Jake's Pit Stop in London - Goodbye Blog :(

Before heading back to New England, I decided to visit a few friends in Old England. The UK baby. But first, I had to leave Thailand.

With leaving Thailand, came a very difficult goodbye to my friend and travel companion CJ. There is nothing I could say in this post to fully express my gratitude toward CJ. Without him, I never would have done a trip like this. I will think back on the places we saw for the rest of my life. But what I will remember most are the laughs we shared day in and day out. Whether we were watching James Bond in a freezing cold hut or haggling for our lunch in the local souk, there was never a dull moment with CJ. 

Beyond being the logistical and organizational mastermind, CJ has a curiosity and excitement for new experiences that pulled me out of bed every day and filled me with purpose. His joy and love for the world around him know no limits. I cannot imagine bearing these trials and tribulations with anyone else. As he continues on his pilgrimage east, I wish him nothing but the best. CJ, you may have lost a travel partner, but you have gained one more faithful blog reader. Be well my friend.

Somehow, I found a $200 direct flight from Bangkok to London. As you may expect, it was not the comfiest setup. But 13 hours later, I made it relatively unscathed. The guy next to me on the plane was actually super nice. Around hour 10, he gave me some snacks. I had a sandwich, but I was impatient and ate it after 4 hours. I didn't want to pay for overpriced plane food (sadly $200 doesn't get you complementary meals), so I started eying down his chocolates a little more intensely than I realized. 

In London, I was graciously hosted for two nights by fellow Dartmouth 25s Millie (right) and Ellie (left)

Then I stayed two nights with Dartmouth 24 David Moore. We were idiots and never took a single photo so here is a picture of him from his glory days. 

Thanks to six hours of jetlag, I woke up at 5am and was unable to fall back asleep. I decided to kill the time by going on a run and then a walk to explore Chelsea and Battersea Park. 

Afterwards, I tried a chocolate almond croissant from Gail's. I was unaware that Gail's was a chain and started raving to Millie about this local gem I found. Chain or not, this place was incredible. 

School boy fit check. 

Fueled for the day, I set off with Millie for our first stop of the day: Westminster Abbey. The one word I would use to describe this place is grand. From the stained-glass windows to the elegant monuments and the tombs of literal kings, the atmosphere did, in fact, feel royal.

To my surprise, many famous people were buried here, including Mr. natural selection himself.

It was also home to Britain's oldest door... knock knock!

Quick photo attempt in front of Big Ben and Palace of Westminster (home to the Houses of Parliament). 

We then met up with Ellie and headed to Borough Market. Famous for its street food offerings, it is home to Black Pig's famous pulled pork sandwich. This place was an operation. 

On the way out, we tried the famous chocolate strawberries. They did not disappoint. 

That night we took on a pub quiz, which is basically just British trivia. David joined us. We finished second to last. Unless you happen to know the names of 100 random British TV personalities, good luck.

The next day, Millie and I took a double decker bus over to Buckingham Palace, the home of the monarch.

 

Afterwards, we stopped by the highest rated Indian restaurant in all of London, Dishoom Covent Garden. The ambiance was incredible and so were the chicken ruby and mattar paneer. 

After some wandering around Soho, we stopped by the Houses of Parliament on the way home. Turns out you can enter for free and watch the House of Commons and the House of Lords debate. Sadly, they took our bags so I couldn't take any photos of the debates. It wasn't very exciting anyway. A couple of the Lords were on reels and two of them were literally asleep on the bench. Good to see that UK productivity first hand. 

That night, I met up with David and he took me out to dinner at this rooftop restaurant in Canary Wharf, the area of London where he lives and works. It was like the Hudson Yards of London. 

The view at the restaurant was incredible. Sadly, this is the only photo I have, but you kind of get the picture. 

For my final day, Millie, Ellie and I went on a tour of the Tower of London, built in 1078. Our hilarious tour guide told us the lore of the prisoners, battles, and executions. Our guide also happened to be a Yeoman Warder. The Yeoman Warders, we learned, live within the walls of the Tower and are its ceremonial guardians. They earn the position only after serving 22 years in the British armed forces and being awarded a medal for good conduct. There have only been around 410 Yeoman Warders ever. Our guide, rightfully so, was very proud of his position. 

We had a nice view of the Tower Bridge. 

And we checked out the crown jewels. Pretty neat. 

After leaving the Tower, Millie and I made out way over to the West End to watch Les Mis, the longest running show in London. I had never seen Les Mis before, and I loved it. I do wish it wasn't entirely singing because at times I was a bit confused with the plot. My main takeaway was that Jean Valjean is the man.

We were super high up. Balling on a budget. 

After a lovely dinner with Ellie's Dad who was in town, I capped off my London sprint by pub hopping with Millie. 

We even struck up a conversation with some kind British finance bros. They were very different than your average American finance bro. They laughed at the concept of working weekends and explained how they get up to six weeks off a year. Must be nice. 

At the airport, I realized I never tried a full English breakfast, so I had to get that in. 

Off to Boston I go. Quick Jet Blue plug. This was by far the best flight experience I have had in three months. Surprised? I think not. America here we come. 

And with that, I say goodbye to the blog. It has been real. I hope I have brought the readers some joy along the way. Don't miss me too much. Till next time friends.