Blog#2, London and Oxford, UK
Everyone has had cabin fever since the COVID lockdowns of 2020-2022, and if you have traveled before the pandemic, you'll notice a few differences in how airlines work in the air and on the ground, how your favorite businesses work--or have gone out of business--and how, yet again, it pays to have patience and creativity whenever you travel.
Airline companies took a big hit due to the Coronavirus. By October 2020, forty-three commercial airlines went bankrupt. Employees, from reservation specialists, to maintenance and ground crews, baggage handlers, gate personnel, in flight hosts and hostesses, let alone pilots had to go on unemployment. US Government grants--a major one for $58 billion--helped keep some airlines afloat. A couple years and a few vaccines later, air travel has made a rebound, but the costs of flights and the need for airlines to make up for lost profits has weakened customer service and costs us more. Less flights and less personnel make for more delays and cancellations. Understanding this going into the travel game will make it easier to get through the process. On the other hand, the US dollar is very strong at the moment against the British pound and the Euro--the strongest in 20 years, which means it costs us less to buy hotel rooms, goods and services once you get there.
Card or cash?
Before traveling to your destination, always try to get $100-150 in the local currency where you are traveling ahead of time. For a small fee, major banks like Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo can usually supply you with foreign currency within 24-48 hours. After a long trip, the first thing you want to do is get to your destination. If you have train, bus, or taxi fare already in your pocket, this saves time. Alternatively many credit card companies have no foreign transaction fees, and most of those have the "tap to pay" or "contactless" credit cards that in an ongoing Covid-challenged world, more and more businesses require. More than once on this trip when we stopped in a coffee shop or small business, they required contactless payments--not cash--so prepare for this by having a tap to pay credit card. If your card has a chip reader, that works, too. Most London cabs now accept contactless/chip credit cards.
Most pubs still accept cash. If you need more local currency, use your bank debit card at any bank ATMs, as they will provide the best exchange rate. Yes, it's amazing to see how your card can produce instant local currency through ATMs, and bankers design it that way to make it easy. If you can avoid it, never exchange money at the airport or at local money-exchange kiosks--their rates are always worse than the bank rate. And finally, before you leave, contact all your credit card companies (phone number on back of card) to let them know how long you will travel overseas--and where--so they won't cancel your card service when you start charging on your trip. Otherwise your card company may freeze your account, suspecting someone else has stolen your credit card. Not good, when you need to pay for something and all the business only accepts contactless payments.
Strikes and strike-outs
We left for London on July 1, 2022 on an American carrier. Other colleagues tried to leave around the same time on British Airlines and had delays and cancellations due to flight and ground personnel at Heathrow Airport staying home over wage disputes. By some reports, airline employees received 20% less pay than pre-Covid-19 levels. Why? Because airlines needed to recoup their losses, and just expected everyone to fall in line. Lack of personnel on the ground at Heathrow also meant that foreign carriers had to cancel flights for this major European hub. Moreover, as we learned when we arrived in London, the first post-Covid-19 gay pride parade took place on July 2, so more travelers from Europe burdened the transportation system--from air to train to bus to taxi--as over a million revelers came to the British capital to march along major boulevards.
We counted our blessings as our American Airlines flight on July 1 from San Diego to Dallas, and from Dallas to Heathrow had no significant delays. Many others had no such luck. One of my travel agent friends told me she had never seen it this bad in 46 years in the business. Trying to get clients to a wedding in Greece, after several days delays, they finally made it to London, but their flights to Greece were cancelled. I'm not sure if they ever made it in time. On the flight, the pilot announced several times that passengers should respect those who choose to wear masks even if mask restrictions have lifted. Yet another indicator of our post-Covid-19 world: we have to be told to be civil to one another. To paraphrase MLK, we should not judge a person by the color of their mask, or if they wear one at all, but on the content of their character. In other words, stay cool, enjoy your flight, and don't politicize something that's a personal choice. What a concept! My lifetime motto for parenting, let alone learning through travel: have fun, learn lots, and treat everyone the way you want to be treated!
Nothing to declare...
We landed at Heathrow just past 6 am, and as it turns out, our flight proved the first one to land on July 2. We noted limited airport personnel present, and when we got to customs, even less folks with badges. We were directed to a passport scanning machine section where, in no time, we rolled our luggage through the gates, proceeded through the "nothing to declare" green-colored gates, and voila, we found ourselves outside the security zone of the airport. No longer did we have to fill out a customs declaration before landing or hand it in. Was it due to the labor shortage or had the UK just made it easier for foreign travelers to breeze through customs? Yes to both, we concluded, whatever the reasons!
We spent a night in London before heading to Oxford. Crowds were large and bus transportation and cabs found it harder to get around--which also means higher fares for traditional cabs. Uber operates in London (but not in Oxford) so that option works from your Uber app but do check to see which cities have it before travelling. Construction, public works development, new bike lanes created out of climate action plans, and throngs of cabin-fevered tourists makes street travel slow and inefficient. Use the Underground (also known as the Tube) to get around--it can be one tenth the cost of a cab. At any Underground station you should buy an Oyster card, and preload it with 20-pounds. Most trips are 3-5 pounds. The card is contactless and can be used on both the subway and on buses. You can learn about Oyster cards here: Oyster online - Transport for London - Oyster cards (tfl.gov.uk)
The bus (referred to as a "coach") system is excellent between cities. When arriving at Heathrow, there are stops outside Terminal V for certain cities, including Oxford. The other option from terminals I-IV is the Heathrow Central Bus Station, which you can walk to from any terminal. Free luggage carts at the baggage claims will likely make it easier for you, especially if you lug along a lot of luggage. Once there, you can see the bus routes and gates clearly on the wall. Once you find your bus, the bus driver will load your luggage for you, then ask if you want a simple (one way) or a return (round trip). When we go to Oxford we always ask for a return, because at some point we will be coming back to Heathrow for our trip home. The round trip cost to Oxford is 18 pounds for an adult, and 16 pounds for anyone over 60 (a concession ticket). That's at the current exchange rate less than twenty bucks. They also prefer contactless/chip cards to pay for your bus ticket. Save your receipt for any return ticket as you will that proof of purchase for your return trip. Most coaches are double deckers, have charging stations for your phone at every seat, and have decent Wi-fi connections. For info and bus schedules at Heathrow, see here: Heathrow Central Bus Station - Transport for London (tfl.gov.uk)
Since we had a night booked in London, we took the Underground from Heathrow downtown, usually the most inexpensive option, and given traffic these days, the most efficient. Should you want another, quicker option to downtown, you can take the Heathrow Express Train, which takes 15 minutes to get from the airport to London Paddington station for 25 pounds (37 pounds return). You can learn about this option and even prepay your tickets online here: https://www.heathrowexpress.com/heathrow/express
Bill Clinton did not inhale here
If you are returning to London, or in our case, to Oxford, you may notice some of your favorite restaurants and pubs have gone out of business. We arrived and found out one of our go-to restaurants, Bill's, had permanently closed due to Covid. So too, the pub Eagle and Child, where J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis started their literary club "The Inklings". On further inquiry we learned that the Eagle and Child will be rebuilt as a bed and breakfast connected to a refurbished pub (it needed it).
The oldest pub in Oxford is The Bear Inn, where they have an outside beer garden which helped them survive the pandemic, and an indoor collection of cut-off neckties worth exploring. (Wear a necktie at your own risk!) Bill Clinton frequented this pub when visiting his daughter Chelsea who attended Oxford University. A regular at the Bear Inn told us Clinton usually ordered tomato soup to accommodate his vegan diet. For info on the Bear: The Bear Inn - Fuller's Pub and Restaurant in Oxford (bearoxford.co.uk)
Another great pub, and one of our favorites that remains open, The Turf Tavern, adjacent to New College, also has a Bill Clinton connection. The Turf hosts a sign in their outside courtyard that reads "Bill Clinton did not inhale here," referring to when he attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and reportedly tried marijuana. Beyond Presidential trivia, the Turf also became the Harry Potter film crew's favorite watering hole when they filmed part of the series at New College. Bottom line: if you returned and your go-to pub has shut down, find a new one. If you are visiting for the first time, explore and stake out your own neighborhood establishment. For these older pubs, taller people will have to "mind their heads" because when built, most people must have been about 5 feet tall! For info on the Turf: Turf Tavern pub in Oxford | Greene King Pubs (greeneking-pubs.co.uk)
Another note regarding traveling from the UK to the European continent. The UK has no COVID restrictions for travelers. Yet one friend of ours took the Eurostar train from London to Paris and the French authorities gave her grief because she did not have her CDC proof of vaccination card. Each country has different requirements, but most require proof of vaccination. For a country-specific COVID requirements, check out the U.S. Department of State website: COVID-19 Country Specific Information (state.gov)
When travelling to London or elsewhere, plan what you can, roll with the punches, pivot when necessary, and find new places to make your own. And of course, above all, keep learning, and keep travelling!
Ron Bee, Learn Through Travel, Oxford, July 19, 2020
