Contemporary War and the Liberal Conscience
London, U.K.
January 4-9, 2009

ORIENTATION

• Entry requirements

  If you are planning to attend the London Seminar, you should make sure that you are prepared to meet the entry requirements for the UK.  The entry requirements for the United Kingdom vary by country of nationality. 

  If you are an American citizen traveling to the UK, you need a valid passport, and a round-trip ticket.  A visa is not required.  If you do not have a valid passport, you need to apply for one as soon as possible.  You can find out how to apply for a passport at http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html .  It typically takes 6 weeks to receive your passport upon submission of your application, however you can pay extra to have your application expedited which will allow you to receive a passport in 2 weeks.

   If you are a non-US citizen the documents required for entry into the UK vary.  You may or may not need a visa.  To find out whether you need a visa or entry clearance, visit the following website: http://www.britainusa.com/visas/visas.asp .  The UK has recently changed its visa requirements for nationals of Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Lebanon and Pakistan.  If you need a visa, you can apply for one online.  There is also a walk-in visa application center in New York, if you are in a rush.  Please make sure that you take care of this as soon as possible.
   

• How to get there and where to stay
  
  Students have been making travel arrangements on there own, using websites that find discount airfare.  If Expedia, Orbitz, or other web-based travel search engines don't locate airfare at a reasonable cost, you could try using www.gotoday.com, which is what Betsey Ward used in 2003 to locate a travel package that included airfare and hotel for a group rate.  In preparation for the 2005 seminar, some students used the online site www.studentuniverse.com to fly from NYC to London. This fare was cheaper than statravel.com, hotwire.com, travelocity.com and expedia.com. The flight costs $192 (for a limited time) plus $150 in taxes, etc for a grand total of $338.20.
  
  Another site which I highly recommend is the Kings College site that provides Travel & Tourist Information. 
  
  http://www.kcl.ac.uk/services/conbro/Travel&TouristInformation/TravelAndTouristInformation.html
  
  They provide information on traveling to London, traveling in London, tourist information and maps.  The college also provides accommodations, however it is unclear whether anything would be available outside of the summer season.  If there is a group that is interested in using this office as a resource to book accommodations, please let me know and I will contact Kings.
  
  Many students have chosen to stay in a hostel in Kings Cross (http://www.ashleehouse.co.uk/) or in a nearby hotel (The Belgrove Hotel: http://www.ukhotel.com/a_print/print_entries_frames.php?&e=43751LSF&a=1).  Others are choosing to stay with friends and family. 
   

• Upon arrival to London
  
  If you arrive at Heathrow airport you should get a special pass to ride the express train downtown.  This should cost you £8 one way, or under £20 round-trip.  It can take you directly to Paddington, which is one of the larger stations on the public transportation system.  From there, you can transfer to the train that will take you to your destination. 
   

• Transportation within the city
  
  While in London you should utilize the vast network of public transportation in order to get around.  There is a one-week pass for the basic zones (1 & 2) which should get you wherever you would like to go.  In order to get this pass you need to provide them with a passport photo so they can create your photo identification card.  For more information on the different passes and fares, and on the transportation system, visit the Transport for London home page:
  
  http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/
  
  Here is a link to the tube map:  http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/colormap.pdf
  Here is a link to the document describing the fares & tickets: http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/tickets/fandtjan2003.pdf
  
  The week pass should allow you to ride both the tube and the bus system within the zones you select.  It may take a while to commute to and from classes depending on where you are staying in London, especially if you are traveling during rush hour.  I suggest that the day prior to classes you take some time to do a "dry run" by taking public transportation from your accommodations to the school.  This may take half of an hour or more depending on where you are staying.
   

• The School
  
  Your classes will be held on the Strand Campus of King's College in London.  Most likely, they will be held in a classroom within the War Studies Department.  The Strand Campus and the War Studies Department Sites are shown in the following map:
  
  http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/wsg/contact.html
  
  Dr. Honig will be providing you with more detailed information when it becomes available.
   

• Money
  
  Most students that participated in this seminar last year spent about $600 throughout the week on food and activities.  Of course, if you go to lots of museums, attend lots of shows, and do lots of shopping you will end up spending more than this.  This amount does not include travel expenses or the cost of accommodations.
  
  You should be able to get cash in the local currency from an ATM machine using a debit or credit card.  Traveler's checks are not needed, but some may wish to take some for security.  There are many branches of HSBC if you do business with this bank. 
   

• When you are not studying...
  
  Theater:  Many students like to enjoy a little culture while they are in London and intend to take in a show or too.  Just as in New York, there are various ways to procure discount tickets.  One popular vendor is TKTS.  The London Theatre Guide gives you a look at what shows are on sale today and tells you where to locate a TKTS booth.  Visit their site at:
  
  http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts
  
  Museums:  Bring your student ID!  Many museums will give discounts to students with valid identification.  Here are the biggies you should try to check out...
  
  The British Museum: http://www.british-museum.ac.uk/
  The National Gallery: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/
  The Museum of London:  http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/