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I added London to my Southeast Asia itinerary for three reasons. One, my travel buddy lives in England and we were both flying to Bangkok from Heathrow. I was able to meet with her and her family before we flew out. Two, I had never been to London before. Three, I am a bit obsessed with the British royal family! 
I have very few pictures of my time in London because most were taken on my camera and I lost that in Vietnam-more on that in another post! After landing at Heathrow, I made my way to a pub for some fish and chips while I waited to meet up with my couchsurfing host. Couchsurfing is a community where travelers can stay with another member at their home for free. It is a great way to meet locals and learn about places off of the tourist trail. We couchsurfed quite a few times throughout the trip and have some interesting stories to tell. In London, my host was a 29 year old guy working in IT. He met me at the tube station and we had dinner at another pub before relaxing at his place for the rest of the night. I was pretty tired from my flight across the pond and had to wake up early the next day to meet Paige (my travel buddy) in central London. My host was awesome, and I ended up surfing with him again at the end of my trip!
I met Paige at Kensington Palace the next day, and we went to Buckingham Palace and another pub (I really enjoyed the pub culture in London) for a traditional English meal before making our way to Heathrow in the afternoon. Visiting the palaces was an emotional experience for me. That may sound a little strange, but I just love the royal family–especially Princess Diana–so finally getting to see their houses in person was overwhelming! I loved it. I may or may not have teared up at Buckingham Palace. Luckily Paige still traveled with me even after this 🙂
I totally would have bought this if I didn’t have to carry it in my backpack for 3 months. No shame
My second time in London at the end of my trip was equally as fun: I saw a few more sites such as Big Ben and the London Eye and got to experience some of the nightlife. I would definitely recommend couchsurfing while here!
Have you been to London before?Â
Have you ever couchsurfed?Â
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