I’m watching the photos emerging from several days of protest in Beirut with some dismay. Just last week I walked around the streets of the city and stood in the square close to the mosque and Christian church where fires now blaze.
This weekend also, the President of Ireland was evacuated from the hotel I stayed in, the glamorous Phoenicia overlooking the waterfront. Hardly surprising. In a city as small as Beirut, a fire anywhere is not going to be too far away from the hotel – not close enough to put him in any danger but close enough to make minders uneasy.
Last Sunday I stood looking into the parliament square where a protest was underway, a peaceful protest where hundreds of people stood with placards, calling for fairness in their government. It was made up of all ages, the young and the old, people, it seemed to me, from all walks of life.
It was just like the protest I took part in on Saturday in London, where hundreds of thousands of us, young and old, from all walks of life, marched with placards and called for fairness in our own government.
But the Beirut protests erupted in flames after the government introduced even more crippling taxes for its already financially stretched population – and flames make headlines. Beirut is only putting itself back together after the nightmare of its 15-year civil war, from 1975 to 1990, when the very name of the city became a catch word for destruction and mayhem and violence. It began as a religious war as East fought against West and Israeli and Syrian forces entered the country, but alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. 120,000 people were killed during the fighting, one million left, 76,000 still remain displaced within the country.
Going there last weekend, I hadn’t expected to find a city that was so beautiful, so calm and so welcoming. There are still streets of war-torn houses and bullet-marked walls but there are many more streets of preserved 18th and 19th century buildings and attractive Art Deco and 1930s architecture.
Entire areas of the city have been completely rebuilt, using a modern take on classical design, here you’ll find the designer shops, the posh restaurants, the stylish cafes and bars. In more run-down streets are the businesses that survived the war, the oldest Armenian bakery in the city, the traditional spice shops and coffee houses.
Around another corner there are contemporary glass buildings with their penthouse apartments – some built over the city’s ancient Roman ruins, preserved in the glass enclosed foundations. These sit alongside streets of 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s architecture, Brutalist blocks of concrete, the ancient sitting beside the new.
The old sits beside the new in the culture and lifestyle as well, here you will see Muslim women in traditional dress as well as in Western clothes. On a day trip from Beirut to the coastal city of Tyre, I watched a group of Lebanese teenagers party on the beach, a few swimming in the sea, where a girl in full hijab floated alongside her friend in a swimsuit.
There are businesses with a conscience here in Beirut, proving that progress is not all about blind capitalism. Sarah’s Bag and Bajoka both work with underprivileged communities to produce their products – Sarah’s Bag employing female prisoners to make designer handbags for which they are paid a wage, Bajoka keeping the skills of the refugee community alive in their high-end homewares.
With all that was destroyed in the Lebanese war, it’s amazing so much remains. There are growing numbers of tourists and facilities for them – as well as the luxury hotels like the Phoenicia, lower cost guesthouses are opening up as well as hostels.
Today, the UK government confirm that protests have been generally peaceful, but there has been sporadic violence, including clashes between protestors and security forces, vandalism and looting. Banks remain closed, and there are reports of some ATMs being low on cash.
Beirut was described as the ‘Paris of the Middle East’ in its 1960s heyday and the Phoenicia was the jewel in its crown with its majestic entrance staircase, marble lounges and chandeliers.
It’s clear those days can come back if the unrest settles, if the problems of high prices and the country’s political elite, perceived as out of touch and insensitive to the problem of its citizens, are resolved. National debt is high – more than 150% of the country’s GDP. The militia leaders of the war, who came to political power afterwards in a system based on power sharing between religious groups, have been criticised for plundering the state to hand out privileges, jobs and lucrative contacts to supporters. The country’s premier, Saad al-Hariri, gave his partners in government an ultimatum to agree a package of reform to ward off economic collapse.
There’s something of an irony in all of this. Divided in war time into religious factions, last week’s protests united the people of Lebanon as Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims gathered together to call for the corrupt political elite to stand down.
Unity and inclusive leadership are what the country needs. I hope it achieves its aims and continues to welcome travellers to experience its wonderful charms.
It’s not enough to hold a current UK passport when you visit the USA, you will also need prior authorisation, either through a visa, a Permanent Resident Card, or the Visa Waiver Programme. Most passport holders can get an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) through the Visa Waiver Programme, which means you don’t need to go to the bother of applying for a full visa. The ESTA allows travel to the US for up to 90 days and covers tourism, certain types of business trips and transit to another country.
You can apply for the ESTA online and it may take up to 48 hours to process, however you may also receive confirmation immediately after application. The US Customs and Border Patrol recommends that you apply at least 72 hours before departure.
If you are a UK residents you will most likely quality for the Visa Waiver Programme if you meet the following criteria:
your passport describes your nationality as a ‘British Citizen’
your passport is an ePassport
you haven’t been arrested for a crime, have a criminal record or have previously been refused admission into, or have been deported from, the US
you aren’t a dual national of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria
you haven’t travelled to Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen since March 2011
you can show that you have enough funds available on arrival to support yourself during your stay, even if you’re staying with family and friends
The situation is the same for holders of Irish passports who are described as ‘Irish Citizens’.
Watch out for travel scams
But beware! You should only apply for the ESTA through the official website. Searching on Google for ‘US visa’ will bring up a number of seemingly reputable websites advertising ESTA applications. All use a variety of different web addresses including words such as ‘visa-express ‘, ‘evisa’, ‘online-visa-us’, etc, and advertise ‘fast processing’, ‘affordable rates’ and ‘dedicated support’.
Most look like official US government sites, to the extent of including the US Customs & Border Protection logo. They will ask all of the questions you would expect to be asked, regarding your travel plans, length of stay, address in the country, etc. These are legitimate questions, in fact they have all been copied from the official ESTA website. But when it comes to paying for your visa, you might notice the price is not clearly stated and it is only after you fill out your card details for payment and submit your webform that you are told you will be charged anything up to $100 US dollars for your visa application. A standard US visa through the official channels costs $14, so you are being considerably ripped off.
These sites are not ‘scams’ in the traditional sense of the word however. They will actually process your application and secure your visa. But the fact remains that you could have done this yourself, probably quicker, as it may take up to 48 hours to hear from these ‘rogue’ sites and you will quite likely have an answer from the embassy immediately. And you can certainly do it cheaper by doing it yourself. Why pay up to $100 dollars when the actual price is only $14?
Doing a quick Google search and clicking on to one of these sites – the perils of doing anything in a hurry with your mind half on something else! – I was completely taken in by it. The US Customs & Border Protection logo sitting reassuringly in the top left hand corner convinced me that I was on an official site. It was only when I submitted my application and received a notice telling me that I would be charged $90 for it, that I realised I had been ‘had’ – knowing the cost of a visa was actually only £14.
Cursing myself for rushing through the process and not taking the time to check out the site credentials, I quickly Googled the site and found lots of people in the same situation as me. However, taking heart from the number of people who said they had contacted the site’s customer services and demanded a refund of their money, I did the same. Within a few minutes I had an email saying that my application would be cancelled at my request and my money was refunded in full.
I was lucky – though I’m not sure all other visa providers would be so quick to refund. It did waste a lot of my time however, as I then had to go to the official site and fill in my application again. I also had the worry of not knowing whether my original application had been sent to the official ESTA processing system before I cancelled it. You can only apply for one visa at a time – the last thing you want is to have several visa applications pending as ESTA may become suspicious and refuse your application.
So I could have saved myself a lot of time and angst had I just gone straight to the official site to begin with. As I say, these ‘express sites’ are not typical scams, just services chancing their arms but best avoided for peace of mind. Also, do you really want to share your bank or credit card details with a slightly dubious online practitioner? Don’t be fooled!
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Image credit: Photo by Rob Wilson Jnr, Fluid4Sight
If you’re taking a staycation this year, you may end up taking the train at some point, on a long-distance cross country journey or short hop around your chosen city. And while we all like our journeys to be straightforward and problem free, the reality is that sometimes they’re not and we get held up and delayed.
If that happens to you, bear in mind that you might be entitled to a refund for some or all of the ticket price. Each train company operating in the UK has slightly different policies when it comes to refunds but in general, if your train is more than 30 minutes late, you’re entitled to some, or occasionally all, of your money back. Some companies will allow you to claim once you are 15 minutes delayed. According to Moneysaving Expert, two thirds of us simply don’t bother claiming if we’re delayed – that’s an awful lot of money left with the train operators!
Here’s what you need to know
Every train company has a Passenger’s Charter, which lays out the service you can expect to receive when using their stations and train services. This charter also outlines the company policy in relation to compensation for delays and cancellations. For your convenience, we have provided a direct link to every UK train company’s charter at the end of this feature.
Are you entitled to compensation?
Whether or not you are entitled to compensation depends on a few things – which train company you travelled with, what type of ticket you have and how long you were delayed for – ie what time did you actually get to your destination versus the time you were supposed to arrive. You can check the length of a delay on the Recent Train Times website – it will show you when every train travelling in the last 3 months actually arrived.
How do you claim for a refund?
When it comes to making compensation, some companies offer cash refunds, others may issue vouchers for future travel. Be aware however that even if the company offers vouchers, you are fully entitled to ask for a cash or card refund. From 2016, the National Rail Conditions of Travel say that passengers must be offered at least one form of monetary compensation for a delay, such as a bank transfer, cheque or refund to your card, although companies can still offer rail vouchers as well.
To make a claim for compensation you will need to show your ticket and provide details of the journey where the delay occurred. Most claims can be made on a form which you can pick up from any station and post to the company, enclosing your ticket. You can also make the claim on the internet by filling out the company’s online claim form and emailing a scan of the ticket. Claims will need to be made within 28 days of the delay occurring.
How much can you expect to receive?
As a guideline, the compensation below is what many train companies offer, though you do need to check with the individual operators for their specific policies:
Delays of 15 to 29 minutes: 25% of single fare
Delays of 30 to 59 minutes: 50% of single fare
Delays of 60 to 119 minutes: 100% of single fare
Delays of over 2 hours: 100% of single or return fare
If you hold a monthly or annual season ticket, you may also be able to claim a discount when you renew their ticket if you have experienced what is called ‘sustained poor performance’.
However, the bare minimum that companies HAVE to do, is not very much – and only comes into force after delays of one hour that are directly the fault of the train company. Most companies, as we have said, will do more. You can read the minimum requirements in the National Rail Conditions of Travel.
What’s the new Delay Repay scheme?
Many train companies now offer a simplified compensation scheme called Delay Repay, where passengers with various types of tickets, from daily to season cards, can claim for delayed journeys as and when they occur, even if the delay was not the train company’s fault. A few companies still operate the original Passenger’s Charter formula, where the arrangements differ for holders of monthly and longer season tickets and you may need to be held up for 60 minutes to claim a refund.
Which companies will let you claim for delays of 15 minutes?
Train companies that will allow you to claim for a delay of 15 minutes include Southern, South Western, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, London Northwestern Railway, West Midlands and Great Northern. Virgin Trains offer a 30-minute Automatic Delay Repay for advance tickets booked online. A train company called c2c, operating from London to Southend and other Essex destinations offers a two-minute delay repayment scheme for smartcard holders.
When is a delay deemed to be the fault of the train company?
Failure of points, signal power, track circuits, telecoms, overhead line problems and buckled or broken railway tracks are all classified as faults which the company is responsible for. Companies who operate the Delay Repay scheme will pay out for strike action if you are delayed the required time (up to 15 or 30 minutes, depending on the company’s policy). London travellers should note that TfL doesn’t pay out for delays caused by strike action.
When is a delay not classified as the train company’s fault?
If the delay is caused by acts or threats of vandalism or terrorism, suicides or passenger accidents, gas leaks or fires not caused by the train company, line closures for emergencies, severe weather conditions or riots, this is not considered to be the rail company’s fault. They are not obliged to provide compensation in such cases, but many do.
What else do I need to know?
If your train is delayed, you should be able to get the next one or take a different route using the same ticket, though you should check with station staff first, as the alternative route may be run by a different train company.
If your train is delayed or cancelled late at night, there is no way for you to get to your destination and this is the fault of the train company, they should be able to provide you with alternative transport, such as a taxi, or cover the cost of your overnight accommodation.
If you find out that your train is going to be delayed or cancelled after you’ve bought your ticket and you decide not to travel, you are entitled to a full refund from the train operator. This rule applies even if your train is delayed for only a few minutes.
If you apply for compensation due to delays or because you were not happy with the company’s level of service (under the Consumer Rights Act, your company is required to provide its service with ‘reasonable care and skill’) and you are not happy with the company’s response, you have a number of options. You can get in contact again with the company and quote the Consumer Rights Act. If this doesn’t work, you could then take your complaint to an industry watchdog such as Transport Focus. If you still don’t have any luck, you will need to take the company to court.
Passenger Charters – click on the company to read their policy on delays and cancellations
Arriva Trains Wales, c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, Grand Central Rail, Great Western, Great Northern Rail, Greater Anglia, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains, London Northwestern, London North Eastern Railway, London Overground, Merseyrail, Northern Rail, Scotrail, Southeastern, Southern, South Western, Transport for London, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, Virgin Trains, West Midlands Railway
The best and worst named and shamed
Which has published a list of the best and worst train companies in the UK, ordered by passengers’ ratings for punctuality, reliability, value for money and more. Best are Grand Central and Translink in Northern Ireland, worst is Southern, which has been hit by strike action for the past 3 years. Also rated highly are the Heathrow Express, Merseyrail and Chiltern Railways, while Thameslink, South Eastern and South Western are all at the bottom of the table.