Brushing our major bad luck with Big Ben and Westminister Abbey aside, we trudged on to Buckingham Palace. Most people know I'm vehemently against any form of exercise but I walk a lot more when I'm overseas. Maybe it's the fresher air, or colder climate, or maybe it's the fact that I enjoy more sights travelling by foot. Maybe it's a combination of all these factors with a tinge of thriftiness.


Here is Cheryl holding a bunch of things (including snacks from our hostel and Marks & Spencer that we had for lunch to save money) in a plastic bag because our bags were too small to fit everything in. This is what happens when you travel with two girls.






Haven't had the opportunity to witness cherry blossoms in Japan, but found happiness in some pink flowers in London anyway!


True to my bad luck magnet tendencies, Buckingham Palace was barricaded with a sea of people crowding around for an event I presume was happening that day.




The place was brimmed with tourists, each wanting to get their perfect shot of the royal palace. I wonder what's it like to live in a place that has turned into a major tourist attraction, and under constant scrutinisation from the public...




It takes talent to photograph Buckingham Palace as a serene place considering it was bustling with tourists. I think I did pretty decently, if I do say so myself.







Expectations VS reality of the situation at Buckingham Palace.

After Borough Market, we took a 50-minute walk to Westminster Bridge, a touristy district but one first-time visitors to London wouldn't miss out on.



Darted into Marks & Spencer to catch a whiff of those freshly baked pastries. I can't get over how cheap Marks & Spencer is in London compared to Singapore!



Pertaining to my bad luck streaks, I can only say that my bad luck follows wherever I go. Westminster Abbey, which is opened daily except for Sundays, was closed that day. Just another day in my bad luck life, what more can I say.

Good morning, London. I had no ideas how long sunlight could be in Spring till I got woken up at 7am by the sunlight peeking in. It was as bright as 12pm in Singapore already!


Hasty free breakfast at our hostel before we left. I grabbed a piece of salami as I've never tried it before and I thought since I was in a new country, I should try something new, right? Worst decision ever. I had food poisoning later in the day LOL.


Borough Market is located next to London Bridge station, near to our hostel so it was our first stop of the day.

We grabbed a quick dinner at Pret A Manger (and also leeched onto their free wifi) while waiting for our Jack the Ripper tour to start. I got a chocolate hazelnut croissant and Scottish smoked salmon sandwich.



There are LOADS of Jack the Ripper tours in London, ranging from VIP tours to free walking tours. As Cheryl and I are into dark tourism, we decided on splurging a bit and booked a £10 (S$17) per person tour on Discovery Tours Original Jack the Ripper Tour.


Our Jack the Ripper tour guide, Angie Norman, had wicked hair and her passion for the topic of Jack the Ripper was palpable. Her words were filled with emotions, and were even dripping with anger at some points when she wondered why were the cases dismissed by officials initially and pondered if it was because Jack the Ripper's victims were mainly prostitutes.

At one point, when Angie was telling us the significance of a place, she slammed her hand against a steel door, scaring all of us. She then laughed and mentioned that was her favourite part of the tour LOL f our lives.


Ye Frying Pan was a pub in the 19th century that was popular with prostitutes, and it was also the place Mary Ann Nichols was last seen alive, having a few drinks, before she was brutally murdered and her body was discovered mutilated in Bucks Row. Several of her teeth were missing, her throat has been slit brutally so many times that the vessels on both sides of her neck were severed, and more.

Although it is entirely impossible to pinpoint Jack the Ripper's first victim, Mary Ann Nichols was widely believed to be his first murder. She was roaming the streets at night because she had been evicted from her lodging for not having enough money to pay for her bed.

While Ye Frying Pan closed down in 1991, you'd still be able to catch a remininent of it if you look up. The brick sign reads 'Ye Frying Pan' with a craving of two frying pans. This is probably what I love most about London — that every corner is filled with rich history and culture for us to explore.


Ye Frying Pan has since been converted into a grill and Bangladeshi restaurant. If you're interested in visiting on your own, you can google "Shaad Grill & Bangladeshi Restaurant". The whole stretch of Brick Lane houses many Bangladeshi restaurants, many of which belong to immigrants so I supposed their food would be pretty authentic.

Shaad

Address: 13 Brick Ln, Spitalfields, London E1 6PU, UK


Hanbury Street, where Annie Chapman was found mutilated and murdered by Jack the Ripper. Annie Chapman was thrown out of her lodging house, where prostitutes stayed, because she couldn't afford to pay rent for her bed. Some reports claimed that she has a few drinks at The Ten Bells pub until 5am.

The only confirmed sighting of Annie Chapman was her talking to a man at 29 Hanbury Street at 5:30am. Later, at 6am, John Davis, a resident of the 29 Hanbury Street estate, found her horrendously mutilated body. Annie Chapman's body was ripped open and her instestines were allegedly scattered across her face and shoulders. Her throat was slit to her spine, and her womb was missing.

Christ Church Spitalfields, a church located opposite The Ten Bells, where Annie Chapman was allegedly drinking. The church might have well been one of the last things she saw before her gruesome death.

The Ten Bells, where Jack the Ripper was believed to have stalked his victims, is still operating to this date so you can still grab a drink at the iconic spot.

The Ten Bells

Address: 84 Commercial St, Spitalfields, London E1 6LY, UK
Opening Hours: 12pm to 12am from Mondays to Thursdays | 12pm to 1am on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays




Providence Row Night Refuge was used as a night refuge mainly or homeless women and children from 1860 to 1999. It was believed that some of Jack the Ripper's victims stayed here. The refuge has since been converted to lodging for students of London School of Economics (LSE) and is known as Lilian Knowles House today. Pictured here is what used to be the door for the women's entrance.

Lilian Knowles House

Address: 50 Crispin St, Spitalfields, London E1 6HQ, UK


Opposite Providence Row Night Refuge on Crispin Street is Millers Court, where the last, and perhaps most brutally murdered, canonical victim of Jack the Ripper was found. Mary Jane Kelly's clothes were found folded neatly on a chair in the room while she laid naked on a mattress. I don't think words can ever adequately put across the horrors of Mary Jane Kelly's body when it was found. If you're curious, you can do a Google search for the image of her body.


Jack the Ripper left a clue in the form of a blood-stained apron and a chalk graffiti on Goulston Street, where Happy Days Fish and Chip now stands. Our tour guide also showed us copies of Jack the Ripper's allaged letters to taunt the police. As his spelling and grammar were terrible, it was suspected that Jack the Ripper received little to no education (but I can attest to the fact that education ≠ good English).

I'm missing out a lot of details; if you're interested in dark tourism, I suggest joining a tour since the tour guide would naturally be more knowledgable. I can't speak for other tours, but the tour I joined showed us exclusive photos of the crime scene and photos of East London in the past — both of which are extremely important if you want to picture the true horrors of it. Even though we visit the areas of the crime scene, it's essential to note that a lot of changed since then. East London itself flourished and is no longer known for its prostitutes, bar fights and constant murders.

The tour guide also showed us a photo of one of Jack the Ripper's victim during post-mortem which showed the doctors piecing her body together and hanging her against the wall so her body stood up. It broke my heart when our tour guide asked, "Why was her body hung like a piece of meat? Why was she made to suffer humiliation even in her death? Was it because she was a prostitute that she did not deserve the respect?" Her words would haunt me for months to come. Admittedly, to this date, we treat people differently due to their occupation.

Tip: to fully immerse in the experience, I recommend joining the tour after dark. My tour started at 7pm but because I was in London in late April, the sun only set around 8pm to 9pm.

I wished we visited the Jack the Ripper Museum, although I could see why was it controversial considering we are essentially commemorating a murderer, a misogynic one at that too. In case you're interested in Jack the Ripper Museum, here are the details.

Jack the Ripper Museum

Entrance fee: £10 (S$17) for adults, £8 (S$14) for children
Address: 12 Cable St, Whitechapel, London E1 8JG, UK
Opening Hours: 9:30am to 6:30pm daily


Walked past The Shard, the tallest structure in London, on our way back to the hostel and it was a pretty grand reminder of how far London has come.


Hastily took this photo as we were hurrying back to the hostel because it started raining. London's beautiful city skyline is even more remarkable at night :') In hindsight, I supposed that's what tourists might think of Singapore too. You develop a blind spot to the beauty of a place when you're living there.