Mind the Gap

In honor of flying all 4,206 miles from Atlanta safely only to land in London where the Underground Tube workers are on strike, I feel compelled to talk about the transportation that I have experienced here in the UK.

Flight:

The flight is long, but if you take some earphones, a pillow, and a blanket, it's not as bad as it seems. I sat in coach on my Delta Airlines flight, but they gave us enough food and warm towlettes to make the flight comfortable. Maybe one day I will upgrade to the ever prestigious First Class, but for now the window seat will do. I would like to take time to congratulate myself on picking an awesome time to fly to London. I left Atlanta at 9:50pm (bed time) only to wake up in London at 11:10 (morning time). I was tired the next day, but really just because travelling and only getting 5 hours of sleep is exhausting. It was not for the jet lag. I also recommend making friends with the people who sit around you on the plane so that asking to go to the bathroom is less awkward. I sat next to a nice Brittish man named Steve who was a chemistry post-doc at Florida State University. How appropriate for me, a chemistry major! But unfortunate for me because I'm an Auburn fan, and the 2013 Championship Game in Pasadena is still a sore point. Regardless, he was a good sport because he named all of the landmarks that I pointed out through the window as we landed. Overall, the flight was not as bad as I anticipated!

The Underground:

I didn't get to ride it the first day I was here due to a strike that was happening, so it didn't fall favorabily in my eyes. Here's the background for this halt that did not gain any popular support: the Underground system is changing to a 24/7 service rather than closing at 11:00pm. The workers (who earn the same, maybe more than junior doctors) were angry that their pay raise was not enough. So, they decided to stop the city transportation and re-direct everyone to the very confusing bus system, which made the buses very crowded and the trip home extremely hard. Mom and I spent a good 2 hours trying to get home from central London only to arrive after 1:00am. My tired, travelling self was much less than amused. However, once the system was running again, I enjoyed the prompt arival of trains every couple of minutes and the swift travel to the places and tours that we are always late for.

Buses:

Oh, the iconic double decker buses of London. In short, I love them! It was hard not to look like a tourist with my nose glued to the glass as I watched all the buildings pass by. The trip is much slower, but it's bigger and less constraining than The Underground. It is also nice to watch how buildings stand in relation to each other so that I don't walk in circles when I have to navigate on my own. However, the routes are very confusing and it's hard to learn which buses go where.

Trains:

This is a great way to travel out of the city to long distances. We used the National Rail System to travel to Bath. Since this mode of transportation is not common in America, it had a certain novelty about it. They also sell drinks and have bathrooms, so it makes the long journeys fine. One note of advice, though, is to never take the 10:44pm train from Bath. Even though it was great to get the most out of my time in Bath, the night train was a drunken party... All the last call people travelling back to London were on it standing up, yelling, and just being drunk idiots. Luckily, there is a 10:20 train which will only shorten the stay in Bath by 24 minutes.

Bikes:

This is my favorite way to travel around London! ...but also the scariest. There are many stations where you can rent a bike and then return it to another rack wherever you travel across the city. However, coming from America, learning to ride on the left side of the road is not an easy task. Riding the bike is easy, but remembering that I can turn left on red or that I must wait on traffic to turn right isn't. There are also a lot of car drivers that only use road lines as mere suggestions which adds to the intensity of the ride. A jaunt through the park, however, is very refreshing and beautiful! Hyde park is so huge that it's almost necessary to rent a bike. I have learned to ride in a skirt, which is not very much different unless there is a headwind. Overall, use this option!

One final note of advice that I have learned from traveling around London in various different forms. Use the app called City Mapper (unless there's some new technology in the future) and STICK TO YOUR PLAN. I have learned from experience that I do not know the buses or routes well enough to take short cuts, and any attempt to shorten the journey only takes longer.

#London