Traveling to the UK

maxxoverclocker · 07-26-05, 02:01 AM

hey you guys, ive got a quick question for those of you that have visited/live in europe. im going on a church group trip to europe and my mom is stressed out about the recent 'attacks'

and the person leading the group recomended we do things that i believe would make our group stand out like a sore thumb. one of the tips was to wear your backpack on the front of your body

now i don't know if thats common practice in the uk but that sure as hell isn't normal here in san diego.

so if you guys could give me any tips on traveling it would be greatly appreciated thx

Crana · 07-26-05, 05:16 AM

lmao!

I would personally rofl if i saw people wearing backpacks on there front

I suppose a tip would be to watch out for pick pockets and the like

Where in the UK are you visiting?

Flip-Mode · 07-26-05, 05:49 AM

BackPack on the front?? I'm sorry but I've been to Swisserland, France, Hungary and I have never seen that...
Maybe someone from the UK can clerify that...

coin · 07-26-05, 07:29 AM

seeing as all the attacks have been random (in terms of vicitms and not places) there isn't really anything you can do that will make any difference other than not go. Wearing a rucksack is not going to get you arrested, there will be thousands of them being worn all over Europe, just don't do anything dum (now is not the time for practical jokes)

mage_x · 07-26-05, 08:22 AM

Definitely do not wear your backpacks on the front - you will just look like some tourist moron and everyone will probably give you strange looks and laugh.

willkill1337 · 07-26-05, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mage_x

Definitely do not wear your backpacks on the front - you will just look like some tourist moron and everyone will probably give you strange looks and laugh.

Kind of thing I do

. (the laughing at the tourists)

Yeah, it's pretty safe. Millions of people use public transport every day in London and how many people died on that one day? It's not a particularly dangerous place to be.

Malpine Walis · 07-26-05, 11:08 AM

I have to say, that ranks up there with the myth that there is some country (usually one that I know some friend of mine will be visiting) where you have to belch and fart loudly after every meal or you will insult your host. It sounds to me like someone is trying to have some fun at your expense.

Another one that I am slightly famous for is whenever I find out that someone is going to Central America, I wait until the day before they leave and then tell them that I heard on the radio on the way to work that there has just been a revolution there and it may not be safe to go. You would be surprised at how often I can make someone panic and call their travel agent.

Seriously dude, I would bet that the State Department probably has an office for travelers to determine what the local customs are. I would sooner believe what they have to say than I would believe a friends (or my own) advice.

maxxoverclocker · 07-26-05, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mage_x

Definitely do not wear your backpacks on the front - you will just look like some tourist moron and everyone will probably give you strange looks and laugh.

haha yeah thats what i was thinking, thanks everybody for the tips- i think im gonna stick with my own thoughts on what to do instead of their little booklet of "keeping safe" tips

lmao thanks again and keep offering tips if you would like

edit: lets see... im visiting London, Rome, Eindhoven, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Frankfurt. yeah thats all of em- note that some i'll only be visiting for a couple of hours

Kevin007 · 07-26-05, 04:54 PM

well, if you are in a crowded subway and you are afraid someone is going to pickpocket you, protect your bag. It isn't that hard, lol

ninthebin · 07-26-05, 05:14 PM

lol we may drive on the "wrong" side of the road but were not that backward

my suggestion would be no back pack at all - if your able to leave it in the place your staying, just take what you need for the day. Buy a football shirt and drink plenty of larger/beer at all times of the day and you will blend in easy

maxxoverclocker · 07-26-05, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninthebin

lol we may drive on the "wrong" side of the road but were not that backward

my suggestion would be no back pack at all - if your able to leave it in the place your staying, just take what you need for the day. Buy a football shirt and drink plenty of larger/beer at all times of the day and you will blend in easy

haha, the problem is that we will be staying in many different places and have to have our backback with us at all times (only thing we are allowed to bring and have to last 2 weeks)

Flip-Mode · 07-26-05, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxoverclocker

haha yeah thats what i was thinking, thanks everybody for the tips- i think im gonna stick with my own thoughts on what to do instead of their little booklet of "keeping safe" tips

lmao thanks again and keep offering tips if you would like

edit: lets see... im visiting London, Rome, Eindhoven, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Frankfurt. yeah thats all of em- note that some i'll only be visiting for a couple of hours

I don't know how old are you and if you are pro-drugs but Amsterdam has some good Marry Jane and its 100% legal

When my dad was in London he got his ass groubed by a gay person (I'm polliticaly correct) in the middle of the street because the gay dude thought he had a cute ass, go figure.
Rome has some GOOD food, they have this dried ham bacon that you eat un fried and its something to die for.

maxxoverclocker · 07-26-05, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flip-Mode

I don't know how old are you and if you are pro-drugs but Amsterdam has some good Marry Jane and its 100% legal

When my dad was in London he got his ass groubed by a gay person (I'm polliticaly correct) in the middle of the street because the gay dude thought he had a cute ass, go figure.
Rome has some GOOD food, they have this dried ham bacon that you eat un fried and its something to die for.

lmao, well im 16 and those are some interesting tips... to say in the least lol

deez · 07-26-05, 06:20 PM

I've been to London and other parts of the UK and other than more abundant public transportation and slightly different style of dress London is just like any other large city. Just dress and act just like you would at home and you will be fine. My main tip would be make sure your passport is always on you and in a safe place. I have a passport wallet I keep in my front pocket that I picked up for a few $$$.

And bring travellers checks instead of lots of cash and leave the receipts for the checks in your luggage or back at home. You will have to exchange US currency for sterling in the UK and I believe you will use euro everywhere else so no need to worry about tons of different currency.

Malpine Walis · 07-26-05, 08:37 PM

One point on the currency conversion: Don't convert dollars>pounds>euros if you can avoid it. Convert doallars to both pounds and euros in seperate transactions to avoid overpaying for stuff.

A friend of mine did that on a trip one time (it was actually a few years ago and he changed way too much during an airport layover). At the end of the trip, we figured that he spent like $50 for one hamburger because of the extra changes to unnescessary amounts of cash.

07-26-05, 02:01 AM	Thread Starter #1
maxxoverclocker Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Valley Center, CA	Traveling to the UK hey you guys, ive got a quick question for those of you that have visited/live in europe. im going on a church group trip to europe and my mom is stressed out about the recent 'attacks' and the person leading the group recomended we do things that i believe would make our group stand out like a sore thumb. one of the tips was to wear your backpack on the front of your body now i don't know if thats common practice in the uk but that sure as hell isn't normal here in san diego. so if you guys could give me any tips on traveling it would be greatly appreciated thx __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.32v - Asus Rampage Formula - 4x2048MB G.SKILL DDR2 1066 @ 1060Mhz 2.2v 5-5-5-15 - ATI Radeon 5850 - 2x1.5TB Seagate RAID0 / 2x30GB OCZ Vertex Turbo RAID0 - 650Watt Corsair CMPSU-650TX
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 05:16 AM	#2
Crana Member Join Date: Dec 2004	lmao! I would personally rofl if i saw people wearing backpacks on there front I suppose a tip would be to watch out for pick pockets and the like Where in the UK are you visiting? __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz with Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme // Asus P5Q Deluxe // PowerColor ATI HD 4870 with Zalman VF1000 // 4GB Corsair DDR2 PC 6400 RAM // 640GB WD HDD // Corsair 620W HX // Antec P182 // Samsung SyncMaster 21.6" // Windows 7 64-bit
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 05:49 AM	#3
Flip-Mode Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Beer Sheva, Israel	BackPack on the front?? I'm sorry but I've been to Swisserland, France, Hungary and I have never seen that... Maybe someone from the UK can clerify that... __________________ Heatware (Yes Israelis have it too!) PayPal Verified[/size]
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 07:29 AM	#4
coin Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Denmark	seeing as all the attacks have been random (in terms of vicitms and not places) there isn't really anything you can do that will make any difference other than not go. Wearing a rucksack is not going to get you arrested, there will be thousands of them being worn all over Europe, just don't do anything dum (now is not the time for practical jokes)
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 08:22 AM	#5
mage_x Member Join Date: Oct 2002	Definitely do not wear your backpacks on the front - you will just look like some tourist moron and everyone will probably give you strange looks and laugh.
	QUOTE Thanks

Traveling to the UK

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07-26-05, 11:08 AM	#7
Malpine Walis Disabled Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Banned Camp	I have to say, that ranks up there with the myth that there is some country (usually one that I know some friend of mine will be visiting) where you have to belch and fart loudly after every meal or you will insult your host. It sounds to me like someone is trying to have some fun at your expense. Another one that I am slightly famous for is whenever I find out that someone is going to Central America, I wait until the day before they leave and then tell them that I heard on the radio on the way to work that there has just been a revolution there and it may not be safe to go. You would be surprised at how often I can make someone panic and call their travel agent. Seriously dude, I would bet that the State Department probably has an office for travelers to determine what the local customs are. I would sooner believe what they have to say than I would believe a friends (or my own) advice.
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 04:54 PM	#9
Kevin007 Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: 321 Florida	well, if you are in a crowded subway and you are afraid someone is going to pickpocket you, protect your bag. It isn't that hard, lol __________________ AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 4.00 GB Mushkin Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H (Socket M2) ATI Radeon HD 4800
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 05:14 PM	#10
ninthebin Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Liverpool, UK	lol we may drive on the "wrong" side of the road but were not that backward my suggestion would be no back pack at all - if your able to leave it in the place your staying, just take what you need for the day. Buy a football shirt and drink plenty of larger/beer at all times of the day and you will blend in easy
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 06:20 PM	#14
deez Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Austin, TX	I've been to London and other parts of the UK and other than more abundant public transportation and slightly different style of dress London is just like any other large city. Just dress and act just like you would at home and you will be fine. My main tip would be make sure your passport is always on you and in a safe place. I have a passport wallet I keep in my front pocket that I picked up for a few $$$. And bring travellers checks instead of lots of cash and leave the receipts for the checks in your luggage or back at home. You will have to exchange US currency for sterling in the UK and I believe you will use euro everywhere else so no need to worry about tons of different currency. __________________ heatware: http://heatware.com/eval.php?id=6394
	QUOTE Thanks

07-26-05, 08:37 PM	#15
Malpine Walis Disabled Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Banned Camp	One point on the currency conversion: Don't convert dollars>pounds>euros if you can avoid it. Convert doallars to both pounds and euros in seperate transactions to avoid overpaying for stuff. A friend of mine did that on a trip one time (it was actually a few years ago and he changed way too much during an airport layover). At the end of the trip, we figured that he spent like $50 for one hamburger because of the extra changes to unnescessary amounts of cash.
	QUOTE Thanks