Return to the East End

I was determined to find a better place for internet access because easyInternet was not overly cheap (£2/hr) and had no access for usb (ipod and camera).

I woke early due to the jetlag and looked at my watch. It was something like 4am so I lay in bed trying to return to sleep. I could see light and hear movement on the floor above so I looked at my watch again and saw that it was on Melbourne time. So I flicked it to London time and it was 6:30am. I rose, had a shower, and headed upstairs to breakfast.

Brekkie was basic but good for a UK hostel. There was a choice of cereal, toast, juices, coffee and tea. After I'd finished eating I headed out to see some sites and solve my usb problem. I bought a venti vanilla latte from Starbucks and returned to easy internet at Piccadilly because I'd already paid for 5 hours there. While there, i discovered that i could fit my hand down the side of the panel housing the computer and plug in my ipod usb to charge it. cool.

Whilst in London I wanted to catch up with the Browns, the friends I stayed with last time I was here, because it had been ages since I'd been in contact with them. However, I didn't have their phone number or address with me, so i decided I'd head out to East Ham to see if I could track them down at their work. I was successful and very happy to see them when I did because it had been so long. I then took some time to check out East Ham and all the places I'd been on my last trip. It was nice to be in familiar territory.

I grabbed a large double cheese bacon beef burger at burger king then hopped a train back into the city. By the way, I grabbed an Oyster card and charged it up with £30 for my travelling on the tube. It automatically works out the fare when you scan it at the start and stop of the trip and promises to be cheaper than a normal ticket, especially off-peak.

I found a new internet cafe on the way home from Piccadilly station that i'd found on the internet. The website of the cafe claimed that it was cheaper but turned out £3/hr. So I uploaded my photos then headed back to the hostel. However, on the return I found another easyInternet where it was £1/hr. I was anxious to get back to the hostel because I knew drinks were cheap in the bar from 6 - 9pm and I had a free drinks card to use between 7 - 7:30pm.

The bar was pretty good for a hostel- very dark, good lighting, pumping music and a good choice of beer on tap. The best thing was that pints were £1 (Au$2.50, good, even for Australia). I met a few interesting people that night, including an Aussie girl from Melbourne, a German guy from Dusseldorf, and a future Baptist preacher from Philidelphia called Abbie. We all had a nice discussion while we sank some beers, then played a bit of pool. Then as it got late I decided to hit the hay because I didn't want to be crabby for the next day.

Overall, it was a fun day and the Oyster card purchase was a great saving for my expensive train tickets of the future.