Travel & Planning

London in the Summertime

April 6, 2014 By Lauren

London gets a bad rap for weather, which is sort of…deserved. But that’s not to say that you won’t get at least two glorious weeks of summer each year. Since the summer is famously fleeting, be ready to make the most out of it. When the sun comes out, so does everyone else. Although London gets part of its personality from the ubiquitous drizzle, it shines during the summer.

When you’re planning your trip, look at Hotels4U for London Hotels that are close to transport links so you can access all that the city has to offer. Most of central London is walkable, but there’s plenty to see on the fringe and for that, your best option is usually the train system. Here are just a couple of suggestions to get you started.

Richmond

Set on the banks of the Thames, Richmond is the perfect place to find a pub and claim an outdoor table for the afternoon. If you want to do some exploring before settling in, check out Kew Gardens or Richmond Park. You could also visit Hampton Court Palace on the way in or out of London. Bear in mind that when it rains in Richmond, it pours:

Greenwich

On a sunny day, jump on the Docklands Light Railway to Greenwich, ground zero for the modern concept of timekeeping. This is where time starts, and you can get a photo of yourself straddling the prime meridian. Greenwich is its own little center of activity, with the Royal Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark (the world’s last surviving tea clipper) all within walking distance.

Covent Garden

If you’d rather stick to the heart of the city, head down to Covent Garden. It’s an old covered marketplace that is a constant flurry of activity. You can shop, watch street performers, eat, drink, and generally be merry. Is it touristy? Yes. But for good reason.

Notting Hill

Admittedly, I’m biased towards Notting Hill because I used to live there. It’s close to Portobello Market, a long street lined with a hodgepodge of shops and its main attraction, the Saturday market. It is rammed with people but don’t let that stop you. Get there early and investigate what the stalls have to offer – you could find anything, from trinkets to the best chocolate banana crepes this side of Paris.

London revels in its brief, blissful moments of summer. It’s a time when people break out the Pimm’s and (somewhat bizarrely) eschew the sunscreen, soaking up as much of the season as they possibly can. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you are in London, because you’ll be able to sense the way people’s moods have buoyed. Pull up a chair and join them, but bring an umbrella – just in case.

High tide in London — May as well go to the pub.

4 Bachelor Party ideas for Las Vegas and Beyond

August 7, 2013 By Danny

Typically, most bachelor parties here in the USA involve a lot of booze and often a trip to Las Vegas or Atlantic City. In a few weeks, I’ll be heading out on a bachelor party myself and although some of the other guys wanted to take a traditional Vegas trip and stay at a place like the www.arialasvegas.com, the bride to be was dead set against that option. Several still took the time to research Vegas flights and things to do in Sin City but it was to no avail. Las Vegas can be a great place, but it is only one of the options we have here today.

A Backwoods Adventure.

Nothing quite says manliness and male bonding like a camping trip. Somehow the challenge us urban and suburbanites face when lighting a campfire always makes stories for the ages. Add to that a few rounds of brew and no real stressors and you can have yourself a nice relaxing trip…but that’s not what bachelor parties are all about. Instead, try to take a mountain biking or a white water rafting trip. The nice thing about rafting is that by choosing a rafting company, such as the one we used on my bachelor party, no one needs to have any real skills or gear.

Be A Kid.

With this upcoming bachelor party we chose instead to do something that would be simple and fun. We’re visiting Cedar Point in Ohio where we will ride roller coasters until we’re blue in the face. To add a little bit of manliness to the weekend we’ll also be hitting a baseball game and grilling out for dinner. The really exciting thing is that none of the crew has been to this park before; most have never been to Ohio for that matter.

Travel Abroad

In sticking with the theme of doing something new, why not take that same airplane and turn it in another direction. Recently I went to a Bachelor Party that took place in Puerto Rico, no passport needed and relatively inexpensive airfare still left us in a new country with plenty of options for things to do. Although if you have more money at your disposal, you could follow the British Stag Party tradition and visit Prague instead!

Destination Honeymoons for Frequent Travelers

February 5, 2013 By Lauren

In theory, I’m planning a wedding. On February 18th my Australian fiancé and I will have been engaged for a year. At the time, I said to him, “I don’t want to be one of those couples who are engaged for years before the wedding.”

Oops.https://ishouldlogoff.wpengine.com/2013/02/20/luxury-mud-and-salt-a-visit-to-the-dead-sea/

In that year, we’ve finished working in South Korea, traveled through South America, and come to the US, where we’re putting together a de facto partner visa application so I can get to Australia.

Big Merino, Australia — Only in Australia.

Once that’s approved, we’ll get down to business on the wedding. Like, setting a date. And deciding which country we’ll get married in. But then you get all the messy details like catering, venues, flowers, color schemes; all the stuff that doesn’t interest me.

So I allow my mind to wander to more fun things.

Like our honeymoon.

Among all of the questions we get about our cross-cultural marriage, people are constantly curious about the honeymoon.

“But you’ve been to so many places. What’s left?”

And that is where they are wrong. There are plenty of places left. And it’s our honeymoon, so I figure we’ve got a license to splurge on some luxury. Right?

So I get lost in travel websites like Exsus, imagining what it would be like to let someone else take over the planning. To sleep in a fancy room with windows and fluffy pillows, have everything paid for in advance so we’re not thinking about the budget every day. A vacation in pure, unadulterated, luxury.

Drumroll, please: I now present you with my top three fantasy honeymoon destinations.

Africa

As in, the whole continent. I haven’t narrowed it down to a country yet, but here are some of the things I want to see:

One of those blazing sunsets where the sun takes over the whole sky and multiplies in size to the point where you can’t believe the sun is this big and you’ve never seen it like this before

African Sunset — Like this but BIGGER. Image Credit

Animals. Specifically lions, elephants, or giraffes, doing their thing in the wild. The real wild. Not a fancy-schmancy zoo that looks like the wild (although I am a sucker for those, too).
Victoria Falls. Though whether or not I’d get into that pool on the edge remains to be seen.
Morocco. Everything in Morocco from Marrakech to romantic and luxurious Casablanca.

That’s it, really. Any suggestions for exact locations are welcomed.

Whale Sharks

I realize that ‘whale sharks’ is not a country. But I feel like anywhere that has whale sharks has other desirable aspects, like clear blue waters, tropical climates, and secluded beaches. Countries that could satisfy this requirement include Borneo, Belize, Mexico, and Madagascar, but I’m flexible. Ideally, we’d be able to surf there, too, because it’s only fair that the honeymoon be about both of us.

Caribbean

I know. It’s generic, but I’ve never been there. Except for once, in college, when I went to the Bahamas with a group of friends. We stayed at a rundown spring break resort that had crazy happy hour specials and plenty of drunk students crowding the postage stamp-sized pool. One time I got on a bus and the driver was swigging from an open beer. Taking a trip to the Bahamas or even another island like Anguilla or Antigua would be just plain nice.

I was thinking somewhere a little more swanky for a honeymoon. Not much, but a little.

Help! Where did you go on your honeymoon?

Did you go luxury or backpack?

Ideas for Budget Travelers in the UK

January 25, 2013 By Lauren

The UK’s expensive, right?

English countryside — Beautiful UK countryside, and it’s all free!

Wrong.

Okay, well, right a little. At the time of writing, $100 US dollars will get you about £63 British pounds. Those are the kinds of numbers that can make traveling in the UK seem prohibitive.

But here’s the catch – it doesn’t have to be.

If you want to go to the UK on a budget, all you need to do is think outside the box. It won’t be as cheap as, say, Southeast Asia, but if you’re careful, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Transportation

The UK has some great transport links, which give the budget traveler some options. Always check the buses first, as they tend to be cheaper. Companies like Megabus or National Express are good ones to try. Rail networks are available all over the country, and you can save by buying a rail pass, especially if you qualify for a student discount. To get from the west coast of the UK to Northern Ireland, try taking a ferry instead of a flight.

Accommodation

By now, you’d have to be living under a rock not to know about hostels, the go-to for most explorers on a budget. Sick of hostels? How about camping? The UK has plenty of spots conducive to camping. For a small fee you can rent a space for a tent or campervan, often with shared power points, showers, and kitchen facilities.

Off the Beaten Path

England Wookey Hole — Wookey Hole, England. So THAT’S where King Kong ran off to.

Groan. What a generic phrase, right? Hear me out. As congested as the main cities of the UK can be (London, Edinburgh, or Belfast), there are rolling acres of countryside waiting to be explored. Ever hear of Cheddar, England? For £16.65 you can get a day pass to the beautiful Cheddar Gorges and Caves. Bring your own lunch and cut down on costs. Look into the places you haven’t heard of, like Wookey Hole in England. Get over to Wales, which is still overlooked on many itineraries.

Although it’s small, the UK is stuffed with history, landscapes, and charm. Besides acting as a hub for travelers into Europe, it’s a destination all of its own.

*This post was brought to you in association with Butlin’s*

Why Teach English in Korea?

November 16, 2012 By Lauren

The number one question I got when I told people I was going to teach English in Korea was this:

“Why Korea?”

Fair question. If you’d told me five years ago that I’d spend two years teaching in rural Korea, I’d have laughed at the suggestion. I knew nothing about Korea, and even less about teaching. But it happened, and here’s why.

Visas

I’m American, and my fiancé is Australian. At the time, we’d been dating for 2 years and we were running out of options – we wanted to live and work in the same country but we weren’t ready to get married and go through the visa rigmarole. I’d already worked in Australia for 1 year and it was near-impossible for him to come to the US. Korea was an appealing choice, because we were both eligible.

Couples' shirts in Korea — I promise that in Korea, matching t-shirts are okay. Our co-teachers gave us these ‘couples’ shirts’ as leaving gifts.

Eligibility

Most working holiday visas are limited to applicants between the ages of 18 – 30, but there is no such age restriction for teaching in Korea. All you need is a bachelor’s degree and a passport that shows you’re from one of seven English-speaking countries: the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, South Africa, or Ireland. As a college graduate from the US who was pushing 30, this was perfect for me.

Pay

Let’s not sugarcoat it: I needed the money. If I’d just wanted to break even on the cost of living, I’d have gone to Thailand or Central America. But I had a student loan to pay off, and I wanted to have some new experiences while I did it. South Korea has one of the highest pay rates for English teachers, starting at 1.8 million won per month. I had a TEFL certificate and a master’s in travel writing, which meant that my starting pay was 2.3 million won per month – about $2,100 USD.

Classroom in Korea — Something I didn’t plan for – the students, who were the best part of the job.

Benefits

My employer reimbursed me for my flights at a flat rate of 1.3 million won each way, as well as giving me a 300,000 won settlement allowance. For the first year, I got paid 2.3 million won on the 25^th of each month, plus an extra 100,000 a month as a ‘rural bonus.’ When I renewed for a second year, I got about 2.3 million won for severance pay and a 2 million won renewal bonus, plus I was bumped up to the next level on the payscale. Not to mention the five weeks’ vacation (which became seven weeks in the second year), the free housing, health care, and pension refund.

I’m fully aware that I will never have it that good again.

Ignorance

As I said, I knew nothing about Korea, and that was appealing. Yes, I knew that it was close to North Korea, but that didn’t deter me because here’s the thing: it’s not North Korea. It’s a small country full of scenery, culture, and generous people, and it’s really coming into its own as a tourist destination. Korea seemed just as random as Japan or China, so why not go to Korea? In the end, I couldn’t have made a better choice.

Andong, Korea — Another reason to choose Korea – excellent totem poles hidden in the forests.

Now for the disclaimer: I taught for EPIK (English Program In Korea) in Gangwon Province. Pay and benefits can vary widely depending on where you teach and what program you teach for. There are a huge variety of available teaching positions, from public schools to privately owned academies, and the application process can be very confusing. The eligibility criteria can change without warning, so do your research to make sure you know what to expect.