LONDON 2015-01-17

27 Mar, 2026

My first time in London!

ARCHIVE(D): JANUARY 17, 2015

From 2012-2016, I lived in Hong Kong and worked at a travel and education company. They had an office in London, and after 3 years of paying my dues, I was given my first international work trip.

I remember walking along the River Thames, in complete awe of this city I had dreamed about since childhood.*

*I had wanted to live in London, but honestly, I'm glad that didn't work out. ʕ º ᴥ ºʔ

Since it was my first time there, I made sure to take photos of famous landmarks!

Some photos from my walk alongside the river, including my first glimpse of the city from the plane (at night!), and breakfast with my colleague, C.

View of London from the airplane at night, so the city is lit up like stars against a black sky. A breakfast spread on fine china. A giant ferris wheel against a cloudy blue sky. A view across the river of the Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral in the background. A tiled sign on the rails that says, "Southbank Book Market." An ornamental decoration on top of a roof that says, "Invicta." I'm not sure what this is. Another view of some bridges facing each other across the river. A pigeon sitting in front of a sign that reads, "No busking."

Tate Modern

I was working as a graphic designer then, so it felt fitting that I stop by the Tate Modern on day one to get inspired.

The entrance to the museum. The building was originally a power station.

A large exhibit constructed inside the main hall. There is a large pink structure, with giant swirls covered in yellow cloth (almost looks like a drill). A row of seashell-like objects incased in an ornate brass frame. A series of framed illustrations and text. A display containing two brown books, a painting of a pregnant body, and a card that says, "Be calm."

Shoreditch

I met up with my friend, K, in Shoreditch. I've probably been to this district the most. (I've visited London several times since this first trip.)

First, we stopped by dum dum donutterie and I ate my very first cronut. The coffee cups are giving goth gf and fairy gf.

We spent the rest of the evening exploring the area, stopping by the local shops (years later I visited that shop cat again!), ate some food, and took some touristy photos near the Gherkin. Then I met C for a late dinner of burgers. Peep me with blonde hair!

Graffiti art of a cute skeleton with a heart on its forehead. A bright orange storefront. A shop cat sleeping on the counter. There is a handwritten sign in front that says, "Watch out!" with a drawing of cat claws. A metal grate in the wall with a happy face. A small tray of yellow curry with two boiled eggs. Old Spitalfields Market. It is filled with people and stalls. A statue of a small goat standing on several wooden crates. The edge of the train platform that say, "Mind the gap." A blurry red double-decker bus driving across. Peige, with blonde hair, stands in front of the Gherkin wearing a knitted tiger scarf. compressed-IMG_20150117_174846 Burgers for dinner.

I love revisiting old photos because all of these memories that have laid dormant for years suddenly come creeping back to the surface.

If I didn't take pictures, I would forget them all. And now, I have a place to store them... forever! (Or as long as Bear Blog exists.)

I suppose these will mostly be gallery posts†, because I can't remember enough details to provide meaningful captions for every photo. I also won't write a post for every single day, because a lot of the pictures for this trip are from work and I don't feel like sharing those (even though I no longer work there).

† I'm using Robert's lightbox photo gallery for Bear.

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