Travel Tips For May
If you’re walking down a London Street and you encounter a very smiley person who is really up for a chat, you should assume one of two things.
1. First of all they could be a drug addict tramp who has spent the past month concocting the most elaborate reason why you and you alone, should give them exactly £1.50 for a bus trip that will never happen. These people take trips bit they’re not on buses. If this happens do not be intimidated into giving them money just to get rid of them. Instead ignore them and pretend you just saw your best friend across the road.
2. The second plausible explanation about why a stranger might ask you for money on the street is that they are a charity fundraiser. Don’t get taken in by their charm offensive – these people are actually satanic, scourge of the earth losers who don’t really give a damn about the charity they are raising money for. If they did, they would work for free and not take a commission of what they collect. They are also more irritating than chilli sauce being fed through an intravenous drip into a mouth ulcer.
3. When you enter and leave secure sections of a hostel be careful about who goes in and out behind you. Security might be good but it’s never full proof and it only takes one slip up to ruin a perfectly good holiday. You need a Beds and Bars Card to get into the hostel at St Christopher’s so make sure the guys behind you are backpackers.
4. If you know you’re going to be out late in one of the St Christopher’s Cities, check in with reception where you can write the hostel address down on the back of your hand, pick up some emergency taxi numbers and some top tips about the best ways to get home after too many tequilas. There’s nothing worse than waking up face down in a ditch with no memory of how you got there. It’s just not classy.
5. If you’re stuck for something to do consult the oracle known as the Live Your Life Newsletter – delivered into your inbox for free from St Christopher’s. If you can’t find anything that tickles your fancy then be sure to check out the Traveller Resources on www.st-christophers.co.uk or take a turn around the bars where you will no doubt find a copy of TNT or another highly useful travel magazine.
6. If the security guard with fascist tendencies decides to confiscate your toiletry bag at the airport then stock up again without breaking the bank. In the United Kingdom you can do this at most pharmacies, Boots and Supermarkets. For some top tips on what you can get away with on the way through customs and the best buys if the worst happens, check out the new Beauty Terrorist feature in this newsletter.
7. Buy a cheap wallet to carry around as a decoy in your back packet. Pick pockets don’t happen every day but when they do make sure they get a knock off Gucci with nothing in it and keep the real Fendi, along with your credit cards and cash, safely tucked in your front pocket.
