...And All I Got Was This Stupid Bus Pass

One of the rewarding parts of vacationing is the ability to distance oneself from work.  While I was able to escape the day-to-day stressors that accrete between vacations, transportation and transportation funding were underlying themes of my experience.

The streets of Edinburgh were bustling with activity, from tourists to bankers to local kids wearing Super Dry clothes.  Even though the town is relatively compact, the preferred method of travel by almost everyone is bus transit, not because they are all euro-hippies, but because it is so unbelievably convenient.  Lothian Buses were ubiquitous.  Most places it seemed there were as many double decker buses as their were automobiles.  The places where auto traffic was not allowed were still busy with double decker buses avoiding signs indicating the current project to add a high capacity tram in the city. 

Lothian buses allowed us to go anywhere in the city, quickly and affordably.  A single ride was a little more than a pound, a day pass was 3 pounds 20 but a week long pass was only 16 pounds.  Just think - 25 bucks to be chauffeured around all week, 23 hours a day.

The 3 pounds I had to pay for the physical Lothian bus pass provided me with a great souvenir.

And here is a picture of me near Waverly station, picking up the wifi signal from an airlink bus.  Airlink is a service offered by Lothian providing buses to and from the airport (about a 25 minute drive) every 8 minutes.  Remarkable convenience.  

While not everyone knows of the Lothian buses in Edinburgh, most everyone knows of London's tube.   I learned a lot more about the tube in London this time around.  I had no idea it went all the way out to Heathrow.  This would have come in handy instead of having to pay the 50 bucks or whatever it was I paid to ride the Heathrow express on 20 March, 2009 (of course that offered a small souvenir too).

I learned before the trip of the Oyster cards which, if you have one, provide approximately half price fares (along with unbelievably helpful information to transport planners over there).  After learning that Oyster cards were only five pounds, I knew I had to get my own, even though Ally's brother gave us two to use for the trip. 

Five pounds later I had a smile on my face, as I owned my very own Oyster card...


...with fricken Will and Kate on it. Ugh.

The Old Man in the Prince of Wales Pub

I had been in London for about 5 hours, intentionally trying to get lost and had more or less succeeded when I happened upon a little old pub in Chelsea. Satisfied that it was time for a pint, I walked up the steps of the Prince of Wales pub at the corner of Old Brompton Road and Empress Place. I tried to open both of the entryway doors to no avail. Just as I turned around to find another pub, and old man, whom I hadn't yet noticed told me that it would only be a moment or so before the pub opened. I'm sure he used a much more whimsical and creative phrase but it has since escaped me.

Shortly after, the doors were opened and the old man and I walked in. I found a seat at a table by myself and ordered from the bartender who was doubling as my waiter. After a few minutes and half of my first pint I wandered over to the old man who was sitting a few tables over. Eager to engage in a conversation with a Brit, I told him how impressed I was with the little bar and we engaged in some great chit chat.

The man had some serious health issues. Probably in his 70's, he had difficulty walking and spoke with a soft voice. I was still trying to get a sense of Londoners and wondering what they thought of me. After speaking a little bit about our respective countries' interest in "football" the man provided me with some insight into his existence. He said that his doctor had told him that if he didn't quit drinking and smoking he would die. To that, he told me. "This, this fag I can live with out but I'll be damned if I don't die with a pint in my hand". It was a simple quote but one that was more endearing than you can imagine.

For me this little anecdote sort of encapsulated my London experience, especially because all of my pictures were deleted. While most trips have pictures, this one is only memories. My adventure in London is now all in my head. I'll never forget that bar, nor the old man who sat outside with me waiting for it to open.

Because all of my pictures were deleted it was important to me to find the pub where I had such a fond memory. When I returned home I took it upon myself to find my favorite London pub. Despite walking around the city, lost, for just shy of 11 hours, I had a fairly good idea of where I had gone and I didn't think it would be hard to find. This goes to show that with a good sense of an areas geography and direction it's hard to ever really be lost. I recognized many of the places I went while I looked around London in Google Earth. I knew the pub was near Brompton Cemetery which, despite forgetting the name (as was the case with the pub) was easy to find. I looked everywhere to the north and the east but couldn't find my pub!

It was more than a year later before I happened upon the Prince of Wales pub in Chelsea in Google Earth just to the southwest of the cemetery. I've included a picture from Google Earth Street View below.



It's a very special place, very far away. I hope you get the opportunity to go there someday.

I enjoy hearing other peoples stories about travels. The personal side to trips are usually the most interesting to read about. I encourage you to write stories of your own travels on your blog. Be sure to let me know by leaving a comment. Check out some great take aways of Catholicgauze's trip to Saudi Arabia.

Google Adds to Virgin Experience with Maps

Most international air carriers offer digital maps as one of the view options with seat back television screens. Google announced last week that a partnership with Virgin America will up the digital map ante by using upgraded terrain based Google Earth maps in their fleet .

I find digital maps on planes to be enjoyable and they actually help me pass the time on long flights. My first experience was on a USA 3000 flight to Jamaica in 2004. The ability to track, in real time, the plane's location was pretty cool. It also beat the heck out of the in-flight movie, Fat Albert.

A Delta flight from Detroit to London in 2009 was my first experience with an interactive flight map. I could zoom in and out as well as toggle between the flight track and flight data such as speed, distance traveled and time remaining until landing. Being able to track the plane's progress made the flight not only seem faster, but more enjoyable as I would think to myself things like "You are directly over the mid-atlantic ridge."

Most recently I flew about 15000 miles with South African Airlines. While they had seat back maps, which most international fleets now do, they weren't interactive. In fact, the map would rotate to another screen of some doofus telling me to do calf raises and toe raises about every 15 seconds. It was a tease. I certainly don't want to get deep vein thrombosis but I don't need to be reminded constantly when stuck on a plane for, during one stint, more than 18 hours. I longed for the ability to zoom in and out at the press of a button and to tell myself things like "You are entering Liberian airspace". Virgin America passengers will no longer have to endure the pain of substandard seat back maps. It's just too bad I don't live near a Virgin America hub.

Since I brought up South African Airlines, I would be remiss if I didn't show you the safety video. Anyone who flies SAA will remember this little guy.