Day #130 - White Cliffs of Dover

Layout of the White Cliffs in the past

Huge shipping harbor

The White Cliffs of Dover

History of the White Cliffs

Look at the white cliffs and the white hotel

Large shipping harbor

Thursday, July 22nd

Thanks guys for the great comments - I really appreciate it. Heather - I felt like I was back in Bloomsdale. Julie - thanks for keeping me fired up.

Today I had some struggles - but I'll be better for it. I headed into London to get a Britrail pass for unlimited train travel throughout the UK. My last trip to the UK was spent primarily in London and surrounding areas; therefore, I didn't see the prices of the individual train tickets to outside areas. I've been getting quotes the past couple days - and it's crazy expensive. Example: London to Edinburgh - $180 one way. London to Dover - $54 one way. In comparison, I recently purchased a train ticket for my buddy Randy from Geneva to Paris for around $90 (this is probably farther than London-Edinburgh). In general, I'd say individual train costs are as much as 4 times more than in mainland Europe. If I bought individual tickets to all the areas I want to go in the UK in the next several days - I'd be looking at $3,000-4,000. That's more than double my 3-month Eurail pass to 21 different countries in western Europe.

I saw on TV last night that London is voted as the most expensive city in the world to go out for dinner - they might want to add train travel as well.

I found out that they sell a Britrail pass to non-UK citizens. However, people are very hush about it. It's weird. I ask and they give me this bland response: "We do not sell the Britrail - I can not help you here" If I push them on it - they repeat this response. It's like all the train employees had a meeting and were told how to answer this question. I finally found out that there have been problems with UK citizens buying these passes from non-UK citizens. It would save them tons of money - so I can see why. I then found out there was only 1 location in all of London that would sell me this pass - a place at Picadilly Circus (the Times Square of London). The other locations had all closed. Maybe the Britrail is competition to the main trains. Therefore, the locations within the train terminals may have dissolved. Still - this all seemed pretty strange to me.

I got the address from an information booth and took the metro to the location. I walked up to the desk and was met by an older women. She was very unpleasant from the get-go. I'm often amazed that people whose position is customer service can be this way. How many times have you walked in any office and the receptionist was nasty right away (not often - or they would be fired). I was told that I must present proof of my travels within the UK to get a pass. Specifically, I needed a plane ticket or rail ticket out of the UK or they would not sell me the pass. I explained my situation and how I'm waiting on my passport to be returned from the Russian embassy - my exit date was not confirmed. Her response: "Sorry, I can't help you". I asked if I purchased an exit ticket, would they sell it to me. Her response: "If you have documentation, we'll sell it".

I went to another location and waited 45 minutes to buy a rail ticket from London to Brussels. I took a guess on my exit dae of Auguest 3rd. I needed to get to Brussels first and could then transfer to Copenhagen, Denmark from there. My ticket cost was $54. This is a different train system then in the UK. I was quoted this amount just to Dover earlier today.

I bought the ticket and went back to buy the Britrail. She asked me for my passport. I presented a copy. She said: "No, we must have your actual passport" I already had told her that I did not have it. This lady was really ornery. She just said: "Sorry - too bad"

Have you heard the song from Aaron Tippin ("You got to stand for something"). --- You got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything, you got to be your own man, not a puppet on a string, never compromise what's right, and uphold your family name, you got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything. ----

Well, some things are worth fighting for. I've learned in my years in sales, you must pick your battles wisely. Fighting for everything will ultimately yield less results than choosing the right situation. Today - this was the correct situation. All stars were aligned for me. I was either going to walk out of this office and pay $3,000-4,000 to travel in the UK for the next several days or not travel at all and vegitate OR I was going to get this Britrail pass for $400 that I fully met the qulaifications for.

I went all-out aggressive on this lady. I verbally hit her with everything I could possibly think of at the time: "Can I get the travel company handling my Visa to call you or write a note", "Can I present documantation from my emails proving my travel patterns for the last 4 months", "Here's my Eurail pass for 3 months - why would I have temporary residence in the UK and have this pass". "May I speak with your manager", "Where is the US Embassy - I'm sure they can provide documentation of my status as a US citizen". Finally - I was on to something. She responded: "I guess I will sell it to you - but I don't like it" She again said: "I don't like it". I had to bite my tongue not to respond to this. Bottom line - I got the Britrail pass - but it was ugly.

The reason I went so hard is because I was 100% legitimate, I've followed every travel rule, and met the requirements of buying the pass. If there wasn't a way around having your actual passport - then travelling wouldn't be worth it. You lose this - you're done. It wouldn't be worth the risk.

Sorry for the detour - but this interaction today is an example of what I continue to learn -- If you just keep persisting - things can turn in your favor. This is a pretty good thought to bring into all your daily activities.

After my battle, I took a 2 hour train to Dover, England. I wanted to see the 'White Cliffs of Dover'. My knowledge of this location was zero coming into today. I assumed there were some bluffs that had a white tint and probably some kind of harbor because of the location.

Wow - this place turned out to be awesome. I walked for about 1 mile from the train station to the oceanfront. On arrival, I could see a huge shipping harbor to my left. I could also see some of these large white bluffs in the background. I headed in that direction. The weather this afternoon was amazing. You could see forever out across the water - the English Channel. As I neared the harbor, I noticed some signs showing the direction to the White Cliffs. The trail went uphill to the top of the bluffs. OK - let's do it. I climbed to the top of this cliff. Once at the top, I looked out and the scenery was amazing. You could see the full shipping harbor. It was immense. You could look out over the ocean - there was some land over to my left. It had to be France. I kept walking. I came upon some signs and informational boards. I found out that the White Cliffs of Dover were much more than just cliffs in the past. Where I was located, there used to be prisons, both convict and military. There was a bulletin board that described how the cliffs were used in the actual construction of the harbor itself. I kept walking. I found myself on a trail that was literally at the edge of the bluffs. It was a trail (no worries). I could now look in front of me and see the white cliffs. The land turned a corner and gave a perfect view of the cliffs above the ocean -- Another "Cliffs of Moher" moment for me on the journey.

This place was really interesting. I've included some of the bulletin board information for you. I'm really glad I made this trip. Dover is only 22 miles from Calais, France. This is the area the Germans expected an attack on D-Day. They were surprised when the forces took a more southern route across the English Channel. According to the boards, there are millions of travelers that come through this port yearly.

I took a long slow walk back to the train station. I was probably 3-4 miles out when I turned around. I took the 2 hour train back to Gatwick Airport. Just today - I saved $108 to Dover and $15 from London Victoria to Gatwick. I expect that my Britrail pass will pay for itself in the next 2 days.