I believe everyone knows about London. We know that it is the capital of United Kingdom and one of the most dense city in the world with a population of 7,556,900. Yea, that is right. So what other facts that we know about London? Let me start with some history and facts about London :).

London, it is one of the most significant financial and cultural city of the world. As quoted in Wikipedia, it has a recorded history dating back to some 2000 years ago. As documented in the history books, most of the ancient civilizations began along the river. London falls into the same category as it was exactly built by along the lower of River Thames - the second longest river in United Kingdom.

The first major settlement was founded by Romans in 43 AD with a population of 60,000 along the River Thames. Since the first settlement, it had been through wars with vikings in early years, the Great Fire of London which had destroyed many parts of the city in 1666 and was plagued by disease in early 17th century which had cost 100,000 of lives. During mid 18th century, due to the rising number of population in the city causing traffic congestion, it led to the creation of the first rapid transit of the world in London!

So after all the history and facts, I concluded that the best way to discover about the city is by a river cruise along the River Thames. There are many cruise operators along the river side. The one I took was a cruise from Westminster pier to Tower pier which was operated by The City Cruise. The trip costs £7.50 for one way trip and £10.00 for return trip. Pictures below were taken during the river cruise.



Big Ben- the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. It is the largest s the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world.












London Eye!


A beautiful sun set view together with London Eye and Big Ben :)






So here comes the part that I am more than happy to explain a little more about the funny fact about - the London Bridge :). I believe everyone would have heard the nursery rhyme "London bridge is falling down". So what do you know about London bridge? Picture below is an engraving by Claes Van Visscher showing Old London Bridge in 1616. The old medieval bridge had 19 small arches and a drawbridge with a defensive gatehouse at the southern end and it was crowded with buildings of up to seven stories in height.



In the early 19th century, the old London bridge was too old and needed to be replaced. So, the design of a new London bridge was leaded by engineer John Rennie. The construction cost £2.5 million and the official opening took place on 1 August 1831. The new London bridge was named after the designer - Rennie's bridge. The bridge was widen at 1902-04 from 52 to 65 feet. However, the widening work added too much weight to the bridge foundation and caused the bridge to sink and soon it became apparent that it had to be replaced with a new modern type bridge.



The modern London bridge, as seen in picture below was designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson. It was constructed from 1967 - 1972 and opened by Queen Elizabeth ll on 17 March 1973. The old Rennie's bridge was removed and sold to the American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. It is now reconstructed at lake Havasu city, Arizona. Since then, it has become the second-biggest tourist attraction in Arizona, after Grand Canyon :).





So after London bridge, I was approaching my last stop where my drop off point is - the Tower pier. Next to the Tower pier was where the Tower bridge of London located at. The Tower bridge is an Iconic symbol of London, which people used to mistaken it as the London bridge. It is a combination of bascule and suspension type of bridge.

The bridge consists of two towers which are tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways which are designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower [Wikipedia - Tower Bridge].









There is a castle located between the Tower pier and the Tower bridge - The Tower of London. You can visit the castle or choose to have a slow walk along the river side path to enjoy the beautiful architecture of the bridge. Alternatively there is a tube/underground station - Tower Hill station nearby for those who might want to head off to some other tourist attractions.

*It really has been a while since my last update on my blog. Well, guess those who used to follow my blog will know that this is not a vacation trip in UK but rather a business trip. I was real tired and feel so lazy even to open my laptop when I reach home from office. Thanks for being patient with me and I shall update you with many more beautiful pictures that I have taken during my visit in Britain :).