Emirates Air Line Across the Thames

Actual date of this event: 2 January

London's transport is a bit funny as there are quite a few options that all seem about the same but are run by different companies. The tube. The overground. The tram. The bus. The crossrail. The rail. The TFL rail. The Thames Clipper. and then there is the Emirates Air Line.

I always wanted to check out the Air Line, but it is located in Greenwich which isn't exactly that close. And then once you get to the other side, you're kinda stuck in no man's land. Well after seeing this beautiful Time Lapse London video, I made it a priority to take a trip to the cable car. Check out the video... it's really neat, especially if you are familiar with London and its stuff.

Anyway, we headed to North Greenwich, and started out at the O2 Arena, where events takes place. It is also filled with a bunch of restaurants. But the neatest and most attractive part of it is you can climb the roof of it. I haven't done it yet, but perhaps one day!

Then we walked toward the river where the Emirates Greenwich Peninsula station is located.

It was a beautiful winter day, so there was quite the queue to get on. It is apparently possible to make a reservation to ride the Air Line, but we weren't in a hurry. It costs about 7GBP to ride the air gondola, but it is cheaper with an Oyster Card (which we of course have). We got on with a small family, which was a bit awkward, but it wasn't a problem. We were rewarded with our patience in waiting in the line - the sun was setting just as we got into the air. It was so neat!

I might actually have to do this ride again because my focus was more on the sunset rather than enjoying the views around London.

But I'm going to have to do it again soon because there are talks of taking the Air Line down or moving it to another location as it is more of an attraction rather than needed for transportation.

RANDOM FACT:
The Emirates Air Line opened on June 28, 2012. It normally takes 10 minutes to cross the 1km distance over the river, but during rush hour, the time is decreased to 5 minutes.