A Brief Guide to a Stag Weekend in Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, Spain’s most north-eastern region. The city is a mecca for fiesta, and with just under 8 million visitors a year it boasts the title of third most visited city in all of Europe. The runways of the El Prat airport, as well as the slightly further Reus and Girona airports, can be reached in 2 hours from London. Budget airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet have hundreds of flights both to and from these airports every single weekend, and with enough luck and planning these can often be booked for around €100 return (Approx. £80).
Most visitors to Barcelona start off their stay atop the famous strip known as Las Ramblas. This stretching pedestrian causeway leads you from Plaça Catalunya, the border between the old and new city, right down to the city’s monster yacht parking lot, or as it is officially known Port Vell. Despite its notoriety Las Ramblas is an area for stags to avoid like the plague! Flooded with overpriced pubs, sneaky pickpockets, and currency exchange shops, that like the thieves prey on the thousands of tourists, this is an area that serves no use to the lads, day or night. 

A sunny beach in Barcelona

A block to the right, a block to the left, and you can literally see the city change before your eyes. From the trendy cocktail bars and tiny tapas hangouts of the El Born community, to the 300 year old absinthe bars, and scruffy taverns of the Raval neighbourhood, Barcelona has flavours for every taste bud. Rather than losing yourselves amidst the 3,000+ bars in this city it can be a smart idea to hire a rep, a local expert, who will guide you throughout your vacation. These reps not only show you the best bars and pubs in the city, but if they are worth their salt, they should be able to get you some freebies, including VIP entrances, and drinks. Companies such as Pissup Tours offer reps who are on call 24/7 throughout your stay. Best of all their consultation prior to booking is free, so they can save some major time and stress when planning a stag do Barcelona.
The heart and soul of this city’s proud Catalan inhabitants, lies within the walls of the Camp Nou stadium, home to the infamous FC Barcelona, Spain’s most credited football club. With nearly 40 games a season, a stag do planned around their schedule is bound to be a sure-fire success. Tours of the stadium, including the dressing rooms, and museum, are also available seven days a week, excluding game days. Book these tickets in advance, as both of these activities are extremely popular!
Far outside the stadium walls lie the sun-soaked beaches of Port Olimpic. Created for the city’s 1992 Olympic Games, these man-made beaches are just a stone’s throw from the city centre. The golden sand lines the outskirts of the Barceloneta community, home to the city’s best sangria and seafood. It is here you can spend your days sweating out the previous night’s sins, and washing it all away with a dip in the temperate waters of the Mediterranean. Beers and sangria at the various chirunguitos (beach bars) are a great start to an afternoon in Barcelona, although the food at these same bars should be avoided. A bike tour between these bars speeds up the drinking, and a public catamaran party along the coast is a great way to transition yourselves into the city’s decadent nightlife. 

Beer by the Sea in Barcelona

The nightlife in Barcelona starts late, very late. It is not uncommon to enter one of the many beachside clubs of the Port Olimpic before 1:00 AM, to find you are the only patrons on the dance floor. Entrance to these clubs is between €15 and €20, although as mentioned previously, reps should be able to wipe this charge and send you in for free. Starting late means ending late too, most clubs along the water will not kick you out until 6:00 AM. Stumbling out of the club you will be greeted by a long line of taxis, this is your best transport option in the city. They are highly regulated, and very honest in what they charge. A taxi ride home also saves you from the prowling thieves who look specifically for tipsy foreigners with loose pockets.
Barcelona is a world class city with its own individuality, and there is a reason it continues to be one of the most popular destinations for that last weekend of freedom! Pack up your bags (don’t forget the sunscreen) and come discover for yourself!

Serious Travel Article 18: Tropical Island of Broken Glass, Xiaodeng Island (Fujian, China)

I was determined to escape the overpopulated mess and grime of mainland China. I booked a hotel room on a remote island in Fujian province. About two hours north of Xiamen Airport (as remote as it gets on China's east coast).

Surely none of the usual hordes would have braved the exorbitant taxi ride to an unknown location. So obscure that even the taxi driver had to step out to ask for directions. As well as a perilous caterpillar electro-buggy ride to the dock and a 500m walk along the concrete jetty in  forty degree heat to arrive at a pontoon beside a flotilla of poorly maintained motor boats. No one would have risked life and limb jumping upon said boats, bouncing from one to the next, luggage in hand with sea below, and standing in the blazing sun for an hour as we sailed to an unknown island in the Taiwan Straight.

The dock on Dadenghaidao, the only way to get to the remote island of Xiaodenghaidao

Of course I was wrong. The boat was crammed, with people clinging to the sides. No life jackets or safety instructions. Luckily no waves either.

The floating pontoon, in front of a six boat flotilla which you must clamber over, luggage in hand to get to Xiaodeng Island. Fujian China.

From a distance, the island was a rocky green gem, with a layer of golden sand protecting it from the choppy blue waters. All around the sleepy green isle were shipping hubs, oil refineries, salt marshes, mud flats, piles of dredged silt and dredgers dredging that silt. An ominous sign perhaps but I maintained my optimism. The other side of the island had to be better!

The sea off Dadeng Island on our way to Xiaodeng Island. Piles of sand, dredged from the seabed behind white plastic floats in the water.

As we pulled into port and clambered over another line of moribund boats and onto the baking concrete harbour wall, I noticed the golden sand beside the harbour was strewn with trash of all descriptions. Not to worry, just the beach next to a working port.

We took another electro caterpillar buggy through the village on Xiao Deng Hai Dao to our hotel, passing old fashioned wooden temples and houses on the way, all complete with boat shaped rooves, dragons and shoulder spikes pointing up to the sky.

An electro caterpillar buggy on Xiaodeng Island. I decided it had similar proportions to a caterpillar so named it as such. 

We were greeted by an old man and his wife who told us there was no breakfast or dinner to be bought on the island. Fine, I thought. I'll live off packaged cakes and bananas. 

My travelling companions were less impressed. No breakfast! No dinner! Whatever shall we do! I'm not doing anything if I don't have my breakfast!

Strawberry are good for you! (Note the grammar). My strawberry and banana bread kept me going on Xiaodeng Island.

After hours of whining and complaining we found a restaurant for lunch, serving fish and rice. Too expensive! Shouted my companions, my wife's parents, who are used to low village prices, never having experienced the island inflation effect.

Fish waiting to be killed in Fujian, China. I'd rather have a banana.

After yet more hours of marching around looking for a cheaper restaurant, we came back to the fish and rice café we'd left hours earlier. Spending over £10 for a meal for four people. Goodness me!

As they ate, I ran with my towel to the island's main swimming beach over half a mile away. The beach was removed from the village so I expected clean sand.

The warm golden sand of Xiaodeng Island, Fujian, China. Littered with sharp shards of glass.

The beach was long (for a small rocky island) and uncrowded. The beach was backed up by forest, making it green and lush. Four huge rings lay in the gently lapping water and in the distance you could see another green gem and the Taiwanese island of Kinmen (Jinmen).

The distant Kinmen Island, owned by The Republic of China (Taiwan) as seen from Xiaodeng Island in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China). Confused?

I was hot and bothered but not hungry. I wrapped my towel around the trunk of a palm tree, took my flip flops off and ran barefoot into the warm sea swimming to the rocks a hundred meters offshore. I looked around to see an idyllic beach scene, golden clean sand surrounded by palm trees, complete with beach huts and a glistening blue sea. The warm sun completed the cliché and I swam back in a cheery mood. As I stepped ashore I noticed a green twinkle in the sand. I picked it up. A shard of newly broken glass. I noticed another. Then another.

What a lovely twinkly green beach!

Before I knew it I found myself immersed by bits of sharp broken glass wedged into the clean sand. I'd heard someone complain about cutting themselves, now I knew why. I stepped carefully from then on and was delighted to slip back into my flip flops.

After cleaning up dozens of shards I returned to my wife and her parents, who were startled I still wasn't hungry. (I can always do without fish).

The ancient houses of Xiaodeng Island, with philosopher, Coco Wang, in the foreground. Fujian, China.

The island is dotted with antique houses and temples inbetween the garish villas rich villagers have constructed. Sacred Buddhist shrines are kept superbly, decorated with dazzling bright colours and pictures. If the villagers and tourists treated their island the way they treat their holy sites, the island would be a tropical paradise and tourist magnet. It's obscurity derives from the way everyone uses the island as a dump with litter everywhere and glass mixed with filth along the beaches. It's telling that I spent most of my time cleaning up glass from the beach and telling locals off for littering. Although I doubt I made any difference.

Traditional Fujian Houses on Xiaodeng Island, Southern China.

We left the island a day early to escape the filth, and headed for the tropical island city of Xiamen (Amoy). Never go to Xiao Deng Hai Dao.

How to sneak into first class, flying around the world.

How to get free first class treatment while jetting around the world?  A question asked by many but answered by few. Stop reading if you're looking for a foolproof method.

This method is NOT foolproof and has only worked for me a few times. Persistence is key, don't be put off if it doesn’t work the first time. 


Before I delve into my foolish method. I want to discuss the morality of doing this. Sneaking into the first class zone of a cabin and claiming the first class treatment when you have only paid for an economy class ticket seems rather low, doesn't it? That said, you wouldn't feel the same guilt when asking for a free upgrade, no is there any ill feeling when bloggers suggest free methods of traveling or staying. This method will not exclude a paying passenger from first or business class. It will also not cost the airline any more money as leftover food and drinks are usually tossed, sometimes donated and occasionally pilfered by airline staff. So in reality, the only loser if you succeed will be an orphan given an economy bag of peanuts rather than a premium bag. So, no I reject claims this method is immoral or illegal.

If you still feel bad, don't do it. 

Back to the method.

This method only works on smaller aircraft. Don't try it on a jumbo jet or an A380. It will only work if you have to walk past the first or business class seats on your way to economy class.

Business class on China Southern Airlines. Much like the area I've snuck into.

Step 1: Try to get seats towards the front of the cabin. If things go wrong, you might be able to salvage your mission with seats just behind first or business class. Make sure you don't order any special meals.

Step 2: Make sure you are one of the last to board the aircraft. Let the others push, shove and queue up while you relax at the gate. If you are ferried to the aircraft by a little bus, let everyone else on first.

Step 3: Walk confidently onto the aircraft, if you spot any free seats in first class, sit down (carefully concealing your economy class ticket in the depths of your jeans/handbag).

Step 4: Enjoy the high life! Just relax and don't act suspicious.

Business class on China Eastern Airlines. Another airline I've managed to pull this off on.

If you wimp out at the last moment and don't take that empty seat, don't go back in a flutter as the steward might help you and remember your economy status. Continue to your real seat, at the front of economy.

After the plane has taken off, but before the cabin staff have been released, quickly dash to the empty seat.

What can go wrong:

No empty seats. Nothing you can do, try again next time.

Ticket owner takes his vacant seat. Apologise, feign error, find another empty seat or go to your own. This shouldn’t happen if you make sure you're the last on though.

Get caught by cabin staff. Apologise, feign error and go to your economy seat. Try again next time.

The passenger next door objects to you pouncing on his spare seat. Don't argue, just act silly, confusing a 45c for a 14c, "ditzy old me!".

It sounds too easy right? The key is confidence.

Key rule: If you get caught out, don't make a fuss. you just sat in the wrong seat. "I thought economy class had gotten better since I last flew! I'm sorry, where am I supposed to sit? Over there? Thank you." 

If it works for you, congratulations! It's worked for me a few times now. I've lived the fancy life for a few hours, now its your turn! Good luck!

How to get dirt cheap hotel rooms in China

Hostel Bookers is better than Hostel World. Travelling around Europe on the cheap taught me that. More choice, no booking fees. Simple.

Even though it's been years since my days travelling around Europe and a yonk since I've been anywhere close to Australia, my loyalty to Hostel Bookers has remained firm during my travels around China.But after using Hostel Bookers to pay over the odds to stay at quirky but charming hostel in Qingdao, my wife warned me against being ripped off next time.

She introduced me to the top Chinese travel site, Ctrip which now has an English language version. I was sceptical to say the least. I told her Ctrip was just a site inexperienced Chinese travellers use because they've never heard of anything else.

The amazing youth hostel overlooking the city of Stuttgart. Booked through Hostel Bookers for £10 (not sure how many Euros) a night, including breakfast. It remains the best hotel/hostel I have EVER stayed in (including 5 star hotels).

What a stupid thing to say.

Whereas Hostel Bookers charges per person, Ctrip charges per night, per room and sets a limit to how many you can cram in, slashing prices.

With Ctrip, I paid 128RMB for 4 people per night. 32rmb (£3.20) per person to stay in a private en-suite room. The cheapest bed on Hostel bookers was 106rmb per person in a dorm with 8 beds. 

Ctrip offers the same info, photos and maps you'd get with hostel bookers but gives you a great choice, listing hundreds of hotels and hostels in a Chinese city where Hotel Bookers or Hostel World might only list a dozen. This is because Ctrip allows hotels to register on the Chinese Language site using Chinese, and translates the information into English manually, allowing thousands more hotels in China to advertise to English speakers. With Ctrip, international visitors can get the same dirt low prices enjoyed by Chinese travellers.

Ctrip also allows you to book without creating an account making booking extra speedy.

In China, I won't be using Hostel Bookers again. 

Serious Travel Article 17: Voyage to the Yellow River (And sneaking past the guards)

Since coming to Zhengzhou, a few miles south of the great Yellow River; I've found my contact with the great waterway to be almost non existent. My experiences of the river were limited to being chased by a stray guard dog over a dry, cold riverbed and yelling at my wife's mother when she used the river as dustbin as we drove over a bridge.

Unsatisfied with my riverside adventures, I told myself, "one day, I'll get on that Yellow River" bus.

The Zhengzhou Yellow River Market. Not near the Yellow River and soon to be demolished.

That day came when a government official probed my school and I had to lie low for a few days and wait for brown envelopes to be sent out.

I spent five minutes sweltering by the side of the road in the 8am heat before the air conditioned long distance bus came. It was almost empty, I perched myself on my favourite seat, facing sideways at the front, turning my head to look along the oncoming road.

This is what bus stops in Zhengzhou look like

Zhengzhou's inner city turns to semi-suburbs when you go north of the third ring road with the tower blocks becoming sparse and the buildings growing older and decrepit. The suburbs are have a quality of ugliness and grime that the inner city lacks, a throwback to China's poorer past.

A less dense Zhengzhou, outside the third ring road.

As you get past the outer ring of deprivation you stumble upon the future. New developments, golf courses, highways, theme parks and Spanish style villas litter the side of the road, all in various stages of development.

A Spanish style development peeping it's head out of the bushes north of Zhengzhou, China

The entrance to a new golf village north of Zhengzhou, close to the Yellow River in China.

We then pulled up beside a rustic tourist train painted British racing green and I was thrown off the bus. It was now 10am and the heat was stifling. I guessed the Yellow River was nearby because the air felt fresher. As I continued along the road to where I thought the River was, I noticed a sign for tickets and a queue. Not a good sign, I thought.

The entrance to the Yellow River Scenic Area National Park in Zhengzhou. Tickets cost 60RMB.

Not wanting to pay just to see a dirty old river. I took a side path into one of the forested hills surrounding the road thinking I might be able to beat the guards. It was only a few meters parallel to the road. It wasn't difficult for them to stop me, but I was determined to get in for free!

I trudged around the corner, away from the main road and into a shady village. The main square had three roads (so it was a triangle I guess) shooting out of it. I walked down the one leading back to the river, past towering relics to the Maoist past in the form of some old workers apartments, seemingly built to last. Unusual in China.

The Village Triangle.

I kept going expecting soon to see the river but once again I was stopped.

"What's going on", I protested.
"Do you have a ticket?" Asked the guard with just a village street behind him.
"No, I don't want to go to the park, I'm just visiting the village", I lied.
"You can't go past this point without a ticket",
"But I've got no money",
"That's your problem".

Growing ever more annoyed I questioned him on why some old women walked passed his little checkpoint unchallenged.

"Villagers don't need a ticket".
"How do you know I'm not a villager? That's my house over there!"

He stared at me, a foreigner in shorts and with a tourist camera around my neck, before lighting a cigarette and laughing.

I took his photo and gave up, stomping off the other way.

The smoking guard who wouldn’t let me through

I passed the village triangle once more with retired folks staring at me. I felt out of place in this newly zenoxiac village.

I walked up a path into the forested hills, surrounded by mansions and caves and guarded by vicious German shepherds, thankfully on ropes. It led nowhere.

A mad dog, photographed by an Englishman. Out in the midday sun.

I was almost about to give up my fare evading quest when I noticed a flight of stairs leading up the hill. I was now at least a mile away from the river, so despite the overgrowth, it was my last chance to sneak in. Climbing the stairs covered me with sweat. My sun cream was dripping down my face and stinging my eyes.

Can you spot the stairs going up the hill?

The stairs led to an abandoned bunker. I climbed up onto the roof and was blown away by how green the hills now looked but was still unable to glimpse the river.

The Bunker at the top of the hill. Goodness knows what it really was.

There were no more steps now up the hill but there was a seldom trodden path of dirt running up the hill at a fifty degree angle with trees at the side. Using the vegetation to pull myself up, I somehow scaled the hill with no regard of how I might get back down.

The dirt path up the hill

There was little shade at the top of the hill, and the burning sun meant I couldn’t stay to appreciate the view for much longer. The Yellow River lay below me, brown and mostly empty, and strewn with bridges making it altogether less impressive. The disapointment of the river was matched by my pride at scaling this impossibly steep hill and the view of the temple covered peaks in the distance.

The disappointing Yellow river, a brown strip in the distance. Zhengzhou, Henan.

The beginning of the Yellow River Hills

I saw the path ahead of me meandered deep into the forested hills, and you could have spent a week camping here, but I had to teach class.

I slid down the hill covering myself in dirt, and scratching my arms as I used them to grab onto plants to slow me down.

The bum sliding route down.

The sweat turned the dry dusty dirt into mud as it settled on my exposed skin and by the time I'd returned to the village I was brown.

When I went into the village shop to buy some more drinks, I asked if there was a tap I could use in the village, the shop owner sat me down, brought me a basin of water and gave me a towel. They could have easily tried to cheat me, but they were nothing but generous and altruistic.

The lovely shop who helped me clean myself up. If you ever visit the Yellow River Scenic Area National Park, please go there and buy lots of things.

I'm glad I didn't pay 60RMB to get into the Yellow River Scenic Area National Park, going the other way is much more fun.

What's it like teaching English and living in China?

This evening I received this email:

Hi Sammy

Interesting blog about the online TEFL course. I have a question about working in China though. I have been reading different blogs and am still confused. I saw an offer via TEFL Express to teach English in China. The offer looked pretty good and the pay is as well. I have never been to China and do not speak Chinese. How difficult is it to settle there? Also, if I rent a flat what is the average price one might pay? How are the students, are they eager to learn? I love working with younger children and although I am not a teacher by profession I can teach and have experience working with younger children. I love travelling but am not too confident about China, it just seems way out of my league. I am sure once I get there I will love it. I am just a little uncertain right now about the move. It is soooo far away from where I live. Sorry about all the questions. Hope to hear from you soon. Just so you know I am pretty boring too!


Thank you Much!
Gees

I answer publicly, because I imagine Gees isn't alone in asking these questions and I hope my answer will help many people in the same situation.

Dear Gees,

Thanks for your email, I'm glad someone is actually reading through this gibberish I write.

Settling in China really depends on the situation you find yourself in when you arrive. In most cases you will be at the mercy of the private training school sponsoring your visa. Expect poor organisation and planning. Expect no or few arrangements to be made for you prior to your arrival and expect your school to consider settling you as a big hassle which is probably too much bother. If you come to teach at a university or state school things will probably be a little better with accommodation provided and people on hand to help you settle.

Coco Wang, teacher at my school Xuelite delivering a speech to university students

If however you work for a private school or company, you'll probably be given an allowance for hosing, in this case, expect to be ripped off by landlords and expect little help from your school who just want to house to ASAP rather than find a really good deal for you. If you want your school to help you, be firm with them and set them some demands when you begin house-hunting, if you are patient and clear about what you want with your school they will bend over backwards for you. I learned this the hard way and ended up paying through the nose for an oversized shoebox.

Rents in my city, Zhengzhou are pretty low, but cities will vary in price. If you want a two bedroom apartment of reasonable size here, expect to pay 1000 - 1500 RMB for an older property or 1500 - 2500 RMB for a new property depending on furnishing ect. Zhengzhou is a lower second tier city, Wuhan, a higher second tier city would be a little more while first tier cities like Shenzhen or Beijing would be considerably higher. I wouldn’t recommend living in a first tier city if you want a true Chinese experience as there are so many foreigners in these places, it's easy to get caught up in the ex-pat bubble and miss out on wht China has to offer.

The boring Zhengzhou skyline, looking south from Nongye Road

As for settling, the language can be pretty overwhelming, not something you can pick up with little effort. (One of my colleagues came to China three years ago, got married to a Chinese woman who speaks no English, lives with his parents in law, who speak no English and has a half Chinese baby, yet despite the immersion and clear need to learn, speaks only a handful of words due to sheer laziness) Lots of people will want to practice English with you, try to find real Chinese friends, there are some amazing people in China, you just need to find them.

The first few weeks will be tough, you'll get no training from your school and teaching will initially take a lot of planning and you might have few friends. This is the time to explore as much as you can and get people to talk to you. You'll make lots of new friends by sitting alone in street food restaurants, just stick out those first few weeks and you'll be fine.

I didn't sleep the first few nights I came to China, thinking I'd made the stupidest mistake of my life but after a few weeks I made friends and settled well. I almost gave up and came home only for my passport to get stuck in an office causing me to miss my flight. I'm glad I did though as in the next two years I became a university lecturer, started a business empire (fingers crossed) and got married. My advice to you is come to China and persist. Amazing things can happen here.

Henan Superstar Coco Wang at Zhengzhou Manhattan. That's right, there is a place in Zhengzhou China called Manhattan.

Students are great fun and the young ones are very eager to learn. Loads of kids love learning English and love their lessons, especially if you make them fun like I try to do. As they get older, China's energy draining education system kicks in and the kids get so bogged down in homework, their drive to learn is sapped. They are still well behaved but by middle school and high school, much of the passion is gone and only the special ones still have drive. By university, they are just beginning to rediscover the fun and creativity that high school pounded out of them and university students can sometimes be keen, but the best and brightest students are the under 12s.

If you can, work at a state school or university as private training institutions will work you like a horse. If you want to travel, you can forget it if you work for a private company unless you pull an extended sickie (as I did on three occasions). Travelling by train is simple enough but you may need help buying a ticket, get a Chinese friend to buy a ticket with you or write down instructions on a piece of paper. Hotels are pretty easy to book with the help of Baidu Translate which to self respecting receptionist will be without.

If you have an ounce of common sense you'll be fine travelling in China, it's very safe and the majority of people will be happy to help you.

Come to China, it's certainly an experience.

I hope you dont mind me publishing my reply as a blog post.

All the best,

Sammy

TEFL Express: Have they gotten any better?

TEFL Essentials course. The 150 hour video based TEFL Express course.

Where's my email? It said they were going to send me a verification email! Where the bloody hell is it?

I'd just finished registering at TEFL Express when everything went wrong. My hotmail account, always suspicious of my VPN had blocked me from my email account once again. Logging on to the hotmail website, I once again had to tell Microsoft of my ghostly online identity, essential to getting over the Chinese firewall and onto the real web. I fished out my TEFL Express confirmation out of the junk and was on my way. 

The look on your face when you find TEFL Express' welcome email in the junk

I had done a TEFL Express course back in the groupon days in order to get a job at a Chinese University and wrote a review. Now I was back to see how it had changed.

The first thing I saw as I logged on to the TEFL Express virtual campus page was a great big timer, ticking down from two hours at the top of the screen. It filled me with fear. I thought I had 150 hours. It's the 150 hour essential course isn't it? I've only got two hours left? How can I stop the ticking time bomb?

As much as the time bomb at the top of the page concerned me (I later found out it was a security feature designed to keep your info secure on public computers), I decided to nose as much as I could around the site. I noticed a button saying live chat. Having always been responsible, just like if I had been in a lift or a plane cockpit, I decided to push it.

Being in China, I always use my VPN when using the internet. And although the TEFL Express website works without one, for those living in China and planning to take the course, a VPN is recommended.

After experimenting with the live chat and faffing around with some tabs, I began to explore the site in earnest.

The Course Itself:

First module, classroom management. I clicked on the link, a popup emerged with a snazzy loader, a spinning orange circle counting its way to 100% (after a minute or two stuck on 99%).

It's clear from the outset that the course is extensive and rich in content. I was greeted by a very serious looking Northern Irish lady who seems to be my video teacher. The course starts off very simply but gradually becomes more and more difficult and I was soon swimming through theory. I've got two years of teaching experience but I had to listen very closely in order to pass the timed exam. 

A serious looking teacher looking serious but fun.

The theory is no doubt useful for anyone wanting to teach without any experience in a foreign country and would no doubt help anyone pass a CELTA exam. It's also worth mentioning that all TEFL Express courses are fully accredited by ACCREDITAT, and they also offer CELTA training in London, Moscow, Hanoi & Beijing if you want to take the course offline and into the real world.

One of my concerns last time I used TEFL express was that the course I chose had no practical side. I would learn all the theory but I wouldn’t see it applied in a classroom setting. To be fair, as an online only course this would be difficult to achieve logistically, but this time, the 150hr TEFL Essentials Course comes complete with real teachers notes about problems in the classroom, how they pop up and how to resolve them as well as testimonials from students about how they feel during class and how teachers affect their studies. 

What the TEFL Express 150hr Essentials course actually looks like

The course also includes a video series of a TEFL teacher teaching a group of adult students from various countries, showing the theory that has just been learned applied in practice. This is helpful for anyone worried about how to use what they learn in a real classroom setting, although classroom hours are essential to progressing as a teacher. I also like how the teacher makes quite a few basic mistakes, eliciting TEFL Express students to shout at the screen, I found myself shouting a few times which is testament to how much I had just learned from the theory.

Would I buy the TEFL Express course again?

It's certainly a lot better than it was a few years ago, it's detailed, more difficult, richer when it comes to content and offers practical help. The certificate is also enough to get you a job here in China, so if I was a newbie, preparing to travel the world by teaching English as a second language, yes, I would choose TEFL Express again.

Dr Beau Webber on why Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England

Earlier today, I posted an article on the travesty going on at Manston Airport  an a rather clever scientist affected by the closure posted some of the most articulate, thoughtful and persuasive arguments on why Manston should continue as an airport. Rather than languishing at the bottom of a list of comments, I thought they would be better served as their own post. Dr Webber has kindly agreed.
 

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

Excellent uncongested road links at Manston

First :

There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight. 

The sixth longest civilian runway in the UK at Manston Airport

Manston History:

Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

Manston from the air a few years ago

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shown to not be a popular airport?

My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidstone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did.

So for whom does it make sense to use Manston Airport ?

Well surprisingly my web data mining has given us extensive evidence that the highly efficient nature of Manston Airport means that you can be as far away from Manston as any of the 13 Category-A mainline stations in London, or on the junction 9 roundabout on the M23, at the Gatwick Airport boundary, and you will still be quicker to fly from Manston Airport than either Heathrow or Gatwick Airports.

Kent Travel Times, Manston vs Heathrow by car

See this pdf document on the "Save Manston Airport" group's Facebook site :
Manston Airport Kent has major travel advantages – v2b.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/groups/616428761764523/645012062239526/
We have even conducted an on-road and "virtual flight" validation of these timings :
www.facebook.com/events/580892218698984/

Manston Airport has excellent HS1 high-speed rail links 8 minutes away by taxi from Ramsgate station to Ashford International and Central London (to be further upgraded this Autumn), and dual-carriageway roads from Manston Airport boundary fence across Kent and into Central London.

The fastest trains in the UK can help you get to Manston

So why is this not more generally appreciated?

No one has been told! Where is the advertising on the tube and train-lines to the other London Airports ? How many travel agencies in the South East even know of Manston Airport ? - Again and again people have to tell their travel agencies about Manston.

But also, the Davies Commission refused to consider Manston Airport in its report on future air traffic for London airports :
The Airports Commission have stated, when I sent them these population/travel time figures :
"The Commission noted that some people living in North Kent valued the role that the Airport played in supporting regional connectivity, but noted a number of significant challenges, such as relatively poor surface transport links and a large distance from significant population, which rendered any significantly expanded role for the airport implausible."
And later :
"… has identified three options it will take forward for further development, as well as more work to allow it to understand the viability of a Thames Estuary option. The Commission is focussed on analysing these three short-listed options and the feasibility of a Thames Estuary option and does not intend to revisit previous decisions."
airports.enquiries@airports.gsi.gov.uk

Why is Manston Airport not included in this discussion of London Airports ?
More urgently :
Why close Manston Airport at a time of expansion plans for Heathrow and Gatwick ?

Kent County Council recommends that there should be better utilisation of regional airport capacity in the South East; Manston has the potential to accommodate up to 5 to 6 million passengers per annum.

Manston Airport also has an enviable record for cargo handling, with no stacking on airport approach, and full loads of perishable cargo unloaded and on the road, and the aircraft back in the air, within 80 minutes of landing. Establishing small package freight to adjacent airport hubs for global express packages is an important goal of the air-operations company that has offered the full asking price of £7million, for Manston.

Over 15,000 people have signed a petition in support of Manston Airport which has been a remarkably fast, efficient, friendly and convenient airport to use, and to work at.

OK, that is was the appeal to logic, now for something different :

To Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Airports :
“Give us your tired (who have walked too far from check-in to gate to plane to baggage pickup) ,
your poor (who have paid as much to park - or to catch the train across England - as for their flight),
Your huddled masses of stacked planes yearning for a free slot in which to land,
The wretched refuse of your teeming sky and overloaded runways.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed and diverted planes, to us at Manston Airport:
We lift our lamp beside the White Cliffs of the Dover Straights.”

Dr. Beau Webber - May, 2014, with apologies to Emma Lazarus.

Manston Dreaming
The people were sent home
The planes flew away
All fell silent

In an office far away, predators scheme and plot
Shiver and drool in anticipation of the kill

And at midnight, an unfamiliar sound drifts across the airfield on the cool night air.....

A spirit sleeping
and dreaming of our return
by Jennifer Maidman
http://youtu.be/OImU9GJLXd8
Annie Whitehead of Penguin Cafe Orchestra on Trombone.

And again, please sign the official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston Airport as an operating airport :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Article by Dr. Beau Webber
Lab-Tools Ltd., Canterbury & Ramsgate
www.Lab-Tools.com

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

First :
There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start ? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight.

Manston History :
Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shewn to not be a popular airport ?
My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidtone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did. - See more at: http://sammysgenericblog.blogspot.jp/2014/05/manston-death-of-airport.html#sthash.P2TKJEpb.dpuf

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

First :
There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start ? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight.

Manston History :
Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shewn to not be a popular airport ?
My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidtone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did. - See more at: http://sammysgenericblog.blogspot.jp/2014/05/manston-death-of-airport.html#sthash.P2TKJEpb.dpuf

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

First :
There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start ? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight.

Manston History :
Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shewn to not be a popular airport ?
My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidtone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did. - See more at: http://sammysgenericblog.blogspot.jp/2014/05/manston-death-of-airport.html#sthash.P2TKJEpb.dpuf

The Closure of Manston Airport in Kent

Broadstairs resident Julee Russell kindly wrote this article and I agreed to publish it. Thanks Julee @juleedownunder (follow her on twitter)

On the sleepy coast of East Kent on the Isle of Thanet to be correct, there has been an airfield in use since 1915.

It started small with the RAF using it as a flight command centre and training their fighter pilots. and It was perfectly positioned for the defence of Britain during two world wars with its long and wide runway it was perfect for battle damaged planes to land safely.

An old view of Manston Airport

In fact it was also available to NASA as an emergency landing runway for the space shuttle.

The RAF moved on in the '90s but Manston wasn't beaten,

EUjet , Ryan air, and Flybe with a few others I forget their names, did their best to set up budget flights from there, sadly with lack of sufficient advertising and no direct train links , it didn't work out.

Manston still had a thriving Flight training school , small planes use the airport, emergency landings are frequent . The regular cargo flights, bringing in our exotic flowers and fruits and aid planes would leave from here too and there is also an aeroplane recycling centre!

Concorde at Manston Airport

Recently British Airways did a bit of training there and its new A380 was seen over the Skies at Manston.


The Rolling Stones tour jet was painted by a business located at the Airport. We have the RAF museum and the Spitfire and Hurricane museum located on its land too.






Now to the present day, I discovered Manston when moving to Broadstairs 18 months ago,


KLM had just set up operations from Kent International airport and things again were looking up .

I booked my flight to China via Amsterdam, it was a pure delight 15 minutes from home I was checking in, a half hour later I was on the City hopper to Amsterdam, then on to my final destination in China, easy peasy.

I did the same trip 3 times, I also had a week in Amsterdam fabulous!

Manston linked Thanet Island to China and the world, a good thing for the economy, surely?

Manston is perfectly positioned to hop over to the continent...but on the 15th May 2014 the airport was shut down.

The short story is that the Airport was sold along with its debts to Scottish Business woman /founder of the Stagecoach bus lines for the sum of £1.00

This woman's name is Anne Gloag.

There have been rumours flying around that Thanet District Council have had secret talks with Golag about turning the area into a huge housing estate , other stories tell of bribes and backhanders as on almost the same day that Manston was closed, Lydd Airport further along the coast on the Romney Marshes was given the go ahead for expansion , Lydd of course is perfectly situated between a military firing range, numerous RSPB natural sites and a bloody great nuclear power station! But then Lydd is owned a Saudi arms dealer and I'm sure his money did the talking.

Look Closely and you might see London-Ashford Airport at Lydd. Right next to Dungeness Nuclear Power Station. Recipe for disaster?

It used to be so easy to to travel anywhere in the world from my corner of Kent, Now the links have been cut to the outside world we are truly back to Planet Thanet.

Join our campaign, we are not going quietly!

#savemanston

Manston: Death of an Airport

As a travel writer, blogger and business owner in China, few things inspire my rancour more than official corruption, backhanders and the rich making unthinkable profits by stripping community assets. The practice is endemic here in China and now seems to be infecting my family's home, Thanet Island in Kent.

Manston airport, near Ramsgate in Kent is steeped in history, playing a part in two world wars and acting as an emergency spaceport for Nasa's shuttle programme. However continual poor management of the airport left it struggling financially.

Manston's large runway meant it could accommodate the Airbus A380 and was available to NASA as an emergency landing strip for the Space Shuttle. Photo courtesy of Tim Stubbings / Manston Airport

Despite being in the south east of England, a lack of advertising and a suspect name (Manston, Kent's International Airport, as opposed to something more conventional like London Manston) caused Manston to slip into obscurity.

However, it clearly had potential. Manston was an important hub for cargo transport as well as boasting daily flights with KLM to Amsterdam, linking Thanet, via Amsterdam to the world. It also sits phenomenally close to HS1, the fastest railway in the UK, which offers an express route from east Kent into central London. Some sort of link up with other forms of transport could have made the airport a convenient alternative for millions of Londoners and helped solve the crisis of air traffic overcrowding over the south east of Britain.

Manston Airport, Branded Badly

Then came Ann Gloag, a cut-throat Scottish business tycoon who made her millions through Stagecoach. Many welcomed her intervention when she bought the Airport for £1 promising to turn it around, delivering a profit within two years.

It never happened. Shady meetings with with Thanet District councillors and assurances over housebuilding proved too tempting for Gloag. She announced the airport was to be shut to make way for a "Garden City". Netting Gloag up to £150 million. 

Upon news of the shut down, American firm River Oak offered £7 million to buy the Airport and keep it running, Gloag rejected the offer which would have left her in profit and keep open a vital asset for the people of Thanet. This rejection show she clearly had no intention of running the airport, just using the suggestion of turning it around as the pretence for a great £1 land grab.

Ann Gloag, wants to turn Manston into a housing estate as a legacy for her children and grandchildren, in doing so denying the same thing to hundreds of businesses affected.

The shut down has destroyed links between Thanet and the wider world and will hurt the local economy. Housing estates are two a penny, airports with the support of the local community in the south east of England are pretty hard to come by.

Please help stop this land grab and asset strip and force Thanet District Council to order a compulsory purchase of the airport.

Click here and sign the petition to Save Manston Airport.