So today was a hang out, don’t do much day and after breakfast, I found the laundry room and started my laundry. I’d be stuck here for and hour and a half while my laundry was busy so I spent the time surfing for info on my next adventure, checked for tours of London like I’d had in Rome, read the newspaper while my tablet was charging, that sort of thing. Soon enough, my laundry had gone through the wash, and I stuffed it all in the dryer. And inserted my coins. Pushed the button and nothing happened. Damn. So I put more coins in. Still nothing. These are really expensive machines and I was getting a little perturbed that the machine wouldn’t start. Then I noticed, or rather finally figured out what the cryptic signs meant…I’d been putting money in the wrong machine. Crap! And there was already someone else’s clothes in the dryer I’d been coining. And these machines are the type that add time when you add coins.
I sat there for a while, pulled my clothes out of the dryer and set them aside, and waited. Got bored, ran upstairs for a quick coffee. Came back down and hung around the laundry room. Eventually, a couple of young adults came back in surprised their dryer was still running. I explained all the extra money I’d plugged in, they took their very dry clothes out, I popped mine in and off I went for another 35 minutes of waiting. So that cost me an extra half hour. And around $10 US for what should have been $5.
Time for folding clothes, straightening up my belongings, and a shower and I’m all set. Best time for a shower at a hostel is around 10-11 AM as there are so many that have checked out or headed off on tours by that time of the morning. In my case, my roommates luggage was all gone so they’d moved on and I had the room to myself. When I’m all ready, I head downstairs and talk to two of the desk clerks to find out if they know where I can find a new charger for my tablet. Sure enough, they do, and off I go to Kings Cross to grab a specific bus which heads for High Street. The directions I’d gotten, while convoluted, were concise and I soon found myself to be in the ‘hip’ neighborhood of London. The place where all the kids go to find adventure. Where artists go for cheap rent. And the place to go to find street vendors during the day. It’s a low cost neighborhood where I’d soon find a flea market, a couple music venues, an eclectic feel to it, and strange art strewn about here and there.
But before I got there, here’s a shot of King’s Cross Station where the bus, local trains, and tube all come together. Right behind me is where the buses line up. I walked here from the hostel and sure enough, it’s only a 10 minute stroll. This is where I came every day to make my way around the city.
I jumped aboard a double decker bus heading my direction. We’re on our way to High Street where I’ve been assured all my wildest dreams of finding a new charger will come true.
And a look at the top deck of the bus before anyone joined me. Comfy seats.
I didn’t get any pictures of High Street since it’s fairly typical. I quickly find the store the hostel guy suggested, but no, they don’t have what I’m looking for. And it was a Apple contract store, not surprised they didn’t have it. But…the staff suggest I go to England’s ‘Radio Shack’ store, Curry’s, just across the street and around the corner. I head over there and then spot the street vendors with their tiny stalls crowding a side street. Ahh, here we go, I will probably find a ‘used electronics’ vendor here and find just the charger I need and save lots of money.
Alas, no. No used electronics vendor here. Just small open air street stalls filled with crappy trinkets and tiny British flags made in China as far as the eye can see.
Back I go to Curry’s and soon find just what I need. Cost $25 US! They are $6 US back in the states. But damnit, I need it! It’s just a wall wart, 2 Amp, 5V USB output type connector charging device. I supply my own cable. They don’t have any chargers with the specs I need with a US type plug in, not unexpectedly, but I have adaptors. But the device does have 3 screws holding it’s case together so I think I might be able to pull it apart and change the electrical prongs into the US type when I’m back in the states. So I buy it.
Wandering down the street, happy with my purchase, I see a long queue forming up ahead. Wow, seems like there are lots of freaks, and most of them look pre-pubescent. And nearly all girls. When I finally get to the head of the line, from the huge posters all over the building, I see they’re all lined up for a late night concert with a punk rock boy band, or what use to be known as punkers. Don’t know what they call them now. I’ve never heard of the band, but they sure seemed to have attracted a following here in London. Line must have had over 500 kids in it. And these kids were queuing up 10 hours early.
So many of the kids looked interesting in their crazy clothes. Some weird, some not. Kinda fun. I didn’t try to get pictures though.
Back to King’s Cross station I go, find a money changer and change all my left over Czech money into British Pounds, cross the street and find a shop where they have shot glasses for my friends collection, then back to the hostel. One quick note about money. In nearly all the countries I’d been in, the Euro was the only type of money I needed. So I didn’t have to change money every country I went to. Euro is not used in Prague though, where I did buy kronas using my debit card at an ATM. I found myself with just a bit too much after I left country and here in London was the first place I noticed a money changer.
After a bit of shopping, I take the bus back to the hostel, grab the tablet from my room, and head down to the breakfast-lunch room to plug it in. And sit and watch it charge. Doesn’t take long to discover that, YES, it is charging much faster! Like one percent per minute (normal) for the first 40 minutes then 2-3% per minute after that. It was down to less than 10% battery charge when I plugged in the new charger even though it had been on the substitute charger since I’d left that morning and here it was 12:30 in the afternoon.
I’m back in business with my tablet now. No more worries. Yea!
After some high speed charging of the tablet, and I’m surfing the web looking for touristy stuff to do in London that might be fun. Gah. I’m bored with London all ready. Yeah, I should go visit the Golden Hinde, or Big Ben, or tour the palace. {Yawn}
I give up, and start checking out Bath. I’ve know about Bath for decades and always wanted to visit. I check out hostels in Bath, and sure enough, there’s a St. Christophers hostel there that looks pretty nice. Right near downtown and the ancient ruins. What the hell, I book and pay for a 4 night stay in Bath beginning tomorrow night. Mainly because I’d found online many interesting things about Bath I’d want to do. London is a huge city. Bath not so much. It’s population is only 90 thousand or so. More my style. It’s only 97 miles west of London, there are trains going there several times a day so I didn’t even need to purchase my ticket before hand. And London was so close, I could come back and do the stuff I’d not gotten to if I wanted.
About this time I need to use the bathroom, and drop off the shot glass I’d forgotten earlier so up to the room I go. And find I’ve got a new set of roommates. Don’t want to disturb them so I go to the bathroom in the hallway. And when I finish up, I find that the door won’t open because of a defective lock mechanism. The day before, I’d seen a handyman working on it, it seems he missed something. I’m locked inside a damn bathroom. The room is right across from the elevator but the door is so heavy and the walls so thick I can’t tell if I’m hearing an elevator or not half the time so I’m there pounding away on the door for what must have been 15 minutes. Finally, a girl from the room right next to the bathroom opens it for me. Whew. Head downstairs straight away and tell the desk, an hour later they had it fixed. But, hell no, won’t use that one again.
I had a few hours to kill, so I took a walk around the neighborhood for a couple hours enjoying some pretty fine weather this day. Shirt sleeve weather. Eventually ended up at that Moroccan restaurant again for a late afternoon dinner, then back at the Carpenter’s Pub for a beer or three. Next door to Carpenter’s is Chayanan Unisex Hair Salon and Thai Massage. Great. I asked in the bar and people told me she did a good job but had strange hours. I walked over and it turns out she lives in the basement, and with few customers, she holes up down there so you have to knock on the locked business door. While talking to her, found out that she’d just sold the business and it would be closed in a few days. She did a great job on my hair and I’m happy I got to her before the business closed. Very convenient being right across the street from the hostel. Haircut was the last thing on my list of chores today, so I was feeling like a boss. Shower, laundry, finding a new power supply, arranging the trip to Bath, packing, dinner, and haircut all completed. Back to Carpenter’s for a few with my new old friends, then later to the bar in the hostel for a few, then bed. Great day. It’s very relaxing to take a day off and get your chores done when you’re traveling. And it’s even more relaxing when your destination the next day is only around 100 miles away.
Next morning, I really took my time, as the most expensive tickets were early as it’s a commuter train. It’s only a $30 US ticket after around 10:30 AM with the benefit of being less crowded. Takes an hour and a half. Now if you want, you can fly. Takes 12 hours, costs $180 US. No fooling. Requires two transfers, beginning and ending of the trip on short haul trains. The bus only takes 3 hours and costs under $10. I like my comfort, so train it is.
Boarded the 10:30 AM train from here:
Nice huh? All these European train stations are modern, big, and comfortable as far as atmosphere goes. Many of them are sorely lacking bench seating while you’re waiting for your train though. Trying to force you to go inside the numerous shops and buy something. Also it prevents the homeless from camping in the stations overnight. In this station, I walked by a guy holding out a ‘I’m homeless’ sign. Bare feet, dirty, ragged clothes, the works. No, I don’t give beggars money, ever since that time in Portland where I found out a beggar made twice as much begging as I did working all year. And he didn’t have to pay off a college student loan. So I give in other ways.
And here we are zipping along at 111 MPH. Not bad.
Moving so fast it’s hard to get a decent picture of the quaint English countryside.
We’re still moving really fast, which accounts for the fuzzy picture below. Really. True story.
And at 12:00 PM, after a walkabout and a little snack at a tiny train station cafe’, I’m working my way through Bath trying to find my hostel. I’m being slow about it because of the 2 PM check in time. The directions I have hand written on a piece of scrap paper are working fine and it’s a pretty straight shot from the station up the road, and it should be right on the corner after several blocks. It’s a St. Christopher’s and Belushi’s and I walk right past it. Go up the street 2-3 blocks until my directions aren’t making sense. Backtrack and there it is. Check out the street view link above. Silly that I walked right by. In my defense, I was looking for a St. Christopher’s sign, not a Belushi’s.
And by now it was only 1 pm but the gal let me check in early so I got checked in ahead of the youngsters sure to be coming later on. And got a fairly good bunk, lower, in a room with only 4 guests. The bigger rooms held 10 or so. And…remember that first day in London, the sick gurl that sat right across from me at breakfast? Yeah, I was feeling it.
After check in and storing my luggage, I walked over to the Podium Store, just a few meters from Belushi’s, where I spent 30 minutes finding all the cough and cold medicine I thought I might need. Cough syrup, yea! Wasn’t coughing just yet, but it was coming.
OK, so that’s all for now.