The Markets of London.

With the end of my post graduation and before plunging head first in the rat race, I decided on going around and exploring. Taking a time-off from everything and rejuvenating my mind, finding inspiration and re-inventing myself.

I have been living in London for three months now. There were a list of things I always wanted to see but could never find enough time or company. Last week though was a different story. One morning I woke up motivated and planned on checking out the markets of London. These were not the hip shopping spots, but the street markets. After googling through a list of spots I could cover in a day, I settled on checking out three of them - the Leather Lane Market,

the Greenwich Market and the Portobello Road Market.

The thing with these markets is that you have to be very particular about the timings. They open for only a few hours and between the time spent on tube rides, you have to plan carefully.

The Leather Lane Market.

Close to Chancery Lane tube station, it took me almost half an hour of roaming around before I found this market.

The thing with London is not everybody knows the names of these markets. You can't ask anyone about

them but just have to rely on your navigation software.

This is one of the big street markets where makeshift shops are set on both sides of the street. Its quite busy even on weekdays and is an ideal place to shop if you are looking to buy something cheap and shiny for your lady. Also, a

number of street food outlets ensure you would never

run out of fuel.

The Greenwich Market.

A 5 minute walk from the Cutty Sark tube

station, the Greenwich Market is more like an indoor market that reminds you of school fetes back home in India.

Also a good place to shop for memorabilia and women's accessories. You can find numerous T- shirt artists here who would

be ready to design shirts on the spot for

you.

The Portobello Road Market.

One of the biggest markets of London, the Portobello Road Market is close to the most romantic place in London, Notting Hill. About a 10 minute walk from the Notting Hill Gate tube station, this is a street market that sells almost everything. From paintings to

shoes, you can pick whatever suits your fancy. Also, there are some good pubs and a couple of eating joints if you would like to put down your heavy bags.

So, if you are bored and don't have anything better to do, just go around and have a look at these markets.