Chislehurst Caves: The Underground Town 11.9.11

Read all the way to the end for a brand new awesome giveaway!

It’s not often we get to see what happens underground, which is a shame, because many times it can be super cool. In the past few years I’ve been fortunate to see many underground attractions, like Portland’s Shanghai Tunnels. One of the others I add to my list is Chislehurst Caves. A short train ride from London will get you there and it’s not a far walk from the station. Chislehurst Caves was listed as an included attraction with our London Pass, so we figured with our free day, we should go check it out and then either head on to Windsor Palace, Eltham Palace or head back into London to hit up the zoo. We are always on the lookout for fun and unusual places and we enjoyed the novelty of taking a train, so we made plans to check it out.

“Orpington, this is Orpington.” The robotic woman’s voice announcing the stop made it feel like we were stepping into a sci-fi adventure. Oddly enough, Chislehurst Caves was similar, having been used in the original Dr. Who show as the set for The Mines of Solos. Of course, we didn’t know that yet. We didn’t really know what to expect. Having visited near opening and also in the middle of the week in the late fall, we ended up at the Caves and found ourselves practically the only tourists there. There were a few visitors, but it appeared that they were just leaving. As a result, we had a tour guide all to ourselves and were able to ask all the questions we wanted, chit chat about TV shows and get a closer look at some of the sets and artifacts.

Stage that has seen acts like David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd

What drew me to the caves in the first place was not the fact that they were chalk mines and mined for bricks for London buildings or even that it was used as the set for multiple shows and movies or a concert venue for up-and-coming acts like the Rolling Stones. I mean, sure, those things are interesting, but the fact that it used to be an air-raid shelter. During WWII thousands of families took shelter down in the caves and a whole city was built and life was conducted underground. Imagine going to school, church, the doctor and then going “home” in the labyrinth of caves to escape the horrors of war. The caves housed over 15,000 people at that time.

The caves may seem creepier than they would if they were lit up, because you carry a lantern throughout your 45 minute tour. The shadows can play tricks on you and you also wonder what lurks in the darkness beyond the circle of light cast by it. The walls have a twinkle to them, from the flint that is also found there, and was a big reason that Dr. Who used them to film in. You will see some items that were left behind when the caves were closed as an air-raid shelter and wonder if it was just as frightening when those people were living there. Each family was assigned a set of bunks to call home and were allowed to bring only what they could carry, which couldn’t have been much.

Even now you can view remains left from WWI, when it was used to house artillery. Bring a sweater and your camera, plus make sure to wear good walking shoes, as the ground is uneven and you will walk about a mile down there. Make a detour to the gift shop and café on your way out to commemorate your visit and also help to keep the caves open and available to tour. Prices are very affordable and only cost 5£ for adults and 3£ for seniors (over 60) and kids under 16. Under 3 are free! I would certainly suggest this as an addition to another activity out of the city if you will be taking the train, as it will give you an excuse to buy a day pass (if you don’t have the transportation option on your London Pass or an Oyster Card) and make the most of your money. If you’re driving, Chislehurst Caves is easy to find and also has free parking. Score!

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Need another reason to visit London besides all the totally awesome stuff there is to see and do there? Plan a trip in the next 9 months and book a flight out on British Airways by November 15 (for travel through March of next year) and get low rates on fares and also 2 free hotel nights! Enticing yet? Find more things to do by checking out London Pass and also some of these fun articles I've written to show you that you can plan a trip to London on a budget!

 London For Less (So You Can Buy More Shoes)

Can You Hear London Calling?

Explore London While Staying Within a Budget

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There's a new giveaway starting! Ebates is sponsoring a $75 Ebags gift card. Remember those reviews I did for the Eagle Creek Pack-It Cubes and the Emerson bag? Well, win this gift card and you can buy those or any of the other fabulous items on Ebags. The only rules is that you must be an Ebates member and "like" Shereen Travels Cheap on Facebook. All other options are for extra entries. Drawing will take place at midnight EST on Sunday 11/13. 

Good luck!

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Zoos (and Aquariums) Around the World 11.5.11

Do you love animals? If you do, then you and I would get along just perfectly. I have loved animals and the zoo for as long as I can remember. It was a favorite family activity, because it was fun, affordable and took up most of a day. These days the zoo can cost a little bit more, but there’s so much to see and you can bring your own food, take a camera and enjoy a great outing. The fact is, we both have such fond memories of the zoo, that we plan a visit anytime we are on vacation. Who knows what kind of new animals you’ll see when you step through the gates? It’s exciting! No matter how many zoos you go to, they are all different. You’ll have a unique experience from all the others you’ve visited.

You know who else loves zoos? Kids! If you have one or more, they are bound to think a trip to the zoo is the best thing ever. You might also even be in possession of a zoo membership. If you do, you can use it to its full extent and visit other zoos around the U.S., Mexico and Canada for free or at a 50% discount. Find out which zoos are participating in the program at AZA.org. AZA stands for Association of Zoos and Aquariums, so there are aquariums across North America that also allow for free and discounted admission, too! What little boy isn't thrilled to pieces at the sight of sharks and stingrays? None that I know of! 

While you may not be able to get into international zoos for free or less, they can still be an affordable activity. Factor in the time you may spend there. If it's most of a day, then it may very well be worth the admission fee. How much would other activities cost you? Possibly more! Kids always feel like a day at the zoo or something else they planned is a special day for them. It's also familiar enough with a home activity that they will feel more comfortable in their foreign surroundings. 

Some zoos and aquariums have shows that involve the animals (usually those that have been rehabilitated "rescues") where you be educated on the different types of animals. We took a trip to Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa and we were able to both feed the lorikeets (like below) and watch a show that starred many different animals. We learned quite a bit about them, got to see them up close and were entertained by their antics.

Touch tanks and animal meetings are fantastic for children and adults alike. As you can see from my pictures, I love the lorikeets. I won't hesitate to spend $1 or $5 to feed them. They love fruit and sugar water. I would also recommend not using this exhibit as a time to hope you can get over your fear of birds, unless you are into immersion therapy. Sometimes you get one or two birds and sometimes you get as many that can stand on you, as you see in my second photo there. I have one hanging onto my back, if you can see that, and a few seconds before this picture was taken, I also had one on my head. LOL!

As you can see, Eric likes touch tanks, too.

So, if zoos or aquariums have not been on your travel list, maybe think about adding it to future trips. If a zoo membership won't get you in free to the zoo at your destination, another thing you can look into is CityPASS in the U.S. or search for city passes in other destinations. They almost always include entry to the local zoo and/or aquarium. After those, you can get working on doing the rest of the long list of things your city pass is good for. 

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Don't forget to enter the Space Bag TO GO giveaway going on right now. Many entry options and winner will get a bonus if we can get more than 500 entries, so forward to your friends!

Enter now!

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I want to remind you again that we have a great newsletter that goes out once a week (maybe twice if something too good to miss presents itself) with updates, tips and blog reminders.

Ebates asked me to tell their readers all about how to save on holiday vacations, so I came up with some non-traditional ways to save you money and you can also refer back to my previous post with them if you are looking to save when visiting family. 

Planning Early for Affordable Holiday Travels 

Go On A Destination Holiday! 

FareCompare is going strong helping its readers learn how to fly affordably and find flights to fit everyone's budget. I have been doing some posting for them and this week they asked me to show business travelers how they can save while they travel all over for work. My blogger friends can certainly use this advice as well, because they use their commute time to blog, journal and write articles. 

It's been a busy week for Shereen Travels Cheap. The book came out and I've guest posted all over. One of my posts this week is on the Madame Deals site. She aims to show you how to save with everyday grocery deals. I offered to show her readers how to save on family travel and she took me up on it. You can read it here.

Review (and Giveaway!): Space Bag To-Go

I have a tendency to pack light on my way somewhere and then buy too much stuff and not be able to fit it all in my luggage on my way back. I've learned to combat this in several ways. One of them is to pack an extra bag, like a tote, that I can use to put overflow on the way home. Another way, which I thinks is genius is to pack a set of Space Bags with me. From the first I heard of Space Bag, I was totally hooked on the idea and have bought them for my house, for packing and keeping my sheets fresh in my linen closet. There are so many more things you can use them for, but my favorite is packing! You've seen me packing them for my Hawaii trip, but Space Bag was awesome enough to notice and asked me to officially review them and do a giveaway! Like I'm going to say no to that!

I almost always use Space Bags on my return trip from any vacation, because it helps me to pack more and keeps everything together, plus, it still helps me pack small and I don't have to check bags and pay fees. They are super easy to use, too. If you've used the regular Space Bag, you may wonder where you are supposed to get a vacuum on vacation. Well, the best part of these travel sizes is that they are smaller and don't require anything except your own strength. Once you put your items in the bag, you zip it closed and roll it up to push the air out of the one-way valve like this:

Now, I like to use my Space Bags to their best capacity. Obviously, you could use two to do the same job and they will be smaller when you push out the air and even use them to sandwich breakable items in between, which I have done when bringing back bottles of wine and checking my bags. Here you will see the items I picked to bring on a weeklong vacation for just me. 4 sweaters, a blazer, a little black dress, 2 pairs of jeans, a jacket, my toiletry bag and 2 pairs of shoes. Now, this is just for show, because you already know I would never pack a jacket or a second pair of shoes, but I wanted to give you an idea of what you could pack, even if you overpacked, in a carry-on with the help of Space Bag. Look at the pile and see how well it doesn't fit in my carry-on. Bummer.

 

I could take it all, if I didn't want to bring shoes or my toiletries!

So, at this point I employed my Space Bags. I used one carry-on size and one suitcase size. I packed all the clothing into the suitcase size and the coat into the carry-on size. The larger size is perfect, because it fits right into the bottom of the bag with no space wasted. Now, with the Space Bag, I was able to get everything in the bag that I planned to take.

Now my pile is almost half the size it was originally!

There would have been a bit MORE room if I had cinched the straps tighter.

Look how well it all fits now, even just tossing my shoes in willy nilly.

 As you can see, I was able to scrunch my clothing down about a third, allowing me to get everything in the bag that I wanted to take. I'll be nice and warm at my destination and look great, too! If you pack less in your Space Bag and use multiples, it is possible to cut your volume by half. Think of all the other stuff you could pack in that space! Maybe you plan to bring some small gifts with you, or you want to buy a few souvenirs. Those would fit! Even I have free space in between my shoes and toiletry bag where I could add items. Just imagine the possibilities! 

There are my Space Bags and other zipper bags on the left from my last trip's essentials!

If you want to win a travel set of Space Bags To-Go, that includes one carry-on size and one suitcase size, you can enter below. The entries will be taken through Tuesday and the winner will receive this really awesome and invaluable packing set, plus, if we get over 500 entries, I'll throw in another gift for the winner: a $25 Travelocity hotel card. It's more fun to pack when you have somewhere to go! (So, also send your friends to enter.)


These also make great gifts for the traveler on your holiday list. If you want to buy your own set or more, you can get them and learn more about Space Bag by visiting their website.