27-05-2003 21:27									#1
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Ok, I leave for London tomorrow night!

I am packing tonight. But I haven't been abroad in 10 years, and then all the prep was taken care of by my parents, so help me think of the things I will likely forget.

I have all the standard stuff taken care of: toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, razor, shaving gel, eyedrops), undies, socks, clothes of all various kinds (sight-seeing, clubbing, fine dining, etc.), different shoes (casual, nice, sneakers), deodorant, cologne, vitamins...

I have my passport, and will use my ATM card to get British currency when I land at Heathrow. I've got luggage tags for my bags.

I have some books for the flight, as well as my discman (they do let you listen to CD players in flight, don't they? I know they don't allow it during take off and landing, but after that?). I'm thinking of borrowing a friend's Gameboy, too.

Any other suggestions? I always tend to forget something.

	27-05-2003 21:28									#2
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yes, you can bring your discman and gameboy. but they dont allow classical music. it makes the likelyhood of a crash 100 fold.

	27-05-2003 21:30									#3
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I'll just have to risk it.

	27-05-2003 21:31									#4
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quote: Originally posted by Boris Godunov and will use my ATM card to get British currency when I land at Heathrow.

Can you do that? Even if you can, the exchange rates in airports is attrocious. Get some money from your bank first.


Remember, don't eat the beef.

	27-05-2003 21:32									#5
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Yeah, ATM cards work all over the world now, have done for years.

Don't forget the UK is a fairly civilised country. You can buy anything you forget to bring with you here. You'll just feel you are paying extortionate rates for it.

	27-05-2003 21:33									#6
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Well, the ATMs in Cancun give out American money, so I didn't know.

	27-05-2003 21:34									#7
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quote: Originally posted by chegitz guevara Can you do that? Even if you can, the exchange rates in airports is attrocious. Get some money from your bank first.

Hmmm, a friend told me the opposite--that this was in fact the way to get the best exchange rate.

And I don't eat beef here either!

	27-05-2003 21:43									#8
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Dont forget the adress of the American embassy. We have heared of demonstrations against american initiatives recently.

	27-05-2003 21:43									#9
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I think the exchange rate from ATMs is pretty good for debit cards but you can get a bit stung on cash withdrawls on credit cards. You should be able to ask your bank for all the information you need.

	27-05-2003 21:46									#10
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quote: Originally posted by DAVOUT Dont forget the adress of the American embassy. We have heared of demonstrations against american initiatives recently.

I'd probably be as likely as not to join the demonstrations myself

	27-05-2003 21:55									#11
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Take some hundred dollar bills also (new style, not torn etc.). Sometimes the ATM machines don't work. But I have found that the best exchange rates are given by the machines as opposed to the counters at the airport. They are usually ripoffs.

	27-05-2003 21:56									#12
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

quote: Originally posted by MikeH Don't forget the UK is a fairly civilised country.

Nonsense! Be sure to bring lots of bottled water as well as common survival gear such as a sleep bag, oil lamp, machete, and flares. Nothing electronic as you won't have a place to plug it in, and those you don't plug in will scare the natives. Britain also a very unique dialect. While not too different from American English, they will not understand you unless you speak very slowly and very loud. Make sure that you've had all your shots. They don't allow guns in London.

	27-05-2003 21:59									#13
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Get some old football-shirt that's to small and learn the english people exacly how stupid they look when they are abroad themselves.

	27-05-2003 22:03									#14
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Yeah use a normal bank's terminal instead of bureau de change. You get charged like £1 (at least with my Luxembourg bankcard i did when I had lost my UK bank card) per transaction, so take a fair amount out, don't withdraw a tenner at a time

	27-05-2003 22:22									#15
	Put an end to popups!

Yeah, like everyone else has said, make sure you have enough money in general so you don't have to miss out anything if something comes in your way that you'd like to do, or that you don't get into trouble. That's pretty much about it, I usually just make sure I have enough money, passport and tickets. That's essential, others can be arranged later if you miss something. And don't draw little money from ATMs like lightblue said, it's not that cheap. It depends, usually I find airport exchange rates horrible, but last time in Helsinki airport the rate was pretty good. You should find out the current rate so you can figure out if it's a good deal or not. There can be significant differencies.

Other than that.. you're pretty much set. If you're staying in hotel, make sure everything is good, bring confirmations etc with you if they want it, I lost mine in NY and I really had to talk a lot to get my room .
If you're staying with someone else, then that's not a problem.

Don't take too much stress, you'll always forget something anyway but make sure the very essential is with you (passport, tickets to everything, money).

Ah, and don't forget to take camera too! If you don't have one, you should borrow if your friends has.. and just get ready to have fun.

Passport, tickets, money and fun.

	27-05-2003 22:28									#16
	Put an end to popups!

Boris, Have you checked to see if you will need a voltage converter. I think their stuff runs a higher voltage than ours does. If that is the case it would make any plug in items useless without one.

BTW, Have a GREAT trip!! Be safe and enjoy. Looking forward to your "I've been to London" thread.

	27-05-2003 22:32									#17
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plato, good one. Yeah, we have 220 when you have 110.. and the plugs are different too. You'll need a converter, but they're quite cheap.
Maybe someone from UK should confirm this, but I think this is the case.

	27-05-2003 22:36									#18
	Increase Your PM Length

I don't think I'll need a converter, but I'm sure I can pick one up should I need one. The only electronic devices I will have will be the cd player and gameboy, and I'll be sure to pack plenty of extra batteries.

I'm guessing my cell phone won't work there, as I have no international plan.

	27-05-2003 22:41									#19
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dont forget to go north and order some juicy faggots and sauce.

mhhhh hhhmm

	27-05-2003 22:44									#20
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Boris, how long will you stay there?

	27-05-2003 22:46									#21
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quote: Originally posted by Pekka Ah, and don't forget to take camera too! If you don't have one, you should borrow if your friends has.. and just get ready to have fun.

No, they think that camera's steal their souls.

	27-05-2003 23:03									#22
	Put an end to popups!

Hope you have a safe trip Boris.

	27-05-2003 23:22									#23
	Full PM-box? Change here!

Dont forget that you should be able to shop 'duty-free' at some shops. You pay the duty at the store but can get it back at the airport when you're leaving. You can also buy a bagful of stuff at the Heathrow stores where its much cheaper than in-country. I always used to buy books, booze, and chocolate there on my way back to sunny Sweden but they have other stuff too.

I doubt that you'll stop there, but Keflavik airport (Iceland) used to have some great stuff to buy.

On a more serious note, here's some REALLY helpful points to consider:

Be sure to loudly proclaim your support for the Iraqi people and the illegality of Brit-US rule of Iraq as you pass through security checks, passport control, and customs.

Stare directly at all customs and security officers. Try to look beligerent (it helps if you've had a snoot-full on the flight over).

Become irate and wave your US passport if you're asked to open your bags. Make sure you tell them you know your rights.

Try to strike up conversations with any drunken Football supporters you meet. Insist that their team is no match for the defunct NY cosmos. Better yet, insist that their team is no match for any team in the USFL.

	28-05-2003 00:06									#24
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Tell 'em Aberdeen rules!

	29-05-2003 03:18									#25
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Well, off to the airport. Thanks for all the advice and well-wishes. I'll be sure to scratch "Apolyton" into various national monuments as proof of its power.

TTFN!

	29-05-2003 03:23									#26
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Dang, we didn't even get the chance to tell Boris to wander around aimlessly with lots of cash on his person in the height of London cultural hotspots, Brixton.