Trip London 201711 E

Next, China Town. It's dark already.
So the place is getting busy with visitors.
These two were taken earlier behind the National Gallery.

 China Town is near Leicester Square.

(but I learnt not to believe the estimated timing listed in any map
which must have been done by
a very tall strong youngster who know all the short cuts?)
 
Originally I was looking for something so
I got inside SeeWoo mini supermarket.
(It is not too convenient go to the hyper big one in Croydon.)
So crowded.
I couldn't find the two items I was looking for.
Squeezed in another also crowded snack shop.
I saw moon cakes in HK brand names but printed in Simplified Chinese.
偽もの Nisemono!
Yuck.
A number of shops in China town bear the same names of famous shops
 or restaurants in HK are totally unrelated pretenders.

Be very careful  ! ! ! ! !

This time, the bread in bakery shops did not tickle my fancy either.

I picked up free Chinese newsapaper from the boxes.
(sadly, most are pro-Beijing, except the Epoch Times.)

Time to head back to Japan Centre .
Good that they have vegan choices.
This time I resisted the urge to eat sashimi.
The shop is busy. Long queue.
As time is running out,
I only quickly grabbed a pack of avocado sushi
and a pack-of -4 non-GMO mini natto.
(Pity that they do not stock organic version)

Just in time to get back on coach by 17:25.

The coach went past this theatre showing The Phantom of the Opera.

21th century version of the old British red double-decker.
More see-through at the back
but people can no longer hop on there. 😆
It got a curved door now.

While the coach inched through the traffic jam to get out of London,
I enjoyed the pack of sushi.

A long day.

Coach trip is easier. It picked me up and dropped me off near my place.
No need to have the 4 extra legs to and from the rail stations.

In case you missed the earlier part of this day trip:

http://sn-uk.blogspot.com/2017/11/trip-london-201711a.html

http://sn-uk.blogspot.com/2017/11/trip-london-201711-b.html

http://sn-uk.blogspot.com/2017/11/trip-london-201711-c-national-gallery.html

http://sn-uk.blogspot.com/2017/11/trip-london-201711-d.html

Trip London 201709 B

After the short detour of the Westminster Cathedral(London),
time to head to SW1.

After finding the bus stop and hopped on a bus...
I found a good seat on the upper deck.

Another type of sight-seeing, slower-pace.

(over 20 photos below. Might take sometime loading.)

Big Ben under renovation

 Big Ben under renovation , with Parliament.

 Nelson Column Trafalgar Square. And National Gallery.

 Trafalgar Square fountains.

I got off the bus around Trafalgar Square.
Then I walked through China Town ( some snack along my way there).

China Town, London. Typical view.

Chinese call this thing   "pai lou"牌樓 /  牌坊"pai fong" / "pai fang"
Where as the Japanese equivalent is 鳥居 "torii".

(A closer look. I do not like the other side.)


Then, my main aim of the day trip...
I went to 💗 Japan Centre on  Panton Street ...

Shopping done in 😍Japan Centre (supermarket with food court)

Happy to see lots of Japanese food items.
Even natto - Japanese fermented soy bean.
(although frozen version)

It has a mini food court with hot food and also cold-food refrigerators,
with lots of  sushi, bento, desserts, etc.

My shopping...

(non-GMO)Natto,  dried seaweed salad, miso suru soup paste, Chilli sesame oil,
etc.

A plant-based nigiri 握り(formed with hands) sushi寿司 pack.  Avocado.
(This version is with white rice. They also have brown rice sushi)

Then, I walked past the Charing Cross Library.
Charing Cross Road. A400.
It used to have many books in Traditional Chinese text.
Now most books are in the inferior Simplified Chinese.
The language in classification signs also changed.
So, it was penetrated by PRC people. They are everywhere. 
  :(


Got on bus a bit further up, for Victoria Station.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church　viewed from the upper deck of a bus.

closer.

Trafalgar Square. Post Code: WC2.  Nelson's Column.
The views from the upper deck -- different from walking on the ground level.

 The bus number 24 goes by Whitehall.(A3212)

 Only on the upper deck can you see the cyclists in London from this angle.

?? No horse guard? Oops. Out of office hour already?

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey


Back to Victoria Station, while waiting for the train,
I went to window shopping a little in the shops inside the station.

I chose the correct coaches/compartment and get a seat.
On train,
I enjoyed my seasoned mini natto I bought from Japan Centre,
 and a piece of bread I bought in China Town.

HINT: be careful about trains.
Often, first 4 coaches and rear 4 coaches
parted along the way and go to very different destinations.
-- Listen to announcement carefully.
-- Choose the correct coach before sitting down.
-- Try not to fall asleep.