Day 4 - By the River Thames

Brief Introduction of our Day

Today, we stayed by the River Thames, wandering around Borough Market and learning about Tower Bridge and the Tower of London from our knowledgeable guide. We then went to Queen Mary University of London for the Campus Tour which was special because we based our Bright Idea on one of the research discoveries made at that very university! Read on to find out more!

Day 4

"The first place we visited today was Borough Market! It was very vibrant with great variety as it sold vegetables, fruits, cheese and cooked food and drinks at the same time, making it very different from the markets in Singapore. From my point of view, it was similar to the ‘Geylang Ramadan Bazaar’ we have back at home." -Aminah

Iconic green structure of Borough Market

"At Borough Market, we saw lots of spices, fruits and vegetables and many other food items being sold. There was free tastings at some stalls and when I tried some, I was amused at how flavourful the samples were. My favourite were the strawberries that were very fresh and sweet! There was food from many different and far away countries like Croatia and Thailand even. We had fish and chips for lunch and it tasted a lot better than those i've tried before. I also tried ice cappuccino which tasted out of the world! I was shocked at how a small cup of cappuccino which costs £4 could taste so good!" -Benjamin

"Next, we went to the Shard to get a spectacular panoramic view of London from the 35th floor of the building. One thing that I found interesting was the fact that the lift in the Shard only served the ground floor and the 35th floor rather than buttons for every floor like regular lifts. I was also taken aback at how fast the lift was up and down! Can you believe that it only took 20 seconds to go up/ down 35 floors!" - Benjamin

Spectacular view of this bustling city

After that, we went for a walk along the River Thames and learnt more about the Tower of London where the Queen's crown jewels are kept. Originally, the Tower of London had a moat, but they decided to fill it with grass because the water smelled very unpleasant. There are also crosses in the walls for soldiers to fire arrows if enemies were to attack the tower. Below the tower, there was a gate called Traitors Gate where traitors would enter for their execution. After being executed, the beheaded head of the criminal would be hung on a big spike near London Bridge for everyone to see.

Tower of London 

Traitor's Gate

"Then we found out that Tower Bridge was not the London Bridge we sing about in our nursery rhymes. I thought that if a bridge was name after it's city, it should look really amazing and unmistakable. However, London Bridge was just a plain old bridge with nothing special on it at all. In actual fact, Tower Bridge is the really pretty one with the castle-like structure on it." - Siyu 

Us in front of Tower Bridge (no, this is not London Bridge!)

The rather ordinary London Bridge

"We then crossed Tower Bridge! We found out that the bridge would open up in the middle to allow big ships to go through. Though we didn’t see the bright opening, I found this very interesting as it not common in Singapore and I have never seen a bridge that can open up before." -Aminah

Crossing the bridge in a moment

"Lastly, we headed to Queen Mary University of London and we had the chance to do a tour around the campus. I noticed that there were only a few students in the school and I learned that this was because the students' exams had just finished and they were taking a break. I was amazed when I learnt that the university had facilities like free medical checkups, consultations and even a gym. The university was also very huge with different buildings for different subjects. This trip motivates me to work hard and go to a university in the future." - Benjamin

The old at Queen Mary University

The new at Queen Mary University

With our third guide Ms Anne-Marie 

As we come to the end of our fourth day somethings we are grateful for that we take for granted easily...

I am grateful for our tour guides for making the trip more interesting and enjoyable. -Aminah

I am grateful for the three guides who were very good at explaining British history and the history of all the interesting artifacts in the various museums. They were also so entertaining, energetic and detailed that I could write our blogposts on all the places we visited without even looking or searching them up on Google! If I get to visit London again, I would want to meet them!! -Siyu

I am grateful that the teachers always bought water for us and kept us hydrated. Back in Singapore, I took this for granted and did not have the habit of staying hydrated which made me feel quite tired throughout the school day. But over the past four days here in London, I kept myself hydrated and felt energised everyday! I would like to make this a good habit and drink more water everyday especially when I return back to Singapore. -Benjamin

Tomorrow is our last day and what an exciting day it will be at the Make the Future Festival! 

Time to get some sleep before our most exciting (and longest day) yet!