Platform 9 ¾

I always lack the courage to go for a leisurely walk in foreign cities. For someone who has no sense of direction, like me, I am afraid to get lost in a place crowded by different nationalities.  Additionally, my parents always remind me not to go out of the hotel alone. I should always roam around with a colleague, they say. But since I've been trying to be adventurous, to conquer my fears, and to try something new the past months, forgive me for going out all by myself. Haha!

I got the guts to do this in a place where I am somehow familiar with, it's London. I always fly here every month that made me feel I am a Londoner already. Haha!

We got one whole day to spend and we would leave the next day in the afternoon. So, some of my colleagues went to the Big Ben which I saw thrice last year. Some went for shopping at Oxford. My original plan was to go to Platform 9 ¾ then proceed to Abbey Road zebra, where The Beatles did their famous walk, you know. But I realized, no one would take a good photo of me walking across the pedestrian crossing. Boy, it's not easy because you have to let some of the traffic go by. Yes, it is just a normal busy road where a lot of vehicles pass by. Thus, I opted for Platform 9 ¾ only.

At first, I had a hard time figuring out the way because the information I got from the man at the hotel concierge contradicts the information on the map itself. I disembarked at the wrong station. A local even told me that the platform is at a different place when I was already at the right one. Oh dear! Anyhow, I arrived at the platform after 2 hours of travelling and asking for a direction.

Platform Nine and Three Quarters is located at King's Cross Station. In the Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and his friends get onto the platform by walking through a brick wall between platforms 9 and 10. I am not a fan of Harry Potter, but I just felt like getting a cute photo with it. Haha! So, I joined the queue of people wanting to do the same. There is a luggage trolley embedded in the wall, and you can pretend you are off to Hogwarts express. There you find a professional photographer and an assistant. You can take a photo using your own phone or camera for free. You can also purchase the professional pictures inside the Harry Potter shop next to it.

It was a fun solo trip. I want to do it again, but of course, with extra alertness.