My Trip to the UK
After a year of working, with no vacation whatsoever, I finally took a well-deserved week-long break to travel to the UK. I had three objectives of my trip…to explore the wonderful sights and sounds that Stratford-Upon-Avon, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinghburgh, and of course, London have to offer, as well as check out some of the Olympics events to catch up with some old close friends (and to make new ones, too!), and to compare the quality of life in the UK to that of the US, where possible. So, how was my trip? What did I find? What did I learn? Read on! And of course, check out the hundreds of pictures in the five Facebook albums (to be posted by tonight, Aug 7th).
Part 1: The Trip:
Days 1-2: Stratford-Upon-Avon
After meeting one of my best friends, Alok, at the airport, we dropped off my stuff at his crib and set out for Stratford-Upon-Avon for the Global Gathering festival. This was kind of like “Electric Zoo”, except more poorly organized, but with more stuff to do. The good? The music, the VIP lounges, and my awesome free massage by the hot chick at the Vodafone booth. The bad? People steal stuff, like my friend’s necklace, which they literally ripped off his neck, from behind. Apparently, gold necklaces fetch a lot of pounds on the street. Also, The entrance/exit... we spent an hour wandering about the place looking for the exit, and then getting to the parking lot with the cabs! This was because there was only one exit, which was a long walk away from where the taxis picked everyone up, so it was not fun to walk around at all, especially since it gets rather chilly during the cool English summers!
After a night of loud music and hectic partying , it was a welcome change of scenary to finally explore the quaint, relaxed English town of Stratford-Upon-Avon,. After a proper British breakfast (toast, eggs, bacon, and, of course, tea), Alok and I enjoyed the nature and the beauty of William Shakespeare’s birthplace. His house was quite small, and, as we learned, it got rather cold to sleep in the winter…there was no heating back in the day! Random weird fact: English boys until age 5 wore DRESSES because the English folks knew that boys live less than girls (due to them constantly getting killed off in wars, explorations, etc), except they blamed this rate on the Devil, whom they tried to “trick” by making him think that the kids were actually girls. So, in other words, the devil really is a pedophile, and Jerry Sandusky may indeed be “the son of the Devil”! We were treated to a free play of Romeo and Juliet, and truly enjoyed the beauty and calm where Shakespeare began his ascent to becoming one of the greatest writers of all time.
After visiting Shakespeare’s house, we walked around town…a really nice, suburban, middle-class community, where even banks like HSBC and Barclay’s look like medieval castles! The town has a medieval feel to it…narrow streets, cobbled roads, and lots of cool architecture! It also has some beautiful nature…the swans on the pond gathered by the masses to be fed, and it must be so serene to enjoy a kayak ride along the pond and under the arched bridges, especially during the summer! And obviously, this is a perfect, spot for some well-disguised pregaming, before going right back to partying! Back at the Global Gathering festival, I found out that I have a bright future as a drug mole…apparently when I’m drunk, I get mistaken for a drug dealer…not, one, but TWO British lasses asked me if I have “pills”…wtf??
Days 3-4: Manchester
On the 3rd day of the trip, Alok and I woke up early and ran to the train station…we had Olympic football matches to check out! Egypt vs New Zealand began at 12…a tad too early for our appetites, especially since neither team is that good, but the second game, at 3 PM, featured Brazil, the potential World Cup 2014 champs, and one of the best young stars, Neymar, and! The game was at Old Trafford, home of the Machester United football club, one of the most famous teams in the world. Their stadium is simply awesome. Even though we were seated in some of the furthest seats, near the back, the pitch (that’s “soccer field” for you American soccer-challenged ignoramuses) was tilted at such an angle that we saw the pitch up close, and could follow every play, even without my binoculars, which now became extra baggage to carry around. Unlike most American stadiums, such as Fenway Park, Old Trafford does not have any support beams, which obstruct views for some unfortunate fans. The seats are comfy, and the atmosphere is perfect for am football match. Ahh yes, back to the game. After Belarus put a scare into the Brazilians, (and me, who had 100 pounds on brazil winning Neymar set up an assist…then scored…then set up another assist! I may have witnessed one of the greatest players to grace the football pitch, someone who Pele even called “better than Messi”! We’ll see about that, but the experience at Old Trafford was awesome. Oh yeah, it doesn’t hurt to have Brazilian fans, and hot chicks with huge boobs and circular asses, screaming at the top of their lungs…I’ll just leave it at that.
Unfortunately, other than Old Trafford, Manchester really does not have much else to offer. Despite being a small, cosmopolitan town, we barely fit into the train, which we took, jammed like sardines…and I thought the Boston Green Line, during Rush Hour was bad? The casino is tiny, and cards are shuffled by machines, the river is dirty and smelly, and one of the only things to see is the “Gay Area”…I’m not even kidding. Sure, there’s a huge shopping mall…but I’m neither a girl, nor in London, so who cares? Manchester left me disappointed…great football city, boring place to live in. whatever, maybe I was just mad that my camera broke, and that I had to rely on Alok to take all of my photographs for me.
Days 4-5: Liverpool
If I knew how incredibly beautiful Liverpool is, I would have left Manchester much sooner to come here. The architecture here is simply stunning. Don’t believe me? Take a look at my pictures…over 100 are of Liverpool alone! Large buildings with huge Roman columns. Cool building designs. Clean, bustling streets. Cute women. Friendly Scousers. Too much to see and to do, but way too little time.
One of the first things that we saw was the library, which unfortunately was under renovation. That did not stop the proud city from showing off its history on the fence around the library…I took a trip throughout Liverpool’s history…just by reading the wall. Liverpoolian hospitals built the first X-ray machine. They pioneered the first railroad. Liverpool is the hometown of the Beatles. The city has a very similar history to Boston. Besides being pioneers in medicine, public transportation, and the arts, this beautiful port city is also where the Irish came to escape the potato famine, there is a “Scouser” accent, and the residents go absolutely crazy about their sports teams, especially the football ones (Liverpool F.C. and Everton F.C.). The Liverpoolian port was used for millions of immigrants to get to the States and to Canada to start new lives. I don’t even need to Google Liverpool’s wiki page, I learned about its history right on the spot…in the middle of the city. How cool is that?
The day we came to Liverpool, Alok and I attempted to catch one of the last tours to Anfield, the home of my favorite football team, Liverpool FC, but unfortunately, it was too late. However, we had a fun time with the friendly cabbie, who took us to the stadium of his favorite club, Everton FC, told us what to see in Liverpool, and shared anecdotes about our common love of football, drinking, and his trips oversees. Usually people don’t give tips to cabbies or waiters in Europe (more on this later), but in this case we did…he charged us less to show us more, after all…Liverpool has some of the friendliest people I have ever met!
The next day, we finally did manage to make it to Anfield. What a beautiful, yet small stadium…which again has that Boston parallel to Fenway Park. What today seats only 2,000 people, in the supporters’ section, “The Kop”, as many as over 30,000 fans once STOOD the whole game! Unfortunately, after several overcrowding disasters, especially Hillsborough, where 96 fans were crushed to death, the standing section was eliminated and replaced by seats. Yet the dead fans were never forgotten. Not only is there a monument to them, with all of their names, emblazoned on jerseys, but an eternal flame is on the crest of Liverpool’s official kits. Such respect, such admiration, is simply awesome…Liverpoolians may be proud, and sometimes even boorish, but they love their fellow fans and are always there for them, and the club behaves like each fan is an important member of the family. It is one of the things I respect the most about the club, and a major reason of why I became a fan of it in the first place. Oh yeah, did I mention that they have HUGE museum? Where fans cans see EVERY trophy, watch every major goal, moment, and celebration on the telly, read about Liverpoolian legends and together celebrate the successes of the club. Boston has a sports museum, where we can’t even see each trophy…but this is for ALL of the sports teams…not just the Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox, or Patriots. Anfield has one just for ONE TEAM, and it is about THREE TIMES BIGGER. Even a non-sports fan will get chills down their spine when they walk into the museum. What an experience!
Besides football, Liverpoolians are proud of their Beatles, and we explored the museum. Lot’s of cool photographs, and a deep analysis of the history if the band, including their starts playing in various pubs and small clubs, continuing to their ascent to fame and international tours, and culminating in the breakup of the band and the personal stories of each band member. A really cool museum, which needs about half of a day to see properly.
Unfortunately the visits to Anfield and the Beatles Musum left us no time to check out the other places. Yes, we enjoyed the Beauty of the Albert Dock, the amazing architecture, and the delicious food, but we had no time to see Spaceport, the Maritime Museum, the Tate Museum, or the International Slavery Museum. One day I shall return to finish my trip to Liverpool. I just got to. I’m in love with this city. Who is coming with me?
Days 5-6: Edinburgh
Feeling like I have just gotten to Liverpool and not had the opportunity to see this beautiful city properly, I took the 4+ hour train ride to Edinburgh, in Scotland. Like Liverpool, This city’s architecture is stunning and the bustling of the city has a special feel, but in its own, unique way. The city looks old, and is built like it too. Narrow streets, cobbled roads, castle-like buildings. Yet for such an old city, it has a surprisingly modern flavor. It has some of the best whiskey in the world, and every night there are pub crawls (5 bars, plus a nightclub), which unfortunately we arrived too late for on our only night in the city, so we did not get to experience this. The funniest thing was seeing CHURCHES become bars and nightclubs…because only 2% of Scots are now religious, no one knows what to do with all of the churches! Nightlife at a church? Don’t tell the Evangelicals, they would go nuts!
The next morning, we took a cool 3 hour free “tips-only” tour throughout the city. Are amazing tour guide told us various anecdotes. There’s the one about the chick who got pregnant, attempted to hide it, got caught, hanged, and survived the hanging, only to be rehung again, but pardoned at he last minute by a man in the crowd who claimed that you “can’t kill her twice” (double jeopardy)…she would go on to marry this man and every time someone else would get hung after, she would comfort them by saying, “Don’t worry about it! I went through it too, and I’m still alive! There’s the story about people throwing human waste into the river, and eventually the smell would blow back into the city, earning it the nickname “Old, Smelly City”. Then there is the graveyard, which we saw, which has special instruments for rich people to protect recently buried bodies from being dug up and sold to the local hospital for experimentation (poor people were not as fortunate; their family members took turns guarding the grave. There’s also the story about the Brits stealing a stone from the Scots, agreeing to give it back, not doing so, getting it “stolen” y Scottish teenagers in an elaborate and daring raid on Buckingham Palace, only for it to be found by a priest who returned it to England, only having it returned by the opponent of Tony Blair, only to vote overwhelmingly for Tony Blair’s party because offered more than a symbolic stone…the opportunity to choose their own members of Parliament. Like Liverpool, I need to return to this city and go inside the castle, the banking center, and especially the pub crawl, despite the chilly weather.
Days 8-10: London
I was originally planning on seeing London for 4 days, Thursday-Sunday. However, I did not acocunt for drinking with Russians. We got drunk. In an inflatable bathtub. At 5 AM in the morning. We only stopped because the cops arrived and we had to hide. The next afternoon, we woke up at 1 PM, still hung over. Not exactly the best time to explore London. So that day I instead explored Cranfield University’s campus, which had a lot of aero-space related things, including some cool engines and plane models. We also explored the nightlife of Milton Keynes. Why are there so many hot girls there and why are they there on a Thursday? Don’t they have work tomorrow?
On Friday, I checked out the Big Ben, the London Eye (way too long of a wait to ride), the Big Ben, The London Tower Bridge. We checked out a ghallery by Michelangelo and were impressed with how he experimented on dead animals, and then later, dead humans, to contribute to our knowledge on anatomy. We also went inside Buckingham Palace. I wouldn’t mind being the king of England. Beautiful real estate, Huge palace filled with jewels and fancy furniture, free horses that I get to ride, various officials all taking care of my every need…and all I have to do is smile, wave, and invite foreign leaders to have parties. Any British princes looking for a husband? Hit me up! Since I’m not royalty (yet), I did the next best thing...went to Picadelli Circus in the evening to hang out. We found a cool restaurant where we not only got 50% off food, but due to Happy Hour, 50% off on drinks…so we got 2 bottles of wine, got drunk, and somehow managed to make it back home, on the train, without ending up somewhere in North England, without a hotel room, in the early morning.
The next day I was planning on exploring inside Parliament. Unfortunately, all the tickets were sold out for that day, and they were closed on my last day in London, on Sunday. Fuck. So I went to Harrod’s the insanely pricey shopping mall, where a woman’s bag starts at over 1,200 pounds, which is about $2,000! Obviously I did not buy anything there, but I did see plenty of Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis, and other exotic cars, mostly imported from Arabic countries street racing and breaking every rule in the book, knowing that they can easily get away with it. At night, we went to the nightclub, “Ministry of Sound”, which gets the best after 2 AM. The club has 4 floors of dance floors, live music, and is much better than anything I’ve seen in London, and possibly even New York or Vegas!
On my last day, Sunday, it was raining hard…I lucked out on the London weather for three days, but the fourth day, I would not get as lucky, especially during August, the UK’s 2nd wettest month. Nevertheless, I still managed to see the Bank of London, Trafalgar square, and the women’s marathon. Speaking of the marathon…damn…so many nationalities, so many flags waving! A ton of Americans and candians. Brazilians. New Zealanders. Russians/French. Germans. Spaniards. Dutch. Nigerians. Gotta love the diversity that the Olympics bring about! Finally, I wanted to check out the Sherlock Holmes Museum, but did not feel like standing in line, in the pouring rain, for over 45 minutes, so I settled on the gift shop, instead. By then,, my time in London was up. I could to London for a month, and still not see everything, so I’ll leave it up to you to figure out how much I missed checking out.
Conclusion:
I am a self-confessed anglophile. Most of the cities that I’ve been to, with the exception of Manchester are beautiful, with stunning architecture and bustling people. Liverpool especially impressed me, and someday, I shall find myself in the UK yet again, though I do not yet know under what circumstances. I can never have too much time to explore the UK, especially London, which would take me at least a month to see properly alone!
Part II: A Lesson on Friendship
The biggets reason why I chose to explore the UK, of all places, was because one of my best friends, Alok, studies there, and another close friend (or so I thought) was “planning” on visiting us. It also doesn’t hurt that I already knew a few people around the area. I was vastly impressed with how Aok came through in the clutch when it mattered most. He seemingly knew not only when and how to book every ticket to every destination, but how to get to the proper train, last minute, with only seconds to spare, but where to go ANYWHERE in the UK. The preparation that he has put into our trip was truly incredible, and I am blessed to have such a great friend.
The biggest lesson that I learned, unfortunately, was not what I already knew, what a great friend I had in Alok, but the one that I did not know…that my other friend, whose name shall not be mentioned, has been a fraud all along. Despite being in Europe at the same time as me, and planning out the trip with us, he bailed out at the last minute. He did not even respect me enough tell me this; I found out through Alok. He tried to sell us the bullshit that he was out of money, having spent 2,000 on Amsterdam (did he sleep with every hooker in the Red Light Distric?t)…yet still somehow managed to afford trips to Munich, Budapest, and Prague…destinations not even in his initial itinerary, with Barcelona, one of the most expensive cities in Europe still left to go. At least I did not lend him any money…I’ve heard stories, from other friends how he asked one to purchase a bottle of wine for over $100, never to pay him back. Or how he still owes a friend of mine over $1000…yes, $1000, keeps on saying he’ll pay, yet still has not. Whatever. You find out who your true friends are eventually, based on how they treat you and how they respect you.
What is a true friend? A true friend stays a month in a city when he can go home, because he knows that you are coming to see him. A true friend plans out a trip of an area he knows, and saves you money on the cheapest transportation, food, hostels, and if possible, finds friends where you can store your luggage and crash. A true friend meets you at 3 AM on a Saturday night, drives you around London, and then waits for half an hour for you to buy food to drive you home (another friend I caught up with in London). A fake friend? A fake friend borrows money from you, yet does not pay you back. A fake friend says that he will do one thing, and then bails out. A fake friend pretends that he is reliable by telling you pretty words, yet when it comes to crunch time, does not follow up with any actions.. A fake friend pretends like he can’t wait to see you, only to not make any effort onceoever to do so, despite being around the general area. I am now fortunate enough to know who my true friends and fake friends are. Do you? Take a trip if you don’t already know. It may be eye-opening.
Comparing the US to the UK
Throughout my travels to the UK, I asked myself: Would I enjoy living here? Is the standard of living and quality of life better here than where I live now? There are things that the US does better than the UK…but more important things that, I’m sad to say, the UK does better than the US. What I found out make me seriously consider if I want to move away from the US and into the UK? Do I? Not quite yet…as of now. But if the direction of this once free and great country keeps going down the gutter, as it is now, I may soon change my mind.
What the US does better than the UK:
Driving: Car insurance in the UK costs OVER TWICE as the amount in the UK. Petrol (gas) prices are over $7 a gallon. My friend actually had a car in Boston. He has never yet driven in the UK…even renting a car has a huge under-25 surcharge. There is also little places to park, with cars all over the sidewalks in smaller towns, and on the streets, where in the US the breakdown lane would be, in major ones. There are actually SPECIAL lanes reserved for Olympic vehicles! Let’s just say that I wouldn’t want to drive in the UK!
Relevance for Royalty: Maybe this is just the American in me, but I honestly could never understand why every Brit is so infatuated with the queen. Do3es she make government policy? Does she do anything other than enteratin foreign dignitaries and host parties? What exactly has she done to deserve such praise/ how much tax payer money is spent to keep the family’s extravagant lifestyle? How much did taxpayers pay for the jubilee? Why should someone be rich and popular and powerful merely because they were born to royalty. Monarchies are so pre-19th century. Stop treating certain individuals like they are better than you simply for being born! Why exactly are they better than you, do you not have self-respect?
Weather: It rains a lot. It rarely is warmer than 75 degrees during the day. It gets chilly at night. You can’t go to the beach. Everything north of London is too cold for short sleeves. Should I keep going?
Sports: The UK has football (soccer) , cricket, horse racing, and water sports. The US has (American) football, basketball, hockey, baseball AND can watch the best soccer, cricket, horse racing and rowing events on TV. We only trail in medals after China. We have beat or tied the UK in every sport…including soccer in the 2010 World Cup. We win!
What the UK does better than the us:
Vacation time: UK: Required annual PAID days: 28. US: 25% of employees do not have paid vacations. Average vacation time: 15 days. The bare truth is that the English enjoy life more than overworked Americans. Not only is this healthier for them (contributing to a longer lifespan, 80.5 years for the UK, vs 78.2 for the USA), but they travel the world more. As they travel, they learn more about their surroundings and become more culturally understanding and tolerant. The United States is losing the battle on travel, and this will hurt our standing in the world, and our understanding of how diverse cultures function and coexist, not to mention make us more stressed out, unhappier, and live less. Over 69% of American prefer required paid vacations, so Congress, what exactly are you waiting for?
Health Care: My friend is an international student. Yet like UK citizens, his health insurance costs are 100% FREE. Health insurance in the UK is based on a one-payer system, controlled by the government. So how can such a system function? Is the UK Socialist? Are the citizens being taxed to death? Are there ling wait lines? No, no, and no. UK citizens pay 20% of taxes if they make under 40,000 pounds (about $50,000) annually, and 30% if above. The first 7,000 pounds is tax free…they don’t count. By comparison, I pay a 21% tax rate…after adding up federal, state, Social security, and medicare tax. There is a 20% sales tax, but for items such as clothing, medicine, and food, it is at 0% and others such as clean energy it is only at 5%. As for “Marxism”? Sure, the government controls health care. Whatever,. Call it “Socialism” if you want. Unchecked Socialism has proven to be a failure. So has unchecked capitalism. The UK has found the solution…it’s a system in between. It works. Time for the US to follow suit.
Education: A private education for an international student tops out at 15,000 pounds ; 9,000 for a citizen (this was xcapped at 3000 as recently as in 2010). By comparison a public university in the USA costs around 20,000…about the cost for the best schools in the UK for an international student, and below n English one. Did I mention that students don’t have to pay back this money until they earn at least 10,000 pounds per year? My education at Boston University cost TWICWE as much per year. It does not matter how much I earn…I still have to pay my loans. Recently, the American Supreme Court found that there is NO CONSTIUTIONLA RIGHT to an education. How messed up is that?
Transportation: Cost for roundtrip from Manchester to Edinboutrgh: 45 pounds, the equivalent of about $70. Cost for same distance roundtrip trip via Amtrak from New York to Boston? $100. $30 more. And this is the liberal Northeast. Go to Florida or Texas, or parts of the Bible Belt, and you will find NO TRAINS running; you’ll be lucky to get a bus.
Less Religious bull: The UK has perfected the art of separation of church and state. Most people aren’t that religious in the UK; as much as 60% may be atheist outright. Religious dogma does not control political decisions on abortions, stem cell research, gay rights, or evolution debates. It does not impede the recognition of global warming? Guess what? God has not punished the Brits, who are enjoying longer vacations, longer lives due to more affordable healthcare, more affordable transportation, and a cheaper education. Well OK. I lied. God punished the Brits with the weather!
