I had been to London in November for a business trip, overall I had a good experience. High Recommendation for London.
I will list down my experiences and advices to first time travellers.
1) Travelling to london
2) Arriving at London
3) Leaving the airport
4) Finding the best hotel
5) Tubes
6) Black Cab
7) Eating & drinking out in London
8) Pay phones & international calling
9) Sight seeing
10) China Town
11) The cops
12) The weather
13) Clothing
14) Necessary stuff u must carry
15) TV
16) Heating in the room
17) Time to return back to the hotel
18) Using the tube and road map
19) Shopping
20) Similarities to Bombay
21) People
22) How much cash u must hv on urself
23) Traffic and Signals
If I hv missed out on something pls ask me.
1) Travelling to london
Take a good airline with a stopover at Dubai, this way u can take a break from the long hours of flight and see the duty free shop. I will provide Info on Dubai duty free shop in another review. If u can afford, pls choose a first class or biz class tic, in case u end up with a economy class tic try to get the front seats as leg room is very essential and take a aisle seat, u may like to get up and move around now and then. A stopover at Dubai can be a relif for smokers as all the flights are non smoking now.
To avoid a jet lag and overeating set ur watch to the destination time as soon as u board the aircraft.
2) Arriving at London
The airports are very good, I landed at Heathrow. More details on Heathrow in another review. But it must admit that the airport is very well designed and managed. U will have no troubles moving out. The staff is very helpful and will guide u thru everything. Do not hesitate to ask them anything. Yes and do pick up all the small leaflets available like the road and tube map. these will be very helpful. u will not get them free ne where else except ur hotel, if they provide.
3) Leaving the airport
U must take the tube from the airport to the nearest destination and then walk it down or take a Black cab. Read further for info on the tube and the black cabs.
4) Finding the best hotel
Depending on ur budget find and identify the hotel on the internet. I stayed at the Thistle hotel. Good place. U can book the hotel thru emails. No need to give ur credit card info and all. They will hold the reservation for u. U can conviniently select a hotel far away from ur work place as travelling is not a prob in london. The only catch is the time u choose to travel by tube. More info on the tubes ahead. Ah yes, please select a hotel that will serve u b/fast. For veggies do not take bed and b/fast as u will not have too much to eat in the buffet. More info on eating out in London further.
5) Tubes & trains
Excellent!! For a person from Bombay who has seen the local trains will appreciate the tube infrastructure in London. They have divided the whole tube network into circular zones. U can buy tickets for a zone. The best thing is that the ticket is valid for the full day so move around as mush as u want. U can buy the ticks from a vending machine installed at the stations. They are ample and easy to use. In case u do not have change there would be an attendant on a desk near by take it from him. If u cannot figure out how to use the machine do not hesitate to ask a local or a cop or the attendant. They will be more that eager to help u.
They have a full day pass for all zones. If u buy it after 9.00 am u will get it for 5 GBP.
Ah yes - when u take the tube from the airport to ur destination make sure u keep ur bags at the place provided near the doors and please stand near them if ur paranoid about losing ur luggage.
Offer seats to ladies, the old, ppl with children.
Mind ur step at stations that hv low platforms
Use the sign boards to find ur direction
Escalators are good
Visit - thetube.com/ for maps and info and picture, familiarize ur self.
Oh yeah, if u move a little away from london u will find over ground trains.
6) Black Cab
Easily available outside every station, please use the queue. They may stop if u wave out. There are other private cabs also available but I wld recommend the black cabs. U can trust them. In case u need a bill they will give u one.
7) Eating & drinking out in London
There are lots of indian joints there. But I wld not recommend them unless u cant live w/o indian food. The indian joints are Very expensive and not a good VFM.
Enjoy and eat out at the local cafes, bars and fast food rest. They are all over. Good food. In case u are trying a item which u hv never heard abt pls ask the waiter on how they serve it. I shyed away from this and ended up paying GBP 10 or INR 750 for a plate of spinach leaves with cheese.
U can hv a decent meal for GBP 5
u hv mcdonals, kfc, blah blah there
u hv to tell them if u dont want too much ice in ur cola.
8) Pay phones & international calling
BT phones are all over the place. Keep lots of 20p with u. I mean Lots !!! They actally eat them up. Some of them do not work. So if the first time it does not wokr do not try again, walk dowm to another one. Ah yes. BT has actually put up posters all over stating that 10% of their phones do not work.
For international calling take the calling cards available at all stores. Use the '' Number 1'' brand. NEVER use '' Go Bananas'' . Use their local number and not the toll free number. Toll free is expensive. FOr the local number keep lots of 20p with u.
9) Sight seeing
if ur alone take the london tour bus.
i will recommend walking down to all places.
use the london tourist maps that u will pick up at the airport to choose the locations to visit. walking is not a porblem as the place is good, climate is good, and the side walks are excellennt.
10) China Town
ah yes, the red light area of london. u can wlka down the road, nothing to fear, I do not know much details but maybe u can try it and let me know.
11) The cops
Very helpful !!!. Present everywhere. best ppl to ask for help and directions.
12) The weather
Cold, breezy
Rains when ever it wishes to
13) Clothing
wear a suit or a jacket
u may like to hv a overcoat, do not buy from india, reach there are buy from a local market. cheap.
carry a sweater and gloves if u need them
work place cloting is formal with a tie minimum.
14) Necessary stuff u must carry
umbrella
15) TV
some hotels hv pay channels so be careful
watch BBC, its good
16) Heating in the room
they hv something called a radiator, this device uses hot water to heat the room
17) Time to return back to the hotel
depends on ur location, 10 pm shld be safe
18) Using the tube and road map
very easy to use and keep it handy
19) Shopping
only clothes and chocolates
20) Similarities to Bombay
some parts are very similar to south bombay, in fact the kingscross rly stn is similar to VT in bombay
21) People
90% friendly
u can ask them for directions
22) How much cash u must hv on urself
keep only enough for the day
23) Traffic and Signals
man I am amazed by the traffic sense.
high respect for ppl on their 2 feet.
they will follow signals
during the night some ppl go crazy and drive rash and fast
Note: ppl who are travelling to central london can M2M for more details
JD
