My very last day in London
So today is my very last day living in London after being here for 14 months. I can't believe that my time here is finally coming to an end. I am gonna miss London alot, and mostly the good people I have known since being here. But onto bigger and better things. This is the start of my 3 month journey through Europe, South East Asia, and Australia before heading home to Vancouver, Canada to start my University studies.
I wanted to spend my last day in London having fun and exploring but I just got too much to do before leaving for Asia. It's crazy trying to get rid of my whole life that I had here for 14 months lol. The first thing I did was bring all the clothes that I no longer wanted and didn't have room to ship home to the charity shop on Watney Market.
Since being evicted out of my flat a month ago, I have been living with Ruby (2win) and her family in Shadwell. Her family was so good to me for the whole time I was staying there. I didn't have to pay any rent for a month or anything for food. And Ruby's mom Rahena is the best cook! Ever. I love her food! As a thank-you I went to the store and got a picture of Rahena and I developed and framed, some flowers for her, and as it being so close to Easter some chocolate eggs for the kids. Saying goodbye to Rahena was really sad! I really got along with her and she became my UK mum. She cried when I left and she gave me 20quid for my trip. How nice is that?!
I got a taxi to the Fed Ex on the Strand to ship a box of stuff home to my dad. It was only 17kg when I thought it would weigh about 30kg. How crazy is this?? A 17kg box via Fed Ex that would arrive by 5pm TOMORROW in Canada only cost 115.76 pounds. The same box via the Royal Mail would cost 118 pounds and take 8-12 WEEKS!! Like wtf, no question who I am gonna go with.
From there I walked up to Covent Garden and got the tube to King's Cross to the hostel where Matt (matthew1982) and I are staying for the night. We have to be up crazy early tomorrow for our flight so we figured it best to get a hostel close to Liverpool station where we can catch the Stanstead Express. The hostel we booked into in King's Cross is called Clink which is an old court house. It's really neat, colorful, and clean. And cheap! I was quite impressed.
Matt was out and about exploring London and he went to the Changing of the Guard this morning so once I dropped off my bag in the dorm I headed up the road to Dollar, the restaurant I have been working at since August 2008. I went there to get my last pay cheque and my P45 so I can do my taxes. But when I got there the cheques weren't in!! We are supposed to get paid on Monday and today is Wednesday so I was not very pleased with that at all. And since it's so late in the afternoon how am I gonna be able to get to the bank to deposit it before we leave tomorrow???? So I went to the bank to pick up a deposit envelope and they said that if I put it in the door they would still deposit it for me even though they don't really recommend for people to do that.
So after all that confusion I just went back to the hostel and went on the internet while waiting for Matt to get back from his siteseeing day. Since it was both our last day in England we thought it best to get some English food for dinner. We went to a nearby pub called the Wilmington Arms which is right across the street from Dollar and right near Bunac. I have never been here before but loads of people from Bunac would go here for lunch so it must be good. We had a pie and mashed potatoe which is very English and was very good.
At dinner I got a call from Dollar saying that the cheques had arrive, FINALLY, so after I went there to pick it up. Really pleased that I got way more holiday pay then I was expecting, that wil be a nice bonus on the trip! :) Matt went back to the hostel and my old work mates convinced me to stay for a drink. Now I'm not one to refuse free alchohol so of course I said yes! I just sat upstairs for a while with Firuz and Bal and 2 of the new people. We don't actually work when we are there, we just sit around drinking booze. Firuz made me really yummy Porn Star martini and a Raspberry martini. And Firuz is gonna take my deposit envelope to the bank for me which is really nice of him! Ahh even though I complain about Dollar alot, I will miss that place and the people. Well not all the people...haha.
After leaving Dollar I just went back to the hostel to get ready for bed. Made some calls home as I am not gonna be doing any calls while in Asia and after pissing everyone in the dorm off finally went to sleep around 12:30. Yuck have to be up at 4:30!!!
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A short 5 minute walk from King's Cross underground station, Clink is a trendy affordable backpacker’s hostel. The cost for a bed is only 13 pounds a night, which agrees well with your backpacker or new student to London’s small budget.
The hostel is located in what was once an old court house so everything tends to stick to that main theme. The dorm rooms vary in numbers but I was in a 12 person dorm. If you need more privacy, there is no need to worry as the beds have walls between them. A nice touch for a big room, now you don’t have to watch your neighbour drooling on his/her pillow.
Some facilities the hostel offers is a lounge room with a TV which is still set up exactly as the court room. It’s up to you to decide if you’re the plaintiff, defendant, or jury while watching the telly. The same set up goes for the internet room and cost to use the computer is 1 pound for half an hour. Downstairs is a very well equipped kitchen so you can cook for yourself and a bar which is open in the evenings for the party-goers.
Bathrooms are shared on each floor but very clean. From what I gathered during my 1 night stay here is that this hostel is pretty friendly and would be easy to meet other travelers. I would recommend it as a good base for anyone visiting London.
