CROSSING STREETS
The single greatest hazard you will face in London is crossing the street. This is because, since birth, you have learned instinctively to look first to your left, then to your right. In the United Kingdom, that is reversed.
Several tourists each year get killed or seriously injured in just this way. Winston Churchill was nearly killed in Missouri for looking in the British rather than the American direction.
Cross streets carefully. Learn to look first to the right, then around the corner to the right for any turning cars, and only then to look to the left.
EMERGENCIES
In the United States, it’s 911. In the United Kingdom, it’s 999.
CARRYING VALUABLES
Please see the Packing Pointers web page for suggestions on how to carry valuables.
PICKPOCKETS AND THIEVES
Beware of pickpockets. Never leave your belongings unattended. Beware if some person diverts your attention, particularly if you have valuables around. While you’re talking to him, his accomplice could be walking off with something.
TOILETS
You won’t want to ask a Brit, “Do you have a bathroom?” To a Brit, a “bathroom” is a room equipped with a bathtub. What you’re looking for is called a toilet. Ask for it by name.
FLOOR NUMBERING
You enter a building on the “ground floor.” The “first floor” is the one immediately above it, which we would call the second floor.
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
An elevator is a “lift.” What we call a subway, Brits call “the tube” or “the Underground” (in France, it’s the Métro). When a Brit uses the word “subway,” he means what we call a pedestrian underpass. Adhesive tape is “sticky tape.” An apartment is a “flat.” A pharmacy is a “chemist.” A truck is a “lorry.” Gasoline is “petrol.”
To a Brit, the word “pants” means panties. The drycleaner will be amused if you ask him to “please press my pants.” If you mean trousers, say so.
A cookie is a “biscuit.” French fries are “chips.” Potato chips are “potato crisps.” Hamburger meat is “mincemeat,” and a hamburger bun is a “bap.” A hamburger is still a hamburger, however. There are hundreds of other minor linguistic differences, but you’ll have no trouble understanding or making yourself understood.
NAVIGATING LONDON
To get around London, pick up a free tube map at any Underground station. Free bus maps are also available.
A “Journey Planner” for trips by bus or Underground is available on the London Transport web site.
For a street map of London, purchase a little book called London A to Z. (It's pronounced “London A to Zed.”) You can get one from any newsagent. The little book comes in various sizes, ranging from a pocket edition of just central London to huge and detailed maps of the entire metropolitan area.
USING LONDON TRANSPORT
You can of course pay an individual fare each time you use the tube or bus. Much cheaper, however, are unlimited-ride Travelcards. These can be purchased either at tube stations or from newsagents. Travelcards entitle you to ride on tube or train within the zones specified on the card for the duration of the card. A Travelcard also allows you to ride on on buses in all zones, not just the zones specified on the card. Travelcards come in different varieties. Let's talk about the Travelcard system before talking about Oyster Cards, as an understanding of Travelcards is advisable for economic use of the newer Oyster Card.
On weekdays, you can opt between the slightly more expensive all-day Travelcard or the cheaper off-peak Travelcard. The off-peak Travelcard is good on weekdays at all times after 9:30 a.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, an off-peak Travelcard is good all day. Since you will be in class most weekdays until well after 9:30 a.m., the more expensive all-day Travelcard usually will not be necessary.
London is zoned in six concentric circles, zones 1 through 6. Most of your travels will be in zones 1 and 2, so a Zones 1 and 2 off-peak Travelcard will normally suffice. The day you visit Hampton Court palace, however, a Zones 1 through 6 off-peak Travelcard will be needed to take the train there. Also, on the day of your departure for the U.S., a Zones 1 through 6 Travelcard may be a reasonable way to get to Heathrow (or most of the way to Gatwick).
While Travelcards are good on tube and rail and bus, a cheaper bus-only pass is also available. Bus-only cards may be purchased from any tube station or newsagent.
Photo IDs are not necessary for weekly, weekend, off-peak or all-day Travelcards.
Weekly Travelcards and bus passes are available. A weekly Zones 1 and 2 Travelcard
is good on the Underground and on British Rail within Zone 1 and 2, and on the bus in all six zones. Most places you will visit, including Brixton Market for Afro-Caribbean events, are in Zones 1 and 2. Wimbledon, however, is in Zone 3. Hampton Court Palace is in Zone 6.For most travel, a Zones 1 and 2 off-peak Travelcard will suffice. Weekly bus passes are also available. They are good on the bus only and are valid in all six zones. Any Travelcard, regardless of zones, is good on the bus in all six zones.
All passes are good until about 3:00 a.m. on the morning of the day after the expiration date shown on the pass, this to enable persons traveling to the pub on the last day of their pass to get back home after midnight.
What to do if you have a weekly Travelcard good only in Zones 1 and 2, but today you wish to visit Hampton Court Palace in Zone 6, or Wimbledon in Zone 3? You have three options: (a) buy a single-trip “ticket extension” to Zone 3 or Zone 6, as the case may be; (b) buy a one-day off-peak travel pass for Zones 3 through 6 (you already have Zones 1 and 2 covered); or (c) ride the bus, as a Zone 1 and 2 Travelcard is good on the bus in all six zones. Going by bus takes twice as long as going via the tube.
Now that you understand Travelcards, it's time to buy an Oyster Card. An Oyster Card works like a prepaid debit card, but you will never be charged more at the end of the day than you would have been charged if you had purchased the cheapest off-peak or all-day Travelcard covering your travels for that day. The Oyster Card is the convenient way to go. An understanding of the Travelcard system is, however, useful in making economic use of an Oyster Card, as you will be debited at the single-fare rate until it reaches the price of the cheapest day Travelcard that would have covered that day.
Weekly Travelcards and bus passes can also be put on an Oyster Card. Remember to touch both in and out when using an Oyster Card on the tube, or you will be charged for the longest possible journey you could have made. On the bus, you need only touch in.
To learn your way around the system, get a free tube map and a free bus map at any Underground station. Also use the excellent journey planner at the London Transport web site.
BRINGING GOODS BACK HOME
The airlines can do wonders to your fragile purchases. When tempted to make a purchase, a prudent question to ask yourself is, “How am I going to get this home?” Be aware of your customs limitations, which now have been increased to $800.00 per trip.
You can, however, mail personal items and gifts back to the United States, effectively taking them out of the limit on what you can bring back. You can legally send (not bring with you) as many gifts as you wish, up to $100.00 per recipient per day! While you cannot send yourself a gift, items mailed to yourself for “personal use” are duty-free up to $200.00. For specifics, click here.
POSTCARDS
Prices for postcards in Europe range from outrageous to reasonable. I’ve seen people pay a full pound (£1) for a single postcard. Twelve pence would be a fairer price. Buy your postcards in quantity. Take the tube to Leicester Square station (pronounced “Lester Square”). Walk the block or so from the Leicester Square tube station to Leicester Square itself. On this street are several souvenir shops selling postcards by the dozen. You won’t find a better price in London.
You’ll need proper British postage for an overseas postcard. You will have no trouble finding a post office. It goes without saying that United States postage stamps don’t work very well in the United Kingdom.
BRITISH DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE
Directory assistance calls are free when made from a payphone. The number to dial is 118 500. Online, you can access yellow pages at http://www.yell.co.uk or white pages at http://www.bt.com.
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