How to entertain yourself for free in London

London has a reputation of being an expensive city. Certainly transport and accomodation can be pricey but there is still plenty to entertain visitor and resident alike that won't break the bank.

Steps

• 
  Consider a walk down the South Bank. The north side of the Thames is where the power (Parliament) and money (the City) historically lived. The South Bank was, until comparatively recently, outside the purview of the London police. It has always been more anarchic than the north side as a result. A glance at historical maps shows that this was the site of the original Globe (and its modern reconstruction), bear pits, taverns, flesh pots and so on. It's a lot more salubrious these days but retains its bohemian heritage as it is home to the Tate Modern Gallery, the Royal Festival Hall, The national Film Theatre, County Hall (home of the now defuct GLC), the Globe and the nice but crowded Borough Market (my local!). A wander along the South Bank is definitely worth it.
• 
  Get culture. All the major museums and art galleries are free to enter, but they do solicit donations in order to try to keep them that way. Give what you can. This helps to make London one of the most culturally democratic cities in the world. One highlight is Holbein's "The Ambassadors" in the National Gallery, but with four major galleries and countless smaller ones there is something for everyone. The Big Three museums are in Kensington: the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert and the Science Museum. Each one of these could easily take up to a day to explore, depending on your level of interest, so glance at the websites first if opossible and plan your visit if time is tight. The British Museum is near Euston, on the north side of the city centre. It is large and proverbially quite eclectic (in Artificial Intellignce circles the British Museum search is one which tries each and every path and has no information to help it navigate - you may feel this way after a while in there.)
• 
  Walk, don't tube. This is a note for visitors to our fair city: In Zone one in particular, many of the tube stations are quite close together. The tube map is schematic - that is, the distance between stations is not to scale. This makes for a wonderful piece of draughtsmanship but doesn't tell you how far you're travelling. You can get an "Overground/Underground" map in some vending machines on some tube platforms (mainly the ones at mainline stations). These are great for showing alternate walking routes. Or better still, invest in the Londoner's choice: the A-Z. The more dog eared and scribbled on the better! If your feet really are giving out, try the buses. With an Oyster card, fares are very cheap indeed and you get to see the sights. Taking one of the routes that crosses any of the bridges is great fun - especially on the top deck of a double decker. Try the 188, 168 or 68 from Russell Square (by the British Museum) to Waterloo (handy for the South Bank), for a great view from Waterloo Bridge. It's not free, but it's 80p with an Oyster at the time of writing!
• 
  Take Your Sandwiches to the Parks. You can walk from Westminster to Knightsbrige almost entirely on grass, thanks to the swathe of parks that cover a large section of central London. These are a restful haven from the rest of the busy, often commercial, city. There are plenty of things to see and do - see the Royal Parks website for maps and guides. Speaker's corner in Hyde Park is particularly entertaining, and will banish forever your view of London as a reserved city. In the north of the city, near Euston, you can find Regent's park - small but very nice, with a well laid out English garden.
• 
  Listen and Learn. London is home to a number of institutions: the Royal Society (of science), the Royal Society of Art, the Dana Centre. Quite often these hold free talks by distinguished and/or entertaining speakers. See websites of the respective institutions for details.
• 
  Go to a BBC filming/recording. Many BBC radio and TV programs need a live audience. Search the BBC website for audience tickets and fill in the order form. Tickets are free and cover everything from Top of the Pops to Gardners' Question Time.
• 
  Catch some free music. The Royal Festival Hall often has music in their foyer - see their website for details. Many churches also have chamber music or choral events that may not be free but that are accessible for a charitable donation.
• 
  Find a nearby book shop. Go to the music section and hook up with the cute girl on the help desk. Begin by asking questions about non-existing bands.
  
  Tips
• 
  Look in Time Out for free events.
• 
  Wander around a lot. Especially on the South Bank. You'll often see outdoor exhibitions, events and festivals, especially in the summer.
• 
  Eat at staff subsidized canteens (Selfridges, Harrods, many newspaper offices). I have not done this since 9/11 therefore security likely will be tougher now but there's nothing wrong in trying. Try to blend in with the surroundings, think of yourself as having a right to be there and don't blab too loudly (especially if you have an American accent). Play the dumb, glassy eyed tourist if caught "um, the guy at garden furniture told me to go here..." Chances are you get a decent meal at a cheap price.
  
  Warnings
• Buying food and drink in cafes around the tourist areas can be very pricey. Cheap eats are a real find and knowledge of good, cheep cafes and restaurants is often jealously guarded. Time Out do a cheap eats guide that can be of some assistance but if in doubt, and the weather permits, picnics are by far the cheapest option.
• You may just fall in love with that cute girl.
  
  Wikihow. Creative Commons license.

The Anti Jet Lag Diet

Hundreds of thousands of travelers have requested copies of the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet over the years. Among them are President Ronald Reagan (whose personal physician consulted with Dr. Ehret), the U.S. Army and Navy, the U.S. Secret Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the World Bank, the Federal Reserve System, and the Canadian National Swim Team, and dozens of corporations, scout groups, church groups and other travelers.

The diet grew out of studies of circadian rhythms -- natural body cycles controlled by molecular "clocks" found in every cell of the body -- by scientists at the University of Chicago's Argonne National Laboratory

Here's the The Anti Jet-Lag-Diet:

To avoid jet lag, the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet uses some of the same time cues that cause it. These time cues include meal times, sunset and sunrise, and daily cycles of rest and activity. Normally, they work together to help keep the body on schedule and healthy.

The Anti-Jet-Lag Diet is more than a diet. It helps avoid jet lag with a coordinated plan that combines a number of time-giving cues -- including alternate days of moderate feasting and fasting -- to help speed your adjustment to a new schedule. Still, we call it a 'diet' because meals are central. What you eat sends your body signals about waking up and going to sleep. And because meals tend to occur at reasonably consistent times during the day, their regularity helps to reinforce the regularity of other time-setting activities.

The Anti-Jet-Lag Diet can help avoid jet lag with a planned rescheduling of time-giving cues. It starts a few days ahead of your departure date to prepare your time-zone adjustment by carefully planning the amounts and types of food eaten at meal times. On the day of you arrive at your destination, your body's clock is reset by assuming the same meal and activity schedule as people in the new time zone.

An example traveling east: A traveler planning a Sunday flight from New York to Paris faces a nine-hour flight across six time zones. The traveler plans to arrive Monday at 10 a.m. Paris time, and wants to advance his or her body clock so it is not still set for 4 a.m. New York time upon arrival.

To avoid jet lag, the traveler begins the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet on Thursday, three days before the flight. Meals are eaten at their regular New York times. Thursday is a feast day, to be followed by fasting on Friday, feasting on Saturday and fasting on Sunday. The day of the flight is always a fast day.

Feast days: On feast days, you eat three full meals. Take second helpings. Breakfast and lunch should be high in protein. Steak and eggs make a good breakfast, followed later by meat and, perhaps, beans for lunch. Protein helps the body produce chemicals it normally produces when it's time to wake up and get going. High-protein meals do not need to be exclusively protein, but they should emphasize it.

Supper is high in carbohydrates. They help the body produce chemicals that it normally produces when its time to bring on sleep. Spaghetti or another pasta is good, but no meatballs -- they contain too much protein. High-carbohydrate meals need not be exclusively carbohydrate, but they should emphasize it.

Fast days: On fast days, eat three small meals. They should be low in carbohydrates and calories to help deplete the liver's store of carbohydrates. Acceptable meals on fast days would contain 700 calories or less and might consist of skimpy salads, thin soups and half-slices of bread.

Whether feasting or fasting, the traveler drinks coffee, or any other drink containing caffeine, only between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. This is the one time of day when caffeine seems to have no effect on the body's rhythms.

Flight day: Sunday evening -- flight day -- you board the plane about 7 p.m. and begin the first phase of speeding up your body's internal clock to Paris time. Drink two or three cups of coffee between 9 and 10 p.m., turn off the overhead light and goes to sleep.

Destination breakfast time: About 1:30 a.m. New York time, you take the final steps that reset your body's clock to Paris time: You begin a third feast day, but this one is based on Paris time. It may be 1:30 a.m. in New York, but in Paris it's 7:30 a.m. -- your normal breakfast time. You wake up -- the coffee you drank before going to sleep helps you do this -- and eat a high-protein breakfast without coffee; it might be last night's supper, which you saved for breakfast. Most airlines will gladly agree to this request. The large, high-protein meal helps your body wake up and synchronize itself with the Parisians, who are eating breakfast at about the same time.

Stay active: Having finished breakfast, you stay active to keep your body working on Paris time. The other passengers may be asleep, but you are walking the aisles, talking to the flight attendants or working at your seat.

Monday afternoon in Paris, eat a high-protein lunch. Steak is a good choice. That evening, eat a high-carbohydrate supper -- crepes, for example, but with no high-protein meat filling -- and go to bed early.

Tuesday morning, you wake up with little or no jet lag.

The return trip, traveling west: On the return trip, the procedure is reversed, with one change. Going from east to west, you want to turn the body clock back six hours so that upon arrival at, say, 10 p.m. New York time, your body clock is not still set at 4 a.m. Paris time. The same feast-fast-feast-fast procedure is followed as before.

For the first four days, your meals and activities are on Paris time. Your fourth day -- a fast day -- is the day you leave Paris. In the morning, you drink two or three cups of caffeinated coffee. You break the fast with a high-protein "breakfast" at the same time New Yorkers are eating breakfast.

At that point, you begin a third feast day, but on a New York time schedule. Do not nap on the plane after you break the fast. Stay active and alert. In New York, go to bed about an hour earlier than usual. Wake up the next morning with little or no jet lag.


Medical caution: Remember to be safe. If you are under a doctor's care, you should consult your physician before using the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet -- not because using the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet will harm you, but because varying your doctor's instructions might.

For a small fee you can get your personalized anti-jet-lag diet here.
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100 UAE traffic rules, violations and fines

Code	Traffic Violation	Dhs.		Points
1	Driving an unlicensed vehicle.	200		3
2	Driving a vehicle with an expired driving license.	100		1
3	Driving a vehicle of an unlicensed category.	200		3
4	Driving a vehicle with a foreign license without a permit from the licensing authority.	150		0
5	Driving with an expired vehicle registration documents.	100		1
6	Failing to present a driving license when requested.	100		1
7	Failing to present vehicle registration documents when requested.	100		1
8	Driving a taxi without a permit.	100		2
9	Exceeding speed limits (radar).	200		1
10	Driving recklessly and causing danger to the other road users.	200		3
11	Running the red light.	500		5
12	Disobeying instructions of the traffic policeman.	200		1
13	Failing to pull over at the request of the traffic policeman.	200		2
14	Failing to give name and address to the traffic policeman when requested.	200		2
15	Failing to observe Traffic Signs and Instructions.	100		2
16	Obstructing the traffic flow.	100		1
17	Failing to give way to emergency vehicles ( e.g. ambulances and fire engines) and police vehicles.	200		2
18	Failing to give way to vehicles coming from the left.	100		1
19	Entering the roundabout from the wrong lane.	100		2
20	Overtaking vehicles on the right or in a dangerous way.	150		3
21	Failing to give signals when changing lanes or entering a roundabout.	150		1
22	Car reversing in a dangerous manner.	100		1
23	Failing to observe ?No Entry? sign.	200		2
24	Stopping on the zebra crossing or failing to leave enough space.	100		2
25	Failing to leave enough between vehicles.	100		1
26	Parking in a No Parking area.	150		1
27	Parking on the pavement.	150		1
28	Parking behind parked cars.	150		2
29	Parking on the left side of the road.	150		2
30	Parking which could endanger pedestrians or impede their movement.	100		2
31	Failure to take appropriate action to ensure traffic flow when one's vehicle breaks down	100		2
32	Failing to ensure that the vehicle comes to a full stop.	150		1
33	Carrying out fundamental changes to the engine or chassis of the vehicle without permit.	400		3
34	Using a vehicle for an unlicensed purpose.	100		1
35	Driving a vehicle unfit for use.	150		1
36	Driving a vehicle without safety equipment.	150		2
37	Touting for passengers.	50		1
38	Refusing to carry passengers in a taxi.	100		1
39	Carrying more passengers than permitted.	50		2
40	Failure to display approved fares in buses and taxis.	150		1
41	Failure to adhere to authorized fares.	100		1
42	Excess loading (loads in excess of permitted limits).	200		2
43	Loading a vehicle in such a way that causes danger to other road users.	100		2
44	Driving a vehicle without number plates or with one single plate.	200		3
45	Unclear number plates.	150		1
46	Use of horn in restricted areas in a disturbing manner.	100		1
47	Driving without wearing medical glasses or lenses (for those with poor eye sight).	100		1
48	Failing to use seat belts.	100		3
49	Failing to wear a helmet when driving a motorcycle.	200		2
50	Driving noise-producing vehicles.	100		1
51	Driving at night or in foggy weather conditions without using lights.	150		2
52	Failing to use rear lights on trailers.	150		2
53	Placing traffic signs on the road which cause damages to other road users or affects traffic flow.	100		2
54	Driving at a speed below "minimum speed" for the road.	100		0
55	Giving driving lessons without a permit.	200		3
56	Giving driving lessons in a car not carrying ?Learning? sign.	100		3
57	Driving without observing lane restrictions.	100		2
58	Attempting to enter a road without making sure it is clear.	200		1
59	The sudden deviation in direction.	150		1
60	Carrying different plate number on trailer and car.	100		1
61	Driving in the wrong direction.	200		3
62	Failing to give way to vehicles coming from the left.	100		2
63	Trucks or lorries overtaking other vehicles in a dangerous way.	400		4
64	Overtaking other vehicles where overtaking is not allowed.	400		4
65	Enter the road in a dangerous way.	400		4
66	Towing a vehicle or boat without proper precautions.	100		2
67	Materials dropping from moving vehicles.	100		2
68	Littering motorists.	100		2
69	Using rotating spot lights with different colors.	100		2
70	Unlicensed additions to the vehicle.	100		1
71	Failing to use internal lights on buses at night.	100		1
72	Not carrying driving license or car registration documents.	100		1
73	Driving a taxi with an expired sponsorship.	100		2
74	Carrying passengers in a vehicle used for learning to drive.	100		2
75	Giving driving lessons in times or places not permitted by law.	100		2
76	Failing to observe laws governing number plates for commercial vehicles..	100		2
77	Giving driving lessons in vehicle not licensed for this purpose.	100		3
78	Driving a vehicle with worn-out tires.	100		2
79	Indicators and lighting equipment are not in working order.	100		1
80	Rear red lights are not in working order.	100		1
81	Driving a vehicle with high harmful emissions.	300		2
82	Not having the vehicle inspected after major modification to engine.	100		2
83	Leaving vehicle on the road with its engine running.	100		3
84	Misuse of parking areas.	100		2
85	Failure to fix reflectors to the rear of heavy goods or transport vehicles.	100		3
86	Writings or stickers on the vehicles showing indecent material.	100		3
87	Failure to write heavy vehicle load limits on its side.	100		1
88	Failure to attach what may indicate excess permitted load.	100		1
89	Failure to fix taxi sign in specified places.	100		1
90	Failure to conform to specified colors for taxis or L-Plate cars.	100		1
91	Failure to observe loading and unloading rules in parking areas.	100		1
92	Opening the left hand door of a taxi.	100		2
93	Failure to wear specified or tidy uniform for taxi drivers.	100		1
94	Failure to provide vertical exhaust pipe in heavy vehicles.	200		2
95	Failure to cover load in lorries.	100		2
96	Pedestrians who do not observe pedestrian or zebra crossings.	50		0
97	Lorries and trucks using roads not specified for them.	100		2
98	Failing to give way to pedestrians.	100		1
99	Failing to stop the vehicle when involved in a car accident.	100		1
100	Parking in areas designated for fire engines or the disabled.	500

Drive carefully and enjoy your stay in the UAE.