5th day / 18th Jan: Brighton

[pictures from today: http://picasaweb.google.com/110144623598348247797/20110118?authkey=Gv1sRgCLP3r-DW88X4Qg#]

This day I went to Brighton. My bus was to leave Victoria Coach Station at 9am. There was a free breakfast at this hostel from 7:30-10, so I had the alarm on for 7. I slept in a bit. I was very tired. Finally clawed out of bed. I couldn't figure the shower out. I couldn't get hot water. It was a very cold morning too, so the cold water rushing at me was a bit much. Eventually I figured out that the control that would normally be considered to adjust water pressure was actually the heat level, with the water pressure a fixed level. Strange.

Had a very quick breakfast and finally got out the door at 8:05am. I was a bit worried because I had to pick up my tickets before I left.

I got to Victoria tube station and then had to find the office for the bus company National Express where I could pick up my tickets. I got there and the lady asked what my reference number is. "Reference number??" "It's in the email we sent you..." I assumed I'd just be able to provide my name, some identification, and possibly the credit card I used to pay with. Apparently not. Also, they couldn't search for my name in their system because their database search never returns any results. She demonstrated this for me. But I could go across the road and behind some houses to a place that has internet access and the ability to print. At that point I was progressing at running pace since I didn't want to miss the bus. It was 8:35 or so. I got the email printed, and then the bus station was on the other side of the road, so I made it in time. Hooray. I was the first on the bus too.

The driver of this bus deserves an award. How he manages to maneuver this huge thing through the tiny streets is a wonder. The clearance as we go past parked cars is regular less than half a metre, and he does this at considerable speed.

It takes over an hour to get out through the suburbs I think.

On the move.

Across the Thames.

Nice view of the countryside.

From the bus I could see that this hill had some pretty intense grooves in it from some ancient fortifications.

Arrived.

First glimpes out over the sea.

The pebble beach. Pretty big rocks.

Obligatory "I'm at Brighton" shot.

I went for a walk up the pier. It was 11am. The sun was out, but it was a bit chilly due to some wind and being England.

I went back along the pier and got some chips.

I was worried that the chips would be dodgy ones made for tourists. However they were really good. The photo doesn't show, but they were cut from real potatos, not frozen. They are quite large in size, and well cooked. 9/10.

I probably should have gotten a guide at this point, but I didn't. It looked like fun to walk along the entire length of the beach, heading east from the pier. So I did.

Looking back from where I have come.

I saw some of these limestone cliffs. There is a marino below them, at this point.

At this point I headed back.

This park is only accessed by people who have the key! (residents)

A school in Brighton. Founded in 1832 I think.

A random arch.

Some nice houses, painted in different colours.

I made it back to the town.

They have a strange middle east style palace in the centre of this town. I didn't really read about how it came to exist.

The palace is open daily. Unfortunately it was closed today. So I went walking through an area which has twisting alleys.

I'm always keeping an eye out for a coat. Is this coat 'the one'? No... It's GBP 749, marked down from 1495. It's 'Prada'.

I found a shopping mall that seemed to have normal shops. Similar to ttp. To the lady at the information desk I described my objectives for the coat. She suggested a store. I headed there. It was a store selling outdoor gear. I finally found a coat. It has a down inside section, and waterproof layer on the outside. The two sections are removable so they can be worn together or separate. It looks reasonably normal. It was GBP 60. Hooray.

I headed to the beach to have a wade along the pebbles.

I walked west along the coast a bit. It was getting a little windy and cold. I watched the sun go down.

By the time I had walked back east to the pier it was quite dark. I had gone a long way though. Dusk lasts quite a while I think.

Now I was running out of things to do. There was still, I think, two hours until the bus was to arrive.

In the window of this shop is a whole lot of old sewing machines, filling the whole window. I thought it was pretty neat.

I got dinner at an italian restaurant.Lasagne. GBP 8 or so. Pretty good deal. The waiter and everyone seemed to actually be Italian. He gave me lots of parmesan cheese. Hooray. He said it's good to eat lots of parmesan. I agreed with him.

After dinner I found a 99p store! I've been searching for a cheap store ever since I arrived. When I got in, I found that everything here actually is 99p or less! Consequently, most things in this store had no label. We have cheap stores in Australia, but things there can cost $15 or more. So this was interesting.

I bought a beanie, gloves, and a belt.

Everything 99p or less. They had some pretty good stuff too...

The bus arrived. I rode it home. When I got back to the hostel I realised that I was absolutely exhausted. I suspected I was coming down with a type of sickness. I'm not really enjoying this hostel either. The curtains over the beds mean that although I can hear the people around me, I don't know who they are, which is awkward. Also, the guy in the bed above me seems to get into bed smelling like very bad cigarettes and it's not pleasant.