Oxford City, England
The first day of Topdeck 7 Day British Isle trip began at Umi Hotel in London. Together with 20 travel mates from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada, we joined Julia-the lovely Canadian trip leader and Scotty-the chatty Australian driver and departed London for the city of Oxford, home to the prestigious Oxford University with a long history that dates back to the 11th century.
It was through STA Travel that I knew about Topdeck. My previous travel experiences only involved backpacking, free & easy and packaged tours from local travel agencies. I wasn’t sure what Topdeck could offer. The helpful STA Travel staff enthusiastically explained that Topdeck does not operate like the conventional kind of tours. Established since 1973, it is specially designed for the 18 to 30-somethings, accompanied by, well, you don’t call them “tour guides”, they are knowledgeable friends who NEVER ask for tips and plonk you at tourist shops where the guide gets a cut of everything you buy. Indeed!
Along the way, Julia thoughtfully tried to break the ice by inviting each one of us to introduce ourselves. Most of our friends on this trip travelled alone; some of them are students on school holidays and many were taking a break from work. Very soon, the bunch mingled well throughout the coach journey.
As we arrived in Oxford, Julia walked us around the city as she shared about Oxford. Topdeck believes in giving lot of free time so that we can explore the city at our own pace. After Julia briefed us with the direction to Oxford University and the meeting place, we had about 3 hours on our own, which means we could do whatever we like! Go shopping, dine in a nice restaurant like a local, and stroll along the charming streets leisurely to the main attractions. It really wasn’t like the guided tours I joined in the past with very tight schedules that rushed us through.