Culture Vulture

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I'm glad to be here today

From the time I arrived till the day I left, I still rate catching Mamma Mia, the musical @ London's West End as one of the highlights of my stay. My seat may not be the best in the house, I still enjoyed the experience. The audiences were up from their seats towards the final curtain call and gave the production an overwhelming response. Something which I have not yet seen in Singapore.

We ate at a Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown for dinner. It's finally rice time today! I enjoyed the travel experience with the exception of the food. Too much sandwiches and salads just didn't go well with my stomach. London's Chinatown is tiny, with only two streets of shops and restaurants. But it was nice to soak up in the Chinese atmosphere in a foreign land.

Earlier in the day, I had caught a northern train to Camden Town where the weekend markets were on. The markets were generally nice to linger around for a while even though there was nothing of particular interest to me.

By nightfall, I finally popped by at the London Palladium for a memorial photoshoot. The stage belonged to the Carpenters in November 1976 as they performed LIVE 30 years ago during their London gig. I gotten their live recording CD and told myself I must made my way to the Palladium to complete the experience no matter what.

From a Visitor's Take # 2:

Food, drinks and pets are tolerated in all public transportation facilities and theatre venues. While taking the train today, a cute baby labrador was seated next to me. There is no reception when the train travels underground. You are unlikely to see a Londoner playing with his phone inside the train.



London on the Cheap # 2: Food

Good news if you are a chocolate and ice-cream lover. We found a tub of Haagan Daz Ice-cream retailing at $8.40 and 5 long bars of snickers at $2.20. I was at NTUC Fairprice the other day. The same costs me $14.50 and $7.50 respectively. Sis favourite Marks & Spencer sweets retails at $1.47 while the same costs $2.50 in Singapore. I'm sure there are other hidden gems within the shelves waiting to be uncovered.

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