Be the star of the show

For a little of the unknown, immersive theatrical experiences are becoming the latest craze in London, taking bemused audience members on a whirlwind ride through their dreams, fears and fantasies in a short space of time.

The wacky You Me Bum Bum Train, an immersive theatrical experience created in 2004, is a unique experience, whereby audience members play centre stage in their own production, surrounded by hundreds of volunteers. Audience members are shuttled through a series of terrifying, uplifting or bizarre scenes where visitors play a number of different roles throughout the evening. Previous experiences including hosting a game show, robbing a bank full of terrified customers or giving motivational speeches to football players in a changing room.

Before you have time to become too engaged with the scene, you are hurried off to the next room for an alternative experience. Sounds like a blast.

Step into someone else’s shoes for a few days

London based onefinestayhas shown that ‘living like a local’ can be made simple, with their alternative service to traditional hotel accommodation. Dubbed the ‘unhotel’, onefinestay allows visitors to London and New York to stay in someone else’s home when they are out of town.

Guests stay in the property like they would in a boutique hotel, yet have all of the comforts of a home. Additional perks include fresh linens, fluffy towels, 24 hour guest services and an iPhone to use during your stay (which is preloaded with tips on the best places to go in the area).

Immerse yourself in food

A combination of food, theatrics and fun, Gingerline is at the forefront of creating ‘immersive dining experiences’ for ‘London’s food adventurers’ at various locations along East London’s overground line (which is orange, hence the name).

As a follow on to the pop-up dining experiences that are gaining momentum in the city, Gingerline diners are given directions 60 minutes before the event is due to start, adding an element of secrecy and excitement of the evening. Diners are treated to various different forms of entertainment throughout the evening from musicians to jugglers, which complement the theme and menu for the evening.

With a selection of unusual experiences like this available, it’s no wonder visitors to London are looking to venture off the beaten track for a real taste of what the city has to offer.

The post How to live like a local in London appeared first on Vi Travel Tips.

After staying couple days in Ao Nang on my last day I decided to visit probably nicest beach in area – Hat Phra Nang. Although Lonely Planet calls Railay(Rai Leh) most stunning beach location in all Thailand I would name it nice but not the “most”.  Ok is not about this today. How you can get there from Ao Nang? Only by long tail boat.  It takes about 15-20 minutes and cost 80BTH at the moment. You can go from Ao Nang directly to Hat Phra Nang beach or go to Hat Rai Leh West and then walk to Hat Phra Nang beach. It is about another 20 minutes walk, but I would recommend to do that walk to see how different is Hat Rai Leh East side of peninsula.
Day was not the best for beach. It started raining, so didn’t stay on the beach more then half an hour. Was no any long tail boats on Hat Phra Nang beach so I went back to Hat Rai Leh West. It looks was no shortage of long tail boats here.

I showed my return ticket to Ao Nang and guy pointed where I should wait. Long tail boats go when there are at least 8 persons. In Ao Nang it took about 10 minutes till was enough people to go. But different story in Railay. The couple I met in waiting area was waiting for a boat more then an hour.  It was strange because boats were leaving almost every five minutes. I didn’t realize there are at least two different companies which transfer people from Ao Nang to Railay and back. I did wait less then an hour, but situation wasn’t very pleasant – I needed to catch bus to Bangkok that afternoon, another couple was going to airport – and boat owners even didn’t discuss possibility to go earlier.  It was happy ending and I made on time to my bus, but don’t make mistake I did – don’t buy return ticket (it is not saving you any money anyway)  and check which boats will leave earlier (i.e. more people are waiting) before buying your ticket.

The post Ferries from Ao Nang to Railay, Thailand appeared first on Vi Travel Tips.