Listing Details
| ID: | 332 |
| Title: | A Singaporean In London |
| URL: | http://www.singaporeaninlondon.blogspot.com |
| Feed URL: | http://feeds.feedburner.com/ASingaporeanInLondon |
| Category: | Home & Garden: Relocating |
| Description: | A Singaporean's view of London. Writing about the differences and similarities of the two cities. |
| 8 common mistakes first time visitors to London make - Mon, 21 May 2012 00:30:00 +0000 |
 Despite the chill and the occasional hail, the calender dictates that summer has arrived. With theQueen's Diamond Jubileecelebrations andLondon 2012 Olympic Games, London will be swamped with visitors and I have no doubt many of whom are visiting London for the first time. Assuming that they are able to get pass Heathrow unscathed, I'm sure London has much to offer. Even so, it always serves well to be more prepared. Here are 8 common mistakes made by the first time visitor to London. 1. Leichester Square or Lester Square? The question 'where is Leichester Square?' would often get a puzzled look. Leicester Square, the second most famous square in London (most famous being Trafalgar Square) is often mispronounced by tourists. Can't blame them, who would expect Leicester Square to be pronounced with a silent 'c'; the correct pronunciation sounds more like 'Lester' Square. 2. Seeking out McDonalds and Burger Kings London has the dubious reputation of being expensive though with the plunging pound, it's less so now. Even then, budget travelers to London often head straight to the nearest MacDonald's and Burger Kings. I can very well see myself doing the same if I were to be in a city that I'm unfamiliar with and would like I have a fuss free meal. How far wrong an you get with a hamburger and fries? But London, being one of culinary capitals of the world has no short of eating places, even for the budget conscious (seefive cheap eats in Leicester Square andLondon Cheap Eats guide). If all else fails, my personal favourite for grabbing a quick bite isPret. It's infinitely healthier than the fast food chains. 3. Forgoing the Oyster Card Always, always get a stored valueOyster cardinstead of going for a one trip ticket. That's even if you are going to take only a single trip. The Oyster card requires a refundable deposit of £5 (making it a rather expensive souvenir) and a trip using it costs just £2 compared to £4.30 for a one way ticket. For buses, it's £1.35 and £2.30 respectively. It's a no brainer really. Frankly, I would advised against getting a travelcard. While it doesn't require a refundable deposit, you pay the daily cap of £8.40 upfront, which is a bad deal if you don't travel that much. For more fare information, visitTransport for London. 4. Keeping to the wrong side of the escalator All British roads function on right hand drive (i.e. cars drive on the left side of the road) unlike most European continental countries. Yet, its escalators including those in the London Underground have their 'slow' lanes on their right. In other words,the escalators have it the other way round. So the rule again: if you're driving slow, keep to the left, if you're walking slow, keep to the right. Forget this and face the wrath of Londoners, or rather the occasional 'tsk tsk'. 5. The big fuss about Big Ben and Tower Bridge London is probably the only capital in the world that have its most iconic buildings' names mixed up. The clock tower at Westminster isn't calledBig Ben. Big Ben is actually the big bell within the top of the clock tower. TheTower Bridgewith its twin towers, is often mistaken for London Bridge, which is comparatively mundane looking and lies further up River Thames. That said, you do get a good view of Tower Bridge if you stand on London Bridge on a clear day. 6. Giving Tower of London a miss Aww, that's too expensive. Granted, an admission ticket with no concession toTower of London cost just over £20, not exactly the cheapest tourist attractions around. But with nearly a thousand year of history as a backdrop, the Tower of London is bound to leave a deep impression. Despite the reputation of the Tower, only a handful of the condemned had the privilege of being executed within its walls and away from the mob. Throw in the fact that it used to be an armoury, mint and zoo. Presently, it's the home to the British Crown Jewels. That with itsinfamous Beefeater tour, the Tower of London is not to be missed. 7. The deckchairs aren't free When summer beckons, rows ofdeckchairswill appear in the parks in Central London. When I first arrived in London a couple of years ago, I often wondered why some would rather lay a groundsheet beside these deckchairs instead of plonking down onto them. I quickly realised why when a chap with a ticket machine strapped to his waist approached me within minutes of me settling down on a deckchair. "That'd be two pounds please," he mumbled nonchalantly. Regardless, it is a small price to pay to stretch out a bit for a couple of hours when the sun is out. Funnily, I heard a couple protesting that they were "tourists" so do not know about the fee, yet refused to vacate the deckchairs. It takes all kind. 8. Missing the Changing of Guards No first time visitor to London should miss the changing of guards at Buckingham Palace. Unless you're in town for just a couple of hours, you are almost certainly able to catch a glimpse of the most showy piece of pomp that British monarchy has come to known for. Taking place at 11.30am every summer morning (May till July) and every other morning for the rest of the year (see schedule here), thousands of visitors would lineThe Mallto ooh and aah at the procession. The best spot to be? Definitely at the small roundabout where Queen Victoria's statue is just across the road in front of Buckingham Palace. But you have to be there a bit earlier to stake out a spot else you risk being run down by the household calvary should you decide to make a mad dash across the road later on. These are the 8 most common mistakes made by a first time visitor to London. Have I missed any?  |
| Windsor Legoland Theme Park and Hotel - your kids will adore you for this - Mon, 07 May 2012 21:26:00 +0000 |
 "Mummy, I never ever want to leave Legoland!" A boy clutched his Mother's arm while watching Ollie the dragon prancing around the stage on a catchy tune. I can safely assume that he spoke for all the mersmerised kids sitting round the mockup castle that is transformed into a stage every evening with its own music mixer tucked in one of the towers. Legoland Hotel - making your visit more enjoyable Previously, unless you have booked a room in a local hotel or B&B in Windsor, you would most likely be going on a day trip to Legoland Windsor. It's quite a rush considering that the park normally opens from 10am-6pm. With the opening of theLegoland Hotel at the edge of the theme park, you can easily access Legoland through a private entrance. To add icing to the cake, Legoland hotel guests are allowed into the park 30min before the rest so that they can probably squeeze in a couple of rides before the queues get long.     The hotel room itself comes with Pirates, Kingdom and Adventure themes. Other than a double bed, there's a kids' enclave, right across the room where the double bed is. With a three (!) bed bunker and its own TV (!!), the kids can entertain themselves to sleep they've not expended all their energy in the park earlier in the day. Despite what Legoland's brochures say, this part of the world do get frequent drizzle. The good news is that all rides in Legoland will carry on functioning even when it pours (ponchos are for sale for under £4). It helps that a good number of the rides are wet anyway. Fortunately, there's a decent size water play pool with slides, water cannons and even a seesaw within the hotel for guests. If the adults fancy a swim, there's a 13m long pool lying alongside. Other than the many short rides in the park, the main attraction would have to beLegoland's Mini Land. With world's iconic buildings scaled down and constructed fully with Lego bricks, it's definitely something for both children and adults alike. Throw in moving trains, trucks and boats, it's an absolute deal clincher. Taking centre stage is of course Big Ben's clock tower, Westminster, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Wembly Stadium and Buckingham Palace. Even Swiss Re's "Gherkin", One Canada Square and even the HSBC building is on show.      How much does it cost? A one day pass to Legoland costs £43.20 for an adult and £34.20 for a child. For a bit more, you can extend your day pass by another day (seeupdated prices). As the queues for popular rides can be pretty long, you might want to take it easy and go for a two day pass instead. If so, I'd recommend staying a night at Legoland hotel, which currentlyinclude two day passeswhen you stay for a night. That itself is well worth the room rate. How do I get to Windsor Legoland from London? The fastest way to get to Windsor from London would be via train fromLondon Paddington toWindsor& Eton Central. The ride takes around half an hour and requires a change atSlough. Tickets can be booked atNational Railor purchased at the station ticket counter itself. At the time of writing, there is no discount for getting return tickets so you might wish to get the return ticket when you are actually coming back for maximum flexibility. This 150 acre theme park that is located just a short distance away from Windsor Castle is easily accessible by buses or cars. A metered cab ride from Windsor Castle costs around £11 one way, if you were to call Windsor Radio Cars at +44(0)1753 677677, it'll costs just £7. The ride shouldn't take more than 10 min if there are no jams along the way. For more information, refer toLegoland's website.           View Larger Map  |
| Inflatable Speedboat ride along Thames river - RIB Experience, a thrill ride to Thames Barrier - Wed, 02 May 2012 22:13:00 +0000 |
 Thames RIB Experience Book your tickets Ordiscounted tickets Nearest Train station: EmbankmentThe tickets have been booked well in advance. Even though there was an earlier downpour, it had reduced to a drizzle. I was initially worried that we weren't exactly properly attired for the ride. "Please wear clothes that can withstand wind and water" cautioned one of the points made in a two page full disclaimer that got printed together with our tickets. Suddenly, fleece seemed like a really bad idea. Luckily for us, the staff atThames Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) Experiencehad full sets of waterproof jacket and pants ready for us. There was no fuss about sizes for they all looked huge - Wife was practically swimming in hers. They reminded me of puffier ski wear. There were eight of us on the twelve seater ride toThames Barrierand back that afternoon. Tickets for the Thames RIB are highly sought after during weekends and I had to take a day off work just for this. Apparently, there are discounted tickets available if you turn up on the spot atEmbankment Pierbut you are taking your chances. Else check outLastminute.comthat sometimes have discounted tickets available.  After donning our waterproof suit, each of us was handed a inflatable life jacket. Apparently, there is a fee of £25 if we accidentally tug on its quick inflate cord. I take care where I rest my hands after hearing that. The ride promises a thrill ride down Thames. Having walked up and down the stretch between Westminster and Tower of London countless times, I would have thought that I've seen it all. But the buildings and monuments look rather different from the middle of Thames; riding right up next to HMS Belfast permanently docked on the Southbank seems rather surreal. The ship feels much smaller than viewing it from the bank. For some reason, people on bridges and river banks love to wave to those on the boats. They went crazy for if you're on a speedboat. The real speeding is done only after we have well cleared Tower Bridge and beyond due to safety reasons. When the throttle was ramped up, we were basically sailing through air, all thanks to the choppy water. The captain threw in a couple of twists and turns for good measure. Nothing so much that would turn a stomach though.  Other than the 75min ride to Thames Barrier and back, there's a shorter 50min ride to and fro Canary Wharf. If you have been to Thames Barrier, the Canary Wharf ride would more than suffice. I would recommend checking out the weather forecast before booking. The last thing you want is to cower in your suit for the entire ride - having raindrops hitting you at when you are speeding over water is no joke at all. View Larger Map  |