(I might need to say this every single time I start writing a new blog post because who knows when will I able to finally have the time and motivation to just freakin sit down and write something. There's something really wrong with me lately, I swear. On to the post!)
So last September, a weird thing happened to me. I flew to London and stayed there for two whole weeks! Heh.
Okay, officially I went there because my office wanted me to join some kind of short course program. But that's exactly what's weird about the whole thing. For seven years, my office has never realized the fact that I was rotten and aged inside and then all of the sudden, they found out that I'm alive and offered me a chance to fly halfway around the world to actually study something. If this is not a miracle, I don't know what else to call it.
Weirdness aside, I was super excited to finally went somewhere that I've never been before and as usual, I totally planned to write something about my short trip to London. But then life happened and I totally forgot (Pfft right. Like I have a life. More like I'm totally lazy and preoccupied with all the kdramas that I have to watch so the writing has to be postponed for a little while). But here I am, ready to crack open my brain and collect what little memory I still have on my short London trip.
First thing first, GETTING A VISA.
From my little research on the virtual sphere, I understand that the process of getting an UK visa is rather a straightforward one. However, because I had a little delay in my passport application process due to this undisclosed issue that my office has with other involved national institutions (ah the drama I have to go through every single time. The joy of working with the government), there was a slight concern that I might not be able to get the visa on time for my departure. Thankfully the official UK Application Centre provides the priority option for those who needs to get their visa application processing time shortened into a couple of days (usually it takes around three weeks to get a UK visa from Indonesia because all applications are sent to Manila first to be processed). However, there's a catch with this priority option - you need to provide a little extra money (around 2 million rupiahs. Maybe. I forgot) Anyway, because I was pressed for time, I reluctantly chose the priority option and got my visa in just three days. Horray!! And so my journey begins. Oh also, in the spirit of being helpful, if anyone who reads this blog (if any) need more information on UK visas in the future, please visit http://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/indonesia/ and http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk for online application.
And here is a list of supporting documents that I provided for my visa application (please note that I was visiting London for business purpose. The necessary supporting documents for tourist or student visa might be different):
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| UK Visa approved! |
2. Sponsoring documents. In my case, I used the invitation letter from my training instructor, a guarantee letter from Bappenas (Indonesia's Ministry of National Development Planning, the institution that funded my short course) which basically saying that I will return to Indonesia accordingly after my schedule in London is finished and also exit permit from Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. Evidence of current employment (in English, please). It's more or less similar to a reference letter from your current employer. The purpose is pretty much the same with the previous point - it's to provide guarantee that you WILL return back home.
4. Copy of bank books (especially the last six months) and bank references. You can ask your bank to provide bank references in English - usually it costs around 250 thousand rupiahs.
5. Copy of personal documents including copy of national identification card, family register and birth certificate. A few travel blogs that I visited prior to London suggest future visitors to translate all the documents into English by certified translators. I'm not entirely sure whether this is necessary or not since I did not translate my documents and still got my visa approved. However, I was visiting London as a government official with an exit permit from Ministry of Foreign Affairs so my case was probably different than the usual visitor's case. To be on the safe side, if you're planning to visit London for a vacation, it might be useful to translate all the supporting documents.
6. Hotel and travel booking confirmation
7. Photo. Please make sure to check the requirements for visa application photo because I brought photos with wrong specifications to the application center and had to re-take my picture inside the center for double the price.
Secondly: GETTING AROUND LONDON
During my visit to London, I stayed in this student accommodation called Platt Hall in Northwest London area (this program I had took place in Middlesex University which only takes around 20 minutes walk from Platt Hall so it's pretty convenient). I arrived pretty early in the morning London time and it was really cold and windy. I came prepared with jackets and beanie though because duh, Google. Always do research first before going anywhere. Our instructor, who welcomed us on the day of our arrival, was being very helpful and gave us a short orientation on the area that we were going to live in the next two weeks and also a little information about traveling in London using Oyster Card - a very important part of my stay in London.
So in short, Oyster Card is a form of online ticketing used to travel around London using buses or tubes (London Underground Trains) and is probably the easiest way for tourists visiting London in a short time to get around. A visitor oyster card costs around £3 and then, depends on your itinerary, you can add as much credit as you need to the card. If I''m not mistaken, I had around £15 for starter in my oyster card and I could use that for three days. Using oyster card is quite easy - you just tap the card on the card reader located at the train station gate or buses (similar to the use of e-ticket when you're traveling using TransJakarta or commuter line in Jakarta) and when you need to top up, you just need to find the nearest ticket machine (usually can be found in any tubes stations), insert the cash and voila, you get additional credit added to your card just like that. Easy peasy.
But it's important to remember that there are up to nine travel zones in London so traveling will cost differently depending on the zones, your mode of transportation and your traveling time so getting a tube map is always recommended. Also, it is a lot cheaper and easier to go around by walking so use those sexy legs to get anywhere (I lost around two kilos just being in London for two weeks. And of course, gained it back and more upon returning home. Heyho!)
And lastly, PLACES TO VISIT.
Since I didn't really have much time to go around London (I had to be in the class from 9 am to 5 pm every day so the only free time I had to go around was during the afternoon) and also because I was traveling in group with diverse interests, we had to pick our itinerary very carefully to ensure that we used our time efficiently and nobody ended up crying. Unfortunately, I did not manage to visit any of the museums or libraries (sad) or King's Cross to check out the real Platfrom 93/4 (very, very sad) but at the very least, I went to all the important landmarks one must visit during their time in London, including:
1. Big Ben and around.
I was totally awestruck when I finally saw Big Ben for the first time because when we were about to step outside the Westminster Tube station, the tower was just standing there right in front of gate majestically. Like, wow. No kidding. It felt like being transported to the past instantly.
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| Big Ben and Parliament House |
After calming down, we went around sightseeing in Westminster area, including looking at The London Eye from far away, walking through Headquarters of Household Cavalry (?), Trafalgar Square, St. James Park and ended up in front of Buckingham Palace. Two days later, we visited the same area with the entire class and our trainers as well. Too bad I did not have the chance to watch the Changing Guards Ceremony (because it takes place around 11 am every day and I happened to be in the class around that time, thankyouverymuch). I might have to return some day :p
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| Flowers in St. James Park - Headquarters of Household Cavalry (Top Left-Right) London Eye - Buckingham Palace (Bottom Left - Right. And no, that's not me pictured there) |
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| Because I'm proud of my face (Left to Right: In front of Buckingham Palace, Near the Horse Guards, and in front of Big Ben) |
2. London Tower
London Tower is a also a place you must visit when you have the opportunity to fly to London. It has a very long and interesting history which I don't really remember (my brain is not really capable to store any information more than two days). Unfortunately, at the time I visited London Tower, I got a bit sick due to drastic weather changes and lack of sleep so I didn't get really enjoy the amazing night view because I tried so hard not to vomit. Literally.
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| The amazing night view and me. Trying hard to smile, instead of fainting |
One day during the short course, our trainer took the entire class to Strutton Ground Market, a small street market near Westminster area. That day was a rare sunny day in London and everybody in town was basically out and about, getting some food and enjoying the sunlight. Plus, we got to try to eat in the place that my trainer claimed serves 'The Best Fish and Chips in London'. Being an Asian who grew up eating all kind of spicy foods, the food honestly did not really impress me but at least I could proudly say that I've tasted the original fish and chips. If you happen to be visiting London someday and wanting to find an authentic local experience (I really don't know who am I talking to), Strutton Ground is a great place to be.
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| One sunny Day in Strutton Ground |
4. Cambridge
My trainer seems to be a believer of learning outside the box (aka classroom) because on Friday of our first week, he took the entire class to Cambridge which also happens to be the town he lives in. We spent the whole noon studying in his favorite cafe and then spent the rest of the day exploring the university town. Cambridge leaves a very huge impression for me, mainly because everybody rides bikes (and I don't drive cars. I am that simple). The Cambridge University (one of top five universities in the world) kinda reminds of my own almamater, Sydney University (which is not surprising in the least, because Australia is one of the commonwealth countries) so the familiarity kinda added up to Cambridge's positive points inside my head. At one point that day, I got a little wishful and hoping someday I would be able to move and settle here. I mean, why not.
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| It's hard to pick pictures to display here. I just love everything about Cambridge. |
5. Shopping till drop
... or in my case, till I realized that I spent too much money *sigh* When will I stop being so impulsive?!!
Anyway, of course shopping becomes the most important part of our itinerary. The first stop for our shopping journey is Harrods, a very well-known high-end department store where people can find every single luxury designer brands in one place. For me personally, it was a very good place for window shopping. End of sentence.
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| If you're anything like me, you might want to visit Harrods only near its closing time. The building looks awesome. |
After Harrods, everybody in the group (but me) decided to go to Lilywhites, one of the most famous sports retailer in London. Everybody was basically going crazy from all the choices available, but since I am not that interested to purchase any sports wear or instruments, I decided to hang outside the building and enjoyed the night view in Picadilly Street (where Lillywhites is located).
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| A much appreciated alone time during my London trip. |
And then Saturday aka shopping day arrived! One of my colleague in the group had once studied in UK before so he recommended going to Gunwharf Quays, an outlet shopping near Portsmouth Harbor (around two hours train ride from London) that offers a great range of designer labels at discount prices. My other friend also offered another option for our shopping day in Bichester Village, which is another outlet shopping located in Oxfordshire. After a quick look on the internet comparing this two options, I decided to follow my first friend and went to Portsmouth using the train (one side note: using the train is different than using the tube. Basically the tube is used to travel within the London area, while getting outside London usually requires a train ride). And then, we went shopping. That's it.
Okay, honestly I don't want to remember anything from my time in Portsmouth because then the guilt of overspending will sweep all over me once again. Why am I always so impulsive?! WHYYY?!! I went totally crazy while shopping and then my conscience returned one second too late. Long story short, I spent the whole ride home cursing myself. Anyway, enough about my problem. What's important is that Gunwharf Quays is a great place to go to if you're looking for an outlet shopping experience in UK. Just get a lock for your wallet first before going here. Trust me.
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| The inside of Gunwharf Quays aka my favorite mistake |
Afterwards we were looking for places that sell cheap London souvenirs so we headed to Camden Market the next days and generally had a very great time looking around all the food stalls and little shops there (and also spent another considerable amount of money to get lots and lots of souvenirs for everyone back home). Alternatively, you can also head to Chinatown, Soho if you're looking for cheap London souvenirs. I went there as well and purchased even more souvenirs to bring home. I don't even realize that I know that many people back home.
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| Camden Town/Market |
Next up Primark!! Thanks to some British Youtubers that I watched from time to time (Zoella, Sprinkle of Glitter, Tanya Burr and many more), I am actually very familiar with the brand's name. As one of British fast fashion retailer, Primark is pretty well-known for offering a wide range of clothing and other fashion items that is more affordable than most of their competitors in the fashion industry so it's not surprising to see how excited I was to finally step inside one of Primark store in London. Me and my friends decided to go to Primark store in Marble Arch on our first Sunday, before taking an afternoon stroll along Oxford Street-Regent's Street-Picadilly Street.
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| Shopping in the city |
Next but not least: Portobello Road. This area is basically a heaven for any antique lovers in the world. There are plenty of stalls along the road selling various products from fruits and vegetables, vintage dresses and shoes, fashion accessories, household goods and of course, the highlight of the area, antiques. Also Portobelllo Road is a great place to visit for any movie lover as the road is heavily featured in 1999's romantic comedy movie "Notting Hill". You might get a kick acting like Hugh Grant walking along the road while saying hello to the (confused) food stalls' owners. I know I did.
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| Portobello!! |
An important tips: please do pay attention to the opening hours of each store and markets that you wish to visit because different than Jakarta, most stores/markets is usually only open until around 6 pm (stores even have shorter hours on Sunday). So if shopping is one of the must-dos on your London itinerary, make sure to collect information on the opening hours beforehand to avoid disappointment of looking at the closed door of your dream stores.
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| Store is closed. Dream is shattered. |
So that's it - my first time visiting London. In general, it was a pleasant and exciting experience I wish to repeat all over again soon. Very soon.
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| Ended my journey by singing Beach Boys - God Only Knows over and over again. |
Cheers!!!
Si Mbak.
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