London, UK.
London always has a special place in my heart. Not because of the accent or all those name brands. It was the first city that I travelled to by myself during one spring break in college. First time staying at a hostel. First time having no itinerary. First time trying to figure everything out myself. First time seeing snow since I was a child. It sparked my eager to see more of the world and my first taste on solo travel.
And solo travel is actually fun. Yes, it can be dangerous when acting carelessly and lack of planning, but it's safe for the most part.
London has changed a whole lot over the years. There's different races speaking in different languages on the streets, different cuisines, and more cars.
Tube System in London.
There are several ways to take the Tube in London: Single Way Ticket, Visitor Oyster Card, or Day/Week travel pass. A Visitor Oyster Card itself costs £ 5. It can be reloaded over and over again with £10 to £50 credit. I got a Visitor’s Oyster Card when stayed in London for a week. However, I got single way tickets when I was only in London for 2 days.
The cost and which type of travel card to get also depend on where you stay. If you stay in Central London and prefer walking/strolling to sightseeing locations, maybe you want to get single way tickets instead. However, if your hotel/AirBnB is slightly further away from most sightseeing places, maybe Oyster Card is a better choice.
Day Travelpass is a paper ticket that allows user unlimited travel from 930am to 430am the next day. Within the zones it allows.
Another option is Contactless and Mobile Pay, which I haven’t tried and not sure if works on foreign phone/number. Contactless allows user to use their own bank card and credit card with a contactless symbol to pay at the gate instantly, by scanning. Mobile Pay works the same and that includes Apply pay and Google pay. To start it looks quite simple, according to TFL, just create a Contactless Oyster Account online.
London Tube charges by zone. If you are traveling to a different zone, naturally, it’s more expensive.
Alternatives
Want to take a classic Hackney Carriage or a taxi cab? It’s fun for the experience and also expensive, especially during rush hour. We got stuck in traffic for an extra 30 minutes during rush hour from Liverpool Street Station to Hyatt Regency, The Churchill. It cost us £34 for the ride (normally a 20-25 minute drive). Luckily, the driver was pretty friendly and talkative.
Or, walk. We walked a lot when in London because it was just so cool to see the buildings, the river, and the people. You'll find some surprises along the way. Like, we accidentally found Burberry's HQ building in one of the side roads.
Of course there is also the double decker tour that you can take. I recommend this if it's your first time visiting London and not really know where to go and how to get to most sightseeing locations. (It's actually quite fun to ride it for the first time.)
Speaking of tours, London does offer a whole lot of historic tours. I used the Viator app to book tours when in Europe. The tour I did in London was Jack the Ripper tour. The guide took the group to where each murder happened (or where the bodies were found) and where Johnny Depp shot his 2001 film, From Hell. Most places were in back alleys, away from main roads, and kinda sketch.
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