It's FREE at the British Museum!

Visiting a foreign country where the exchange rate is so much more superior to our Ringgit can really burn a hole in our wallet. I used to travel online when there’s not enough budget to do the real thing until one day, I discovered that I can visit certain wonderful attractions for FREE!

Being a Chinese, I was quite skeptical initially as there’s a Cantonese saying that goes something like this “Cheap things, not good; Good things, not cheap”. I was apprehensive when I heard about these ‘free’ attractions. Are these so-called attractions worth visiting? Are they free because they want to force you to buy something while you’re there? The best way to find out about these places is to read reviews! So here’s what I found out about this Too-Good-To-Be-True-But-Is-Real-And-Awesome-Free-Attraction right in the heart of metropolitan London – The British Museum.

Norman Foster’s stunning glass-covered Great Court

British Museum allows its visitors to literally travel around the world. Not only that, you can travel back in time to learn about the rise and fall of some of the world’s greatest civilizations. This landmark museum is founded in 1753 and is home to over seven millions exhibition-worth objects collected from the whole world that bring you on a journey of exploration, discovery, and enjoyment.

Visiting British Museum can become an overwhelming experience if you’ve only visited our own Malaysian local museums. British Museum is HUGE. To really see everything in this museum, it’ll take you more than a day. But don’t worry; if you’re afraid about getting lost in the numerous corridors and exhibitions rooms, there are daily gallery tours as well as guided tours. If you’re adventurous and would like to explore in your own style, just grab a map and an audiotour headset available in various language, and you’ll be all set to go.

Click for a larger image to see the sections of the British Museum

One thing you must see is the world renowned Rosetta Stone, the valuable key to the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Perhaps it may just look like a plain old stone with inscriptions on it, but the Rosetta Stone has helped lead the discovery and understanding of the Ptolemaic era (before about 332 BC) and laid the foundations of our knowledge of ancient Egyptian language and culture.

Rosetta Stone

If you are a big fan of the movie “The Mummy”, you’ll be sure to be thrilled on the journey into the Mummy at British Museum. Every one of the mummies in this museum was once a living, breathing Egyptian who had gone through about their everyday life. Studying these mummified people tells us about their way of lives thousands of years ago. There are Egyptian mummies which had been in the museum for more than a hundred years and remained sealed. This is because unwrapping the mummies can badly damage them. Yet, with the current amazing technology, there are images that are taken of the inside of the mummies without having to open up the case.

Seeing a real mummy and its inside too!

If mummies are too scary for you (I know, they’re dead people), there’s a very pretty exhibition that shows Chinese ceramics. You’ll be captivated by the marvelous workmanship transforming ordinary clay into fine porcelains which record the imagination of people throughout history an across the globe. Just be really careful and no running at this exhibition room as not to shatter any of these priceless pieces of art.

Looking at pretty things - Chinese ceramics exhibition

Though the British Museum is said to be free, there is a periodical special exhibition which changes according to its set dates in the museum’s events calendar. It cost from £8.00 (about RM50). Right now, the special exhibition focuses on Indian summer season celebrating Indian culture up until end of August 2009. You can see vibrant illustrations depicting the palace life and pleasures of the Royal court telling stories of Indian epics.

The pleasurable lifestyle of the Indian Royal court

Alright, for me to tell you about every inch of the museum is simply not possible. The best way to know what I’m actually talking about is go see it for yourself. Because it is free to enter into the British Museum, you can go treat yourself in buying a souvenir from the museum store! PYOtravel deals to London though are not free, but they are at an incredible price too good to bargain for right now, so go check it out! Click HERE.

Paris is Just A Stone Throw Away from London (Almost!)

Frankly speaking, I haven’t been to London or Paris before. But I have always been dreaming to visit these two places. To me, it would be a dream come true if I were to wander around the city of London and lazing under the blue sky of Paris.

Busy street in London City (Photo credit : Dimitry B)

Beautiful London at Night (Photo credit : Dimitry B)

London is always known as a busy city with breath-taking sceneries of building sculptures and architecture. If I were to be there, I am sure that my 2GB memory card would indicate “FULL” very quickly. I guess I’ll just have to grab a few more cards along just for the travel there.

A Fast Moving Double-Decker (Photo credit : E01)

I would not want to miss the red double-decker buses which have been the unofficial ‘mascot’ of London. Actually what I know is that some double-deckers are specially designated for tourists to hop in and bring them around the beautiful city and some famous attractions, similar to the ‘Hop-On Hop-Off’ buses in KL. That would be easy for first timers like me.

Big Ben (Photo credit : E01)

Another place I would love to drop by in London is the Royal Albert Hall. This is the place where my favourite Malaysian singer, Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza held her concert back in 2004. I would like to come here and sit down at a corner with my eyes closed, imagining myself in the concert while enjoying the performance on stage. Isn’t that great?!

Royal Albert Hall at Night (Photo credit : yisris)

The Entrance to Royal Albert Hall (Photo credit : Roberat)

With modern transportation nowadays, London and Paris are just 2 hours 15 minutes away from each other. Thanks to Eurostar! Grab a seat in the train and you’ll be in Paris, the city of art, fashion and romance in no time.

A Busy Eurostar Terminal (Photo credit : Jason Cartwright)

2hrs 15 mins from London to Paris with Eurostar Train (Photo credit : Jason Cartwright)

I’ve always dreamt of having a cup of ice-cream with my lovely wife at the peak of Eiffel Tower. Wouldn’t it be marvellous if only I could fulfill my dream? Other than that, I would not miss the Arc de Triomphe. It carries history from the World War I and is still proudly standing in Paris in remembrance of the fighters and warriors who had fought through the war.

Night View of Paris (Photo credit : Dimitry B)

The Ever Famous, Eiffel Tower (Photo credit : Al Ianni)

Paris is such a photogenic place that I am sure photography lovers, like me, would not stop taking photos of anything everywhere! Another 2GB is still not enough, and that’s for sure! This place is full of beautiful churches, chapels, monuments, arches, museums and other modern buildings which can easily take your breath away.

Arc de Triomphe (Photo credit : Dimitry B)

Inside a Mesmerizing Chapel (Photo credit : Dimitry B)

Well, dream no more. I’ve found out some interesting packages about London which are reasonable and affordable. Check them out yourself!

"London Bridge is Falling Down"

"Falling down, falling down,

London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady."

This is one of my very first nursery rhyme that I learned to sing and love when I was a child. Because of this nursery rhyme, it also made London Bridge the very first thing that I've came to know of London. At that time, I've never thought that London Bridge is a real bridge in existence, nor London being one of the largest metropolitan city in the European Union.

London Bridge was just a really fun game for me as I, a little girl then, sing "London Bridge is falling down..." as I marched quickly under the raised arch formed by the arms of my little friends, so that I will not get caught when the London Bridge fall...

20 years down the road, the London Bridge still stays a famous nursery rhyme for children all around the world, but to me, London has become so incredibility more...

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down...

There's definitely more to London other than the London Bridge. London is not known as the first and foremost global city in the world alongside to New York City for nothing. London is the world's leading metropolitan city in the financial aspects, cultural centres, education, fashion, entertainment, media, the arts and every other world dominance that you can think of... London plays a huge part in all of them.

It can be overwhelming as to where to go when one visits London. It is just so big a place. So where do we go and where do we start when there's more than 5 famous museums, more than 5 popular non-to-be-missed landmarks, more than 5 must-hang-out bars and pubs, more than 5 theater shows to attend that appear in the top charts, more than 5 God-awesome ancient churches and cathedrals, and more than 5 shopping malls and sales to go...... and we only have 5 days? You get what I mean?

London is SO BIG!

So what do we do and how do we go about it, especially for most of us who doesn't have the luxury of time to see all the attractions?

For me, when it gets too much, I always make my first stop at the friendly tourism booth. The people there are always so helpful and informative. (sometimes too informative! *wink*) And they have tons of brochures for you to look at if you're shy or can't comprehend their thick-British accents.

I normally skip all the rest of the (way too many) brochures and just pick up a map of London that is divided by areas. Have a quick scan through, and pick out the various places of interest in that same area to go visit on each day that are within 15 minutes walking distance. TIP: Never visit one northern-end of attraction and then pick the most southern-end of attraction to go next, we don't want to waste too much time and money on traveling and transportation. (unless you just like to do people-watching and explore the transportation systems in London)

After I have decided the one area which I want to focus on for that day, I will mark out the attractions with a pen on the map. Next, I will draw arrows following the directions which I will walk. And if the place hold no interest for me, I'll just skip it and walk on to the next attraction.

It's always good to cover the places of attraction in a circular manner. I tend to start at a place where there's a tube. (that's how I arrive there in the first place!) Walk in one big round and then when I'm at the last attraction of that area, I'll hop on the tube and move to another area and start with a new set of attractions.

Below is an example on how I'll grab hold of a map and do my planning:

1. Big Ben 2. Houses of Parliament 3. Jewel Tower 4. Westminster 5. Westminster City Archive (skipped) 6. Central Hall Westminster 7. Queen Elizabeth II Conference & Exhibition Centre 8. Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms 9. Downing Street 10. Banqueting House 11. City Cruises (skipped)

Final Red Spot: hop onto the 'tube'- Transport For London (TFL) similiar to our LRT to your next area of exploration.


Always have an open mind, we might not be able to make it to visit ALL the places in one whole area. Be Picky but also follow your heart and interest. Smile and Relax! You're on holiday after all!

Click HERE to make your plans to London. Remember to hum the London Bridge tune while you're at London Bridge! Just for fun!