manilla was terrible to drive in. i quickly learned that a taxi was better
and even better was a jeetney.

-----Original Message-----
From: Salkin Kathleen
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 8/30/2002 6:56 PM
Subject: Re: Driving Outside the US

Gad, it HAS grown.  You'd be right about DC being a breeze by
comparison,
except that my cousin and I were up in Chevy Chase, Maryland this past
May,
sweltering in 90-F degree heat and taking two hours to go 15 miles. It
was
Memorial Day Weekend and we managed to get stuck in lunch hour and
tourist
traffic.  Truly a nightmare.  Next time the two of us does a road trip
from
Philly, it will be up to New York City.

I understand, too, that the tubes are worse than they used to be and
that
service has gone downhill.  How sad...I remember going to Russell Square
and
taking the Blue Line to Piccadilly Circus and then the Yellow Line out
to
Wanstead, where my cousins lived at the time (they are in Wedmore now,
which
is near Plymouth, I believe; I do know it's in Somerset, in SW
England.).

As for the cars having stick shift, it was my cousin's car, an ancient
Mini,
and they didn't come with automatic at the time.  Maybe the new ones do.
My
friend and I saw one of the new Minis in a parking lot at a movie
theatre
last week and it was a beautiful car.

Kat

>
> Stick shift is optional both Lin's and mine are automatic. M1 goes
> London to Leeds (where it joins the A1 onto Edinburgh). You would not
> believe the traffic volume, current average speed through London is
> 2.7mph, driving in DC last year was a positive breeze.
>
> Cheers
>
> Deri