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IRSOP | UK Study Report 2012 | General information
Deutsche Gesellschaft f端r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH - German Development Cooperation GIZ - Office Dhaka German House Road 90, House 10/C Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212 Bangladesh
F E T I
+88-02-8823 099 giz-bangladesh@giz.de +880-966670 1000 www.giz.de/en
Exchange information There will be a ‘Bureau de Change’ at Heathrow Airport when you arrive. There are also ATMs if you would like to withdraw cash, they can be found almost everywhere. For detailed information, please ask the hotel staff.
Weather related information As you are aware of the cooler climate in the UK, please remember to pack enough warm clothes. In London an average temperature from 120C to 180C can be expected during this time of the year, Norfolk is usually a little colder. Please check online for an updated weather forecast prior to the study mission. You may want to take a small umbrella with you as rain is common at this time of year.
Insurance Certificate Travelers have been insured against travel sickness, travel accident and travel liability covering period of travel. If for any reason you wish to see a doctor, please remember to ask for the receipt from the hospital/doctor. This is very important in order ensure refunds. For emergency telephone numbers please see section ‘important contacts’.
Daily Subsistence Allowances (DSA) Delegates will receive DSA as per GIZ regulations which will include lunch and dinner if it is not included in the programme schedule during the Study Mission. Breakfast will always be provided in the hotels. Delegates are humbly requested to arrange their food except the official lunch/dinner during the tour with this money. Kindly note that 80% DSA will be provided before travel and remaining 20% will be paid after completion of the tour, subject to submission of necessary documents, especially the boarding passes.
SIM cards
Transport:
The delegates will be provided with a UK SIM card. It will have a 20 Pound credit which you may use for your personal convenience. You might want to consider to bring a second mobile phone. If you would like to make a call to Bangladesh, please dial +880 and then the number without the 0 at the beginning (for example: +880 1712 123 456). To receive a phone call from outside the UK, the caller needs to dial +44 and then your number without the 0.
GIZ will provide all necessary transport with regard to the programme at the UK Study Tour. The transport will pick up the delegates from Heathrow Airport and will drop you at the hotel. You will also be picked up for programme venues and back to the hotel after the programme has finished. Participants are humbly requested to organize their own transport for personal visits in London and Norfolk.
Information regarding security check at Shahjalal International and Heathrow Airport Business class passengers are allowed to carry 30 KGs baggage and an additional 7 KGs hand luggage. Delegates are requested to carry only one piece of hand luggage with them especially in Heathrow Airport. Passengers are not allowed to carry any fluids, liquids or sharp items at Heathrow. The security at Heathrow Airport is very strict. Please be careful what you put in your hand luggage and if you have any doubt
please contact GIZ well in advance. You will probably have to remove your shoes and ALL metal objects, including belt, watch, pens, mobile phones at security in Heathrow. Please be kindly informed that overweight is highly charged by airlines, 1 KG can cost up to 50 Dollar. Participants are humbly requested to pay for their own overweight.
London related information London is a particularly busy and expensive city. If you need a razor or mobile phone connection (for example), buy a plug in Bangladesh. They will cost about 700 Taka in the UK. The plugs are 3 pin square.
Please remember that crossing the road can be dangerous and for your own safety you should only cross busy roads at traffic lights or zebra crossings. As you know Taxis are a comfortable but expensive way to travel, please kindly remember that they As you know traffic drives on the same side are controlled by a meter. as in Dhaka but moves notably faster.
The usual tip in the UK is 10%. Shops are fixed price. You may try to bargain but do not be surprised if the shop is uncooperative. There is little culture of bargaining generally. In recent years a strict non-smoking policy has been introduced. Smoking is illegal in
any indoor public place and most private places. There are some large Mosques in Central London. The area where we are staying is close to Regent’s Park Mosque for example. London is a cosmopolitan City and home to people from all over the world. Over 70 languages are spoken in London. The
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel – Westminster, London is situated in Central London and the hotel staff will be able to assist with information for any visiting you wish to do. Please find further information about the Hotels in the section ‘Accommodation’. If you wish to go out visiting, walking is very easy, but please remember to wear some comfortable shoes if you do so. You may
want to take a small umbrella with you as rain is common at this time of year. As you know during our visit to London, the Para Olympic summer games will also be hosted there. This might be a very interesting venue. Most Olympic sites are in East London, close to many Bengali restaurants.
Public Transport in London Travel on underground trains is quick and quite easy. Pimlico Station (Victoria Line) is nearby from the hotel. Please find further information in the section ‘Accommodation/London’. Please be kindly informed, that it can be more expensive to buy single travel cards compared to a day or week travel card (paper tickets).
Information regarding Prison Visits A new option is to purchase an ‘Oyster card’. It looks and works like a credit card and has the cheapest rates for underground trains (as well as overground transportation). For further information please go to: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14825.aspx
For all the visits delegates are requested to follow the advice below:
All visitors will need to bring their passports with them as proof of identification and must be prepared to be searched. If anyone is taking any form of medication then only one days supply is
allowed. Liquid refreshments must be in a sealed plastic container and the following items are not allowed: cameras, electronic equipment, mobile phones, pagers, laptop computers, Dictaphones, glass or sharp objects, Aerosols, alcohol and drugs.
Emergency telephone numbers Police, fire brigade, ambulance: 999
Important Contacts Dr. M. Sayeedur Rahman (High Commissioner)
Phone number of GIZ personal:
High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh, 28 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5JA Tel: 020 7584 0081 Personal Assistant to HC: 020 7582 0244 Fax: 020 7581 7477 Email: hc@bhclondon.org.uk
Promita Sengupta Richard Miles Ziaul Hasan Syed Roger Whybrow James Smerdon
: : : : :
+880 1713 064 453 (Roaming) +880 1714 096 545 (Roaming) +880 1713 131 549 (Roaming) 07766054301 07792282281
For more information about GIZ, visit:www.giz.de/en