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Geek Travel To London From the US — Tips?
Audrey23 writes "I am traveling to London from Washington state for two weeks in December for pleasure (use-it-or-lose-it vacation scenario) and was wondering if I should bother bringing my laptop. I know that I would have to change the region code on my wireless amongst other things and the power cord would have to be changed for a UK outlet. Would I be better off not bringing my laptop and just using Internet kiosks (do they exist in London?) or would having my laptop be a better choice to keep in touch, off-load my digital images etc? I plan on hitting the British Museum but was wondering what geeky things to do that are in London that might be worth going to and any tips hints on overseas travel for geeks? I travel quite a bit in the states but this will be my first trip overseas and want to make the best of my stay in merry old England. What words of advice do you travel seasoned geeks have for me?"
Unless you want some time off from computer, take your laptop with you. It's still a lot easier than always going to a Internet Kiosk and can use it otherwise than just quickly uploading images off.
However when traveling, experiencing is the greatest thing. Not planning too much.
Let me give you an example.
At home it's easy to get oriented to the same ways always. Sure sliced ham, bacon, pineapple and roasted red peppers with provolone cheese on a parmesan crust pan pizza with barbeque sauce on it is nice (*). You love it, it tastes good. But sometimes it's time to just go for it, doing the dramatic change without thinking about it earlier. Change that damn pizza to chicken breast, white sauce, smoked bacon and tomatoes on a provolone crust with a mexican sauce on top of it (*). And if you're really going wild, order a chocolate ice cream with strawberries and m&m's on top of it!
What I'm basically saying is that just go and do something. As the geeky non-social persons we are, it's actually really easy to get to know new people when in a foreign country. Maybe because then you have a need to go to talk with people, or sound more interesting to girls since you're from other lands, or come out as mysterious because you dont even understand each others languages. Don't plan everything beforehand - leave there that possibility for problems. I visited Russia earlier this year and lost my immigration card while there. It took some planning out to get out of the country, but it was fun in the end.
Also, since you are near London, there's a great pizza place in Naples that you should visit.
Take your laptop, the freedom to transfer your photos locally, and ready internet access with wifi will make it worthwhile. There are internet cafes around, but it'll be more fuss to find one and time out of your vacation, rather than just packing a power convertor and changing your wifi settings.
Other things you might want to do in London could include:
Of course, there are many other things too as people will list below, London is a big place with lots to see and do, enjoy your trip!
-- Pete.
Monochrome - Probably the UK's largest internet BBS
All you should need is a simple adapter that converts from US plug to the unwieldy british nightmare-plug. Got rad shack.
The most important rule for Americans in Britain is to not try to keep up with the natives when it comes to drinking. Don't even attempt it.
The most important thing to do in London is simple - Monopoly board pub crawl. Start at Old Kent road and work your way up to Mayfair. One pub per street on the Monopoly board
I am not stubborn. I am right!
If you have a small enough laptop bring it. No need for a new power cord, just get a plug adapter, unless your power brick really won't handle 240 V (most modern ones do).
What you say? I have never heard about it. Is that ordinary wireless LAN you are talking about or UMTS or something?
Uh, I'll notify the police.
Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
Don't call it 'merry old England'.
...speak to people LOUDLY and ask them if England is anywhere near London because they're all deaf and stupid just like you see on American TV. Tell everyone you meet how everything is bigger in the States and how proud you are to be a Republican. You get to win a prize if you can piss more than 25 feet from Landseer's lions in Trafalgar Square - its a well known custom.
Tubby or not tubby. Fat is the question
Would I be better off not bringing my laptop and just using Internet kiosks (do they exist in London?)
What are these kiosks of the inter-net you speak of?
Why, here in blighty the modern mode of communication is the telegraph, which we run using steam, dontyouknow!
If a man empties his purse into his head no man can take it from him. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
Channels 1 through 11 are here in the States, but Europe gets 1-11 plus 12 and 13, Japan gets 1-13 plus 14. If you don't change the drivers at all you will still be able to use 1 through 11.
LOOK TO THE RIGHT
Because everybody in north America drives on the wrong side of the road, you just don't know it yet.
I live in Australia (where we drive on the left) and I once had to work in South Korea where they drive on the right. I was okay as long as I thought about it every time I crossed the road. It was a mistake to talk on the phone to my wife back home while walking back to the hotel from the pizza shop.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Don't risk having it confiscated or damaged by the border thugs.
Bletchley Park is well worth a visit for some codebreaking + early computing. ~45 minute train journey from Euston.
http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
Leave the computer at home.
Due to the money-grasping stupidity of the media companies, if you want to buy & play DVDs whilst in the UK, you'll need to change your drives region code to Region 2. However, since DVDs cost more in the UK (also due to the aforementioned money-grabbing etc....) you may not wish to do that
Perhaps the geekiness has got to me, but, I always travel with a computer - for me, currently, my netbook, simply for size and battery life reasons - it's not a huge weight if I don't use it, it's encrypted and everything important is backed-up on my server back at home in case I lose it / it gets stolen, and is great for whiling away time at airports, checking what's going on wherever I am, as well as just keeping up with my email - different strokes for different folks, but, I prefer to be in touch and accessible (but not necessarily to work colleagues) when I'm away.
I wouldn't think too much about it, though - just pick up a plug adapter. If you're going to be bringing lots of powered appliances / chargers, I tend to find the cheapest / easiest solution is to bring a multi-way extender, and one plug adapter, rather than lots of plug adapters (although this is a habit I started for business travel, I now pack this for personal travel too, especially when travelling with my girlfriend, since it just makes things easier for charging phones, iPods etc.).
Feel free to drop by one of the local LUGs, if you're a Linux user, or just fancy a geeky chat - SCLUG's my local, down in Reading (about 25 minutes on the train, from Paddington, London) - or just message me on here, since I enjoy meeting new people!
If you're doing geeks on tour, consider going to Bletchley Park
http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
It would be a daytrip on the train from London (it is easy walking distance (5mins?) from Bletchley Park train station
peter xyz
Of course, visit the West End, and if you like, go to a theatre.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Public taxis are subsidized by the Her Majesty's Government. A taxi ride in London costs two pounds, no matter how far you travel. If a taxi driver tries to overcharge you, you should yell "I think not, you charlatan!", then grab the nearest policeman (bobby) and have the driver disciplined.
It is rarely necessary to take a taxi, though, since bus drivers are required to make detours at patrons' requests. Just board any bus, pay your fare of thruppence (the heavy gold-colored coins are "pence"), and state your destination clearly to the driver, e.g.: "Please take me to the British Library." A driver will frequently try to have a bit of harmless fun by pretending he doesn't go to your requested destination. Ignore him, as he is only teasing the American tourist (little does he know you're not so ignorant!).
For those travelling on a shoestring budget, the London Tube may be the most economical way to get about, especially if you are a woman. Chivalry is alive and well in Britain, and ladies still travel for free on the Tube. Simply take some tokens from the baskets at the base of the escalators or on the platforms; you will find one near any of the state-sponsored Tube musicians. Once on the platform, though, beware! Approaching trains sometimes disturb the large Gappe bats that roost in the tunnels. The Gappes were smuggled into London in the early 19th century by French saboteurs and have proved impossible to exterminate. The announcement "Mind the Gappe!" is a signal that you should grab your hair and look towards the ceiling. Very few people have ever been killed by Gappes, though, and they are considered only a minor drawback to an otherwise excellent means of transportation.
I can't take credit for this advice, source
London's climate isn't particularly friendly this time of year. Anyway, if you need a computer, bring one. Laptops typically have power supplies which can take any voltage between 110V and 240V, so you'll only need a cheap plug adapter (do check!). US WLAN frequencies are a subset of the European frequencies, but most public WLANs restrict themselves to the US set of frequencies to avoid tech support for travelers not getting a connection. The number of open WLANs is shrinking though; definitely not ubiquitous. Don't rely on open WLAN if you need internet access on the go. The cellphone standard over here is GSM (or UMTS/3G) and the frequencies are different from those used for GSM in the US. Unless you know that you have a phone which works and a plan which won't bankrupt you, best get a cheap prepaid phone. Incoming calls and SMS are free in Europe.
...is returning to america. don't you have some seriously mental border protection at airports and what not? don't worry about it at heathrow, it's a cake walk taking anything through there the twice i've flown from/to heathrow recently. then again, I've a UK passport, but noone else seemed to have any problems walking through either.
Have to take a day out to go here - http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/ which is where allies broke the codes on the enigma machines used by the Germans in the 2nd World War, as featured in the movie enigma. Alan Turing worked there during this period. It's not that far from London on the main rail line to Milton Keynes and then it's just a short walk from the station to the museum. Also a national museum of computing is there - http://www.tnmoc.org/ but only on restricted opening hours.
The science museum in central london is free and worth some time - http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum.aspx I also like http://designmuseum.org/ in SE london.
If you are asking the question about taking your notebook, the you should also if you area a geek
It's full of hoards of stupid American tourists :)
There's more to "Eng-er-land" than London. It's a piss-filled city and really not that nice, which is like most capital cities around the world.
I personally wouldn't take a laptop, unless you like having a ball and chain around your neck.
Take some warm clothes, and the minimum amount you need, use London as a launch pad to the rest of the UK and Europe
http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com
Do NOT go to Oxford, or if you do, only go for an afternoon. Once you've seen the university, it is an extremely tedious place.
As well as changing power cords (or just buying travel adaptors) you should ensure your devices are actually world-voltage, 110-240v 50-60Hz. Also figure out what you're doing with your phone. If you're roaming, ensure the carrier's enabled it, and if you're planning on picking up a cheap SIM while you're here, make sure your phone is unlocked. In either case make sure that your phone supports (at a minimum) tri-band GSM. Wi-fi is universal, but expect to pay through the nose for it unless you're buying a large amount of capacity or your hotel/hostel provides it. Internet cafes are (fairly) cheap and plentiful but aren't a great option if you want to have your camera sitting there uploading umpteen snaps to Flickr.
With that settled, go to the Natural History Museum. Pick where you want to go, though, that thing will eat your entire weekend if you let it. And if you want to see real England, and not just London (even compared to the other cities, it's rather singular), get out of the city on the train for a few days. Canterbury is gorgeous, but that's just my preference. Heck, get your ass on the Pendolino and go up to Yorkshire, or Scotland. The Caledonian Sleeper will take you right up into the wilderness overnight.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Bring :
- Something to read (for when the luggage tracking and transport system fails)
- Emergency underwear (for when they will lose your luggage)
- Anal lube (for when you complain about the delay and lost luggage)
If in addition you travel with british airways, I would say a dose of Valium or Prozac and a strong whisky would do the trick.
It takes 40+ muscles to frown, but only four to extend your arm and bitchslap the motherfucker
There's a big Science Museum (I think it is just called that) which is nice to see. If you're into war-stuff, go to to the Imperial War Museum. In the old days I used to go to Tottanham Court Road to buy electronics and computer games - they always had much cooler stuff than you could get here (Denmark). But now that all this stuff has become much more mainstream it's not that exciting. Just a lot of small electronics shops. You might consider going to Greenwich (easy to get to from London) to see the Greenwich Meridian and lots of associated museums. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site btw. Other trips could be Oxford or Windsor. I think you can also do a tour to Stonehenge but I haven't tried that myself. If you're into high street shopping, Regent Street (starting at Picadilly Circus) and Oxford Street (which intersects RS) are the places to go. Of course, Harrods (Knightsbridge) is a must too :)
Be sure to bring an umbrella or buy one there - always raining ;)
Be sure to go to their many great pubs and clubs. Since I'm gay I mostly went to those places (in the area around Old Compton Street) but otherwise I think they are passing flyers around at the evening in the area around Picadilly Circus, so you can see what is going on.
London is one of the more costly cities on the planet.
(People who work there can't always afford to live near it,
necessitating long commutes, in crowded public xportation.)
Why not enjoy Skype in a SkypePhone (video included,
unlike in AU, where only ver 1 SkypePhones work...)?
If Skype's not your choice, I'd go with something that
fits into my shirt pocket, out of sight from those who
might like to mug me for it... even though the security
cameras out number stray cats there (or so I'm told...).
There's lots to see in London, so... why not try "cold-
turkey" (eg, just a large-screen cell.phone for eMail)?
My 2 centavos
Make sure that your power brick is capable of 90-230V. I can't tell you the amount of visitors from the US I have had wander up to me and ask to borrow a UK PSU It's because they just changed the power lead to the PSU and didn't spot that it was rated at 90-120V. Once the magic smoke escapes, there's no other option than to buy a new one.
I've never shoed a horse, but I once told a donkey to piss off!
You don't have to change your wireless region, it will likely just work (few use channels 12 and 13 here anyway).
Just get a plug adaptor for your laptop. The power supply for most laptops supports 100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz. If unsure, read the label on it.
Bletchley Park - within striking distance of London - the war-time code breaking centre.
Science Musuem - I was actually disappointed last time I visited the telecommunications exhibit, but the computation and maths exhibits are fascinating.
Natural History Musem - even if just to see the huge dinosaur in the entrance hall, which amazes me every time.
Greenwich - depends on your geekiness, but, you might enjoy visiting the Prime Meridian, in the courtyard of the Royal Observatory
Where are you staying? If it's a secure place, then bring your laptop for when you're "at home" for planning your day, photos, etc. There are tons of coffee shops and even pubs with wireless, sometimes free. Personally though, I leave it at home and just carry a camera, A-Z and a Lonely Planet guide (along with a small but wind resistant umbrella, etc), but I can see the benefit to being able to check google maps and the TFL. BTW, tfl.gov.uk will be your best friend at figuring out how to get between any places, especially considering that large parts of the Tube close at the weekends for engineering works. Having a laptop with me around always ways on my mind due to the risk of it being stolen - yes, one of my work colleagues had his bag (containing work laptop) stolen from under a table six of us were sitting around, in a pub in Soho.
Other than that, get out an enjoy yourself. London is a walking city, even in December when the daylight is limited and it can be blustery and wet. One of my favourite walks is from parliament, down the South Bank to the Tower: London Eye, South Bank, Tate Modern, Southwark Cathedral, The Globe, St. Paul's Cathedral, Borough Market, City Hall, Tower Bridge, etc. Greenwich is ace. You can get a Soho walking tour from Trafalgar square. The Royal Parks are awesome. There are tons of little villages that have been over-run by London growing outwards. Then there are more free museums and galleries than you can shake a stick at, and always a trusty pub nearby when you want a break.
If your after internet access around London, you can pick up a prepaid USB 3G modem from the local shops (Tescos, etc) and you should find they sell a decent range of geek goods and supplies, some supermarkets even sell laptops, etc. Internet cafes are not something I've seen a lot of but I havent really looked to be honest. I'd bring your laptop (I brought both of mine and use them ever day) You'll should find a few open wireless networks around the place. I haven't been anywhere yet that I haven't been able to borrow some internets. I bought a linksys wrt54gs and put ddwrt on it to use as a personal ap bridge in my apartment. It works a treat. For gettings around it's worth buying a GPS, tomtom, etc as the city is a bit of a maze. If you've got an iPhone, you could run tomtom on it. Bookmark journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk as its very handy for planing trips on public transport (works great via WAP). If you need some converters for your power adapters (most are 100-240v), you can pick them up for a few dollars off ebay. I bought two packs of 5 for about $10. Have fun.
Those who can, do. Those who cannot, sue.
but london does have the seventh-busiest greyhound canada terminal in terms of passengers
perhaps you meant to say you wanted to visit the university of western ontario?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
London and England are almost two different places (I'm a Brit who loves both). Depending on how long you're going, I'd recommend a day trip to England proper. Immediately west of London there is a lot of accessible, beautiful country side, villages and great pubs (it's a wealthy part of the country), and its easy to get to by train (although for those pubs a car is better). Winchester is a beautiful city and is about 1 1/4 hours by train, Windsor & Eton are more tourist orientated, but also beautiful places and even closer.
Train tickets and timetables: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
For internet access you're probably best of getting a local prepaid sim card, a usb modem can also be obtained fairly cheaply if you don't have gear compatible with the local networks.
Hotels and public internet cafes will probably charge you the same for one hour of access as you can get for a months access from any mobile network.
The local providers are Three, Vodafone, T-Mobile and O2. Last time I checked Three had the best pricing for prepaid access.
It will cost you £6.95 for an entry level Samsung phone when you buy £10 of calling credit at Car Phone Warehouse http://carphonewarehouse.com. They are located on any high street (street in any town with lots of shops). You can choose a SIM for whatever network you like. There are options for calling the States for 5p a minute (on the Orange network I believe). You will save so much money by not trying to use your US phone in the UK. I seriously don't know why CPW doesn't have people selling phones at the airport baggage terminal. It would be a public service.
Science museum and natural history museum are good days out. You can probably do both in a day. Bletchley park as above is a great one to do, although it's a bit sparse through lack of funds.
:)
Just don't advertise you're american by wearing shorts, a loud shirt and a baseball cap. When on the first day out, look at other people and then dress like them for the rest of the journey
And the best piece of advice is DO NOT SAY YOU ARE AN AMERICAN. Remember - you are a CANADIAN. This will serve you well to avoid problems.
Don't expect too much from London Heathrow Airport. Let's just say it isn't one of the top airports in the world, especially given the recent (and rumored ongoing) terminal 5 fiasco. It has the nickname 'London Deathrow' for a reason.
"I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
All sorts of places to visit in London. Good book with other places all over the world but there are quite a few in London.
One must-see for a geek trip to London has to be the Science Museum http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum.aspx
Help children born unable to swallow - www.tofs.org.uk
Tips? How about don't call it "merry old England"...
And for that matter, don't talk loudly to everyone. I know this is a stereotype of American travellers, but it holds true far too often. Most American's I know in London do the intelligent thing and keep their head down.
As for places to go, St Paul's is always worth a look, while you are there walk along the river towards the London Eye (you have to cross for the better side)
Be sure to try the echo in the Reading Room of the British Library, and for out of hours relaxation, you can spot a brothel by the blue light above the entrance.
I got distracted by somebody and hit submit before I finished. Anyway, don't worry about pissing around with wireless regions. My work laptop cannot configured for anything other than the US, which means no ability to connect to anything configured for channels 12 and 13. I've yet to have a problem (except when I configured the wireless router at the office for channel 13).
And how did I forget to mention the performing arts? You can spend hours just looking through listings of musicals. There are more theatres just in the West End than there are in some countries.
Bletchley Park, which has gotten plenty of Slashdot coverage over the years, is a must. It's just an hour north on the train and a short walk from the train station. Go to Euston Station for the ride north.
The Faraday Museum http://www.londondrum.com/cityguide/faraday-museum.php is worth the trip.
Greenwich Observatory and the National Maritime Museum are musts, as well. http://www.nmm.ac.uk/
You may want to read Dava Sobel's book about John Harrison before you go, if you haven't already. See the real H* clocks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison
Take the laptop.
The Natural History Museum and Science Musuem are practically next door to each other, and are both essential to any good trip to London. Google Maps link
Don't forget the British Museum recently* split into two, the British Museum, and the Natural History Museum - which used to be the British Museum (Natural History). The British Museum, which houses things such as the mummys, Elgin marbles, Rosetta stone and various other things we stole from around the world during our colonial past, is in Holborn, pretty central in London, and the Natural History Museum, with dinosaurs, big stuffed blue whale and a fabulous mineral and gemstone collection is in South Kensington, right next to the Science Museum (as mentioned previously) and Victoria and Albert museum.
Entrance to all of these is free. Some special exhibits need payment however (usually temporary ones).
When you get to the airport, as long as you're not feeling too lazy, don't try to get a taxi to London, it'll cost you $80 or more (it's a long way). Go to the underground, get an Oyster card with (say) £20 of credit on it (you'll have to ask at the manned ticket office for this), that works for all your underground and bus travel in London, much simpler and quicker than using cash. You can top it up if you run out (you can check your balance at the station or register online to top it up automatically).
Have fun!
Jolyon
* - in 1881. That's recently for us Europeans!
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
...
London is a dank, seething cesspool of filth. The tube system is full of tramps, smells of urine, and is the best place to get a venereal disease without any of the difficult issues of actually making contact with anyone.
I recommend going to Blackpool instead. Much more classy.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
A few quick translations for folks who (like the questioner) haven't been to London before:
A-Z: the street maps of London are a (softcover) book of their own, called the A-Z. You can buy it once you get there. The streets of London can be *very* confusing without an A-Z, so if you're planning to walk around, one of these will be very valuable.
TFL: Tube for London, aka the subway.
Personally, I'd recommend the following: If you have enough space on camera memory sticks to do without the laptop, do so. I spent a month in Europe this past summer, and the only tech I brought with me was a camera and an iPod Touch. The Touch allowed me to check mail/websites/etc and use Skype at various Wifi locations to call whomever I needed to, which realistically was all I needed while on vacation. I also grabbed a multi-country plug adapter that also included a USB power port, and just carried that in my bags (it was quite small). In short, your camera, some extra memory sticks, and a smartphone should be enough to cover what you need...I think the laptop is just extra weight.
Also, if you're going to be in the UK at the winter solstice, go to Stonehenge that day. Yes, it'll be a madhouse, but that's part of the fun.
Depends what floats your boat, but a few (more) of the historical tourist trail things...
Tower of London (including the Crown Jewels), The (reconstructed) Globe Theatre, St. Pauls Cathedral, Buckkingham palace, The Palace of Westminster, Tower Bridge (if you can get on a tour of the engine rooms to see the lifting gear), Madame Tussauds is also worth a look.
Museums: The Natural History, V&A (Victoria and Albert), Science, British Museum all worth a visit. A little further afield there's Bletchley Park (where we invented the computer), Hampden Court, The Imperial War Museum at Duxford and Windsor Castle
Then there's the whole West End... Soho is a fun place ;) Bear in mind that London at Christmas is a very very busy place (the main shopping ares (Knightsbridge / South Kensington / Oxford Street / Covent Garden / Camden Market can be hell) - and be aware that pickpockets are also very active in all these areas, (unfortunately this is especially true at that time of year).
Don't forget that it's illegal to tip London cab drivers and you will mortally offend them if you try.
Watch out for sarcasm. I know in the US you guys really have trouble spotting this, but in the UK we have this perfected.
Also, please dont tell anyone you just love the British accent. It really gets on our nerves, especially as we hate most US accents and can barely tolerate the rest.
Be prepared to have problems understanding the English of people who work in shops. This is because the % of natives working in shops is close to 0. They are manned by indians, middle easteners, eastern europeans, etc.
Actually, don't hold too much hope of meeting a native person as london, aside from the aforementioned shop workers, is full of american and oriental tourists. Your best bet during the daytime is trying to talk to someone on the tube, who may just be native, although probably tired and grumpy from living in or communiting to london every day and may just ignore you or tell you to piss off.
At night time though you can find lots of natives. Males and females are both easy to spot. They are loud and obnoxious and usually quite drunk. Probably best to avoid these. If you spot someone at night who is acting normally and quiet then they may be a terrorist. Report them to the police.
Do go to soho at night though. Its an enlightening experience. Actually you may feel quiet safe in this area, unlike other areas, although you may get nice looking ladies asking you for the time quiet often. One can only presume there is some sort of time-telling-device shortage in the soho area.
Do visit Camden market, afternoon or late evening. This is nothing to do with being a geek. Just wander around until some guy offers you to buy something, usually in a small package. Don't worry what it is. Smoke it, eat it, its all good stuff.
Stonehenge is a must see, as are the two hoary universities. Also Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a geeky science town. Great place to visit with the north sea beaches nearby, and the Loch Ness just 2 hrs from there! All these places can be covered in about 2-3 days ex-London.
Or at least go in July.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
I don't think you need to fuss with region codes or any such. You'll need to change the timezone and that's about it. Since you've posted to slashdot asking whether you should bring your laptop, and used the word 'geek' 3-4 times, er yeah you probably are the type that would go into withdrawl without your laptop. It's a bit of a hassle to drag it around but you'll probably want it. If you have something lightweight like a netbook you'll definitely want it. Get a UK power adapter (AAA or pretty much any electronics store). A laptop is useful for three things while you're traveling: a) planning/researching/arranging tourist stuff, b) uploading photos, c) satisfying your internet/email/gamer addictions. Most hotels will have internet service for some fee. Your call on whether it is worth the money. You might be able to get free wifi from cafe/pub places but don't count on it. The British museum will hold your interest for a day. If you're in London for two weeks, you can probably hit all the major tourist attractions. Get any tourist guide and work your way through it. Once you learn the Tube you can pretty much get anywhere you want. Make sure to go to a play or musical or two even if that's not normally what you're into. Go to at least one castle and one cathedral too. For geek cred, go to the Eye of London and try to think of as many movies as you can that had a scene showing that in it.
My top tip is "Stay at home", London is a dump (much like the rest of England) and is not even slightly worth visiting.
If you really want the experience of traveling to England:
1) Get your hoover bag, open it, inhale deeply
2) Go outside, roll around in the mud for a bit
3) Empty your wallet onto the floor
4) Get your neighbour to punch you in the face.
Voila, same outcome, but you've saved yourself some time and an airfare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels - While the technology is the same, some channels may not be used in certain regions of the world. Also, there are limits on the maximum power level, IIRC. So the OP is correct (regarding the WiFi - for UMTS, you're right)- he should change the region setting in his wireless device to avoid trouble.
Captcha: regret
You have:
London Tate Gallery
British Museum
British Library
British Science Museum
British Natural History Museum
London Dungeons
London Eye
London Aquarium
Madame Tussauds
SOHO (just roaming around late at night)
Wembley Stadium for a match or gig if one is on.
River Thames Boat trip.
The Tower of London
Visit the Houses of Parliament
Shakespear Globe tour
Royal Opera House
National Gallery
National Maritime Museum
The list goes on: http://www.visitlondon.com/
Just a word of advice, if you are going for 2 weeks and are relying on the underground, look into getting an Oyster card. This will save you money on using the tube: https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do
When all is said and done, nothing changes...
British Museum is my favourite, but 15 min walk away is the British Library (by St Pancras Station). Their "Treasures Room" has some seriously cool books and manuscripts, which you can see in one hour.
[sad shake of the head] Americans...
No, London is a very backward place, on about the same level as rural Kenya, only colder. Internet access is essentially unheard of, and the power is only on for about three hours most days. It comes at some strange voltage, and switch-mode power supplies have been banned to try to discourage immigrants. You can get plug adaptors on the black market, try late at night in St James' Park, but it won't help with your voltage problem. About your only option is to sneak into a copper mine to steal some ore, refine it, beat it into wire using rocks and manufacture your own power supply. Hot top - the foil from cigarette packs is good for making your own capacitors! Once you've done that, getting internet access means laying your own cable from the good 'ol US of A - I'd suggest coming by ship, as the airlines are a bit touchy about running the cable out of the door at altitude, and at 450 miles per hour the quality of the bearings on the drum gets important. Don't even bother with wireless - that's been banned, too, as people might try to use it to find out information about immigration.
If you hang out in the wrong sorts of places, you might get to hear about a thing called the 'Tube'. It's a bit like a bunch of pipes, and is the nearest the locals get to the Internet. Interfacing your laptop to it can be a real problem, though. Locals suggest Ruby might be a good option to try, also something about seafood. YMMV.
Slashdot - News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters, in ISO-8859-1 Has just realised that beta makes this signature redundant
Clarification: the "T" in "TFL" means "Transport", not "Tube". And the advice for visitors is to get an Oyster card immediately: it saves huge amounts of money, and works everywhere - just announced are the Thames Clippers, and next year, an extension out further to cover all of the commuter rail services.
You can go to Greenwich, there is a small, but interesting science museum, and you can get your GPS to show 0.0000000.
They just opened the Darwin Centre in the Natural history museum: definitely worth a visit.
There is free wireless access in many places (if you order a coffee, but you want one anyway)
Tips:
Be careful with what stuff you take with you and what souvenirs you intend to take back; differences in import/export restrictions, etc.
Be prepared for the fact that most Brits cannot cook.
Expect to not figure out exactly when to cross the street until your last day there.
Put buying an umbrella at the top of your todo list.
Get off the beaten track. The nicest places are those other tourists don't go.
Keep in mind that London, the tourist attraction, has little to do with what the rest of the country is like.
If you're tall, get ready for some bumps on the head. Some old buildings weren't designed with you in mind.
Try to locate a pharmacists on your first day. In case of minor medical issues, they're a good place to ask for advice.
Oh! Don't forget, to them, you're the one with an accent.
Hope that helps.
Don't forget to get you and your computer immunized against those nasty viruses which are rampant in foreign countries like the United Kingdom.
TFL - Transport for London
It covers buses and overground trains in the London area too. Their website - tfl.gov.uk - has quite a useful journey planner on it.
Makes it easier and cheaper to use the buses and tubes than buying tickets as you go. You can get one sent to you in the US before you go - http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/english/introduction.htm
Also, you might find wifi access expensive, especially in hotels. A friend of mine found it cheaper to buy a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband modem, even though she was staying just for the week. 3 do good deals - shops all over the place.
The oyster card is a means of prepaying for public transport, use it to purchase tickets after 9:30 as these are much cheaper as being considered off peak travel and are valid on bus, train and subway travel http://www.tfl.gov.uk/. Also remember to pack all your encryption keys as you never know when border guards way wish to view what is on your laptop and to not surrender such keys when requested by the authorities may well ruin your vacation http://security.homeoffice.gov.uk/ripa/encryption/
...but the Planetarium closed down a few years ago. It was turned into a "celebrity cinema" bit of Madame Tussauds, showing showbiz movies. Philistines.
However, the Greenwich Observatory has their own, new planetarium - it's brand new, and right by the Greenwich Meridian:
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/visit/planetarium-shows/
sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
The Science museum is good but probably more interesting for kinds than for adults, I prefer spending more time in the Natural History museum. Take some time to visit the Imperial War Museum and the Movieum on the South Bank. For a 2 week trip I wouldn't bother with carrying the laptop, just bring extra memory cards for your camera. Join any hospitality Club meeting in London, there's always someone happy to be your tour guide.
Maplin http://maplin.co.uk/ is an equivalent to Radio Shack and should have UK plug adaptors in stock if your laptop can take UK voltage.
A list of free wi-fi is available at: http://www.timeout.com/london/features/6187/Where_to_find_free_wi-fi_in_London.html. My favorite is the Wellcome Collection http://www.wellcomecollection.org/.
The Wellcome Collection is also an amazing museum if you're at all into medical history. And if you're really into biology (read as thousands of specimen jars), the Hunterian Museum from the Royal College of Surgeons http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums was unlike any thing I've seen. Of course the museums near South Kensington (Natural History, Science) are great bets. The nearby Victoria and Albert is nice as well with "functional art", including all kinds of centuries-old locks (including one or two wooden ones).
Avoid the British Museum on the weekends, and particularly the Egyptian section, as it is mobbed.
If you're in the area and into old engineering and/or trains, take a walk around the recently refurbished St. Pancras train station.
Really off the beaten path is mud-larking. You can walk out onto the Thames shoreline at low tide and look for old finds. We've found Roman glass and centuries-old leather. There's a high chance that you'd find 18th century china shards. A good place to go is the area around the Tate Modern on the south shore- stairs will lead down to the beach. You need to be able to tolerate the occasional drunk harassment, wear gloves, and please don't dig holes.
TFL = Transport for London, the public transport people. Not just the tube, but the buses, some surface trains, ferries, etc.
sit in hotel and wank. wank hard you wanker! ill watch you to make sure you are doing it right.
Leave the laptop home, and you'll have more time to pay attention to the sight and places.
On the other hand, leave the laptop home and you'll have a hard time catalogueing your experiences each evening. I'm not from the States, but the last time I went to Manchester (2006, I believe), I took my EU laptop with me -- all I had to do once in the UK was to buy an adapter from a store in Manchester and I was ready to geek it out... too bad I had no internet connection to speak of. :P Nonetheless, I enjoyed the ability to make my own notes about what I'd done on whichever day. I posted it on LJ and still have the file on my current desktop computer's hard drive for old times' sake.
I rather think WiFi should work easily enough, it's just the matter of voltages...
TFL is Transport for London, they cover Underground, Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Busses, River Cruisers etc.
Don't miss it! It has a new Darwin Centre with the Cocoon. You can watch scientists at work and talk to them. And it is free.
If you elect to not take your laptop so that you are typing passwords in on someone else's computer, make sure to change all your passwords before you go. When you get back, change them back. You never know if there is a keylogger or other such things, and so make sure to treat every computer as hostile.
Learn to love Alaska
The Time Out Travel Guides helped me tremendously to plan and enjoy my trips to a lot cities I've been to.
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Out-London-Guides/dp/184670071X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259062585&sr=8-1
As far as I know the channels that change between regions in Wireless cards are the extremes, so you don’t have to have problems to connect to the majority of wireless Access points without changing anything.
For electricity voltage you have a change to take into account, in the USA electricity is 110-120 volts 60Hz, in Europe it is 220 volts 50Hz, so you will need a charger that supports dual voltage or one specific for European electricity.
My advice, take your laptop with you if you plan to connect to internet every day, it is practically sure the hotel you stay on will have Wireless for clients, or at least you can find hotspots all over London.
Things to do in London (tourist mode ON)
NOTES for tourists:
In England the cars travel in the left lane, remember this when you cross a street
In England the subway arrives from right to left, not form left to right.
The average temperature on December is 4C (39F) so Wrap up warm
London is a city with a lot of places to go, so take your time to search de web and find the ones that are interesting for you.
that can do some basic internet surfing. Its a lot more convenient than a laptop when you are out and about and want to jump on wifi to quickly check your email(many of the long distance trains in the UK have free wi-fi). Plus you won't get roped into doing work on your vacation.
It would be even better if your device had some sort of GPS, an open wifi spot and my phone have saved my ass from getting hopelessly lost more times than I care to admit.
Monstar L
Get pissed up on cider.
Strongbow, Old Rosie, Stowford Press, Blackthorne.
Just go to the pub and drink a pint.
Not going to the pub and drinking a pint means you can't claim to have visited the UK.
Buy yourself 5 kilos of Marmite..
The museums are awesome, out of the rain/snow and heated. London can be a bit crowded for my taste but there are plenty of quiet places indoors.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
British Museum, The Tate Modern, The London Eye, The Science Museum and Bletchley Park are all great suggestions. I'd also recommend the natural history museum, Tate Britain, St Paul's cathedral (dome) and the Victorian and Albert Museum. Have a great trip!
I also recommend the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, which are easily accessible by subway. Whether you are bringing kids or not, these two museums alone may require more than a day. We've been to both of them six or eight times, typically spending most of a day in each, but the kids still want to visit again whenever we go to London.
For maximum enjoyment, plan on visiting the museums on weekdays. They are open also on weekends, but since admission is free (yes!) they can be a little crowded on Saturdays and Sundays. During the week, there are much fewer casual visitors, but there may be a few school groups. They are large buildings with a lot to see at each of them, so it involves a certain amount of walking. The gift shops have some interesting items, but carry a lot of tourist junk as well.
Also, bring your own snack food - the museum restaurant food is tolerable enough, but service can be slow, and special diets are not handled well. Both museums have areas for eating your own food, and it's possible to picnic outside at the Natural History Museum, depending on the weather. There is usually a supermarket or other place selling decent ready-to-go foods near the subway stations. We usually grab sushi boxes on the way from the hotel to the subway when we go there.
BTW, if the London weather is mediocre (December, right), the Victoria & Albert museum is also nearby. It is less crowded, and deals with the history of human society. There is a lot of historical clothing, tools, musical instruments, and suchlike.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
And yell: "God shave the queen"
I've used Boingo in the UK (and Brazil, and Argentina, and the US) and can only say good things about them. It seems they have agreements with all major players (like BT, Orange, etc.) so you can use your Boingo account pretty much anywhere in the UK where you see the "WiFi zone". There are sooo many interesting places in London. Some of the not so obvious: - The National Archive - The Victoria and Albert museum - The Sherlock Holmes museum - Abbey Road (if you are into The Beatles) - Greenwich - The Naval museum (in Greenwich) - Newton's (and many others') tomb at the Westminster Abbey - Millions of others I can't recall at the moment Learn to use the Tube, it will take you everywhere you want to go but Greenwich. Also, you can spend a day or two in Cambridge, only 50' away by train from King's Cross, you can pretty much walk everywhere from the station and so many things to see. The Scott Arctic Expedition museum, The Cronophage (although it's *very* disappointing), the colleges and you might even get a glimpse of Stephen Hawking if you are lucky enough (tip: he goes for a tea at the local John Lewis every now and then. That's where I saw him :))
And by Jove, drink some propper beer while you can!
Cheers
Most of them seem to actually be Polish, but they don't insist on condoms for oral sex. And their ads online are fairly honest about whether they're British or not: if you can afford a nice upscale one in your hotel room, enjoy.
Two Important customs to remember if you want to be welcomed..
Londoners are always interested in other people's lives. So when using a mobile phone on a bus or train or in a restuarant, always talk load enough for everyone else to listen to your conversation.
They appreciate that Merkins aren't used to queuing and so they encourage merkins to go straight to the front of the queue..
You could get some cheese and put it in your bum-bum?
If you must take a computer with you, get a Netbook on a Black Friday sale deal and just take that. Don't risk your expensive laptop with lots of personal data on it.
I don't see a need to take one at all, aside from backing up photos from your camera, watching movies, and maybe checking in with family back home. You're on vacation - unplug!
My laptop goes on trips with me all the time and they are more likely to get broken than stolen if you attempt to keep it safe. Over a decade ago I would travel with my SparcBOOK but now nearly every backpacker seems to have a laptop.
Most laptops have a "figure 8" non-grounded cord on their power brick but a few have a "mickey mouse" grounded type (Wikipedia IEC c5 c7 for pics). You may be able to find a UK style figure 8 cable before you leave. The plug will be a massive thing with 3 square plugs that will be about the size of a dryer plug and google "UK plug" will show you an image. UK plugs have fuses in them and the power point will have a switch. The cord in a UK shop may be called a "flex" and I expect you can find it at the local Tandy shop. Just check that your power supply can cope with 240V. A replacement cord is much easier to carry around than the huge power adapters.
If your staying at nice hotels you should have a safe big enough to lock the laptop. If your staying at a backpackers, just find an old beat up laptop to take along and it will be safe since everyone will have a nicer faster laptop.
Be careful where your flights arrive and leave from. There are several international airports in London and Gatwick is the second most common. Cheap round trips have been known to leave from a different airport. UK Immigration will ask you if your there to work and they will want proof that your going back. Even with a return ticket they may not be happy and I know people who were sent back. Just have documentation that of where you will be staying and when you will be back and that sort of thing. Also for return customs, you can clear customs back to the US in Puerto Rico which is preferable to JFK in many ways.
Why bother? Just get a travel adaptor, like everyone else does. They're cheap, even if you buy them in the most expensive place possible - the airport. Most laptops do not require voltage conversion (and have power supplies that explicitly state that they accept 230V). Check.
London is no different to (say) New York in this way. You can use Internet kiosks, but you'd be crazy to do so for banking transactions, just as for internet cafes anywhere in the world. As for how you work with digital images, it depends on the value of the images and the volume of data, doesn't it? When on vacation myself I generally produce more image data than it's convenient to burn to DVD, so I don't really have that option. Hence I take a laptop + an external drive, so that I can keep two copies of the data. One goes in the checked luggage, the other is carry-on.
You won't see much "Merrie Olde England" in London. It's a city. As for stuff to do there, you haven't indicated what you enjoy doing. People could recommend you landmarks etc., but that would make your stay awfully generic. Here's a list of non-generic things you'll probably hate because they don't suit your (unstated) tastes:
I would recommend starting in London of course.
Natural History Museum (via the tube, you must use the tube!),
Science Museum,
British Museum,
London Tower,
HMS Belfast
But don't just stay in London!
Roman Bath's + Cheddar Gorge.
Rather than Stone Henge, perhaps my favourite ancient ruin is Grimspound in Dartmoor. Dartmoor itself as moody wind swept moorland is worth seeing (and hiking!). You will find many ancient ruins in Dartmoor.
I would also recommend Corfe Castle, it is a proper ye old castle with peasant village at it's foot. It's state will be your introduction to Cromwell.
A still running old Steam Railway, there are quite a few.
The Lake District, my favourite national park, with Helvellyn striding edge being on of my favourite walks, that and Great Gable.
Jodrell bank is quite interesting, the visit centre is tiny, but the dish itself is interesting, with it's battle ship parts and history. Not been to Bletchley Park myself, but I feel I should. In fact, sod it, look in The Geek Atlas, loads in the UK.
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596523213
Are you kidding me?. Although I would bring your laptop with anyway and make use of the many free wifi spots in pubs (sorry, bars) and the like. We are quite connected here.
jaymz
I would suggest leaving your laptop behind. If anyone needs to contact you in case of emergency, they can call the hotel. For the price and hassle of the plug adapters and such, you could just pick up another SD card or two, if you're worried about picture storage (remember you can always delete pictures, too!). Without your laptop, you can travel lighter and, without the pressure of keeping in contact, you will have more time to enjoy the trip, and everyone will be that much more excited for your return.
Do NOT go to Oxford, or if you do, only go for an afternoon. Once you've seen the university, it is an extremely tedious place.
Go to Oxford and spend that afternoon in The Pitt Rivers Museum and the Museum of the History of Science
Hmm. Best not go to Horseguards on the first day, then.
You can buy a pay as you go phone at the airport or on any London high street. A cheap model shouldn't cost you more than 20 pounds. This solves the problem of a) your phone not working here because you don't have roaming b) People not being willing to call you back because you've only got a US number when you roam c) Stupidly high roaming charges.
-- Sorry, I can't think of anything funny to say here.
The British museum mostly things from foreign cultures, like blocks of stone written in three very exciting ancient languages! The V & A is much more interesting.. http://www.vam.ac.uk/
Try a travel forum or stay home.
Living in Chile
Make sure you talk VERY LOUDLY on the tube, and say things like - "Im so happy to be in awesome London, England." Because there are other London's around the world.
Actually, best not say Awesome - British people use this word to describe biblical scale events, not hotdogs. Unless they are very very big.
I don't recall doing anything particularly geeky in London the one time i was there for a few days so i cant help there but I havent bothered with a laptop etc when travelling since i got my iphone, i sort out a data sim for the country im going to before i set off and honestly, google maps is the best thing on earth to have on you when you have NFI where you are and nobody speaks english ;)
December might not be the best time but I'd recommend a trip downriver on the River Thames. There's the Thames barrier, and Greenwich park, the National Maritime Museum. And surely no true geek can visit London without visiting the zero meridian.
Remember to wear a Texas style hat and to speak loudly and slowly to Londoners, that way we'll be able to help you better.
Greenwich is definitely worthwhile: the prime meridian, and the Harrison clock prototypes were highlights for me.
http://wikitravel.org/en/London/Greenwich#See
Apparently only the assholes in London reply to posts on Slashdot. While I do like England in general and London specifically, I will have to rethink giving any of my hard-earned money to a city/country that have such assholes in it.
And also spend a day or two in Paris. It's a quick and cheap ride.
Some hotels have a 110V/AC US outlet in the room. Ask.
If the hotel you are staying in doesn't have this, power converters are available. Buy one in the US and take it over. Prices in London are rather shocking. You will spend twice as much as you expected over there (It will cost you just under $40 US if you buy one in London).
Take a bus from Heathrow to London -- the cab fare is almost $150 US. But take cabs in the city. The drivers are very knowledgeable.
As for cell phones... mine just works. Ridiculous roaming fees, though, so talk to your cell provider before you leave, and buy an international plan. If you don't, you may end up with several hundred in cell phone charges.
Beyond this? Have fun and enjoy yourself. (I've never been to London on anything but business trips, but I've always enjoyed the experience).
Just another "Cubible(sic) Joe" 2 17 3061
Also, I would not bring my personal or work laptop in case it gets stolen. I would pickup a $300 netbook because it's easier to carry and there's little impact if it's stolen. A new machine will have much less of your personal info on it.
Camping on quad since 1996.
Take your laptop. Make sure your hotel has WiFi. Use the WiFi without changing the settings and without fear; the US uses a couple of extra radio frequencies that the UK doesn't, but since all the access points / routers will be British, your laptop will only lock on to the British frequencies, so it isn't a real issue. You absolutely will not get hassle for this.
Forget internet kiosks. They're as crappy in the UK as they are everywhere else in the world. Even being quaintly retro-fitted into a traditional red phone box with an innovative stainless steel vandal-proof trackball doesn't detract from the universal crappiness of internet kiosks in general. If you absolutely must, use a proper Internet cafe, but even so you'll be better off with your own laptop and free WiFi at a normal cafe. Lots and lots of cafes offer free WiFi. You can also get pay-for WiFi at many pubs, and those which are part of the British Telecom BT Openzone network will allow you to carry over WiFi credit from pub to another pub.
Take only one British plug adaptor (you can buy them at the airport) but take a multi-way gang lead. That way you can plug multiple American electronic devices into one British socket. Hotels the world over have a shortage of sockets, this is no different in the UK, so make the most of one socket rather than buying converters for several.
Make sure your cell phone is compatible with GSM/3G/UTMS and that your cellular provider is aware that you are travelling to the UK.
The British Museum is pretty good, albiet small, and offers a lot which American museums don't. Bear in mind that the Rosetta Stone is not as large as you might imagine. The Science Museum covers pretty much the same things as other science museums in other capital cities around the world, it's good but not particularly different from what you have back in the US, unless you desperately, desperately want to see a working version of Babbage's 250-year-old mechanical computer. If you want a second museum day, consider the Victoria and Albert museum which has lots of steampunk and design things.
If you have only one day out of London, visit Bletchley Park, the WWII codebreaking base with lots of old computers. You can catch a train from Euston station, takes about 45 mins. If you have a second day out, visit Oxford, the quaint picturesque university city with Cotswold stone buildings and lots of really distinctive museums. You can catch a train from Paddington station, takes about an hour. Neither Bletchley nor Oxford train station are in the middle of where you want to be (it's difficult to plan infrastructure in towns built a thousand years ago), so expect some walking.
Absolutely do not hire a car. Firstly, the steering wheel and handbrake will be on the wrong side of the car, secondly it's expensive, thirdly the roads are significantly more crowded and more wiggly than you are used to, and fourthly we have lots and lots of roundabouts which are entirely different to four-way stops in ways which you can probably not even imagine.
Taxis are expensive. Use the plentiful and frequent underground (subway train) service, buy an all-day or all-week pass. This pass will also cover you for the busses.
Get the London Popout Map. This covers the main pedestrian areas, underground map and bus routes in a very compact form, slips easily into a small pocket and uses a very geeky, very neat origami folding method which means you can quickly and discretely open it in a confined space, without looking like a potential mugging victim.
Get an Underground Overground tube map. You can buy these from dispensers on the underground platforms. They show the actual physical route and actual physical distances the tube trains take; the traditional symbolic map doesn't demonstrate the real distances between stops. You
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
Unless you want some time off from computer, take your laptop with you. It's still a lot easier than always going to a Internet Kiosk and can use it otherwise than just quickly uploading images off.
Leave the laptop.
Hell, there's even berlitz/lonely planet/etc guides on maps. You can even plan efficient routes round all the sites/red light districts you want to experience.
Deleted
Go see the British Library. It's free, and they have a great collection of illuminated manuscripts, Da Vinci sketches, etc. My wife and I really enjoyed it, as it's a well-hidden gem. Really enjoyed seeing a copy of the Magna Carta.
OpenSource.MathCancer.org: open source comp bio
You dont look like a geek... perhaps a redneck with a computer would describe you better?... travel more.
Internet Kiosks in London?... of course not!, they only drink tea and drink warm beer.
Bad food and even worse weather.
P.S: Just trolling.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
London has one of the most active Perl Mongers groups on the planet. I think they're responsible for a double-digit percentage of the content on the CPAN. As a geek, you can't go to London and not visit the Perl Mongers group. It would be like going to the city where the Usenix conference is being held, during the week they're holding it, and not attending the conference. Totally not an option.
I think there's also some famous clock tower thing and some stuff.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
Depending on your scope of geekiness, there are plenty of scientifically historical places to visit. If you can spare the time to venture out of London, maybe even hire a car, you can make a timely visit to Charles Darwin's house in Kent, or of course Stonehenge.
Did the same a few years back - London Science Museum - old 1940's & 1950's computers, London Transport Museum (trains, buses, etc.), Imperial War Museum, AND Bletchley Park in the town of Bletchley - train ride north of London. Home of the rebuilt Colossus computer (world's first computer - built during WWII to decode German Enigma codes - actually ten were built) and the place Alan Turing worked. If you get there ask if Tony Sale is around - he rebuilt Colossus and also the computers in the London Science Museum. Along the way I also went out to Dover Castle to see the underground tunnels in the Castle that wee used as a base during WWII and ran the SE UK phone system
One very big advantage of having a laptop is that you can upload you days photos to the internet (either a web service or NAS box at home) far far away from the risks of theft and prying customs inspection. Upload can take some time if your even a mild shutterbug so doing it overnight on the hotel wifi is very handy
On the matter of places to go I'll say again Oxford is worth a day trip just for the Pitt Rivers Museum (t the small but perfectly formed Oxford natural history museum located on the same site is a nice bonus and the nearby Museum of the History of Science. has great geek appeal. (.I suppose you could also go to the Ashmolean if you have some spare time)
Also not that the Pitt rivers website does not do justice to the sheer random strangeness of the place here is an article about it.
You're not going to want to carry the computer around with you all day, especially the added weight of chargers, etc.
Buy a handful of SD cards (or whatever) for the camera, and you can download everything when you get home.
AVOID SAUSAGES!!
Contrary to popular believe you'll be able to find good food in London/England/UK (To be honest - this includes a visit to an an indian and a chinese restaurant. But they're much better than across the channel.) The pies served in pubs are great, fish & chips.... but at any cost: NO SAUSAGES!
If you manage to completly empty your brain of everything you know about beer or it's taste, you'll find that british beer is also VERY drinkable. I'm always looking forward to a few pints of real Ale. But if you have any expectation left of what 'beer' is supposed to taste, you'll probably spit it across the room.
In my opinion, two weeks is too long for London. There's so much to do and to see there, after 6 days, you'll suffer from "London Overflow". you really should plan about a week for a tour of the rest of england. Perhaps up north to scotland. Edinburgh, some scotish castles.
Don't know if Harry Potter is part of your geek culture, but you'll find guided tours to the filming locations all over england. if your cultural demands are a bit more classic, "The Globe" is a must.
and remember: no sausage!!!
bickerdyke
There was a nice pub named Page's Bar (near Westminster) which was a geek's nirvana (a 'nerdvana', if you will). Sci-fi themed, frequently showing the latest Star Trek episodes on their projection screen, and with an NCC-1701-D sticking out of the ceiling. And the night always ended up with the gay clientele getting everyone else to Do The Timewarp (Again).
When you went into the men's room, the door had a sensor on it and would make the whoooosh sound when opened. And they made a great Romulan Ale too (beer with green dye).
They closed in 1994. London has never been the same since.
But it gives you some idea how geeky London was, and probably still is.
I wouldnt bring the laptop if i were you... unless you are willing to spend at least 5 pounds an hour for wireless access...
I used to live over there and there is not such a thing as free wireless in cafes, they all charge and very expensive. Internet cafes have the option to plug in your laptop and will charge you more than what you would pay if you use one of their machines.
Besides, you will find it really unconfortable to travel around with it, if you get in the tube for example at rush hour, its so crowded that you risk it would get damaged.
DO NOT DO IT : Having a laptop can make you a criminal and you have NO RIGHT TO SILENCE - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/24/ripa_jfl/
Posting as AC because, well, it's obvious...I don't want machine gun cops kicking in my door.
Sure bring your laptop I'd be lost if I didn't take mine abroad.
Get a travel adapter and bring a 4-way.
Could be worth picking up a pay-as-you-go sim for your cell phone, assuming you have a modern phone that does the European bands If that doesn't work, then a PAYG pnone can be had for less than £10. It will work out much cheaper than using your hotel phone or your domestic tariff.
Don't get a taxi into the city from the Airport, they will charge a small fortune. The train is the fastest way into the center of town from both Gatwick and Heathrow.
Consider flying Virgin Atlantic, the seat-back entertainment is the best there is on the trans-Atlantic route IMO.
Visit the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum, Allow a day for each, and keep clear of them on a wet Sunday as they are packed then (there are loads of free parking spaces in London on Sundays, so they make a good free, wet day out for everyone with kids, within an hours drive of them, and that's a lot of people) Allow at least a day each on these.
If you're on a tight budget, check the Museum web sites for indoor picnic areas. Many of them have these, so you can save a bunch of money by brining your own lunch to them.
I've not visited the Imperial War museum, but it's on my list to visit.
The London eye is always good, as long as it's not hammering with rain (which is often is)
If you want to get out of London then you can do day trips by rail as far as York as long as you travel week days. Canterbury or Oxford are good for a visit and you could use the coach to get there to save a few more quid.
If you've got the money, a day trip to Paris by train is also feasible (or stay there for a couple of nights)
Listed to the Spirit of the West song "Home for a Rest" (the Great Big Sea version works too) for some ideas on what to do when in England.
Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
If you decide to go to Greenwich, try taking the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) from near the Tower of London. They use computer-controlled, driverless trains and as it's mainly overground there are great views of Canary Wharf (the UK's financial centre).
The Docklands Light Railway, London, UK
If you're looking for a nice geeky dining experience, you should check out Inamo.
From the website:
inamo is a pioneering Oriental fusion restaurant and bar where the control of the dining experience is placed firmly in your hands. Our mission is to provide delicious cuisine with charming and timely service in a warm and vibrant atmosphere.
At the core of Inamo is our interactive ordering system. Diners place orders from an illustrated food and drinks menu projected on to their table surface. You'll set the mood, discover the local neighbourhood, and even order a taxi home. Our dedicated and friendly staff are always on hand to help with whatever you need.
While browsing the menu you can even see a projected preview of what the dish is going to look like.
Diamond Geezer is a blogger who is a London enthusiast and he has covered lots of the smaller museums and other off-the-beaten track attractions of London. He also has plenty of geeky London Transport facts.
tfl (Transport for London) is the website for travel information for London, and Traveline will give you public transport routes from anywhere to anywhere outside London. You certainly don't need to hire a car in London -- as well as the famous Tube, buses are widely used by everybody and have great coverage. You don't really need one out London either unless you want to visit really remote rural sites such as lonely beaches.
1) Hit seatguru.com and look up the plane you will be on. You'll be able to find out if you'll have a power port at your seat, and also learn about any issues with the seat you are on. My advice is to upgrade to Business Class if you can. Far more comfortable.
2) Bring your laptop. Your wifi will work out of the box, no adjustment necessary (I don't even think there are region codes on wireless, but I could be wrong), but pickup a travel plug. Your laptop's power brick should be autoswitching and will handle the 220V/50Hz power now problem, but check to be sure. Don't buy a new cord unless you are actually planning to move there.
3) Will you be traveling alone or with someone else? If you are with someone, get each of you a Pre-Paid phone. If you already have a GSM-Phone, check if it's a tri- or quad-band phone. You may be able to make do with just buying a Pre-Paid SIM and swapping them in. Either way, you can find many places to pick them up, including Vending Machines.
4) In the states, it seems like everyone takes Credit/Debit cards and nobody cares if it's Visa or Mastercard. Not so over here. I've seen quite a few ATMs that VISA only, so be sure to check. It helps to carry a few quid with you, just in case. FYI, Quid is slang for Pound(s).
5) Someone else said it, but remember to LOOK RIGHT when crossing the street. We usually look left first, and then walk into the street as we look right. This can be deadly in the UK.
6) Most of us are aware that not everyone loves us Yanks. The UK is pretty safe for Americans to travel, but be aware just the same. The movie Taken, while certainly overly-dramatized, makes a good point. Nobody thinks that it will be them. You don't need to be paranoid, just cautious.
7) Be nice. Try to prove the American stereotype wrong.
Lastly, 8) HAVE FUN. The place is kewl and they have some great beer. Definitely hit the pubs, even if you don't drink. They're an experience.
Don't get the one from 3 Mobile Broadband. It's dirt cheap - because the coverage is poor outside central cities.
"Cock Up Your Beaver" does not mean what you think. This sig is intended to clog filters and annoy do-gooders
I went to London for the first time a few months ago. I recommend leaving the laptop at home unless you absolutely need it. First off, hauling a laptop around is a hassle. Second, open access points were few and far between. I stayed in three different hotels and not one offered free wifi, they all charged about 10-15 pounds for a day's access. If you're there to sightsee definitely check out the Museum of Natural History, it's free and it's in an amazing building. Additionally I think the hidden geek treasure is the Grant Museum of Zoology. It's small but worth stopping in too if you like preserved stuff in jars :)
Also, Oyster card! Get one. I actually found that taking the double decker buses was a nice way to get around and see some of the city at the same time vs. the tube.
http://www.guster.net : Mmmmm fresh Guster.
Dude,
It ain't that hard.
1. Bring the laptop if you want, but internet cafes are all over London last time I was there. If you do bring the laptop, all you need is a plug adapter for your power adapter, if your power adapter handles 220 volts that's all you need.
2. Buy Lonely Planet and some of the other guides and read up before you go. Bring them with you. Find some things you want to see in Lonely Planet.
3. Ride the crazy double decker tourist buses first. This will help you learn the city.
4. Go see what you want.
5. If you like Indian/Pakistani cuisine - go to Brick Lane in East London. There are at least 30 curry restaurants on that one street.
I can't believe how much people over-analyze vacations. Just go and do it. Don't sweat the details. You can find the most amazing things just walking around London without any major plans or agendas.
BIG tip:
The area within the circle line of the Tube is smaller than you probably think. Evaluate the walking distance before you take the tube. Sometimes it's quicker to walk. Even when it's not, it's more pleasant and you see more cool stuff.
(Taking a meandering route from Marylebone to Charing Cross the other day, I stumbled upon the former home of both George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf, and also a 'little Venezuela' I never knew existed.)
This has nothing to do with technology. My only advice is this: don't bother with the British food. It's awful. But the Indian food is just as good as in India. So enjoy!
you have some kind of queer infatuation with "geekness". reading that question was painful to me. and only a moron would even ask such a stupid question, bring your damn laptop. holy crap.
The national gallery. At Trafalgar Square - fantastic place and free as all museums are. Works by Da Vinci, Raphael, Picasso etc.
I moved to London 18months from Australia and it's still one of my favourite places. The walk someone else suggested above from Westminster down along the river is also fantastic.
Don't bother with the Eye if you're keen on exploring the city by foot. The Eye is for people that need to see London in a day or two.
A weekend away somewhere in Europe you've always wanted to go is certainly possible to. Check out skyscanner.net for cheap flights.
Enjoy the uk! oh and the fact the pound is worthless these days ;)
A lot of the "adapters" you get to change European current to our 115 Volt tell you straight-up that they shouldn't be used for electronics. They aren't kidding.
The best answer is to buy (or build) a charger that accepts batteries and has a suitable adapter. I just bought one for $25 for my Palm PDA that came with about a dozen different output jacks. It accepts two AA batteries, which can be bought just about anywhere in the world.
Here's a couple of options for the home-built version:
http://www.aarondunlap.com/blog/1130885615 http://www.instructables.com/id/MintyBoost!---Small-battery-powered-USB-charger/
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
I was in London in June, and traveled without a laptop. I did have my trusty BlackBerry with me, complete with a UK SIM (http://www.callineurope.com/). I stayed in a nice enough hotel next to the Earl's Court subway station, and the wifi was upwards of $20/day. Bring a good small camera with an extra battery, and ample storage. Our battery ran out after about 6 hours.
While there I traveled on the subway (tubes) using my vistor's Oyster Card which made transit so much easier (http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/english/oystercard/product/oyster-card.htm). I did the London eye, which you do not have to book ahead (I only had to wait an hour after buying tickets in the height of tourist season). If it is cloudy, then wait for a sunny day to do the eye, otherwise it will be a waste.
I visited the Movieum, which is basically a display of movies and memorabilia from movies filmed in and around the UK. Think lots of Star Wars, Harry Potter and Dr Who. I went to the Harry Potter display at the Kings Cross station, which was neat. I also traveled slightly outside of London to the Wested Leather "factory", and got myself fitted for an indy jacket.
Stonehenge was good, but I was unable to get stone circle access which was disappointing, but if you get a chance, book one of the Stonehenge tours from London that includes access.
Visit local pubs around where you are staying. Talk to people. Take in the sights. Do a hop on/off tour.
If you really need Internet access, we had about a dozen internet cafes around our hotel where you pay by the hour. We only had to once to print off boarding passes.
Be your own tourist. Some people here are telling you to go museums and what not. Tourists will tell you what bus tour is best. Forget all that. If you like to walk around town, the city is certainly walk/tubeable, even in winter. If you don't like museums much here, you won't there. If you're in to history, you'll love the place. Things like the Tower of London are a thousand years old. If you like pubs, there are some great, historical ones a tube ride away (e.g. The Hollybush pub in Hampstead). Like any metropolitan city, there is great fashion, food, arts and entertainment.
Other things to be aware of. Hotel ratings are not like they are in the states. A three star hotel out there is awful with leaky plumbing and old furniture. Some of the hostels are actually quite nice though if you bring ear plugs. Look right before stepping in to the street. If you get a chance to drive and you like it out here, it is a blast out there! Oxford and Kent aren't far. Flights on discount airlines like Ryanair are cheap if you want to hop up to Scotland or Ireland. Don't over plan or overpack.
--Let's hack root on 127.0.0.1 --panZ
Request a topup card from the nearest starbucks, put £10 on it, register the card online in the store. Free wifi in every UK starbucks.
This is mainly personal preference, but I hate having my computer with me when I travel. I just leave it at home whenever possible. 1. Computer + hotel room (you're unlikely to be toting it around to museums and shopping) = good chance of theft (hope you have your drive encrypted) 2. Sometimes it's just good to get away from it all. 3. I've never had trouble finding an Internet cafe and grabbing a couple of minutes to check email and to let my family know I arrived safely. Bring a book (even two or three!) What better time to catch up on some great books, like SuperFreakanomics? Check out the museums in London. The best stuff stolen from all over the world! Don't miss Westminster Abbey. If you have the time, rent a car and take a trip out to Stonehenge. Enjoy your vacation and decompress!
I'd stay long enough to change planes and head for someplace nice. Try a cheap flight to Malta, or Cyprus. Life's too short to be in England in the winter.
If you've got a compatible GSM phone, bring it. You can buy PAYG sims in most supermarkets --- Tesco's starts at 5 UKP (with 10 UKP of calling time). You don't need ID. Just plug it in and you have a proper working phone with a UK number and no roaming charges. Prices are usually around 10-20 pence per minute, although calls to other mobile networks are sometimes much more expensive (30 to 40 pence per minute). And because Britain is a civilised country, you don't pay for incoming calls and your minutes don't expire, which means that having such a phone is a really cheap way of being contactable.
(Virgin Mobile also do GPRS data connections via PAYG at 30p a day, only on the days you use it, although you're heavily penalised if you go above 25MB a day. Not easy on GPRS.)
If you don't have a compatible GSM phone you can normally buy one for stupidly small amounts of money. Again, at Tesco's they start at about 10 UKP for a LG GB102 with T-Mobile PAYG SIM. It's crap, but it'll let you do voice calls and text messages. (Yes, it's precisely the kind of simple phone that Anonymous Coward keeps complaining about not being able to get.)
Remember, this is Europe; everyone has a phone, everyone uses text messaging, and if you're meeting friends here they'll be expecting you to have one.
I have always believed that I would never want the ability to block somebodies post. That is, up until I read a few of your posts. Now, I desperately want the ability to block just your posts. It seems like it is about the only way to keep from wasting my time, and later wanting my time back.
...visit the Falkirk Wheel in Sterling, Scotland. It's quite a feat of engineering, and thanks to Archimedes' principle, it takes very little power to turn it since the two boat slips always weight exactly the same regardless if one has a huge boat and the other is empty!
Of course Edinburgh and Inverness are beautiful in their own right, so a jaunt through Scotland wouldn't hurt.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
Bring a laptop just for the sake of having good movies to watch on the flight. Flying sucks if you havent got a laptop with you.
Also it will make you life easier in London as you can look up tube journey and google maps etc to find your way around.
Go get your picture taken with the Babbage Difference Engine, or a host of other analog computers.
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
Make sure you bring lots of "Canada" stickers for your luggage. Remember to spit on the ground if anyone mentions either President Bush and if anyone asks your national anthem is "Oh Canada". In a pinch the Queen's birthday is April 21 and just get pissed off if some one brings up Tony Blair.
Dear Geek,
I recently traveled to Spain for 2 weeks and left my laptop at home and left my iPod buried in my carry-on. There was so much to see, eat and do that I didn't even think about missing it...
Oh, you said England? Bloody hell, bring your laptop and a few spares.
Recently I just got back from Spain with a brief layover in London. I did take my laptop and would recommend that you do if you want it. I faced similar problems when I get to Spain that you will face when you get to London here is what I found -The plug is different, the one in London is larger than the standard US plug with a different configuration. This mean that you will need a plug converter whether your laptop will work on the other voltage -You laptop may work on the 220. Look at the power supply for your laptop, you are looking for something that says 100-250V. The voltage could be somewhere between 220-240 if so than it will except the voltage, and you can only use a plug changer, if not you will need a voltage changer -Also check if it says something like freq 50/60 hz, most likely if it has the 220 voltage rating than it will have this but you need to check, I am unsure whether it is 50 or 60 so it working with both will be sure that you will not blow it up. -As for the wireless code, you should not have to change it, the entire time that I was in Spain I was able to get on the wireless with no problem -I would suggest taking it for offloading pictures. While we were in Spain we came back with 600 some pictures -I would suggest Skype if you can find a place with fast enough internet. It will save you a ton of money on calls back to the states. By the US only package and it will allow you as many calls as you want I work in computers and electronics as my profession, with that said the advice given above should be left as that. If you are still unsure please consult your owners manual and other qualified personnel. I hold no liability on any information given above.
The Science Museum gets my top vote - I love it. You can see Babbage's difference engine, for example, or the NeXT cube that the WWW was born on.
If you can afford a day then get on a train to Cambridge - there is a bus from there to the Duxford Imperial War Museum. There are a lot of wonderful aircraft (e.g. see the TSR2) and there is a land warfare exhibition too which is enormous. It's a lot of travelling but I loved it.
There is a very good RAF museum that's closer at Hendon which is good if you can't make the longer trip.
At Greenwich (gren-idge) you can see the observatory at 0 degrees longitude. The main geek interest here is seeing how the longitude problem was solved - I thought it was a wonderful story with a great moral for computer scientists and engineers about complexity.
The Imperial War Museum in Lambeth is also pretty good.
But it's worth catching a play or some music because those are the things which are best here.
This is all just my personal opinion.
Don't call it 'Merry old England'. Seriously. There is a stereotype that of Americans being ignorant of anything outside their own country and who think that England is as portrayed in US TV shows such as the episodes of Friends and Bones which were set here. Using the phrase 'Merry old England' makes you sound like you conform to that and will not make you any friends here. If you're not already aware, spend ten minutes reading something like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uk so that you realise that England is not the same as the UK and that not all British people are English. People from Scotland are no more English than someone from New York state is a Texan.
I've no idea what you mean about wireless region codes. You don't need to change your power cord, just buy an adapter. (Look around a bit before buying, it's the sort of thing for which you can pay wildly varying amounts.) The place you're staying probably has wireless, though some places charge ridiculous amounts. There is no shortage of Starbucks.
Tipping people is not the norm.
The Tube will get you pretty much anywhere you need to go within London.
Make sure you look to the right then to the left when crossing roads.
Make sure you check out the Lloyds building and the Gherkin
1. Their food sucks. Really. Go to the typical foreign food restaurants. or MacDonalds.
2. A macintosh is a raincoat.
3. A bloke is just a guy.
4. They say 'bloody' like Americans say 'f|_|ck'. Especially 'bloody heavens!'. A belligerant God, they have.
5. Never walk with a sandwich in a paperbag in the tubes. police shoots first and check if you are a terrorist later. chances increases two orders of magnitude if you look vaguely middle-eastern, and five if you are Brazilian.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The Thames Barrier is something cool to see, too. It's on the DLR at Pontoon Dock station.
The British Museum is awesome, but it's easy to OD and get into info overload. There is sooo much there.
If you like theatre at all, there is a TKTS discount booth in Leicester Square that will have same-night tickets for almost anything playing in the West End, particularly on weeknights. Plus the Southbank Centre has some good concerts.
The "Dressed to Kill" exhibit at the Tower of London is good, if it's not super crowded and you're into history much. Kew Gardens was a nice relaxing afternoon, too.
Get a visitor's Oyster card before you go, and save yourself some hassle. In the US you can get them online from BritRail or VisitBritain. And if you're going to be there for two weeks, get on a train and head out to other places.
And I took my netbook, to save pictures off my camera and do some school work. The Starbucks in London (they're even more numerous than in NYC, I think) have wireless that isn't free, but is at least reasonable and you can buy minutes that can be used over multiple sessions.
I love London. While the Underground is super easy and goes all over the place, just walking is fascinating. There is such a mix of old and new architecture, and cool little things tucked all over the place.
As many airplanes as you can shake a stick at.
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/index.cfm
If you want the authentic, non-tourist experience, then you must do your best to blend in! For instance, you might pick out some nice attire like this:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00276/flag185x_276439a.jpg
And since you already speak English, you may as well dress it up a bit as well. Practice your favorite British accents so that they won't think you're a "Yank." Sometimes it's even useful to create your own blend of British accents so that they won't know exactly where you're from. And never miss an opportunity to say "Guvna!"
Also, taking a page from the "Friends" TV show, it often helps to "get into" the map. The roads and walkways are somewhat tricky I have heard. But failing your ability to get two-dimensional into a map, never be afraid to ask a local. Once again, using your British accent so they will not think you're a Yank and give you bad directions.
A good quality umbrella - but you're from Washington State - you already know all about rain :-D
take a brand new netbook instead..... be easier and faster than cleaning up yours for future confiscation.
At Greenwich (gren-idge) you can see the observatory at 0 degrees longitude.
Not to mention being able to stand with one foot in the West and one in the East.
Also while we're on the subject of pronunciations, Leicester is pronounced "Less-ter" - useful if you're trying to find your way to Leicester Square (in the West End, where a lot of the theatres are) for instance.
It's official. Most of you are morons.
G.O. is really stunning and worth visiting. Go in the afternoon, then take one of the fast boats up the Thames from there to Central London as the sun is setting. Really very excellent, but make sure you know the boat times in advance. Visit LMNT in Hackney (http://www.lmnt.co.uk/) - It's a crazy restaurant and you'll see a different part of London. You could have gone to White Mischief (http://www.whitemischief.info/) for some Steampunk goodness, but it looks like it's not on while you're there so how about The Horse Hospital (http://www.thehorsehospital.com/). Plenty of interest to see there. Don't bother with a laptop, there's too much else to be spending your time on.
check on http://dorkbotlondon.org/ if there is an event during your visit. It can be very geeky. and the beer is usually cheap.
As you're from Washington Sates the weather will make you feel at home.
Ignore ill-informed babble about crime; you're safer in London than any major metropolitan area in the USA, and if you are a victim of crime it is very unlikely to involve a firearm. Obviously act like a rube and flash expensive gear on the street in dodgy area and you only have yourself to blame if something gets snatched.
Going to London for geeky high-tech is a bit like going to Mountain View for its long and rich history... dumb. London is London, Paris is Paris, don't expect them to not be what they are and you will have more fun than otherwise.
Musts would be;
1/ the complex of three museums (Natural History, Science, V&A) round Exhibition Road (South Kensington tube (tube = metro). All free.
2/ the British Museum (Tottenham Court Road tube); not geeky but truely wonderful. We stole bits from every country and culture and have them on show in London. Only reason the pyramids aren't there is they were too big to ship back. Travel the Middle East and you will encounter labels in museums saying "this is a copy, the original is in the British museum".
3/ Camden Lock (Camden Town tube); fantastic and sprawling market catering for every fashion and tribe, from ethnic hippy dippy through Gothic-Lolita-Punk through Rawk en Rowl to Cyber Punk. Good Monday - Saturday but best on Saturday (although busy the people who go are half the fun).
4/ Portobello (Notting Hill or Ladbroke Grove tube); street market on Saturday; ranging from tatty "London" gifts to antiques, and again, big on the street scene.
5/ The cluster of stuff you can see if you go to Parliament Square tube; Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben (yes, that's the bells name, the tower is called St. Stephen's); over the river you have the London Eye and a half-hour walk (you're from Washington State so can probably still walk) to the Tate Modern art gallery (in re-puposed old power station), back over the river on the Millenium Bridge (the one that got it in the neck in the opening sequence of the latest Harry Potter) to St. Paul's Cathedral. You can also walk 15 mionutes from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square (Nelson's Column) seeing Downing Street (Prime Minister's house) on the way.
6/ Covent Garden, tube of the same name. Lots of shops and street theatre.
7/ The parks; when you need to chill, enjoy Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James's or Regent's Park.
8/ Boat trip to Hampton Court (Henry VIII country pad), or by tube if you don't have an entire day to sit on the boat there and back. Other than the London Eye this is the only place on this list you have to pay for.
9/ Tower of London. Again, you pay for it (£20 or so) but you come from somewhere where a bulding earlier than 1900 is OLD; this place was started shortly after 1066, and there are Roman ruins nearby over 2,000 years old.
Enjoy it, it's a great city.
Bring your old inexpensive laptop or a brand new Netbook :-)
Buy yourself an Oyster Card for travels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_card
You NEED to visit Bletchley Park
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bletchley_Park
Take the train from London - 80 kilometers to the north.
Go to Google Maps and print out a page with Bletchley and Bletchley Park
so you can find your way with ease.
Souvenirs for London and Bletchley can be bought in the shop where you buy your £10 ticket valid for 12 months.
You might also see Milton Keynes while you are only kilometers away anyway.
Take the bus and enjoy the park landscape.
Highly recommended:
The Royal Observatory Greenwich
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Observatory,_Greenwich
Take the Docklands Rail and a local bus to get back and forth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docklands_Light_Railway
You want to see London above ground as well.
The Oyster Card will prove to be an excellent solution
when you crisscross London.
Visit a Church:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wren
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral
Buy yourself a Filofax - A souvenir for life :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filofax
Print out a comprehensive list of all the good advise and bring it along.
Before you travel home take the Subway to Brixton and buy yourself :-)
a suitable suitcase and some British Made cheap perfume
Bring or buy a cheap GSM phone and buy a Prepaid card for it. :-)
Might com in handy
He who is tired of London is tired of life :-)
Happy Trails :-)
Cambridge is a fascinating place, especially for USian geeks. One can walk down an apparently ordinary street and see a small brass sign on an otherwise anonymous wall that notes that Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin there, Crick and Watson (the order is reversed in the UK from that usually heard in the US) discovered the structure of DNA there, or any number of other fundamental discoveries. Places that would be roped off from the masses in the US are just everyday parts of life in Cambridge, the epitome of British understatement.
Remember, English food is bland, so if you get "pub lunch" you will need to cover everything with lots of English mustard. Better to go for some Indian meals, but even there Englishness has blanded everything down. Ask for a "Vindaloo" or better yet a "Bangalore Phal" and make sure you get it extra spicy. As for drink, there are parts of England that make a speciality out of cider (Sumerset and Herefordshire in particular) but anything called "scrumpy" (more natural, unprocessed cider) is fun for a jug or two.
Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
A day trip to Edinburgh is just about practical (I did one earlier this year) if you fly there and flying is MUCH cheaper than the train! EasyJet fly their from London, probably other discount airlines do too.
Week ticket might work better, but loses flexibility (for example, if you want to go to somewhere like the Royal Air Force museum at Hendon (well worth it) you'll need to have a zone 3 ticket if you go the weekly pass route. Also, depending on where you're staying in London, you might not need to use public transport every day. You see a lot more of a city when you walk!
Also.. Don't go to Stonehenge. Long way to travel and far too expensive. If you're driving in the UK ever, you can drive past it on the A303, park somewhere past the official car park, walk back and see it for free from the fence. IMHO what you get when you pay to go in isn't much better.
Other day trips that are worthwhile if you've got time include day coach trips to Oxford. There are various bus companies offering cheap return trips to Oxford from central London. Oxford Tube are one, and judging by the number of their busses I've overtaken driving up the M40 in the past they're probably quite frequent. There must be other companies too doing this.
Jolyon
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
The first thing you should do is get Verizon Wirelss for your laptop, then call and make sure to get the 0.02 *CENTS* / kB (not the other rate) plan, then surf away to your hearts content.
As for geeky things to do, sit in your room and surf the web. Less geeky but still geeky might be to walk along Tottenham Court road (next to Oxford Street) and browse the computer shops. You can also bring your Anonymous mask and protest in front of the scientology center at the end of the road. The Trocadero next to Picadilly Circus houses Funland and various other attractions. Hamelys is also nearby. Further afield there might be a trade show on in Earl's Court worth visiting, then you have the Greenwich Martime museum, the HMS Belfast, the London Eye etc. Getting drunk is also a popular option.
Also remember that the TSA may search your laptop on reentry to the United States... (or is that only for us "foreigners"?)
(So if you don't bring your laptop they can't search it.)
tfl website,is the best way to plan an A to B journey.
Night buses (signified by an N infront of the name) run 0100-0500 and don't always run the same route as the day version
Many bus stops have maps in them that make finding the bus you want easy
An oyster card with a week pass, is going to cost a bit upfront but will save money if you use the tube 3/4 times a day
IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
* Get yourself an Oyster Card - you can get one from the tube stations at Heathrow Airport and are valid on most public transport in London including all Underground (tube) trains, all local (red) buses in London, some "overground" (i.e. not tube) trains (from 2nd Jan 2010 almost all trains in London will take it) and some river-boat services (the river boats are not cheap but can be a great way to see the sights along the river). You have to pay a £3 deposit plus whatever credit you'll want to start with, but you can get that back plus any unused credit by surrending the card at a tube station when you leave.
* If you're flying into Heathrow and you don't have too much luggage, then the tube to central London is by far the cheapest option. There are also two "overground" rail services, the non-stop Heathrow Express (15 mins to central London) and the stops-at-local-stations Heathrow Connect (25 mins to central London). Both are rather more expensive than the tube, the Express especially so, and neither take Oyster. There used to be an Airbus services from Heathrow to central London but that stopped a few years ago. National Express run some coach (long distance bus) services to/from central London that call at Heathrow but they will be the slowest option and you may need to book your tickets in advance.
* If flying in to Gatwick, then your best choice is rail to London. There are two services: Gatwick Express is a bit more expensive but faster and has more luggage space. Southern is likely to be a bit cheaper and not quite as fast. Be aware that although the two services are run by the same company, tickets on one may not be valid on the other. Neither will take Oyster as Gatwick is well outside the city boundary of Greater London. In the unlikey event you fly into Stansted (which doesn't have many flights to/from North America) then the same applies to the Stansted Express rail link. There are cheapish coach links from Gatwick and Stansted but they will be a lot slower.
* Wherever you fly into, DON'T take a taxi into London unless you really need to and have LOTS of money! Having said that, if you're not sure how to get to a particular place, London cabbies have to spend several years learning "The Knowledge" and will always be able to get you to where you want to go, for a price.
* I second the motion to go to Bletchley Park. This is outside of London but only about 45 minutes from Euston railway terminus by train. It is an absolute must see for any geek: not only does it have working replicas of the Turing "Bombe" and Colossus machines, but it has subsidiary museums on site of computing and other technology.
* Amberley Chalk Pits museum in Sussex might be of interest to you too, with displays of agricultural and industrial technology, transport and communications (TV and radio museums). It's about an hour and a half from Victoria railway terminus.
* If you're interested in transport, then the London Transport museum at Covent Garden in the centre of London is a must see.
* If you do travel outside of London by train, then unless you're going long distance (more than a couple of hours from London) you won't need t
Not sure if you are into military history, but if you are visit the Imperial War museum as well as the "blitz" experience in whitehall. Have a good time
We're not entirely a backwater, and loads of public (BT) telephone kiosks now also provide a (paid for) wireless hotspot via BT Openzone, which if you have a partner account you may not even have to pay for (or at least get it invoiced home...)
Stonehenge and Bath are day trips out of London (you can go via tour bus if you don't have a car). If you have an interest in history and neo-lithic and Roman engineering it's well worth a trip.
[Insert pithy quote here]
Details here - it will make your use of public transport (bus, tube etc) faster and cheaper - you just touch it to open the barriers. Oh, and leave the laptop, there are plenty of internet cafes.
Do those still roam on Orange's 2G network when out of range of 3's 3G network? We bought one for our office (in a 2G area, 2G was fine for us) and then 3 binned the roaming agreement. I'd heard that they'd reinstated it though.
I think you are mixing up WiFi with GSM. There is no need to change anything on WiFi, but if you have a GSM phone it may well not work as almost everywhere else uses different frequencies to the US. In the UK we use 900 and 1800MHz, whereas the US uses 850 and 1900MHz.
the Londonist has a nice free wifi map available: http://londonist.com/2007/05/free_wifi_in_lo.php
- Anything to declare?
- Yeah, don't go to England.
If your geekiness extends to security related subjects then I recommend the Thames House tour which starts from the third floor reception at around 10am each day. It's a pretty long tour so you may want bring some lunch in a rucksack and camera &/or a video camera is essential.
No need to book in advance as not a lot of tourists know about the tour - when I went the receptionist on the ground floor didn't even know about it and I had to kick up a right fuss before they gave in and let me up to where it started!
Have a fun trip!
Some London travel tips for American geeks:
When deciding whether to take your laptop, consider also the need to have a British power plug adapter, which is designed for arc welding and heavier than the average netbook. On the upside, you can put it in a sock and use it as a weapon should you choose to join the locals in a round of football hooliganism.
As an American geek, you've seen lots of girls on the Internet. In Soho you can see them standing in doorways, inviting you in for a drink. They are not for you. They come equipped with bodyguards who will offer to not break your legs in exchange for your ATM card.
Wi-fi is everywhere, and you can buy access from BT Openzone. However, assume that British intelligence is logging your keystrokes. This is not an invasion of privacy, as they already were watching you from the camera you didn't notice.
If offered something that looks like a sausage and is called a pudding, don't touch it. The tube contains floor-sweepings from a slaughterhouse, mostly sawdust and blood and spilled entrails. However, the "scotch egg" is quite edible, basically a boiled egg wrapped in sausage, breaded, and deep fried, so you know it's good for you.
As an American you are probably unaccustomed to public transit, so you will be amazed to discover people riding quaint little trains that can take you all over the city underground. They are full of people reading something called "books" that are made out of paper, sort of a pre-technology Kindle. When not reading books, the locals read something called a "newspaper." A major continuing story is the surprising discovery every day of a large-breasted woman, usually featured on the third page. You can skip the rest of the paper, as it's completely fictional.
About the time your biological clock tells you it's time to wake up, the local time will be past midnight and the underground transit system will shut down. Avoid the night buses. They differ from the ones in Harry Potter only in their inclusion of large numbers of drunken football hooligans. Just walk. You can actually walk halfway across central London in 20 minutes. It is good practice for the transit strike that is bound to be called during at least one day of your visit.
Wikitravel is your friend. While you're at it, become Wikitravel's friend and contribute.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
You'll get to see the rain and, if you're really lucky, sleet (that's what they call snow in London).
DO NOT TAKE YOUR LAPTOP I'm an IT manager with 15 years experience and work for a company with global operations and travel often. I was also in the USAF and traveled to Europe (primarily Germany) many times. That having been said, the laptop is more hassle than its worth. Unless you have a real-time business need, leave it behind. Its a hassle while traveling and you'll worry about it constantly not to mention the extra bag. Bring a camera and maybe a digital voice recorder or a movie camera. Enjoy a the vacation for what it is and not worry about answering e-mails. Leave the US behind and just enjoy Europe.
Ditch the laptop, buy a surfboard and head down the coast. You need a holiday not more geek time.
Oyster card saves you loads, and you can get your £3 deposit back at the end.
The express trains from the airports are a bit of a rip off. You can usually find a standard service that will only take 10 mins longer.
Walking with an A-Z is highly recommended too. Lot's of things are close together.
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The UK has a good London - North train network. For about £10 - £15 you can get a ticket from London to Leeds and vice versa, and it only takes 2hrs. If you stay there for a day you've got the Royal Armouries and then you can go to York for a day which is also full of stuff to do.
The Royal Armouries is a nice addition to doing the imperial war museum because it covers the areas the war museum doesn't having everything from stone age weaponry to samurai weaponry and armour to modern day sniper rifles.
If you like military history then the two complement each other amazingly well!
The great thing about travel in the UK is it's so small, if you go to London then you're at most only about 5 hrs from the furthest reaches of the country by train.
If you must bring technology(computer) i would suggest that you buy a netbook, more portable that traditional lappy, and less worries if it's damaged/stolen. Don't forget to buy an adapter from a suitcase/luggage store, they're pretty cheap, unless you buy one at the airport. If you gorget to buy an adapter state-side, most hotels will have them for rent or courtesy loans. Try to do visit/participate in very Londonesque tourist activities, i.e. riding the tube, eating fish and chips, riding a double decker, ordering a pint, taking picts of the beefeaters, walking across london bridge, etc. take lots of photos and post them on flickr/picasa.
three can keep a secret, if two are dead - benjamin franklin
Funny you should ask. I'm from Chicago, IT geek by trade, decided to spend the last two weeks of December in London. I also like to at least try to do a bit of extra good during the holidays, which didn't sit too well with giving myself a rather expensive vacation. I solved that personal dilemna by volunteering with www.crisis.org.uk, a homeless aid group based in London. For me travel has always been more about the people you meet than the sightseeing. I can tell you from personal experience, there's no better, faster way to make lifelong friends than to work with strangers on a good cause.
Nah, the only decent americans are not over this time of year. Come may-june, you see them in europe. The rest of the year you get their children and grand-children. You can keep them.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
It's really not that much of a hassle to bring your laptop. I found that I never actually needed to change my wifi card region in London and Nuremberg when I was there over the summer, and since your laptop can most likely handle 240V already, you just need a very small power adapter. The one I used was just slightly more than one cubic inch and could convert between any combination of British, European, US, and what I think was Australian power. Shouldn't cost you much either.
I don't have time to check all the comments, so I don't know whether this has been mentioned already, but unless the policy has changed recently, British airport security, at least at Heathrow, will only allow you to take one carry-on item through security. All other places I have been, you can take one carry-on bag plus a laptop bag, but that has not been true in London since their brush with terrorists a couple of years back.
You'll be able to fly *to* London with two items, but you won't be able to return with two items, or even continue on to another British destination with two items.
So plan accordingly. If you are going to take your laptop, don't plan on bringing another carry-on item. At least not if you want to bring both back as carry-on.
Dude,
leave the laptop. you have two weeks in a new country / continent, why sit down with a laptop? If you want to email or blog, there are many internet kiosk/ cafe type places.
Seriously, leave it.
Two weeks is too long in London. Give yourself a day to get over jetlag, and 1-2 days to cover the major attractions. Then take the next ten days to travel around, and come back to london to a final sweep of interesting places, and get ready for the flight.
You can grab a train to Paris (France), and spend a day or two there - get another country in. Get a flight to Dublin, Cork or Belfast (45 mins) Yet another country.
I was traveling from the US. Here are a few things I learned that I don't see already mentioned above:
-Wireless is everywhere and advertised as "free," but typically requires that you have a cell account with either "Orange" or "O2," the two major cell players there. After struggling to find truly free wifi I went ahead and paid for a one month subscription with Boingo. I was actually using my iphone (sim password protected to prevent cell usage) so the cost was $7.99, but for a laptop the charge is $9.99 for one month. Even if you won't be there for a month this is a relatively small amount to pay for wireless access all over London. There is no contract and I canceled the account as soon as I got home.
-If you want to call back to the US I suggest Skype. For under $3 you can make unlimited phone calls back to the US for a month. Again, you can cancel this subscription once you return home.
-Get Tube and Bus Maps! Despite popular opinion the tube system is clean and safe and the double-decker buses are fun to tour around in. You can go to a bus or tube ticket counter and get day passes for $20US (You pay in British Pounds, but I'm converting) that let you use the mass transit system in the downtown London area all day. Check with the ticket agent to find out if there are cheaper or extended offers for multi-day passes.
- Be wary of paying for a "London Bus Tour" I took one of these for 20BP and didn't realize the buses stop running at 4:30 PM. I ended up getting stranded outside of Buckingham Palace and had to pay tube fare back to where I started. These tours aren't a bad idea if you don't know where everything is or don't want to have to worry about navigating the public transit system to see all of the sights.
As for things to do, well, I think I either did or saw everything worth seeing. If you are a history buff you can spend literally months reading all of the historical markers throughout the city. For reference my list of must-see locations can be found here (via a facebook photo album) where I took pictures of my daughter's toy giraffe everywhere I went: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=30617&id=1629570049
Don't know - there was one specific location we wanted, it was in the coverage map, but did not work even on 3G, still less HSDPA. No HSDPA was a show-stopper for us, so we returned it and cancelled the contract. [here was nothing wrong with the device or the install - it worked fine in other useless locations].
"Cock Up Your Beaver" does not mean what you think. This sig is intended to clog filters and annoy do-gooders
England you say? Don't forget your toothbrush :)
TFL: Tube for London, aka the subway.
In fact, it stands for Transport For London, and is the name of the organization that runs the Tube, as well as the buses, etc.
you come off as a complete douchebag because of your obvious lack of knowledge of the world outside the usa. asking stupid questions that make it obvious you think the world outside the usa is a backwater just makes me want to punch you in the face. take the two weeks off and do nothing but read up on te places you'll go NEXT TIME you take time off. going in your current state is just going to help hold up the stereotype that americans are all ignorant douchebags
Ah yes!
Woosh!
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
While you are in London, you will most likely end up using the tube. You will see that there is the normal service area and then the extended area. in the extended area is Camden Town, might not be your cup of tea but there are some good clubs, pubs and interesting little shops. There was a fire there a few years back so I don't know what made it through. There are some places you want to avoid, and it will be pretty obvious you don't belong. Bullox to everyone that says the UK doesn't have good food. Pub food rocks, hunters chicken especially, also if you like Thai food there is usually a lot of that to be found.
However, the idea that a majority drive on the right may be doomed in the long term. Much of Africa, Japan, the UK and India drive on the left. (Australians and Maltese famously drive in the shade.) A lot will depend on who (if...) develops a car economy first, China or India.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
While RFC1149 does not specify the form of avian carrier for your IP datagrams, traditionally pigeons have been used. However, being in the land of King Arthur, Camelot, etc, perhaps you should consider swallows? higher airspeed, reputedly, and they can grip the datagram by the husk.
While drinking alcohol on public transport and smoking in train stations is technically illegal, if you smoke at the far end of (overground) platforms, away from covered areas and aren't a rowdy dick on public transport then people won't say anything. If you smoke, carry an empy pack as scumbags are always asking for one. It's a lot easier to pull out an empty pack and say "sorry mate, this is my last one" than telling them to fuck off. Don't ever go to TGI Fridays or Angus Steakhouses. If you really must go to a place like that then go to Frankie & Bennie's. But don't. Only go to Camden market if you really must. It's apparently a massive tourist pull but it's only worth going to if you want (usually fake) drugs or overpriced tshirts with "witty" slogans or the name of a crap band on them. If you're skeptically inclined then you can't go far wrong with London Skeptics in the pub. It's held in a Wetherspoons pub so the drinks are reasonably priced for the location and the talks and company are of a high standard. http://london.skepticsinthepub.org/ Generally chain pubs are awful but I highly recommend vodka revolution if you see one. Of the many deli chains Eat is probably your best bet but it can be a little pricey. If you're around the Covent Garden area I highly recommend a vegetarian restaurant/cafe called Food For Thought. It gets mixed press but I find it to be cheap and the food of a decent enough quality.
Gah, early morning brain fail.
More on topic, revising your vocabulary might be useful to avoid some misunderstandings.
Oh, yeah: If you're at all a music (or physics) geek, I think Salisbury has a 64' rank on its pipe organ. I might be making that up, though. Have a great trip.
This is a troll, right? I live in the area, and believe me, I do not go to either in December. Bath has one of the most polluted city centers in the UK, recently spoiled by a ghastly US-style shopping mall, and Stonehenge is the most dismal reason for getting rid of the Environment Agency quango you can imagine; a long history of mismanagement at the greedy hands of the Heritage Industry. They are tolerable from May to October, but that's about it.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
don't forget to stare at it. The laugh a little bit. They love it. They also consider a sign of respect to photograph policemen working at public buildings.
Ah, pre-christmas in London. Oxford and Regent Streets window displays and in particular "Liberty" (http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/content/find_us/content), buy some chestnuts (they may or may not be roasted on an open fire) wander around looking at the poor folk stressing about crowds/shopping. Marvel at the crowds. Many, many Christmas drinks to be had at that time of year, try "The City" almost any evening, many pubs many suits many parties.
Don't bother with your laptop. Frankly I wouldn't even bother with a camera, just get a PAYG camera phone on your way in and if you need more microSD cards as you go along just buy 'em. Besides I would lean towards searching out the kind of fun for which you would prefer for there to be no photgraphic evidence at all, there is a fair bit of that to be had in London.
Don't know how old you are, but Shoreditch (Cargo Bar, anything at all on the Shoreditch High Street) for the young, Kensington and Chelsea for the glam (or wanna be :-), Soho for the mixed. Covent Garden and Leceister Sq for the tourists. Other locales; Islington, Clerkenwell, Borough (try the markets on the weekend). And that's without even leaving the "Circle Line" (much).
See some stand up comedy (http://www.99clubcomedy.com/home.html). Try a different countries cuisine every night. Pick at least one Fine Dining restaurant if you can, the best are superb. Definitely go clubbing, if that's not your thing look for some live bands. Grab a TimeOut magazine and just pick stuff.
London can be really "isolating", but if you make the effort and just try and connect with people that are doing the kind of things you want to do, you'll find them (mainly the foreigners :-) really welcoming. I find that during the pre christmas time people are much more friendly so it should be easy enough to do.
"The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging."
Just been to Slovakia and mine was connected to Orange's network all the time I was there, so I guess they must have reinstated it
Real happiness lies in the completion of work using your own brains and skills.
> Where are you staying? If it's a secure place, then bring your laptop
"secure place" - this *is* London you know? We have cameras galore. All pointing at you and all accompanied by signs which say they are for "your security and safety".
Secure place, indeed.
The thing to remember is that although their language and culture are similar to ours, there are lots of little differences that will trip you up. Do your research. It's getting a little dated now, but there was a wonderful documentary series on English life a few years back that will really help you get a feel for the place.
And don't forget that you'll need to install the Region 2 distro of your OS, or your laptop won't work over there. To play it safe you might also want to pack a PAL-to-NTSC converter for the display.
Chelloveck
I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
Go see the Harrison clock. It is not in London but close (I think). Not the Longitude clocks (which are cool too) but the all wood clock in the top of stables at Brocklesby Hall. Here is a pdf on the referb... http://www.bhi.co.uk/hj/April05AOM.pdf
- !Anonymous Coward
If you get a chance you could try and see a bit more of the UK than just London. The Lake District is very nice and I hear that the small village of Cockermouth is very popular right now.
That's Orange in Slovakia. It doesn't mean that roaming on Orange in the same country would work.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
As someone who permanently moved from the US to London, I can definitely concur with everyone recommending the Science Museum. In fact, a few years ago they had a special exhibition about video games, where they had for display and playing every console from the original Magnavox Odyssey to the brand new (at the time) Wii and Playstation 3. And a few arcade and Japanese games (train driving simulators, Robot driving simulators that had more controls than a A380) as well! If you aren't traveling with children, definitely go to the science museum on Wednesday evenings, as it's an adults night with activities, open bar, slient discos, etc...
One thing I would recommend that hasn't been discussed here yet is the Dana Centre, which is part of the Science Museum but organises some very interesting talks and events. For example, they had an evening where a scientist gave a lecture about human attraction and mating, then followed it up with speed dating. It's very fun and educational, and popular with Londoners as well as tourists.
Instead of a laptop, why not bring with a tire and some gas, and give them a hand with those speed cameras?
UTF-8: There and Back Again
If you are being cost aware, or just prefer to use public transportation, get an Oyster Card. An Oyster card is a prepaid fair card for the Underground and buses. It costs a £3 deposit, plus any fair you choose to put on it. The system automatically calculates the cheapest ticket combination for whatever travel you do. Therefore if you only use it for a single trip in day, it debits for that trip, however if you use it several times, it debits up to the cost of a day pass which is much cheaper than single tickets. When you leave you can return the card and get refunded the deposit and any fair on the card. If you are fly in and out of Heathrow Airport, there are kiosks in the airport for the cards. If you are flying into Gatwick, you can take the train from the airport to Victoria Station which will also have kiosks for the Oyster card.
Also don't bother using currency exchanges. No one ever seems to change enough, and if you change too much you can get burnt converting the extra back. You can use your bank's ATM card in the cash machines here. Don't take out too much cash, just a little pocket money for the occasional taxi or ice cream cone. For all other purchases I recommend using a credit card for purchases for the fraud protection (usual warnings about knowing your financial limits apply.) Some ATM, Debit, and Credit card providers block foreign transactions by default. You can usually contact them and explain you will be traveling to specific countries on specific days and will remove the block for you. This usually isn't a problem in the UK, but its worth checking anyway. Definitely check with your banks if you plan on making a side trip to France; everybody seems to block French transactions.
Slashdot is an anagram for Has Dolts, and I am Dolt number 468543
A-Z as in A-to-Z as in A-to-Zed (leave 'Zee' at home.)
.. your laptop/notebook will be accessed when you travel BACK, not when you go to the UK.
Oh, and make sure you don't look like a Brazilian electrician when you travel on the London Underground, it's bad for your health. Speaking of health, smoking is banned on the London Underground but you'll see plenty people smoke as the worst that can happen is a gazillion repeats of the "smoking is forbidden" tape unless you are unlucky and the Transport police is around (see previous remark about not looking like a Brazilian electrician).
Personally I wouldn't bother with a laptop - plenty of cybercafes, and what you don't have cannot be stolen. Take a book on the Underground so you have something to do when it gets stuck. You could also amuse yourself with collecting all the Underground brochures and see which one mentions that you're entitled to a refund if you're 15 minutes delayed. I'm going to ruin that for you: the answer is "none" because they have been hiding that since it was introduced 12 years ago. You will also discover the system is saturated with people who tend to miss their annual baths, and it spreads viruses faster than Microsoft Outlook. Always wash your hands..
Make sure you go to the Science Museum - actually, you can lose whole days in there - South Kensington station. That also used to be the station to exit if you were planning to meet Mark Shuttleworth, but Canonical now has offices along the Thames instead.
Oh, and in case no-one has mentioned it - it rains quite often in London. This means taxis disappear and it gets even busier in the Underground.
Insert
Presumably you want to experience the place to which you are traveling. To that end, get off the internet, and leave your phone at home too. The "real world" will be scary at first, but you'll like it.
TFL: Tube for London, aka the subway
Transport for London. They run the tube and regulate the buses, taxis, road, river taxi, etc.
The tube's only a nickname, its really called the London Undergound.
There is nothing to do in London
Not sure if anyone else has suggested it (probably but just in case...) I would HIGHLY suggest going to visit the Cabinet War Rooms where Churchhill and his advisers planned WWII. It's pretty fascinating in general and if you're a history nerd at all it'll be doubly so. I've been there just about everytime I've been in london for any period of time and it never get's old. The last time I was there (back in 2003) they were in the midst of a major expansion of the areas that would be open to the public so it's probably bigger and more interesting now than it was when I was last there. It's not hugely well known but it's really really awesome (and at least everytime I was there not super crowded. There were still certainly people there, but it wasn't jam packed). Anyway that's my tourism suggestion to everyone who asks about cool things to see in London, since most of the other big attractions are more well known.
Oh I'd also suggest checking out Camden Town.
I'm struck that nobody mentioned Tower Bridge, and I assume that's because few know about the geek joy within.
Most people will recognise the bridge - it's one of London's archetypal images. Many will walk over it, or admire it when they visit the Tower of London itself.
What few realise is that beneath the faux-baroque brickwork, is a marvel of Industrial Revolution engineering. If you pay to go inside, you can go on the walkway, but most importantly, you can see the original steam driven mechanisms that opened and closed the bridge. The bridge was steam powered until 1974!
It's a terrific exhibition, and fairly cheap. £6 I think?
Seriously, I wouldn't bring it. It is a vacation, enjoy your stay, mingle with the locals and leave the laptop at home. You can use all you want at home, just don't waste your time with it especially when it is your first trip overseas. I spent a month in Spain recently and used the net maybe 4 times. Didn't need to offload pictures, I just kept buying memory sticks (14 gigs of videos/pictures).
Tired of my customary (Score:1)
If you've got T-Mobile with internet service, you can pretty much get online for free anywhere in Europe. Here's a listing of T-Mobile HotSpots.
https://selfcare.hotspot.t-mobile.com/locations/retrieveGlobalLocationByCountry.do?country=UK
Also, laptops are almost all 120/240 dual voltage. Just look on the power block part of the power adapter. You should just need a cheap <10 dollar adapter. NOT an expensive converter. If you're lucky, your power adapter will have the kind of removable plug/cable most radios, DVD players, etc, have coming out of it you can swap cheaply. I keep one for mainland europe, the UK and the US. They're just as cheap and way more convenient. Like this:
http://www.national-tech.com/specs/power-cable/10w1-13406.htm
http://www.national-tech.com/specs/power-cable/10w1-15406.htm
They have the added bonus of not marking you out as a tourist.
I lived in England for two years. Skip traditional "English" food, it's bland and tedious unless you have strong feelings about boiled meat. The one exception is probably pub fish and chips; it's an authentic part of the experience and you don't want to miss that.
Otherwise, stick to ethnic food; in London, you can usually eat the world within a few blocks. England was a nation that had to conquer an empire just to find a delicious meal. We'd hit Thai joints in Cambridge and London with an American Thai speaker; every time he'd open his mouth, the price would halve, and the portions and pepper heat would double. It was fantastic.
I've used UK laptops in the US and had US visitios using US laptops in the UK. Wifi has always Just Worked and power has always just been a matter of finding the right socket adaptor.
I've yet to see a laptop that didn't come with a dual-voltage charger. Just check the label to ensure it is rated 100-240V or similar, which will work fine. All you need is a generic US to UK plug adaptor (not a voltage converter or anything).
The same might not apply to your other appliances, though: cheaper items might come with 110V-only wall-warts and our 240 Great British Volts.
Hint: buy the adaptor in the US (its something to do at the airport) because many of the smaller shops here in the UK will only have adaptors for UKians visiting the US. If you're stuck in the UK without one, you can probably just get a replacement power cord (UK plug one end, standard figure-of-8 2-pin plug on the other).
Hint 2: Next time, come in May or early June. Unless you like grey clouds, drizzle, and sunset at 4pm.
Hint 3: Riding the underground will completely destroy your sense of scale and direction. The Underground map uses a sort-of not-quite-logarithmic scale: the outer stations are quite a long way apart, but in the centre of the city they're only a few blocks apart and it can be quicker (and more interesting) to walk.
(I usually make the opposite mistake when I'm in the US and take on what looks like a 15-minute walk... an hour later I find myself half way there and staring at 8 lanes of traffic...)
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
I disagree with that. I live in a rural part of Hampshire, I used to use O2, but I switched to Three for better speeds.
The Register had an article in July with the coverage maps for different mobile companies; Three and Orange came out best.
For a tourist, I'd suggest that Three's pay-and-go dongle would be the best option.
Having just returned from 10 days in England, and repeating some of the above:
- If you have an unlocked GSM phone, get a pay-as-you-go SIM :)) :) We took 10 days and it really wasn't enough time
- Don't bother renting a car. The tube, taxis, and walking are all good.
- Bring comfortable walking shoes and a camera
- Get an "Oyster" card for the tube. Your daily usage is capped rather than buying individual tickets
- WiFi is expensive at hotels. Get a pre-paid data plan for your phone, if possible, or get a Starbucks card and use their WiFi
- Look a the ground when you are crossing streets. You'll be reminded to LOOK RIGHT and LOOK LEFT (it would also be a good idea to actually do so...
- Cars expect pedestrians to pay attention to them. Jay-walking is a really good way to get splatted
- Get out of town! Take some of the day or overnight trips. The double-decker bus staff will be glad to give you pamphlets
- Eat at Pret or EAT. Good sandwiches and other food at good prices
- Take more than 2 weeks of vacation
- If Flickr will survive a slashdotting, check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/tenesmusphyre/sets/72157622454398597/ for some of the highlights of the trip
- Our Visa international rate is pretty good, so we used it for most purchases, but you should still keep some cash on hand
- Tipping is totally different in the UK. Essentially, most places don't expect you to tip or will include the tip on the bill. Don't double-tip
I've been to London quite a bit and I would bring your laptop so that you can share your experience with everyone while you're there. It's extra cool to do it while you're there instead of after you've already come back, if you ask me. Your laptop may already support the voltage; just check the specs on it, but you'll probably just need a plug adapter. My MacBook Pro, for example, works just fine with a simple plug adapter. I've also had no problems using the WiFi there.
I would suggest the following.
London Eye -- You get some amazing views of London making it worth the money to ride.
Benjamin Franklin's House -- There really isn't anything too special, except to say that you've seen it, especially if you think he was an interesting guy.
National Portrait Gallery -- This is right off of Trafalgar Square and is worth a visit. They usually have some sort of really cool special exhibit, in addition to the regular galleries.
Tate Modern -- This is in an old electrical power station and worth a visit just to experience whatever is in the turbine hall.
Royal Academy of Art -- I believe they still have the Anish Kapoor exhibit going. He did the big metal bean in Millennium Park in Chicago.
Borough Market - I picked up a good sausage sandwich here once. It's in the south bank of the Thames.
My only travel advice is to blend in with the crowd; don't stand out like a tourist. If you have a camera, keep it in a bag. Learn how to pronounce words like Leicester, the Thames, Marylebone, and Southwark because it's always polite to properly pronounce the name of the place you're trying to find. Lastly, don't wear anything that'll make you stand out as an American, and don't, for the love of lolcats, wear a fanny pack. And don't call them fanny packs either over there because "fanny" means something else to them. :-)
I don't know if it's geeky, exactly, but I suspect fondness for castles is correlated with geekiness. In any case, I strongly recommend the Tower of London. It might have been just the tour guide we happened to get, but the best tour I ever had of anything anywhere was at the Tower of London.
The Crown Jewels are there, too, and you can look get a surprisingly close look at them. They weren't the highlight, though, at least for me. (Mainly, they were surreal to me; they were so big, I just couldn't believe enough that they were real to be impressed by them.)
Travelling from Washington to London in December, the most interesting thing you can do at Heathrow is to catch a flight to New York, Paris or Vancouver.
As with any major city in the world there's plenty of good and bad about London but the fun and excitement of travelling is figuring it out for yourself.
Others have listed good suggestions and I would add follow the crowds...they're usually doing something interesting but beware of pickpockets.
Here are some random suggestions for a first trip from an American stuck in London:
- Grab an Amex charge (not credit) card if you don't have one already; after a few trips you'll figure out it's not necessary but it's a comforting bit of insurance on your first few trips overseas. Amex has expensive merchant charges so most UK retailers prefer/insist on Visa/MC but if you get into a jam Amex will be helpful in getting you out. Treat it as cheap insurance.
- Have some travel money in your bank account with an ATM card on a major network (Visa/MC). ATM's are probably the cheapest way to exchange money but only grab what you need or you'll have leftover currency. It's possible to get by in London only needing cash for light/fast/street food and I wouldn't bother trying to get Sterling in Seattle. Just use an ATM at Heathrow. You'll probably get by on a lot less than £5/day if you use your card for everything else. Let your bank know you'll be in London so fraud detection software doesn't leave you in a lurch.
- If your cell (aka mobile) phone is GSM based (AT&T/T-Mobile) it will work fine in London but you probably have to let your carrier know you want international roaming. I'd let friends/colleagues know not to call you while here unless it's necessary. Those roaming charges add up quickly. If it's not GSM, borrow a GSM phone and buy a Pay as You Go SIM card in London. Have folks call you at the hotel and use the mobile for local calls. Also, if you have a data plan...roaming will add up on that as well.
- If you're staying in the UK (that's where London is) for 2 weeks....bring food. Seriously, bring something you might miss. It's possible to eat really well in London if you are prepared to pay but there's a reason that folks make fun of English food. The safest thing to go for is ethnic foods; Indian is really good here but so is Greek, Spanish, French etc.. For some reason, Italian and Chinese don't work well here (IMHO it's the water). After about a week, not having American food will get on your nerves. Pizza Hut is the same, pizza is not. Anyone know where to get American Cheese in London? Saltines?
- Be yourself. Don't worry about the Ugly American stereotype (most of the world has caught up and jerks come from every corner of the Globe). Just remember that most people around you aren't on holiday so don't get in the way and as a guest so don't do anything obviously offensive (littering is the most common thing I've seen). And for gosh sakes, don't walk around with earphones stuck in your ears. It's just bad form in any city and any country.
- The only reason to travel by Taxi in London are that you're tired, don't know where you're going or have luggage to deal with. Get one of these at your first Tube station: http://www.oystercard.com/ and get a tube map. Also, Taxi drivers insist on talking the whole journey. I don't know why.
- Catch the Heathrow Express into town (Paddington Station). It's worth a few extra bucks over the Tube/Heathrow Connect and a damned sight faster/cheaper than a Taxi. Walking shoes are a must and so is an umbrella...though I think you get better quality umbrellas here (Fulton) than you might get in the States (Totes). It's generally humid here so it might feel a bit warmer than Seattle. And if you take the tube...wash your hands...a lot. Bring Purell (but check it in your luggage).
- If you're bringing a laptop, then bring electronics you can charge off of a USB port. It's just less headache and you'll only need to have one plug converter.
Do:
- Bring your laptop, you won't need to change WiFi region or bring a transformer.
- Eat at Pizza Express, Nandos or Strada (good chains), or any pub where the menu changes every day (sign of a Gastropub where with any luck you'll get a good, if slightly pricey, meal).
- Buy a copy of Timeout and look for some fun music - lots to choose from, or just go to a music pub like the Dublin Castle (http://www.thedublincastle.com/) where they have 4 or 5 unsigned bands on every night.
- Bring a cell phone with you (must be Triband), as you can get pay-as-you-go sim cards for next to nothing, and it's much easier to deal with life in London with a phone.
- On that note, if you want to get a cab anywhere I'd recommend Addison Lee (http://www.addisonlee.com/) - best cab service by a LONG way, still cheaper than a black cab, and they text you when your taxi arrives.
Don't:
- Eat at any other chain restaurants (especially any 'Steak Houses', Angus or otherwise), or eat any street food.
- Stand on the left on escalators!
Most laptops will accept a large range of input voltages, including both the US 110V standard and British 220V standard. Check the back of your laptop or your power brick to see what voltage range your's can handle. Likely, you'll only need a US-to-British plug adapter, not a full-fledged converter. When my wife and I traveled to France, the only items that couldn't handle the voltage were the electric toothbrushes. Thinkpad, Gateway, Ipod, and digital camera were all ready to go.
I spent two weeks in London a few years ago. Bringing a machine depends on where you are staying. I was staying in a residence for study-abroad students owned by a local uni (I wasn't a student, but knew someone at the uni who secured a room for me), and they had a few computers in the den for use. Much easier than bringing my own.
A few things every geek should do in London:
--British Library. I could have spent all two weeks here and never gone outside. The collections are incredible.
--Hit a pub and catch a soccer match with the locals. These guys make football fans in sports bars look like pansies. You'll have a great time.
--Depending on your history/cultural interests, you could hit places like Leeds (I suggest avoiding it) or the White Cliffs (not worth the ride). Lots of castles, Tower of London, etc. The only one I really enjoyed was Raynham Hall. That was really only because (a) it was my family's estate back in the pre-revolutionary era, and (b) it is the site of a famous haunting.
--Take a day trip to Ireland.
--Just take a walking tour of the city. No directions, no destination. Just walk. You'll be amazed at how many interesting things you find that you'd never normally notice.
--The squares are great for people watching.
--Plenty of awesome museums (think along the lines of the Smithsonian in D.C.)
--Madame Tussads is a good place to kill an hour or two.
--Head across the channel and spend a day in France.
--Be careful what you eat. I managed to get food poisoning on the third day, and spend the remainder of my trip living on soups and salads (all I could keep down). That being said, some of the food over there is fantastic (and I continue to search for a decent replica in the States).
It's great to be a geek and all, but takes this opportunity to expand your horizons. There are tonnes of theatrical performances, art displays, and very old buildings. Take in the view of London from the Tate Modern Cafe, check out Camden Market, hang out in Trafalgar square. Half of the content of the Valley of Kings is in the British Museum (if you like museums, then there is no place that comes close to the Louvre in Paris). Grab a copy of The Lonely Planet, and flip through it. Try and do as much as possible. Do stuff that you think you might not like, you might surprise yourself.
Take a netbook or at least something smaller than a standard size notebook your arms and back with thank you if your going to be doing alot of sightseeing. A digital camera is a given.
I actually had more fun visiting Cardiff than London, if you get chance to get to Wales, its a nice visit. There are half a dozen castles, old forts, burial chambers, the National Museum, Cardiff bay, central market, and of course the Millennium center. If your a BBC fan its also the area where the many BBC shows are filmed. Merlin, Gavin and Stacey, Torchwood and of course Dr Who are all filmed there.
Leave the laptop, bring a smartphone (such as an iPhone), and make sure you're able to use that.
You don't really want to be on your laptop all the time, and a phone will be much better for getting around (GPS, maps) and fine for getting online for planning/reservations and those 1-2 emergency e-mails you have to respond to.
Also, Westminster Abbey. If you're ok with visiting graves, this is a great place to go. Some of the graves there: Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Paul Dirac, Ernest Rutherford, James Watt... those are who I can remember now, it's pretty cool.
Like all major cities, London changes too quickly for guide books to keep up. Here are a few things (some mentioned previously) that are more fun that doing the conventional tourist trail around London...
Leave the laptop in the safe at the hotel. Take your camera instead, spare batteries, and a spare memory card. Look up - lots of interesting details above eye level.
Food:
Borough Market (London Bridge on Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun, fantastic, fun food market with lots to see)
Whole Foods Market (High St Kensington or Clapham Junction if you're homesick)
Eat a pre-theatre dinner, or have lunch, at a really good restaurant. You'll get 2 or 3 courses for under 25 GBP, for the same food that costs three times as much in the evening.
Pubs:
The George (Borough or London Bridge)
Lamb & Flag (Covent Garden or Leicester Square)
Any Sam Smith's pubs in central London (The Champion - stunning original pub interior - on Wells St just off Oxford St, Red Lion on Kingly St, The Angel by Denmark St, The John Snow, )
Drinks:
Drink a pint of bitter, just once at least!
Two good London breweries are Fuller's and Young's.
Fuller's London Pride is a decent bitter.
Things to do:
Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane (beautiful architecture, Georgian townhouses, Hawksmoor church, hip street market on Sunday and lots of hip, cutting edge/retro clothing/culture)
Walk around the hip Rivington Street area / Shoreditch (this area was discovered by 90s geeks - it was the original centre of the UK's New Media industry)
Walk around Mayfair (pretty, expensive, villagey residential area above Oxford St)
Walk around Covent Garden (see the Georgian Market, fun shopping area)
Broadway Market (old, now very hip East End weekend market Sat/Sun)
Walk along the South Bank between Waterloo and London Bridge at night
Go to a West End show, either theatre or musical, or The Globe for Shakespeare
Go to a gig: London has a fantastic and diverse music scene
See an art show
Highgate Cemetary (incredibly atmospheric and ancient, great for photos, try to get onto the old cemetary tour)
Sample sales. London's a key fashion city. If you like shopping for clothes, shoes, accessories etc, go to a sample sale. Usually 3-4 weekly somewhere central. Fun, hectic and great discounts.
Other museums:
National Gallery (free, incredible collection)
Courtauld Institute
Royal Academy (usually has good shows)
Tate Britain (lovely building, good collection, great cafe and restaurant too)
Destinations around 1hr from London:
Oxford (Bodleian Library)
Brighton (Pretty, classic British seaside town)
Canterbury (stunning World Heritage city, 10th century cathedral and original 16th century quarter)
For all geek travel questions, consult The Geek Atlas for suggestions for places to visit. Bonus: while in London, get your copy autographed.
Chances are you will be tired and sitting in your hotel room for several hours a day, either from jet-lag (when it's 3am there your body will think it's 7pm and you'll likely be wide awake) or from being exhausted at the end of the day. Personally, I can only deal with watching TV for so long, which is one reason I always travel with my laptop.
You almost definitely won't need to change any regional settings for your laptop. The only differences between Wi-Fi here and there are that they might have channels 12 and 13, but they're rarely used - especially in any place serving tourists.
The better question is whether you want to pay the high prices of hotel Wi-Fi. Britain and the rest of the world in general have much better options for settings up prepaid phone and data service. If you have a GSM mobile device that supports 3G, which is likely if you're an AT&T or T-Mobile customer, you can check the device specs and see if it supports the 2100MHz 3G band used in Europe. If it does and your device is unlocked, you can buy a prepaid SIM card with a prepaid data package and tether your phone to your laptop to get online. Or, buy a USB 3G stick when there and it still might cost less than a week's worth of hotel Wi-Fi (and then you get a USB 3G stick out of it). See here for more info about using your mobile device overseas, and here to find a prepaid voice/data provider in the UK.
As for power, your laptop, mobile and most other devices should only need a simple US to UK plug adapter, as they can automatically sense and function on the higher voltage. Check each device to see if it reads (100V-240V) in the specs, often right below the plugs on wall-wart chargers, and if it does you're fine. If it says (100V-120V), only then would you need a voltage converter, and often times the weight and cost of one are not worth it. A power strip may be overkill for size/weight and if it has surge protection it won't work on 230V, so a simple plug splitter is a better option if you need it.
If you plan on using the Tube to get around, which I definitely recommend if you want to keep costs down, get an Oyster card as soon as you arrive. The rates for getting around are much cheaper if you use an Oyster card.
On the getting around note, always, always, always have a map when you go out. The layout of London's streets are like nothing you've ever experienced in the US because they precede the idea of city planning, so if you head off in one direction thinking "I think it's this way" you will almost surely get yourself lost. Now, sometimes getting lost in a city is a great experience, but if you want that experience, do it during the day. If you don't want to look like a like tourist pulling their map out and making yourself a target, put a map of where you'll be exploring on your mobile phone so that when you stop on the street, it just looks like you're reading an SMS message. Same goes for a map of the Tube if you'll be using it.
Finally, if appeals to you, make sure you enjoy the experience of walking down the street while drinking a beer. Public drinking is allowed in the UK, and it's a simple freedom that I miss when in the US. Just remember that when people say "cheers" they're probably saying "thanks" - not asking you to lift your glass.
www.gaiageek.com
I'm surprised this person doesn't already have any friends over there. I have quite a few friends all over Europe that I would enjoy meeting in person, or seeing again. They would be able to help me overcome my ignorant American ways and show me where the best stuff is. Also, I might even be able to stay with them, giving more money to get around or party more, whichever you like.
Unless you really need a laptop for something like development or you have a really small laptop (at most 3 lbs) then I would recommend not taking one. The first time I travelled overseas I took my laptop (a 5 pounder) and the thing was like an anchor around my neck. I rarely used it and the inconvenience of hauling it around much outweighed any usefulness of having it.
On subsequent trips I took a digital camera, an email-capable, GSM cellphone with an international data plan and an mp3 player. Much better.
You can also get a pay as you go SIM card from a local European carrier for a reasonable price. Maybe someone else here can give you more details on that. Be sure to get the unlock code from your cellphone provider before you go though.
Travelin' light, it's the only way to fly.
As you ask: No, there exist no Internet kiosks in London, as a matter of fact they don't even know electricity yet.....
TFL = Transport for London, not Tube. It covers buses, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and some overground services amongst other things.
http://twitter.com/jimwebber/status/6005558201 What he said
This is not an automated signature. I type this in to the bottom of every message.
I'd leave the laptop at home; but you're not me, so YMMV.
It's not about the hassle of setting it up. Sure, you need to be aware of the different voltage and all that; but now that you know that, it's easy to deal with.
But, first of all, for a two week trip, I can carry enough media for my camera that I don't have to off-load images (but then, some people take more pictures than I do; I don't believe that just because I'm not spending film means I should make it harder to sift through my pictures later).
There's really just no need IMO to lug a computer along, taking up a good chunk of your carry-on alotment for the flight. In fact, when I'm on a short trip to Europe, the last thing I want to do is waste time at a computer while I'm there. I do sign on once or twice to check email and send a message home if there's anything that noteworty - like the time my hotel room was robbed - but there are Internet cafes everywhere and they're not that expensive when you don't need much time.
The other reason I don't travel with a laptop is related to that hotel robbery I mentioned. Not saying that crime is any higher there than here, but as a tourist you're out of your element and it shows. Plus, if your laptop does get stolen in Europe, it could be somewhat more hassle than if it's stolen here.
But mostly, I just think a 6,000-mile trip is an opportunity to do and see things you wouldn't be doing at home; I'd think I was wasting time and money to take along my laptop.
Depends on the size of the laptop and where you'll be keeping it. If you're staying in a hotel for a week, you should be OK, but if you're backpacking through hostels, forget it - I hauled a 17" laptop in a backpack through New Zealand a couple of years ago. It was useful for writing blog entries and whatnot, but pointless when you can't find any (free) Wifi. To be honest, my T-Mobile Dash was more useful. I'd type up emails and entries on the phone then save them to the SD card. I'd then take the card to an Internet kiosk and pay for as little Internet as possible, just enough to copy/paste from the card into whatever I was sending to the cloud.
I'm going to make another trip to NZ in the near future, and will probably forgo the laptop this time in favor of my T-Mobile G1.
If there's one happenning when you're here, don't miss the London Dorkbot especially the Xmas one around mid Dec. Dates are often announced at fairly short notice so worth joining the announce mailing list.
re. plugs etc., most hotels will have a 2 pin socket in the bathroom, but you can easily get adaptors here if necessary.
If you're at all of the freak persuasion, then by all means, take the tube to Camden Town (Northern Line) and visit The Devonshire Arms on Kentish Town Road. Also, the Slimelight is absolutely a must-go. If you're not a goth/punk/freak, skip this paragraph worth of advice.
Here's some important things to remember:
The pubs close at 11:00pm and the tube closes not long after. If you're planning on staying out later (nightclub as opposed to pub) make sure you are either close enough that a cab won't cost you a fortune, or that you've got a clue which night bus to take. Being stranded at 4:30am at the tube station waiting for them to start running was a unique experience, but one that I could do without repeating. Especially the part where some dude tried to steal this passed out drunk guy's shoes... amusing and slightly terrifying all at the same time)
If you have a GSM phone, it will work over there, but roaming could be REALLY expensive. If your phone is unlocked, consider getting a prepaid sim card from Orange or somesuch and use that for a local number while you're there.
People have ragged on British food forever, but if you like curry, you'll be very happy.
Cornish Pasties (pronounced "Past-ees", not "paste-ees") are the best street food EVAR. (especially at the little cart at London Bridge Station)
Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding for Sunday dinner is highly recommended.
Go to Meetup.com and find a group that shares your interest that's having a meeting early on in the time you're there - did me a world of good my first visit... Found an awesome '80s / goth / synthpop scene and made some good friends myself.
I didn't bother bringing a computer - I figured I wanted to spend time actually doing/experiencing the place rather than just diong the same thing I always do at home. Though I suppose it might make your research go more quickly.
Most important thing::
DO make sure you keep an emergency credit card and a copy of your passport somewhere safe and separate from your wallet/passport. That will help a LOT if you lose 'em in terms of getting replacements and so it doesn't ruin your trip. I lost my wallet while I was there - reported it to the police, but luckily I had a spare credit card for just such an emergency - and my passport was safely somewhere else at the time so I wasn't royally screwed. Either way, don't take anything you can't live without if its lost/stolen... property crime is kind of high in London.
The Digital Sorceress
Leave the laptop at home.... internet cafe's are everywhere, and who the hell wants to spend time in front of a PC when there are so many cool things to see in a city like London? As for image off-loading.... just have your USB cable with you and upload your images directly online or just have them burnt to CD/DVD at any internet cafe. http://thecnik.com/London/
-Cnik
It is relatively easy to travel with a laptop but you may get tired of carrying the weight around.
You won't need a new power cord - just buy a standard power adapter - cheap and small and can be used to charge other kit.
The benefits of having your own laptop are that you can easily store photos and if you connect to WiFi (I am not aware of regional variations) you can do email etc. You can get WiFi either from coffee shops or from your hotel but it will not be free.
However, when I travel with a laptop, I do get sick of lugging it around. It is relatively heavy and bulky but is too valuable (read worth stealing) to leave lying around. If you can leave it in your hotel room then it should be safe. If you are using hostels etc. then that may not be the case.
If you can live without guaranteed Internet access and have ways of saving photos then leave it at home.
While you are in London, I strongly suggest visiting the Natural History Museum. IMO this is one of the best museums in England.
Ian McDowall
The Geek Atlas is a good source of interesting places to visit. You could read through the entries for England to get some good ideas.
http://books.slashdot.org/story/09/07/20/1325215/The-Geek-Atlas
http://www.geekatlas.com/
Your wifi will work fine, you won't need to change anything. The charger for your laptop is almost certainly multi-voltage (check the label) so all you need is a $2 plug adapter, buy it at the airport.
People travel between the US and UK every day, it's not a big deal :) Stop worrying, make sure your credit card has plenty of room, and have fun!
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
...is the display of the Harrison Clocks at the Greenwich Observatory. To get their importance, read Dava Sobel's "Longitude" on the plane.
For an additional geek treat, set your GPS on the Meridian Line and figure out why it reads about 5 seconds west.
The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London is neat, but it's too late for that: you have to write ahead for tickets.
At the British Museum, go to the Rosetta Stone and find some of the encircled symbols that gave Champollion the critical clue to decoding the hieroglyphics.
Look right and mind the gap.
rj
The laptop, I mean? If so, have fun with customs when you come back to the US.
Best ways to avoid trouble coming back is:
a) encrypting all your files;
b) name a few "jihad.doc" or "kiddieP.jpg" or "U238centrifuge.pdf";
c) make a picture of Ahmedinajabad your desktop image
This will ensure a speedy travel home from the airport.
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem delendam esse
I haven't yet seen a comment pointing this out, but laptops can be searched at the border without suspicion. They can just copy everything off your laptop and keep it. Homeland Security made some new rules in August when enough bigwigs complained about it, but it's still possible. The UK border officials can also do it. They only search relatively few of them, but there's a small chance the government will just take all your private information off your laptop.
And I don't know if anyone's ever been prosecuted for illegal music or video downloads on a border laptop, but personally I wouldn't risk it if I had any.
Nearly right. The driving on the right was because Napoleon was a cavalryman. And if you dismount a horse and are right-handed (as most people are, hence the drive on the left so you pass right-hand to right-hand with the oncoming possible miscreant) you are left standing on the edge of the road in the gutter where dog doodoo will get on your nice shiny cavalry boots.
So Napoleon said they should drive on the left so that he'd get off on the firm road where dogshit is less common.
I took my laptop from Oregon to London last summer so I could send email to my family and log my geocaches.
No problem with wi-fi. It worked for me exactly as it does in the states. Channel selection is made by the access point, not by the laptop, so it's not your worry.
Your laptop charger has a label telling what input voltages it will accept. All of my chargers (and my electric razor) take 100-240 VAC and 50 or 60 Hz. That means they don't need a transformer to work with England's 240/50 power, just a cheap mechanical adapter which I picked up for a few bucks.
If you are interested in WWII history, then check out the Cabinet War Rooms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_War_Rooms). I found them to be a very interesting glimpse into war time administration and organization. I loved all the wall covering maps tracking the different fronts. There are even documents left out on desks that you can inspect.
I recommend you FedEx half a dozen packs of frozen peas to your hotel before you leave. There's two reasons for this.
1. When you're asked if you want mushy or regular peas you can say, "None, thanks. I brought my own." at which point you pull the bag of peas out of your pocket and enjoy some rather cold, but edible peas.
2. When you make some off hand remark about the Redskins best football team ever to your traveling companion, you can say to the passing soccer goon who hadn't realized you were an American, "No thanks, I brought my own." at which point you pull the bag of peas out of your pocket and enjoy a rather cold press against your blackened eye.
In addition to the many helpful comments posted here about places in London (or there'bouts), don't forget you can travel to France quite easily by train.
For about £130 round-trip you can get from London to Paris on the Eurostar http://www.eurostar.com/ , it's about a 2 1/2 to 3hr train ride depending on what station you board.
So, my suggestion would be take a train at 6 AM and you'll be in Paris by 9 AM, enjoy this wonderful city (lots of walking) and ride back in the evening.
You have Notre Damme, Eifel Tower, Champs-Elysées and the Arche du Triomphe all within a reasoneable walk along the Sienne river.
And yes, if you are so inclined, you may bring your laptop also, although with all the walking I would not recommend it.
Enjoy your "use it or lose it" vacation
Haven't nailed it down yet, but was thinking about Base2Stay, though its a bit on the spendy side it does look nice. Any good ideas on safe/secure ? Any ideas on places to avoid? Thanks for the great input so far!
Buddha of compassion
What's more geeky then Enigma machine, V2 rocket and Tanks?
It's easily reachable in the center at Elephant and Castle Tube station.
Entrance Free with vol. donations as usual for London.
You should visit one of the most significant places of geek pilgrimage, Bletchley Park. Not only was it the place where the father of computer science, Alan Turing, worked on shortening WWII, there's an amazing exhibition on cryptography and cryptoanalysis, plus it houses a computer history museum on the same premises.
As someone who's traveled quite a bit in the past few years (I did over 150k miles in the past 12 months), I would recommend against the booze.
As long as you don't over do it a little alcohol is very good. My usual routine from Canada to Europe is to have a glass or two of wine. This is enough to relax you and help you get to sleep but not enough to dehydrate you and cause a hangover (which is very easy to do given the 0% humidity environment onboard). As an added bonus alcohol metabolizes into chemicals that act as stimulants so when you wake up close to landing it helps wake you up enough to get through the airport and either to your hotel or onto the next flight. You do need to make sure to drink lots of water though - it is very easy to get a hangover if you are not careful due to the dehydrating environment.
You almost certainly don't want to carry a laptop with you, and leaving it in your hotel room can be risky. When I went last year, I just made sure to set up a password protected FTP server with write access, but not delete (FileZilla Server). I also had a USB stick with a few utilities including IRFanView and FileZilla Client. Every couple of days I'd copy the pictures to the USB stick, batch resize them to about half size using IRFanView, then upload the resized version to the FTP server using the FileZilla Client. That way, the flash cards and USB stick could get damaged/stolen, but I'd still have a decent copy stored safely at home.
This ended up being a life saver because my wife was fiddling with her camera and discovered what the "format" command did... We were able to recover most of photos off of that flash card after the trip, but we still had a few that were saved by the upload. My camera also inexplicably munched a bunch of photos for some reason. Again, the FTP site was a life saver.
We didn't have a laptop with us as we were backpacking, but internet cafes were readily available. Had anyone snooped the passwords for the FTP, all they could have done was use it, not delete the uploaded photos. We both had iPhones that we set to not allow data roaming. So we were able to check email and perform status/positional update when near free wifi (usually wherever we were staying).
Are you really gonna spend Two Whole Weeks in London? Use Ryanair or EasyJet out of Luton or Stansted to go spend a few days in Geneva or Amsterdam or Vienna or Milan or...
And I have my own checklist of the things I tend to bring on trips (I've filled my passport entirely)... Travel Tudor
Consider trying OpenStreetMap for some of your navigation. http://www.openstreetmap.org/ It's a Wikipedia-like effort to create an Open Source-ish map of the world. The project was started in the UK and although coverage is still patchy in some areas it does already have excellent coverage of large parts of London. It includes some data that Google Maps does not have. Due to the Free as in Freedom nature of the project, the website also makes it easy to export PDFs, pngs, etc of areas of the map which you can then store for reference offline (though obviously you can't then search them).
There's a navigation service at http://yournavigation.org/ which has some neat features, like the ability to plot a route for pedestrians or cyclists that will take you down cycleways and footpaths where possible (there was also an elevation profile of your route, so you'll know how hilly it is! That was a GSoC project, I think but it seems not to be available for now).
Disclaimer: I am plugging a project I've contributed to here but it really is pretty good.
PS. There are internet kiosks but you'll need to ask your butler to bring some coal to power them. ;-)
You're always going to need your laptop. While it's true WiFi spots aren't as plentiful as in the US, they exist and you don't need to worry about some WiFi region rubbish. If you get a good adapter with an in-built transformer (and trust me they exist) then you can use this and your US power cable to get your laptop charged anywhere in England. As for the places I recommend going: Cambridge (it's where I was at University!), Down House (Kent, the house of Charles Darwin), The Science and Natural History Museum (obviously), Bletchley Park, and if you don't mind the cost of the train ticket, Bath.
Forgo the laptop, the only thing you needed with traveling is a towel.
Aw Frell this
Get an OYSTER card, its well worth it. Fill it up with at least 4£ per day and that will let you travel pretty much everywhere all day long. Plus its a cool souvenir when you're done with it.
I took a month-long trip overseas recently, and as a compromise between the convenience of a laptop and the freedom of carrying no valuables I took my iphone. It was small enough to carry around with me securely, but also gave the option of signing on to any handy wi-fi hotspots. Some of the apps were useful too, like the currency converter. If you do take your laptop, beware getting sucked into the interwebs and missing opportunities to meet new people and sights.
London is a great town to visit from Washington State, since the weather (rainy) is a lot like home. The Tube works well for getting from point A to B, and all the government museums are free with some of the best artifacts and art you'll ever see. The food is also pretty tasty - definitely try the fish & chips!
That's bad advice since many sausages are absolutely fine. The big problem is that most places get ***cheap*** sausages. Horrible pink lumnious things. But plenty of sausages are really quite good.
NOTE: if you're pissed up the next morning, you may want to try going to a "greasy spoon": a "caff" which is like a cafe but a lot less posh. They WILL do these pink sausages in your full fried breakfast but it is part of the experience, rather like having a donner kebab after all the drinking (do NOT bother unless you ARE quite rascally drunk: it doesn't work that way).
Some places will do gourmet sausages or if you have a stove get some good sausages, bacon, eggs, sliced white pappy bread, beans, button mushrooms and fresh tomatoes and make up a *proper* fried breakfast. You will need a LOT of pans. NOTE: do the beans last in the pan you did the bacon and FRY them. Works a treat.
Fry the Sausages carefully in one pan with a small amount of fat/oil. Another pan with much more oil/fat in it (so that it is deeper than the bread thickness) should be ready. When the sausages are mostly done, add the bacon and start heating the oil in the other pan. Fry the bread in the oil which should be very hot. It should just be sumberged. Add the mushrooms to a THIRD pan which has butter or margarine in it (butter for preference). You can for this use a small saucepan if you're running out of fry pans.
The sausages and bacon should now be done as well as the fried bread. Take them out and put the beans in the pan where the sausages used to be and cut the tomatoes in half and put them in too so that the tomatoes are cut side down and directly on the pan. When that's put in, crack the eggs and put them in the deeper oil in the other pan. If you use deeper oil it won't get crunchy bits.
After a while quickly turn the tomatoes over to cook the other side.
When the eggs are done, the beans and tomatoes will be too. Turn them out with the sausage/bacon together, beans dropped over and beside them, tomatoes hanging on the edge of the plate and the fried bread the other side of the plate, pushing into the beans. Put the eggs on the fried bread.
If you have any brown sauce sachets from a caff have it on the sausages.
Eat.
The rest of the day will be taken up with washing up...
(note: you should for 100% authenticity have a cup of tea with milk and at least one sugar. NOTE: tea with milk and sugar is a far better drink to have the morning after boozing than coffee. Orange juice works as well, but in winter you may want the warmth).
Power. I pack my laptop and bring a plug adapter for my charger. Most chargers let you replace the cable which runs between the brick and the wall, but unless you plan to frequent the UK often, I suggest just buying a universal adapter. Personally, have a 6-way universal plug adapter which rotates to select the necessary male adapter for countries I visit infrequently, such as the UK, but have a plug replacement for central Europe as I visit Poland and Germany with frequency.
Wifi. I suggest that you do NOT flash your wifi adapter's firmware or modify your software. The US allows channels 1-11, while Europe allows 1-13. All this means is that there might be some channels you can't reach. If you're any place that targets international customers, it should be assumed that they'll take this into consideration, will configure on a channel between 1-11, and you'll have no problem connecting. To be honest, if I can help it, the only Wifi I use when traveling is that provided by my telephone...
Internet. Vodaphone sells a "3G" modem with sim and 15GBP top-up included for 34.99GBP. This is enough to last you at least a week, possibly two. In the US, my carrier is T-Mobile, my phone is G1. I had T-mobile unlock my phone, I jailbroke it, and I simply bought a sim with 15GBP top-up from Vodaphone. This provided my telephone, SMS, and internet for both my phone and laptop. If you have T-Mobile or AT&T in the US, you might also be able to do this to save yourself 20GBP.
Food. Don't forget the vital step of eating. If you want to eat cheap, find sandwiches. Specifically, look for "Eat." and "Pret A Manger". The food at "Eat." is excellent, but mostly of a vegetarian, vegan, and fishy variety. Pret has a good selection of meaty deliciousness, but all selections do lean towards healthy eating. Between the healthy food, walking, and the incredible number of stairs in St Paul's cathedral, prepare to lose some weight! There are also plenty of small kiosks with sandwiches, if you're daring enough. Otherwise, be prepared to spend some serious cash on food.
Travel. You can get a weekly pass or top-up an Oyster card. Personally, I found that I was seeing a lot more of London when I had the weekly pass. Most will probably say to top-up the Oyster, and it will save you money. That is certainly true if you're using it for small one-off day trips. However, but if you're like me, you will experience more of London in less time, with less guilt with an "unlimited" pass. On the unlimited pass, I could start my morning by browsing the shops of Croydon, browse the Tate in the afternoon, have lunch in Earl's Court, jump over to a pub in the east end, and see a West End show in the evening... all without worrying about how much money I'm spending for travel.
Finally.. have fun!
The hotels I stayed at were happy to hand me a couple converters.
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
or is it just backpackers who do that?
The façade is on the new Southgate isn't too bad, but yes, it's built with concrete and steel, bleh. At least they blended it in with the rest of the area unlike Cabot Circus in Bristol.
Bath is actually a great place to visit in this time of year, as the Christmas Market is about to start (on Thursday) and it's going to last till 6th December.
:. Ultimate Control Dedicated/VM Servers
...you could have caught David Tennant singing to a plate of chips (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408375//).
Setup vpn first if you want to use any of the free open wireless access points in pubs, restaurants or shopping centres. There are plenty of internet cafés, so if you just want to do the internet instead of some coding or something else, leave it at home. If you have a smartphone, use that instead for tweets, etc because travelling light in London is handy. If you do bring it, make sure it's insured and be careful not to go wandering around any council estates on your own.
London is very expensive, so bring lots of £s with you and be prepared to shop and party too!
The geekiest thing I can think of is the national museum of computing but that's in Bletchley, Milton keynes. It's about one train and bus or taxi away from London. The train takes about an hour and the bus or taxi between 10 and 30 minutes.
Here's the website :
http://www.tnmoc.org/
Forget the laptop. Believe it or not you can survive two weeks without it.
Go see the 39 steps, see Dylan Moran, go to the mermaids tail in Leicester square and have a deep fried mars bar. Go to some pubs and try bitter, you won't like it but try it anyway.
Stay away from the soho clip joints. If a hot girl asks you to come in to see a show just smile politely and keep walking.
Go for the tourist bus ride and the London eye as well.
Just take your mind off computers for a while. You are not going to turn into an ignorant savage if you don't read slashdot for 2 weeks.
Skimming the responses, I'm surprised that there aren't more calls for this. Unless this is a working vacation, you're going to want to spend your time doing rather than surfing, anyway. I've taken my original Eee to europe twice now and it's been exactly what I've wanted. WiFi is easy to get on for free, and since you're there more than a day or so, you'll probably find a place you like that you can get online for nary a penny.
While I also agree with the choruses of "go and do" both above and below, you're probably not in much danger of sitting in your room all day reading slashdot - that wasn't your question. A netbook will help with that because it doesn't facilitate long surf sessions, but does plenty (IM! Email! skype!) for communication, and most "modern" netbooks will also have plenty of space for backups of your photos.
Enjoy!
Actually Transport for London, which includes bus, bike, foot, boat, and other options for getting around the London area. The TFL Journey Planner is a fantastic resource.
It has been mentioned elsewhere, but I'll repeat the advice: get an Oyster card when you arrive. It's faster and cheaper than other ways to pay.
Aside from the Rosetta Stone, the British Museum isn't really that interesting.
Churchill's War Rooms, The Tate Modern, and the Royal Observatory and Greenwhich are far more interesting.
Also, don't forget to day trip to Bletchley Park.
The British Museum just doesn't have anything very interesting.
For power, just pack an adapter or two for the UK style outlets plus a "triple tap" 3-way for USA plugs. Check to make sure, but your laptop power supply, cell phone charger and camera chargers will probably be fine on 240 volts AC / 50 hertz.
Invariably the only power outlet you can find in the airport will have someone already plugged into it. Don't hesitate to ask to tap in, once its obvious you have the right 3-way adapter you'll get a nod and a respectful smile. You can then use it to power your laptop + cell phone charger from one connection in the hotel (its harder to lose or forget a charger in the bathroom if they're all plugged in together near the desk instead).
A few extra laptop batteries, or a large battery (check out http://batterygeek.net or similar) will make you the envy of your seatmates who ran out of juice 4 hours into the flight and are stuck watching the in-flight entertainment and the moving map display on the seatback... very handy for spending the day in the jury duty pool waiting room back home too.
I'd definitely take a laptop for a 2 week trip as it makes planning and locating touristy things that much easier. Try and stay in a place with free wifi - hostels will usually have free wifi, hotels usually charge. Free wifi options: http://londonist.com/2007/05/free_wifi_in_lo.php
For getting from Heathrow to London - if you're staying near Paddington I'd suggest the Heathrow Connect instead of the expensive Heathrow Express. They both run on the same track but the Connect is less frequent (every 30m and has a couple of stops so takes 10 mins longer) but is almost half the price. Alternatively take the tube (subway) if you've got the time to spare or aren't staying near Paddington.
Transport: the tube is usually the easiest option, though often it's quicker walking if only one stop. If staying out, tubes stop around 00:30 (earlier on Sunday nights) but there are nightbuses - see http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/ for planning a bus route to/from your hotel. For tubes/buses: you can buy a (pay as you go) Oyster card when you get here (£3 refundable deposit).
Cabs: you can only hail black cabs. Other cabs (usually cheaper) are called "minicabs" and can only be booked by phone. Addison Lee is the biggest minicab company but not the cheapest.
http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/calendar/events/ is good for London geeky events - worth checking out when you're here to see if anything interests you. Other people have covered the museums so I won't bother.
Worth a read: http://wikitravel.org/en/London
Buy a copy (in London) of Time Out London (weekly events/gigs/film/tv/theatre etc listing magazine) and also one of their London guidebooks. They're the best guides. May also be worth picking up a free "TNT" magazine (they're everywhere) for gig/party listings - is popular with backpackers/younger people.
Try some markets in London too: Borough Food Market on a Sat morning; perhaps Camden Market ("alternative" but rather tired) on Sat afternoon. Spitalfields on a Sunday (trendy junk). Columbia Road flower market on Sunday morning is very good too (for something a bit different). There's Christmas markets in Hyde Park and by the O2 (North Greenwich tube).
Main deparment stores are between Oxford St tube & Marble arch tubes - just walk along Oxford St. Selfridges is more popular with Londoners than Harrods. If you want a shopping mall then there's Westfield (Google for locations).
Get a single ticket on a boat to Greenwich to see the meridian line, naval observatory, painted hall etc. But don't take a boat back as it takes forever - instead get the tube back.
Out of town: Brighton is also worth a weekend trip (train is 1hr from Victoria or London Bridge). Sat/Sun are best for the shops on the lanes. It's the closest seaside town to London - though take a map so you know how to find the lanes (on left hand side as you walk from station to seaside). December won't be so great but it's still worth a visit.
You can go to Oxford, Brighton etc on the bus but I prefer the train (quicker, more comfortable). I'd recommend pre-booking at least a day in advance - when you book you can choose to pickup the ticket from a machine at the station. http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/ is a good site for getting an idea of rail fares - if they're too expensive then take a bus (most buses leave from the coach station near Victoria station).
Despite over 700 replies to this point, I don't think anyone mentioned West End theatres http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_End_theatre/ or alternatively http://wikitravel.org/en/London/West_End/. It's been a while since I was in London, but we discovered that a half-hour before showtime, there were deeply discounted tickets available to shows trying to fill the house. We had a great time going to whatever was available. Definitely worth a shot, since as everyone else has noted, you should try not too plan too much, and just go for it. Have a great trip!
be sure to take lots of pictures of the police. they love it.
If you have an iPhone, bring it as a laptop replacement for quick lookups, route planning, GPS and event planning (finding opening and closing times etc).
That said, unless you have a reason to bring any of this stuff with you, you're probably just as well without it. Big SD cards are cheap these days. Leaving your laptop in the US will make you more portable and less paranoid.
Looks like a nice place, and well reviewed (check out Tripadvisor, if you haven't already), which is probably a good endorsement. Probably quite safe, although I'm always paranoid about leaving things in my room if there isn't a locked down safe. Laptops are often too large for safes anyway. Earls Court is a convenient location. You might be able to get a little cheaper, but I'm sure quality will quickly drop. One of my work colleagues from Germany was looking at a hotel in the Paddington area, which he saw for 50 quid/night - sorry he's gone for the day so I can't ask him. Check-out wotif.com if you want to look around more.
Definitely visit the Kew Steam Museum in West London. Amazing collection, well informed, passionate staff. http://www.kbsm.org/
Transport for London, aka the subways, buses, light rail and pretty much every public-related transportation system in London.
Make the most of your trip and connect with locals.
http://www.couchsurfing.org
For the skeptics, http://www.couchsurfing.org/about.html/faq
Visit Canada.
It's also useful to know that each post code (zip code) is allocated to a small group of houses (say ten-ish) within the same street.
That's accurate enough to navigate using just the house number and post code. So if you wanted directions from, say, the British Museum (WC1B 3DG) to Buckingham Palace (SW1A 1AA) you'd google this: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=WC1B 3DG to SW1A 1AA
Get yourself a London A-Z (Zed ;) - most of the time dead tree maps still beat electronic (and there's no cellphone reception on the Underground).
Get yourself an Oyster Card. It's a significantly cheaper way to travel.
You don't have to register it if perhaps you're sensitive about personal privacy (just remember you're constantly under CCTV surveillance).
CCTV cameras will watch you everywhere Unless you happen to be the victim of a crime, in which case the cameras will be "switched off" or "pointing the other way".
Mobile data is pretty cheap (assuming you have a compatible phone) - pick up a Three or T-Mobile sim at the airport.
Lastly, no geek can be without their coffee fix: try Monmouth Coffee, Flat White or Cafe Amato.
- The extremely hyped Tottenham Court Road as the technology shops/centre of London is a major downer (once you check out what's on offer). :)
- Wifi Hotspots are expensive and not secure according to this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/10/wifi_hot_spots_not_secure.html
- Check out the websites of Computer Science department of London universities (Imperial College, UCL (not UeL which is shit and in the shitty part of London)) - maybe some interesting talks going on at that time of the year.
- Go to Brick Lane for authentic curry (the rest of London is really slap-on curry or slap-on italian sauce served in a restaurant) and google that arsy chef Gordon Ramsay, he's got 1 or 2 restaurants in London - you might want to check what's the deal is all about. But be warned, it'll be quite pricey.
- Check out Canary Wharf (daytime for pictures, but it's prettier at night), that's our "Wall Street" and where those greedy pig bankers f*cked up real bad...
- At least try the Fabric nightclub on a Friday (it's really expensive in and there's always a long & thick queue outside, so book your ticket online).
- As for touristy attractions: London Eye is a bit of a downer but it's ok for newbies. The Tate is pretty good. Check out their paid-for galleries, the free ones are a bit budget
- If you wanna check out some C++ books, go to Foyles library (on Charing Cross). And whilst we're on the subject, do check out the British Library (near Kings Cross) during the fay, it's pretty cool plus you get to see the recent renovation in that area (Kings Cross station).
- As for transport, get your (RFID) Oystercard early and put a season ticket (1 week travel card) on it otherwise you're gonna pay through the nose when it comes to travelling through the London zones and during peak times.
I guess that's enough ranting! :D
A full English breakfast is worth trying, and close enough to some American breakfast foods as to be not wholly unfamiliar: the main difference is that we prefer not to mix sweet and savoury at breakfast as much as Americans often do.
Someone once said that to eat well in England, you should breakfast three times a day.
If you have to ask how to take a vacation then you're doing it wrong!
You don't really need to change the channels on your wireless. you'll just find that the base stations in the UK use a subset of the US allocation, so your card will scan for them / see them anyway.
I'd suggest getting out of London, if you come to the UK. London is an overpopulated hell, swarming with agitated city dwellers, and with a transport system that reached meltdown decades ago.
It should be no problem to find wireless access in the UK, or you could just buy a cheap 3G USB dongle to get mobile broadband on pay-as-you-go. The adapters are cheap ~£30, and can be had at any mobile shop in the UK (which are so numerous, that you won't have any difficulty finding one).
Best things to see in London for a tech person:
- science museum
- imperial war museum
- lots of boring historical monuments (I guess america will fondly have their own to look at soon, to remember their own failed attempt at an empire, following their current collapse from being driven into bankruptcy by the Russians as the Russians won the Cold War - and the Republican Party helped too, of course!)
Drinking water is fine, but unless someone is doing some strenuous activity, that particular pressurization (8000 ft) doesn't mean a whole lot.
Oh, I don't know... I went to Colorado by train this summer (elevation about 6000 feet) and it knocked me on my ass for the first day or two... I've never had this kind of effect from flying - but there was definitely a transition period there where we weren't up for any kind of strenuous activity...
Bow-ties are cool.
If you're a Doctor Who fan (and what self-respecting geek isn't?), plan out the locations you want to see while there at doctorwholocations.net. But don't spend your whole time there going from location to location. Hit a few key places, and maybe even do some that are off the beaten path. Sometimes just finding them makes for some of your most memorable trip experiences.
If you're a Neil Gaiman fan, read "Neverwhere" before you go for a helpful guide to the Underground system. Or see if you can arrange a visit to the old Highgate Cemetery West, the inspiration for his "Graveyard Book."
Buy theatre tickets ahead of time (wayyy ahead of time, if possible).
Our netbook's wireless worked just fine. One hotel had free wireless, another's was kind of pricey, but we enjoyed uploading pictures for friends and family back home.
Worshipful Company of Clock Makers at Guild Hall in The City. And of course Greenwich Observatory.
Audrey23 .red-belt .org .uk
@cpuffer9
yes this is a disposable address
In general you have to pay for WiFi in chain cafes (Starbucks and the like). However, many of the independents and smaller chains offer it for free.
There's free WiFi and power points in the cafe at the British Library.
The cafe in Foyles bookstore (a geek venue in its own right) on Charing Cross Road is pretty geek friendly. It's handy for the computer section, there's often free live Jazz playing, and (when it works which is not always) there's free WiFi. Oh and the cake is good there.
Tottenham Court Road is the local centre for technology shopping in the area if you find you've forgotten to bring something vital.
The National Film Theatre under the south arches of Waterloo Bridge has the broadest arts cinema coverage in the capital. The Electric Cinema in Notting Hill Gate is the comfiest cinema in the capital.
For non-geeky but interesting things to do while you're here pick up a copy of Time Out. I'd recommend the 100 club on Oxford Street on Monday nights though.
--- These are not words: wierd, genious, rediculous
Pay a visit to Dekspace (http://dek.spc.org/) in Greenwich - a nice area to visit anyway. This is one of the geekiest spaces in London - a general hang-out for hackers and wi-fi phreaks. Ask for the head honcho, James Stevens.
Places that aren't mentioned in the guide books often:
- The Sir John Soane museum. Like the British Museum, but squashed into a residential property. 150 paintings in one (British size) room - bits of the walls fold out. A 3000 year old sarcophagus. Original plans for the Bank of England.
- The clock gallery at the British Museum. Mechanisms!
- Monmouth coffee in the seven dials (or by Borough Market, which is also worth visiting).
- 7th floor bar at the Tate Modern. Second cheapest place to get a good view of the London panorama.
- Primrose hill. The cheapest place to get a view of the London panorama.
Beep beep.
For seeing the sights in London I heartily recommend London Walks (requires Javascript). They feature several trips which go all across London and have many for particular locations like the British Museum (which has 13 acres of floor space, so it's easy to get lost) which can optimize your time by hitting the highlights for general touristy stuff (leaving you time to go back for further perusal of those or looking for off-the-beaten-track items of personal interest). Do take advantage of some of their day-long trips to places outside of London such as those to Salisbury and Stonehenge, or to Canterbury and Leeds Castle, or to Bath--especially if you plan on staying in London for the entire time. Visiting only London and saying you've been to the UK would be like visiting New York City and saying you've been to the USA. If he is giving tours at your time in London, I suggest taking in the Jack the Ripper walk with Don Rumbelow (who literally wrote the book on Jack the Ripper).
Someone recommended getting the Oyster Card, but you might check to see if the London TravelCard may be better for you. The TravelCards are only available to people visiting from outside the UK and can be cheaper than getting an Oyster Card. Here is a side-by-side comparison. Note that the TravelCard can also be purchased through the AAA.
Check with your bank and your credit card companies for their foriegn exchange fees and use the best card for your purchases and walkabout cash. Please check NOW--you don't want to find out that your cards are unusable overseas when you get there. You might avoid the convenience kisok ATMs in favor of those at banks for obvious reasons.
Above all else, remember: you will NOT see everything!. You can literally spend years seeing the sights of London alone much less those of the UK, so don't try to take it in all at once by limiting your visits to, say, the British Museum solely to an afternoon. Take your time and enjoy your time away from work, and if you miss something this time you can always catch that particular sight the next time you visit.
Read "Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour " by Kate Fox on your flight over.
I live in London now (from Portland, OR). My advice:
1. Bring your laptop. You will want to be able to look up points of interests, Google maps, tfl.gov.uk (their tube and bus link - provides quickest way between two points on public transport), etc. Then, buy an adapter similar to this: UK Adapter
2. Internet: the two best places to find free internet are McDonalds (one thing they have done correctly) and libraries. Also, many cafes will provide free internet. If your hotel does not, I would suggest going to a 3G store (or a Carphone Warehouse store - they are everywhere) - buy a USB stick for 3G Mobile Broadband. It works great almost all over London - very, very useful, and I have even occasionally streamed video on it.
3. Oyster card: at any tube station buy an Oyster card. Buy it for two weeks (or however long you are going to stay) and buy it for Zones 1 and 2. There will be almost nothing outside of Zones 1 and 2 that will be of interest. This will allow you to get on any tube or bus.
4. Markets: As previous posts have mentioned, I would highly suggest visiting different markets around the city. My three favorites are: Borough Market (open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and it has existed since 43 A.D.), the Flower Market (Sundays only), and the Sunday UpMarket (Sundays only - features awesome food and amazing clothes - usually handmade designer pieces). See this post on Yelp for it: London Markets
5. Museums: As the previous posters have said, London has amazing museums.
6. Shows: I would suggest going and seeing a show. I just saw Avenue Q, which is hilarious (and you can get tickets for 10 quid). And, the show tells you the purpose of the internet: The Internet is for...
7. Buy a guidebook with a map: I would suggest Lonely Planet's guide book for London. Having something that explains the historical significant of most places is what makes London so amazing. Also, must have maps to carry around with you - the grid system was a great invention!
8. Rent a car one day: This will cost about 100 quid (plus 30 to 50 for gas). Make sure it is automatic (it is hard enough driving on the other side of the road without having to shift with your left hand). The countryside outside of London is amazing. I would suggest visiting the Cotswolds - amazing little villages with historic castles, churches, narrow roads, brick streets, and amazing countryside: Cotswolds
9. Football: I would also highly suggest a football (soccer) match. A live match is amazing - worth whatever tickets cost. The energy is incredible.
10. Always pack an umbrella and wear shoes that can get wet. It will rain while you are out, and it is better to be prepared than soaking wet.
11. Get up early! It gets dark here at 4:30pm, so I would suggest getting up as early as possible to take advantage of the day.
Good luck! London is an awesome city, and you will have an amazing time.
If you like pizza and would like one in authentic Italian style at an insanely cheap price, go to Franco Manca in Brixton market. It's made by real Italians and I've heard it described as the best pizza you can get outside Italy, the best pizza in London, the best pizza in the UK etc etc and can confirm first-hand that it is indeed "bloody good". It is a completely different beast to pizza you get in America (also damn good, but different). The awkward thing is that because it's inside a covered market it has to close when the market closes, so no evenings or Sundays. And you might have to queue for 20 minutes or so. And you don't get much elbow room. And you might have to share your table with a stranger. All worth it though :)
Carry your wallet in your front pocket while on foot, and don't forget to keep to the wrong side of the road while driving. Also put a Canada patch on all items of luggage and clothing.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
As far as I know, yes - my 3 phone can only manage a 2G connection at home, albeit in the middle of nowhere.
Whatsmyip reports nat70.mia.three.co.uk when I go online, so 3 is still involved for Web access even in a 2G area.
Brains in jars is what you want!
The Grant museum is a great lil place. Very small but if you like preserved animals, skeletons and brains in jars it's the place to go.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology/
Hey, it doesn't look like anyone has pointed this out, but the T in TFL stands for TERRAPINS.
In London, I recommend the Victoria & Albert museum, and St Paul's Cathedral. In St Paul's, you can go up to a couple of viewing points high inside the church, then further up to the outside of the dome. A very cool view, if you're ok with heights.
It's easy to kill a couple weeks in London, but I wouldn't recommend it. Particularly in December. I would do something like this:
- 5 days in London
- 2 days in southern England, outside of London. Say, a day for Warwick castle and Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare's house and related stuff), and a day for the town of Bath.
- 6 days in Portugal. 3 in Lisbon and Sintra, 3 to chill out on the south coast. Much cheaper than England, better weather, still plenty to see and do. The price difference on pretty much everything probably covers the cost of the discount airline flight, so this shouldn't hurt your budget.
If not Portugal, southern Spain. Or, if you really want to go heavy on the museums and churches, Paris.
Finally, the very best travel advice - pack as light as possible. For a two week trip, you should not have to check luggage. Seriously.
Buy shampoo when you get to England, Marks & Spencer will sell you the same stuff you get here. If you've got some old socks and underwear that has you thinking "I probably ought to throw this away", bring it with you and wear it for the first week. When you're done with it, toss it in the bin and buy some new stuff. That saves you space and keeps you from needing to do laundry. If you're motivated, you can get by with just a carry-on.
Not sure if anybody has mentioned this, but London is insanely expensive. Imagine New York pricing on everything, except multiply that by the current exchange rate ( 1gpb = 1.65), plus add in some VAT. Basically, if you run in an off license (british for kwikie mart it would seem) for a bottle of water, it will be about $4 for something non trendy. Also, don't expect your credit/debit card to work anywhere, all the cards over there have chips and vendors either don't want to use the mag stripe or don't even know that it is possible. Fortunately though, most ATMs will work (and your bank will probably charge you $3 each time you use one).
I have visited the UK on several occassions and have enjoyed each trip, Some things I wish people had told me before I went the first time... If you bump into someone on the street and say excuse me, don't be surprised if they look at you attentively as if waiting to hear you ask a question, British english common usage is to ask excuse me before asking a person a question. Definitely visit a local pub, preferrably outside of London, The local Pub is a cornerstone of British society, remember not to loiter at the bar, approach the bar, politely ask the barman(or woman) for a pint of X (X being bitter, best bitter, mild, stout etc.) and expect to pay in cash. Try a full english breakfast - Britains culinary gift to the rest of the world. If you want to see something very unusual pay a visit to the Hook Norton Brewery in Oxfordshire which has the only Still-in-Production Victorian Steam Engine http://hooknortonbrewery.co.uk/ as well as some really nice beer. If you can make it as far north as York, visit the Shambles, a mediavel area of town which gives you an idea of what life was like 500+ years ago. Remember to be on your best behavior, respect others, be polite, You will find that many of the things which set you apart as a geek in the USA are normal behaviors i.e. Shyness, reservedness etc. The English are in general more reserved then Americans BUT will warm up to someone who treats with them politely and avoids being an "Ugly American" Also enjoy a pint of best bitter for me Keith
I should have been clearer - 3 only ceased roaming on Orange for mobile broadband customers, not phone customers.
You will see more of london that way.
Seeing london on the internet doesn't require you to fly over there and pay for hotels and crap.
Set it all aside and do something completely different for a change! I bet you'll love it.
I travel A LOT for work (usually in 4 different continents and twice as many countries per month), and all I need is a $20 universal power adapter. If you're going to London all you need is a $5 one specific to their plugs. There's wireless everywhere and you'll hate yourself for not taking your laptop.
I think this decision is about on par with "should i take my toothbrush."
All that region stuff is a waste of time.
Also, for short distances on deep Tube lines, you actually have to walk further to get down to the level of the train and back up again than you would just walking overland. Tube stops tend to be very close together, especially near the centre.
(1)DOCOMEFROM!2~.2'~#1WHILE:1<-"'?.1$.2'~'"':1/.1$.2'~#0"$#65535'"$"'"'&.1$.2'~'#0$#65535'"$#0'~#32767$#1"
Convert your money to Pounds before leaving the US. Most banks will be able to order the currency for you but give them a few days to have it delivered to the bank. If you don't have enough time, you can convert your currency at an international airport. Usually they will have a deal for a zero conversion fee if you convert X amount. Using public transportation can be expensive (as will everything in London) so download an offline app for London that will help be your guide to things to do within walking distance. Most hotels will have a power converter and plug adapter available upon request - no big deal there.
Bring a nice rain jacket! I just came back from the UK and its cold and wet! I bought an Arcteryx Men's Beta SL from Moosejaw.com and its great for their weather type. Buy 1 size larger for layering with sweaters.
If you've never driven a right-hand drive car, I would suggest giving it a try. My first time was one of my most fond memories of the UK. Try some where outside of London first and make sure the rental has a GPS!
Have fun.
I got a cheap but usable adapter from Target that handles most electronic and electrical devices.... with the help of a rubber band or two. Probably the geekiest place in London is the Science Museum in Kennsington. What is not to love in computers dating back before Babbage and large steam driven devices,
I've been doing a lot (20+ weeks per year) all over the world (this week Paris!) and have found that the $350 I paid for a netbook with an actual hard drive (10.1" screen) is a lot better for traveling than traveling with the corporate laptop (14.x" screen). Plus my Ubuntu netbook is faster than the Windoze laptop the company provided me with!
"There is no beast as dangerous an enemy to mankind as christians are to one another" - Ammianus Marcellinus
Image your HD.
Then format it, fill it up, reformat it at least three times.
Install a user-friendly linux distro, which should take care of your travel needs.
Once you're back home, transfer all your travel-related new files to another media, and put your old image back on your HD.
Buy offMaps (it's .99). You can highlight an area, and it will download all the maps you need offline.
Don't try and use the gps while in Airplane mode though, it doesn't work.
Instead, enable the SIM Lock on your phone to preven unnecessary data/voice usage, but it will still allow the GPS to work.
and taking any electronice device, it HAD BETTER be sqeaky clean in terms of encryption and any sort of possibly objectionable material. Your best bet would be to get a new clean net-book, and don't forget the power adaptors. It might even make sense to get one AFTER you get their, to avoid the customs mess and any compatability issues with power. I don't recall having too much success with wireless but it has been a few years now, but there were internet cafe's all over the place so I was able to stay current with the email and such. At the time I was glad I did NOT have to carry my laptop but to each there own..
any way it works out have a great trip and DON'T be a typical American tourist PLEASE :)
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Either no one mentioned it or it got buried, but I think the London Transit (Transport?) Museum is worth the visit if you're a train nerd like me. It's private so a little pricey, but the displays and original vehicles are worth it. It tells the history of the tube and trains and buses in London.
I think it's cool.
"mind the gap" and follow the thousands of other rules and recommendations the Brits love to give to everyone all the time. Essentially, lean back and let yourself get treated as a little child that is afraid and constantly concerned with "safety" and desperately crying for a big brother who puts up millions of CCTVs, and peeping toms ("CCTV operators"), and police, and security officers, and signs and announcement boards and leaflets and ...
Watch out for 'varlets'. They're everwhere, I hear.
> Golly gee, how ever did anybody visit London in the days before electronic leashes? Oh, what to do? What to do??"
Leave the laptop and all of your toys at home. Best way to see a city like London is to *see* it -- and that means not wandering and worrying about wi-fi hotspots, kiosks, facebooking, "tweetting", etc.
Print off a few pages of notes (some good suggestions in this thread), an Underground map, and have at it. //TB
I laughed. Then again, I have a keen sense of humor, irony, logic and I prefer subtle multilayered jokes.
That is why I always incorporate a fart at the end of my "deeper" jokes.
Alas... farts don't carry over very well in text.
I used to use smiley faces to indicate subtle jokes, still there were people who didn't understand it was a joke and treated it as a serious comment.
And there we come to the problem.
See... You don't use "woosh!" to indicate that the joke lacks humor.
Some jokes are actually sad or downright disgusting (like the one with a truckload of babies and a truckload of sand).
Woosh is there to indicate that it didn't even dawn on the commenter that you were joking.
Despite the fact that the Parent Post has a link to a comic and a dark humor comedy.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Go to a Carphone Warehouse store for best, cheapest selection of pay-as-you-go wireless evdo broadband dongles from different providers. I went this summer, ignored that advice, got a vodafone prepay evdo dongle at the Vodafone booth in Paddington station, and really overpaid.
Check the museum web sites for geeky lectures.
I really liked The Wellcome Collection, in Bloomsbury, near The British Library - it's looks at the intersection between medicine and art/culture - went on some really interesting free guided tours there, too.
I enjoyed going to free lectures at radical lefty bookseller Housman's, near St. Pancras and King's Cross rail stations and The British Library, but I'm a big lefty. The lectures were geeky/historical/author readings plus Q&A.
The British Library rocked my world! They are basically a museum in their own right, with an amazing collection of manuscripts - plus tons of people hanging out wit their laptops, great little cafe.
I didn't see much free wifi in coffeeshops, or many internet kiosks.
This blog ("Ian Visits") was my best find - I found many geeky events on here.
http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/
Also, consider joining Couchsurfing - there are sooo many London groups which do things like trivia nights in local pubs.
Here's some tips having been a geek and gone to London. These are just geek specific.
1) I've found you want to bring a power strip, small along with the power adapter. Lately with some many things to charge, you need more plugs. I am guessing you will probably need one plug for your laptop, one for your camera, one for your phone, and maybe one for your mp3 player of choice. You fit the adapter in to the plug and then the power strip into the adapter.
2) Get a good laptop case for the overhead. Lost a beloved laptop last year since the planes are so crowded now, when the laptop was stowed, someone jammed their suit case into my soft laptop case and cracked the screen. Didn't pull my laptop out until the second leg of my flight when it was too late to find out who did it.
3) GPS or a portable google maps device. Very useful for finding where you are in relation to the site you want to see.
4) Don't bring an expensive laptop or a large laptop. Its very hard opening a laptop over 14" in the airplane and if something happens to it, you don't want to be out $$$.
5) Stow most of your cables and power supplies in the checked luggage. You probably won't need to recharge your phone or you camera while traveling on board a plane, so why pack them in your carry on?
6) Convert some movies to MP4 (or other format). DVDs eat up room and power from your laptop. It easier to just to watch files from a flash drive.
7) Bring some flash drives. Cheap large USB drives or if your laptop uses it, SD cards, can hold a ton of pictures and it sips power from your laptop compared to the DVD player or hard drive.
There are a ton of things to see, do and eat/drink. I like using the DK guide to London. It has a nice Tube (subway) map and map of London with locations. Beyond that, I'd also recommend the Original London Walking Tours. They are fairly cheap and informative. You do tend to walk a couple of miles with them and try to avoid overlapping areas as they will tend to go over the same historical facts. If you want to see Oxford, the walking tour has one that goes out there. Its more costly than the regular ones mainly because it requires a train trip. Also, I found while both sexes of tour guides were amusing, the men tend to be louder and easier to hear.
Don't eat in the historical pubs. The food is not all that great. The beer is pretty good though, so enjoy a pint there. The more modern pubs has better fare. Ask the locals, or the police where to eat in a pub. They'll know whats good.
The Tube is very busy in the early morning and evening, especially on Friday. During those times, in London, I found it's nicer to walk.
Westminister Abbey gets a long line to get in, so go early.
Don't say out loud, "D***, has there been a genocide? Where are all the white people?"
He did say he was going to London, which last i checked was a central city in the UK...
Any UK mobile operator which fails to have signal in London has to be pretty useless.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Inamo was featured on Engadget and definitely a place to check out.
One place I would have liked to check out but which did not fit in my trip are the cabinet war rooms where you can see (amongst other WW2 things) the hotline between the UK prmier and the US president on display.
London is quite a big place, If you go to Greenwich area the Science Museum.area is too far away. Even attractions that are centrally located (lets say Westminster area and the South Bank area) are 5 minutes away by underground rather than 15 or 20 minutes walk in the horrid weather of Nov or Dec.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Not for now, from January you will be able to use them with Oyster card as well, but only in the Greater London Area.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
There is no need for any sort of power converter or new cord. Just get a plug adapter that adapts the US three-pin plug found in most laptops to the large British-style three prong plug. These are easily found in most travel stores and international airport gift stores/newstands. A current converter is not needed as all laptops I know of (and I know of quite a few) have a power adapter that automatically adjusts to 220 V/50 Hz. This is the same with cellphones, by the way. Note that this does not apply to "all" power adapters; read the fine print on the adapter.
Same with wifi; your laptop should automatically detect broadcasts on all channels, so no need to reconfigure anything. It just works.
By the way, don't use your cellphone over there. The best US plans still charge $0.75/minute to use the phone. Your data plan may or may not include international roaming; if not, be prepared to pay outrageous amounts if you use data on a smartphone. The best bet is to buy a el-cheapo local phone and a pre-paid SIM card, if you need to have a phone while you're there.
Of course, Skype is best if you don't mind being tethered to your laptop.
http://london.hackspace.org.uk/
.... I was taught to look in both directions.
Once again Mexican education trounces the rest of the world's ...
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
It is little Venice....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
People dress in a myriad different ways in London, and frankly nobody could give a toss about somebody wearing shorts and a baseball cap, heck, many locals will dress like that at times (not this time of the year tough, it has been quite cold and windy the last few days).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
... it is of course not true.
It is polite to round up to the nearest whole pound number.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Other than that, enjoy! And always remember, order two pints with your palm turned away from you.
One major problem with London transport system is how confusing it may be.
Tourists should be fine because they will rarely go out of zones 1 and 2, and will rarely use mainline trains.
But the Oyster card works with some train companies with season tickets only (i.e. weekly, monthly or yearly tickets) but it does not work when just topping up cash as needed, and most certinly is not accepted at all outside London.
This is changing in January, but it will be too late for tourists visiting London in December.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
English sausage are delicious and perfectly fine, one of the most traditional pub dishes, "bangers and mash", necessarily include them
There are so many types that it would be pointless for me to write about them here, sufice to say that you ejaculations have no basis in reality.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
You are there for vacation. Buy a couple of 8 gig SD cards from one of the online retailers where you can get them cheap, and if you have the need for the internet or something, drop into an internet cafe. Do some research before you go to know where they are (when I went a few years back, the big one I used was a block or two away from Buckingham Palace) and how much they cost. Some may even have memory card readers where, if you feel absolutely necessary to post your pics immediately, you can do it. You will probably spend about as much in your entire two weeks on a cheap internet cafe as you would buying your adaptors, and you do not have to worry about security going through your laptop.
Also, if you are there for two weeks, take some time and get out of London. Its great for three or four days, but take some time, go see Bath, Edensbourough (I can't spell), Blackpool, etc. You will be doing yourself a favor - London is an expensive city, and the countryside is absolutely beautiful (although you are going in December - pack WARM - I went in April and was feezing).
Also, if you got a camera that has a good video mode, may want to ditch the video camera as well. Less to carry around.
Besides, if you do take your laptop, do you plan to carry it around London with you all day, or leave it in your hotel / hostel? Just do yourself a favor, leave it, and enjoy yourself
Thailand was never part of the British Empire, as a matter of fact it has never been under foreign rule.
So to say "England was a nation that had to conquer an empire just to find a delicious meal" and then go on talking about Thai restaurants is a bit contradictory.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Chain restaurants guarantee minimum standards to be expected.
There are so many trustable ones in addition to the ones you mention that I will not bother to list them.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Just now, the British Museum has an exhibition about Moctezuma, the last Aztec emperor.
It is the most comprehensive exhibition ever about this enigmatic ruler.
The Japanese rooms are outstanding, as is the Islamic art on display.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
A bottle of water does not cost more than 1 pound, if you buy it in a supermarket even less, and I am talking 1 litre bottles here, smaller ones should be even cheaper.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I accidentally stumbled across the Old Operating Theatre. Fascinating look at medicine from a time before modern medicine. Definitely worth the time and money.
Church tours for the engineering specifications of the pipe organs and architecture.
While in Greenwich for the planetarium, tour the Naval Academy.
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
Your there for 2 weeks not a year!!!!!! How about getting your face away from a screen and see some of the world otherwise stay at home and play in your basement
Starbucks Coffee Card!!! I was just recently there (November 2009) and got a Card from Starbucks. It's a debit like card, so I put 5 pounds on it and said can I have a coffee off the card. I used it later too until it had a zero balance.
Then you sit down with your coffee, scratch the info off the back of the card, and proceed to create an account online. Remember that this is Starbucks UK not US so enter the UK for your place of residence.
For the rest of the week, I was always on the hunt for a Starbucks to get some WiFi for my iPhone or Mac.
Get some good sneakers for all the walking you're going to do. And buy some scotch at the duty free on the way back.
I took a USA HP WinXP laptop to the UK last summer and had automatic updates enabled. Big problem. Windows downloaded and installed an update that must have been the UK version and then Windows Genuine Advantage decided that the Windows was not licensed for the region it was in and started all the fuss with the black screen, etc. Restoring Windows to before the trip did not help. Updating in the USA after return did not fix the problem. HP Tech Service recommended running the repair CD, then going through the steps to register a new license, but just using the old license code. That worked. Check on the hotel you are intending to stay in, many charge 10+ pounds per day for access. I found that an unsecured hub was available (Doctor's Office) if I had a room on the North side of the hotel we stay in.
For a geek, there's probably little you can find around London with your laptop that you can't find in Washington.
However, if you leave everything behind, and try to find some country side, there's much more to learn and experience than you ever would in a museum.
There's some sailing clubs in Brighton that would love to take you out of a spin: The decemember North Sea is vicious, but with the right crew you'll have a great adventure. Or take a ferry to some islands, Jersey maybe...
If you wanna stay on land, check out if there are any farms in Wales or Nothern England that need a helping hand. There's hundreds of "green" projects around the UK that would love to receive visitors.
Scottland really isn't that far away, and really is a different people and countryside. Again, try to stay out of the city, and just try to find an alternate lifestyle.
A holiday, especially when on your own, should be something totally different. Forget your fears, put an away message on you email box, pack some work boots and just see where your plane ticket takes you.
I've traveled to 6 continents and 27 countries in that way, and always found a way home... happier :)
You may need The Xenophobe's Guide to the English
I'd like to buy homeland for our 10 million people. http://twitter.com/mahadiga
You're going to find a laptop useful, not just for your email, but for restaurant guides, theatre tickets, and all of the usual travel info. As in the US, the expensive hotels will charge you a fortune for Internet access, and the less expensive ones will provide it for free. You just need to find and set the appropriate SSID. You will find pay WiFi at Heathrow (The Cloud is pretty good service), and that will come in handy if your flight is delayed or cancelled. You should bring an unlocked GSM mobile phone, and buy a prepaid SIM card for about $20 at Phones 4U or Carphone Warehouse. I've had good success with Virgin Mobile there. That gives you a local phone and number, and avoids the roaming and data charges of your US carrier. It's easy to find an unlocked GSM phone in the US before you travel - try Craigslist.
London theatre is outstanding, and you can often find discounted tickets at the official ticket booth in Leicester Square. Be careful about this, since there are many other ticket agencies in that neighborhood pretending to be the official one.
Others have suggested the various London tourist attractions, but I would add that you would do well to get out of London. Both Cambridge and Oxford are easily reachable in about an hour by train (Liverpool Street for Cambridge and Paddington for Oxford). It's well worth a day trip to each, and I highly recommend seeing some of the various colleges, as well as the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
As for shopping, prices in London (all of England, really) are so high that you're not going to want to buy a lot of stuff. In addition, one effect of globalization is that many products that you will find there are available in the US at lower prices. Of course, it's still enjoyable to wander through Harrod's, Hamley's, Liberty, and other unique London shops. Oxford Street and Regent Street stores will be nicely decorated for the holidays, which makes for great window shopping.
Beside some other experiences, I have the feeling of an explosion of water, fat and liquified meat as a basis. In my mouth. That was a hot dog in Newcastle.
OTOH, I know you can be brainwashed in less than two years into kind-of-enjoying that.
Besides that, considering what people usually think about british cuisine, beeing afraid ONLY of sausages is a big sucess. :-)
bickerdyke
I am shocked that a website like this, filled with geeks, have forgotten to mention Forbidden Planet, the biggest comic and toy store in London - and I believe all of the UK. It's just a little bit south-east of Tottenham Court Road tube station.
I cannot recommend strongly enough the Transport For London journey planner. It'll give you excellent guidance on getting from point A to point B, complete with selecting which types of public transport you want to use.
It's not a bad idea to swing by Forbidden Planet on the way down to London's Chinatown. Found a nice thread here discussing Malaysian/Chinese cuisine in London.
Soho is directly north of Chinatown. Full of sex shops, gay bars, hole-in-the-wall strip joints and prime people-watching real estate. Best to go in the evening to really see the colourful people coming out. Have a pint at the The Ship in Soho. Wonderfully weird clientele. Old middle-aged punks, lesbian goths, dodgy looking ex-roadies, pensioner couples and gawking tourists who've heard about the pub.
Slightly north and a ways to the east of Chinatown is the Covent Garden area which is the heart of theatre in London and another great place to wander and people watch.
The Natural History Museum (fairy-tale building, dinosaurs, meteorites) and Science Museum in South Kensington are wonderful. The V&A across the road has a great collection of unusual musical instruments.
The Cabinet War Rooms near Westminster are fascinating (command bunker during the war), and Bletchley Park outside London is a must for any Slashdot reader. The latter sometimes has interesting events, such as an orchestra made from the various noises of old computing machinery.
Greenwich Observatory is worth a visit, if only to stand on the prime meridian. There's a new planetarium there too.
Tower Bridge has an exhibit where you can walk across the top platforms, and see the guts of the old engine rooms. Interesting if you're into bridges.
If you'll be here over winter, you can also go ice skating at Hyde Park, the Natural History Museum, and many other places.
Ignore those who say Oxford over Cambridge - the latter is stunningly gorgeous. If you have to pick one, pick Cambridge.
Also, try a real pub, with real hand-pulled bitter (that warm, flat beer you've heard so much about). Do not ask for Fosters.
Find yourself a pantomine to go to one evening and enjoy traditional british christmas entertainment
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/browse?category=231&root=10003
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime
I've preferred the multi-country plugs myself; they're a bit more expensive, but I haven't had a problem with them falling apart, either. Got one I've had for years that I still use.
If the power brick for your laptop can handle the voltage and frequency (and most can, but check the label), you won't need a new power brick.
There's no such thing as region coding for wireless networks - the Thinkpad that I had on my first trip to the UK and the Dell I had for my second both worked without any changes other than setting the SSID - just like you would on any wireless network anywhere in the world. The only thing you might have to use region coding for is watching DVDs on your laptop that you purchase overseas - there are plenty of OSS solutions that don't require you to change the region coding on the laptop drive, either, though.
Insanity is a gradual process; don't rush it.
If you're travelling by yourself, then consider staying in hostels for at least part of your trip. Do a search at some of the popular hostel sites (hostel world or hostels.com, etc).. they'll show you which one have free Wifi (many do - so consider taking your laptop), luggage lockers (especially useful if taking your laptop). Read the reviews of other travellers, and pick one that you think you'd like. The benefit of staying in hostels is that you get to meet lots of other travellers - which can be a great source of information when you're travelling in a new place - some of them will have already been there for a little while, and most are willing to share what they've learnt. Relax, be polite and friendly, and enjoy meeting some new people (yes, it can be a little scary for some of us, but fun all the same).
If you only have a short time, then fine - stay in London, but if you have more than a week, I'd strongly suggest getting out of London and visiting some small towns. A lot of the smaller towns have a lot more character. Do a search for "B&B"s (Bed-and-Breakfast accomdation).
While in London, definately get yourself an Oyster card (as others have suggested) - you can pick one up at the Tube station in Heathrow, which is probably the best way into London from the airport.
I have done a lot of solo and group trips to France, the UK, and Denmark. Here are my tips.
1) Get a netbook with wifi. Laptops are too big to carry all the time while a netbook is about perfect. I have a dell mini 9. If you cant, then just dont bring a laptop. Its not that important. get more photo storage. :)
2) Get a power adapter for your gear before leaving.
3) Get a passport/cash wallet than you can hang around your neck and put inside your shirt. The truth is that if you can be spotted as a tourist you can become a target. Put 10 pounds (thats money) in your back pocket in case you have to dump some cash and run. I have had this happen and was glad to loose 10 pounds and not find out how serious the guys were.
4) Consider staying at hostels. Many people will try to save some cash and sleep in hostels but I like them for the social scene. You can meet up in the morning with fellow travelers and get tips for the day and you can chat through the night about what they saw and get some good ideas for the next day.
5) Identify Irish pubs with kitchens close to your hotel/hostel. I find that the Irish pubs (Hightly recommend the Claddagh Ring in Hendon http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72570195125 (the hostel in Hendon is good as well) have a good plate of food that you can chow down on happily.
6) Get a day pass for the underground/city transportation and dont mess with single trip payments unless you are really planning on a single ride to and from your destination.
7) Good shoes. Dont buy new shoes just before the trip. Get some good walking or running shoes and wear them for a month. Check styles in Europe and pick something that fits in a bit yet looks reasonable to you.
8) Ditch the baseball cap and consider dressing nicer than t-shirt and jeans. You might actually pass as a european tourist instead of an american tourist. dont be affraid of slacks and a nice shirt.
9) Dont try to fake an accent in a pub(or anywhere really). Had a buddy that tried it, it cost him 4 beers
10) take 2 german girls up on anything they invite you to do with them. seriously. good times. pack 'protection' if you are single (as in batchelor)
11) consider that you dont want to site and wait for many MB of pictures to upload on slow hotel or hostel internet connections. Buy more memory cards. You can buy a 2GB memory card for the price of one upload session at an internet cafe. I travel with a bunch of sd-cards (canon T1i and an sd1100) and I just pop out an sd-card and put it with my passport and pop a new one in.
12) Shave. Just do it. If you go to a pub or a disco-tek or something you will fit in better.
IMPORTANT
12) Bring your own batteries! there is a big counterfeit battery scam and if you dont know where to buy good batteries you are in trouble. Bring a charger and a spare battery pack for your camera(s) and other battery operated gear.
13) travel light. you want to be able to carry as much with you as possible. Jeans are good for 3 days. wear lightweight undershirts so you can re-wear your outer shirt twice. for a 6 day trip I would pack 2 jeans, 3 shirts, 6 undershirts, 7 underwear, and 7 pair of socks. That should fit in a backpack nicely.
14) CARRY ON YOUR BAG. If you cant carry your main bag with you, make sure you have 2 days worth of clothes (2 underwear, 2 socks, 2 undershirts) in your carry on. You can survive on this if you must. I have had to make 7 days on that setup and wash my clothes in the sink. Sounds like a rough situation but it was somewhat rewarding in its own way.
So, be careful in planning your baggage and keeping your money and budget on track. once that is done, do the rest of the trip unscripted. simply put together a list of must sees, wants, maybees and then hit them in whatever order works. you will find that this list can morph quickly once you realize that Hyde Park and Kensington is a 1 hour deal instead of 4 you ca
Wow, are you in luck! Myself and my boyfriend just went in September for SVP's 69th annual meeting in Bristol, and we're the most geeky people we know - save my roommate. We spent a week in London and another week in a small village near Bristol, called Backwell. By the way, if you do end up in Backwell, stay at the Backwell Coach House - it's slightly more expensive than staying at a Day's Inn, but you're right near a major bus and train line, and you have a complete kitchen of your own - all within walking distance of the local supermarket and holy-freaking-crap-its-good take-out dining.
The boyfriend decided last minute to bring his G4 MacBook with us to offload pictures - and let me tell you, that was a stroke of freaking genius. All in all, I took over 2000 photographs the 2 weeks we were in the UK - far more than my sad little 512 MB memory card could handle). The wireless card region codes don't seem to matter (at least on a Mac, but I saw several other American paleo-geeks at the meeting with Windows-based laptops). Places like McDonalds have free wi-fi if you buy something - as does a little chain coffee shop called Caffe' Nero (best hot chocolate on earth - hands down).
As far as plug-ins go, there was a place around Paddington called Maplin that really knew their stuff and were pretty reasonable - I think it was 3 pounds for a cable that plugged into the power supply that was UK compliant. We stayed at a hostel in Paddington called The Green Man Pub or BestPlace - free continental breakfast of cereal, tea, toast, and jam, with laundry facilities on site. We opted for the 2-bunk room. The view is not that great, but you're literally down the street from Paddington Tube Station. Can't beat that. Oh yeah, GET. AN. OYSTER. CARD. Best way to get around town is by bus or tube, both of which take the Oyster cards.
One warning - in some place such as the British Natural History Museum, you are not allowed to plug anything into their wall sockets unless your device has been tested by the museum curators to make sure you won't trip a breaker. Silly, but understandable. No such problem at the Imperial War Museum (OMG GUNS!!!111), but it's something to keep in mind.
If you stay in Paddington, you're not that far from Hyde Park. Beautifully sculpted countryside with fat, complacent birds of many kinds, several hidden gardens, and the best part, the Princess Diana Memorial fountain. It's a meandering, circular fountain that you can soak your feet in - the brisk water feels WONDERFUL on your feet after a day of walking. Kensington is right near by as well, and the Italian Fountains, which are wonderful, if not smelly. Seriously - they need to drop some algae-eating plecos down there to thin the forest.
Some of the best dining in town is down the road from The Green Man - although the English breakfast they served there is top notch. Swanky Indian restaurants aside (the Ganges), pub fare was really the way to go - most of the pubs we ended up at were reasonably priced and clean with generous portions (it's considered bad form to ask for a doggie bag, but English food portions tend to be smaller than American anyway). The chain food places tend to be a bit pricey, and you can't get away from Starbucks or Pizza Hut. We tried.
Expect to do a lot of walking - the sheer scale of London is staggering, and there is stuff to see everywhere. The place BLEEDS history. You really should look into getting a pair of Keen shoes if you don't have them already. They make a damn sturdy sandal - and they come in a variety of styles, including hiking boot. As far as the British Museum goes, expect to dedicate more than a day to that place - it's immense, and the personal collection of King George III takes up at least 2 wings of the museum. We unfortunately only had an afternoon and only barely scratched the surface...
Another place to consider is Sir John Soane's museum - it's near the Natural History museum. It's the showcase home of the designer of the Bank of London and i
1. go on walking tours so you can see all the side streets and stuff. http://www.walks.com/
2. there's a huge geek community, check out http://www.geekery.in/london/ http://upcoming.yahoo.com/place/.2P4je.dBZgMyQ--
3. museums are free, check out the imperial war museum, V&A, british museum
4. starbucks has a deal where you can get wifi with the purchase of a starbucks gift card, pub often have wifi access too
5. use http://www.famouslocations.com/ to find spots from different films (just realized the filmed part of eyes wide shut 6.outside my place... creepy)
6. eat indian food, brick lane is famous for it.
the benefit to being able to check google maps and the TFL
You can also call 020 7222 1234 and ask someone how to get somewhere (that's a normal London phone number). I think they just run the online journey planner for you. This is useful at night if you've missed the last train and there isn't a direct bus home, but it's busy just after the pubs shut (and again just when the clubs shut) so you'll be on hold for ages at these times.
(disclaimer - I live in Milton Keynes next to Bletchley and have been to BP on many occasions).
Bletchley Park is easy to get to by public transport, it is 100 metres walk from Bletchley train station. This is on the Northampton line from London Euston. trains every half an hour from London, from about 06.00 to 24.00, they take about 50 minutes. Look for trains for Northampton, usually on Platforms 8/9/10/11 from Euston. About 15 or 20 pounds day return (sorry, our train service is very over priced).
LOL! Just as soon as I saw the heading, I could literally feel all my countrymen desperate to start teasing - it was just too good an opportunity! Some advice, Oxford/Cambridge very nice but LOTS to do in London.... West End mentioned previously and I agree 100%. Check out Oxford Street/Marble Arch (don't bother with buses, too slow just walk) and Soho/Carnaby Street. Regent Street (off of Oxford Street) good for high end shopping, Tottenham Court Road (at end of Ox St, other end to Marble Arch) is good for tech, though not nearly as popular now because internet often cheaper. Covent Garden also good, but very touristy. Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Square not as found of, these VERY touristy and you also get all the chavs (don’t worry, you’ll learn this word when you visit!) coming down on night out from suburbs. TIP: DO NOT EVER miss-pronounce Leicester Square as ‘Lie-chester’. It is pronounced ‘Lest-er’ – you WILL intensely annoy any Brits in earshot if you do this. Learn the tube (underground train network) – best way to get around on a budget. DO NOT strike up conversations with people on public transport – you WILL píss them off doing that. Do not refer to anyone Scottish you meet as ‘English’ – that’s a good way to get punched in the face. Check out The Tate. Avoid South London. Try not to confuse speaking and shouting – the American voice/accent does have a tendency to, ahem, ‘carry’ shall we say. Check out ‘toptable.com’ for good restaurants in London. Make sure you have a curry at least once here – Brick Lane is good (a little way out from West End area, but more authentic). Above all, the best advise I can offer (through also the hardest to quantify!) is just try to not be too annoying. I hate to break it to you, but recognise that American tourists don’t exactly have the best rep in London, or indeed the, em, rest of world..