Big Ben and the Neighbours

We reached Westminster underground station, without any idea of how to reach the parliamentary buildings. Moreover, we saw more policemen than the civilians in that vicinity. Then, my friend called up to alert us that there was some procession by Sri Lankan Tamilians on Westminster Bridge. By then we reached that place and saw the calm procession.

As the procession passed, we turned back to examine that area, and suddenly we noticed that we were standing right under the Big Ben!

This is the World's largest four-faced chiming clock. Like us, there were many tourists and locals eagerly waiting around that area until 7 pm to hear the tone of the bell. Then, we crossed the road and tried to take a full view of the parliamentary buildings, but with my camera I could capture only this:(

Contrast to this old marvelous neo-gothic building, look at this equally beautiful modern building, which is just opposite to Big Ben.

From here, we could see the London Eye as well. But, to get a better view we walked up to London Pier.

The wheel was spinning at painstakingly slow speed. In fact, Eye on Malaysia at Titiwangsa was a bit faster! Moreover, the ticket price is GBP 17/person. So we decided not to go for a London Eye flight (ride).

This is the London Aquarium, which is situated besides the London Eye. We didn't go there either. 

Thames Walk

From Oxford Circus, we had to change a couple of Tubes (underground rails like Singapore trains), to reach the London Bridge, which is built on the Thames river.

From childhood, I had a penchant for this place, as there are too many attractions along the banks of this river.

And for the first time, I would say that my imagination matched with reality, which rarely happens.

We just passed through the attractions, because we would be using the London Pass to enter these places, next week. Here are some interesting shots that I took along...

 

One of the 5 Imperial museums is an army ship, HMS Belfast. This is permanently docked on the Thames.

This is a bronze fun size pirate ship, at Hay's Galleria, which is a tourist-targeted shopping center with traditional nick-nacks and coffee bars.

As we approached the London Bridge, I was so thrilled like a child, but still it was not an architectural wonder or massive. I think it is just a sense of satisfaction that I am finally there. I called my kid at that moment to share my joy and she too got excited and wanted to join us immediately!

On the bridge, the traffic was heavy. Unlike Kuala Lumpur, the pavements are large, in fact, the tracks for the vehicles are narrower. This helps the tourists to spend time on the bridge conveniently.

Then, we had a clear view of Tower of London, which was the powerful fort for the British Empire, few centuries ago.

Tower of London looks so romantic from the opposite bank. There are many gates to this tower, and one of the gates was named as Traitor Gate, which had direct access to the river in the past. I guess the history has not been kind. I will share more details, when we get to see this place next week.

By then, the weather had started to change, because of the chill wind. After a tea break, we headed for Westminster, to see the Big Ben and the Parliamentary house. I will continue on this in my next post. Stay tuned:)