London Reconnaissance (Part 1)

My  recent visit to London was a reconnaissance of sorts.  It was my first visit to the city and rightfully, 2 days and 1 night would not have sufficed for me to cover all the tourist attractions.  So, I was contented to just let my husband take the lead.  After all he's been here a couple of times.  

As we were not quite sure which zone our lodge was situated within London, hubby decided to pay the 'congestion fee' just to be on the safe side.  The fee was 8 pounds per-day. 

The journey to London from Bristol normally takes about 2 hours but during peak hours (before 9.00 a.m on weekdays), it can take up to 3 hours just to reach the place. 

Thanks to the satnav, we were routed to our lodge via another long-winded way, which was, however, outside the congestion zone.  Buat rugi je bayar congestion fee!  But as hubby was saying, it's our 'learning fee' :).

As we arrived early, we decided to check into our room.  10 pounds melayang...  (another 'learning fee" :)).  Lesson learnt:  it doesn't pay to be early (when you check-in) or late (when you check-out) in this part of the world (Malaysia boleh pulak... Huhuhu...).  Just be on time! :)   On the bright side, the lodge has its own car park (quite rare for a budget hotel in London) and the parking fee for guests was only 5 pounds for a whole day.  So, after unpacking our things and having a light snack, we were all geared up for London.

As advised by a 'Londoner' (thanks, Lena :)), we bought off-peak day travelcards from a neighbourhood store, which enabled us to take any available public transport (bus and tube) within the zones covered by the tickets (ours was for zones 1-2).   The price for a one-day off-peak travelcard was 5.60 pounds for an adult, and 2 pounds for a child between 11-15.  Kids below 11 travel free with an adult. 

From the Battersea Travelodge,  we took the famous red double-decker bus (no. 44) to Victoria. 

At the London Victoria Station