London Day 2

Like I said in my previous entry, I decided to go to the Royal Air Force Museum today and boy did I enjoy it. Here's some pics before I do my personal review on the museum:

The museum is pretty convenient, located about 10-15mins walk from the nearest tube (Colindale).

I started my tour with an introduction to a wealth of aircraft exhibits! Both modern and vintage. Like all museums, this is the century of flights hall where you have all the milestones...etc

Have you ever wondered how the first aircraft carrier in the US looked like? Haha, it just looks like a long wooden plank on a big boat. That's it.

Now this would be really interesting. Many of you wouldn't have taught that Singapore Airlines had a concorde right? Well, you're right...but not all that right. I wished I sat in that plane.

So in the museum they had the Century of flight aircrafts..before going to the next hall which is all about the bombers! In there I got to see the famous B17...the Lancaster..and the seriously huge Vulcan! Goodness. Moving on to the next hall was the helicopters and the fighters. How can I miss it. One of my favourite vintage fighter planes... Spitfire MK IV staring straight at me. Haha, it was beautiful. They were showing all sorts of stuff, and the pic above...shows the different types of ejection seats. Haha, I found it pretty funny cuz no pilot would want to eject. So it seems like the qns was instead: "If you were to die, which seat would you rather died seating on?" Haha...so choose! So on I went to the next and last hall which was the Battle of Britain Hall. Apparently half the hall was still under renovation thus I could only see what was available. But I got to witness the huge Sunderland a/c and even went in! I also got a final close up view with the V2 balistic missile, and man, that thing is so huge. I dunno what I'll do if I see it heading towards me. Run, I die. Don't run, also die. haha

To add in to my tour, I also went on 2 simulator rides. 1 on the Tornado and 1 on the Red Arrows Aerobatics. However, those were the only things that disappointed me. I guess after experiencing the real thing up there in flight, simulator was not even close. But what got me excited was the museum shop. I finally got my "TOP GUN" patch, a "Danger Pull Me To Start" keychain, a 8-DVD series on Air Crash Investigations and my very own diecast model A-10 Thunderbolt to add to my collection back in Singapore! So to review this museum, I'll give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Pro: Very good detailed description with MANY aircrafts. There was a section of a hall that taught you the aerodynamics of flight and I felt it was pretty interesting. The information provided were really good and their service was good too.

Cons: Simulator was a waste of time and money. (Suited for children, not adults) Phototaking was a bit tough as there were so many aircrafts but too little space. Unless you have an SLR or a wide angle lens, its really difficult to take a good picture.

So after the museum, I decided to visit the "Bugis Street" of London. Welcome to Camden Market. Over here, you can get really really cheap deals. A deal of 3 shirts for 5 pounds is possible here and they have some pretty funky clothes! So if you're looking for a good deal with really funny stuff on the shirts or sth, this is the place! Nearest tube: Camden Town

After Camden Town, I went back to Bond St. to cover what I didn't manage to see on day 1. I headed back to visit the 2 departmental stores. Primark and Selfridges. Heres my review on them.

Primark: Ideal for very good deals (Non-branded) You can get lots of stuff at dirt cheap prices! I saw a formal vest only at 7 pounds! But outside, its usually at least 39.99 Pounds. However, Primark is usually very very crowded.

Last stop was Selfridges which is just 5 minutes from Bond St Tube station. Primark is the same, just a further 10mins more in the same direction. Selfridges sells ALL the branded stuff. Whatever you want, they have it. Be it clothes, accessories, household appliances, watches....books...EVERYTHING. And if you're a tourist, you qualify for tax free shopping too! That means 15% off the total price (excluding books and services). But hey, thats still a gd deal! I bought a pair of jeans here today. That ended and concluded my shopping for the holiday. I've told myself not to buy anything more. Haha..

So for day 3...not much planned, but heres what I hope to do. 1) Go to wembley stadium and hopefully purchase a ticket to do a stadium tour. 2) Go down to Piccadilly and walk around 3)Go to Leicester Square and walk around too 4) Go to Lambeth North and visit the Imperial War Museum. I was thinking whether to catch a musical while I'm here. They have screenings of Phantom of the Opera (MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE) , Les Miserabes , Joseph and the multi colour coat (Starring Gareth Gates)....etc. It'll be cool i guess.

But I do have my Friday planned out. I've already booked my tickets to Madame Tussauds and a cruise on the London Eye River Cruise. Well, that's all for today. Lets hope the protest in London mellows down tml so that I can go visit all the main attractions! I wanna visit Buckingham Palace...Big Ben..etc. But its not advisable to go anywhere near there now cuz of the protests. Pray that all will be fine!