For most of my life, I have wanted to visit Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland because a large part of my family heritage originates from these locations. Building on my experience traveling to Japan, I made some plans back in January, found a great airline ticket price, and made my purchase. Over the months leading up to my trip, I reached out to co-workers and friends who are from both England and Scotland for advice and suggestions. Based on the feedback received, I decided to spend a short week in London and then take a train and spend a short week in Edinburg. Ireland would have to wait for another vacation or work trip. It took about 8 hours to fly from ATL to LHR.
Customs was not too long of a wait, it was about 30 mins. There are a few ways to get to central London:
- Taxi – Most Expensive, but safe and private
- Heathrow Express Train – Moderate price at 20GBP, 15-minute ride to Paddington Station
- Standard London Under/Overground aka The Tube – Cheapest, 3gbp and about 45 minutes
I followed my friends’ advice, got an Oyster Card, and took the long ride toward central London. My goal was to get to my Marriott in “Kilburn” and catch up on sleep as I had never felt jet lag going in this direction before.
It was lightly raining. I had opted this trip to use a hiking backpack and had my large raincoat so the weather was manageable. There was one major issue. Turns out there is both a Kilburn and Kilburn Park set of stations. Trying to follow the map, I rode the Piccadilly (Blue) Line to Hammersmith, then the Hammersmith/City (Pink) line to Baker Street (yes, Sherlock Holmes), and then the Jubilee (Grey) line to Kilburn. It took me about 30 minutes of hiking around to realize my hotel was nowhere nearby. Try it out yourself without the jet lag…
Returning to the station, I asked one of the workers for some help. They pointed out that Bakerloo (brown) Line had Kilburn Park and this was probably my mistake. So I backtracked and switched from the Jubilee (Grey) line to the Bakerloo (brown) line. About 10 mins later I left the Kilburn Park station, found my hotel, and checked in.
For this vacation, I chose to stay at a hotel which is a very expensive option, especially in central London. My hope was to save a little by staying on the outskirts of the city. I asked the front desk if the local area was safe. With a grin, the person checking me in said “well, the area is called KILL and BURN”. (I would later realize this was a bit of “cheeky” British humor.) Feeling a little hungry I visited my first, real English pub and enjoyed a Guinness and some Fish-n-Chips.
Returning to the Marriott, I relaxed in my room and tried to go to sleep around 9 pm local time. This was a 5-hour difference from my East Coast US time so this would be like trying to go to sleep at 4 pm. I think the lack of sleep on the flight helped, but the jet lag would torture me for the next few days.
