of the lack of ramps for family like us. London is more or less the same. Well, at least the people here are friendlier (haha!).

Soon we were challenged by another set of stairs! I was hoping that the bridge would just merge to the North bank. The short-cut was of course the staircase again. We somehow managed ourselves (with sheer difficulties!)

There was an empty bench, as soon as we reached the bank. We laid Sarah on it and Babah looked for some refreshments. We needed to quench our thirst and rest our aching back!

We have never attempted to enter Tower of London. We have been to the area countless times, how did we not think of it eh? We love Castles, and this is one of them built in 1078 by William the Conqueror. For my reference, more of its history can be found here and here.

A view right opposite of Liverpool Street Station

Souvenirs (*ehem* fridge magnets) and candies from the gift shop were a must. We then went straight to Liverpool Street Station, since the time then was already 5pm! We spent the whole day just by the river!!!


We saw the above statue in the boundary of the station. I thought they were the railway children. But there are too many of them, so they couldn't be. When Babah left Sarah on the podium, she stood very still and looked on the ground clutching on her own jacket tightly.

From far, I thought she was just refusing to be photographed by Babah. But then, I realised she was 'scared' of the statues! Poor child.

We boarded the train to Southend and stopped at Chafford Hundred. The children and Babah spent the whole journey teasing and laughing with each other. Since everyone was in a good mood and the sun was still shining, we crossed the pedestrian link bridge to Lakeside Shopping Centre which was right across the train station.

There we found rows of Cherry Blossoms trees, which just reminded me of Ajzie of Wilhem~Achtzehn. She has a collection of Sakura trees photos taken by herself infront of her house in German.

As I'm writing this entry, I just had to do a little research on Sakura trees just incase I get the name wrong. I found myself amazed by the different species and facts about them. To Ajzie and Yus (who also posted about Sakura trees around her area) the photos are for you.

By the way, here are two sites which helped me the most,
Japan-guide.com
Vancouver Sakura Diary

We finally spent the briefest of time in Lakeside. The kids started to throw tantrums. (I hate that word!) We then called Uncle De (a die hard Man U fan) to come and fetch us. We arrived at their house (pura-pura) didn't know about the Man U v Portsmouth match which has just started. How we manage to get Uncle De to fetch us? We don't know. Hihi...

The next day, we went to Brighton. But that's another entry.

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A special birthday wish to Auntie Nurul whose birthday is today, 18 April 2007! Our best wishes for your future undertakings. We have a gift for you, but you have to wait for it ;)