The United Kingdom of Ash

Can you believe it, they actually let me in! Two Fridays ago I touched down at Heathrow airport and had a couple of days to spend in London before heading north to Leeds. Perhaps I wasn't quite operating at my peak performance with my body telling me it was 0200 h but all the clocks around me saying that it's 1600 h but after jumping on the tube from the airport it wasn't all that obvious where I was; London or Melbourne. The trains looked the same, as did many of the houses in the outer suburbs, the sun was shining and it was nice and warm. However the giveaway, the moment that I new I must not be in Melbourne, was when two blokes jumped on the train with cans of Fosters. Can't say I've seen many people drinking Fosters anywhere back home.

It was recommended to me that whilst in London I buy a ticket for a 'jump on, jump off' open top double decker bus tour. I went with The Big Bus Company and would also highly recommend doing one of these tours. It's a great way to do all the touristy things in London, and it's easy so you can do it even if your body is telling you that you should be asleep. The above photo is me on the tour with Big Ben behind me.

One thing about London is that everything is small and all crammed in together; they have washing machines in their kitchens and in the place where I stayed a few nights in Leeds the toilet and shower were one in the same. These little Smart Cars are everywhere. A bloody good idea for somewhere like this. They are all crazy drivers too, it doesn't matter if their driving a Smart Car like this or a double decker bus, they still drive like their driving a sports car and are above any road laws.