Getting out of the airport was simple enough. Xiyi wasn't lying about the questions at customs though, had to show them my email with booking confirmation for my flight to Warsaw. Then, it wasn't enough that I show them the address I was staying it. Was asked "whose house is this?" "My cousin" "What's your cousin's name?" "Miranda Ching" "Is she a British citizen?" "Yes" Theeeeen, it was finally "okay you can go now"
Almost ended in the wrong train though. Turns out the Heathrow Express and the tube are on opposite sides of the terminal. Good thing I asked just before I went through the door where to buy my Oyster card. The card deposit was more than I thought it would be, could have sword I saw that it was only 3GBP on the internet, but the guy at the shop said I had to pay 5GBP plus the amount on my card. Ended up putting 10GBP on it just in case.
And then the luck began!
Train arrived just as I got on to the platform.
Then on the train .."tube" must remember, it's not Australia, there are non-trains, on the tube I saw a guy who I swear to god, had to have been Jamie Dornan, or at the very least he's long lost twin. I was so mesmerised. After he got off, the rest of the train ride was peaceful, long without excitement. Though, I did take a picture of a rather interesting map, that pretty much helped me decide how to spend my day in London.
Although Miranda told me that there was a slight hill on the way to her house, I didn't realise she meant there was stairs required to get out of the station, and only stairs.
It was probably the most shocking thing I had seen all day, and I saw a LOT of stuff that day. It really never occurred to me that a first world country as rich a the UK could have stations without disability access.
And another thing I learnt in that one hour is, suitcases with 4 wheels are bloody hard to use. They don't wheel as well when they are full. On uneven surfaces, such as the ones near Arsenal station, the wheels get stuck in every single bump, and when you try to pull it instead, the bottom of the suitcase scraps on every little thing. Though, that's not to say that my walk over to her apartment wasn't amazing. It was my first time walking past so many old buildings, that still had the original mouldings, plus I got to see what turned out to be the old Arsenal football team. And more importantly I saw my first wild squirrel. It's a bit stupid of me to have not known this, but I seriously thought squirrels were native to North America only.
Not the best picture I know, but considering that I used my phone, was too lazy to take out my camera, I quite happy with the results.
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