Yha Thameside Hostel London

... alongside London Fields in Hackney. What's more they had generously given up their comfortable bed for us.

On Monday we had a quick look around London Fields and off to Plumstead to visit Mary – Kevin’s cousin, Brendan O’Sullivan’s widow. Although we had talked to her on the phone we had never met, and it was very sad to be doing so after Brendan’s death, rather than during his life. We had thought that she had ...

Woke up early this morning and went for a walk to have a cuppa with mum. When we got back to the hotel we met Jean, Chloe and Helen for breakfast and spent some time catching up.
We decided to catch the tube into the city and go on a big red bus tour. We sat on the top deck, which was open, and saw the sights of London with a very entertaining tour guide. Such a beautiful, amazing city. Completely different and so much more incredible than i had imagined. Our ticket also ...

... it was a funeral!

We ventured outside the city walls on bicycles and cycled 7kms to Shuanglin Temple, a fortress-like structured Buddhist temple complex originally built during the Northern Wei Dynasty (220-265AD). It was more hairy cycling within the city walls than outside of them. Motorcyclists and cyclists whizz out of the side streets without looking!

FRIDAY 12 JUNE 2009 - DESTINATION LUOYANG - We boarded an overnight train at ...

... juice in Starbucks to help wake up a bit. The snacks at Starbucks here are a bit different than back home (and they don't have cinnamon dolce syrup year round!) so I decided to try the chocolate chunk shortbread, which sounded like a nice combination of two things I love. It turns out it's a bloody awful mix. The Monument was a stone's throw from Starbucks but I didn't spot it at first because it was completely wrapped in scaffolding and didn't stand out as ...

... I did not want to stick around for an hour to see if the saying is true and that I would meet someone I knew. The Tube, at night, was not as scary as I had imagined it to be. I felt perfectly confident and completely safe. I got back to my hotel at 9:30pm. My last day in London, April 13th, I rose early and headed out on the Tube to Tower Hill to see the Tower of London. The weather was partly cloudy and slightly warm. I went without a coat and was fine most of the time. The ...

... when we fly to South Africa. Right now we're making lists of last minute things we have to buy...Deet being top of the list. Those mozzies can back right off... I think we're ready. Bangkok - here we come! Butterflies & Hurricanes Chris and Sandra

... were ones I would happily pay for in a restaurant, and averaged about 2 quid each. I keep saying quid, btw, as there is no pounds symbol on this keyboard. About five variants of 'z' though. z s æ § Joining my parents for an exploration of London was a stroke of genius. My mother still knows London well enough to navigate tiny backstreets to find 17th century pubs (hmmm). A real highlight of my London tourism experience was seeing Dr Johnston's house ...

... was really distressed about Phuong snogging someone else that he took his frustrations out on Tash and kicked her! Yes, he kicked her! I still can't believe it, and I laughed when I heard, but that was actually quite disturbing.. Anyhow, Phuong and I ead trouble getting back into the hotel because the ******** at the front desk from last Saturday said there was already 4 people in the room (tash, christina, jenny and cat) and we shouldn't be there. Christina left and ...