Adam Curry, Channel Tunnel Travel Experience
Adam Curry describes his recent journey from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom via the Channel Tunnel. He details the FlexiPlus booking option, the check-in process involving a shopping center detour, and the transition through UK and French immigration. The account includes observations on the double-decker car carriages, the 35-minute transit time, and the high cost of approximately 240 pounds for the round trip.
adam curry· channel tunnel· flexiplus· uk immigration· french customs· eurotunnel· travel
00:01 If there ever was a perfect example of synchronicity, this show is it. Somehow we always seem to make it all come together at the same time. Coming to you from a very warm Britain, from the Curry Manor in the United Kingdom, I'm Adam Curry. And I'm John C. DeVoreco. We had a nice warm day yesterday, but it looks like it might be chilly today. Summer has arrived here, man, all over the continent. It's almost like Florida. We get 85 degrees and then big thunderstorms at the end of the day. And of course, there's no air conditioning. Well that's not like Florida. That's the only thing that's different. Yeah, it's like the really poor part of Florida. Right. So I was just in Florida actually yesterday. Yeah, I heard you do, didn't you do a no agenda from Florida?
00:44 Yeah, no, we're doing no agenda now. I'm sorry, I mean, Tech 5. I'm sorry, I literally got back from six hours in the car, John. I just drove back from the Netherlands and went through the Channel Tunnel, so... You did? You drove through... No, but you don't drive through, you get on a train. Yeah, you get on the train. I went out Friday... Do you stay in your car? Do you stay in your car? You stay in your car. You want to know the process? Yeah, I've been through the tunnel but only on a train, on a passenger train where you could, you know... Oh no, this is quite different. First of all, the cheapest and best way is to book it online. And I booked the FlexiPlus option which means you can just kind of show up because otherwise you're on a time schedule. You have a check-in time and you have a departure time because they want to manage the traffic down there.
01:28 So flexi means you pay, I don't know, I'm sure it's 30% more. So you can kind of show up whenever you want. You give an indicated time but there's no penalty. And you get like a little... I like it. Yeah, you get an end. So you drive up, then first you insert your credit card or your confirmation number just like a check-in at a terminal, at an airport terminal. It then poops out a ticket that you hang on your, off of your mirror, your inside rearview mirror. And then of course it routes you past the shopping center. You can't go past, no you have to actually go through the parking lot of the shopping center. No, really? Oh yeah, it's fantastic. That's like a hotel casino in Las Vegas where you can't check in without walking past a bunch of slot machines. Yeah, oh and it's not even really apparent how you get to the, it's not like train this way, it says France that way.
02:17 So you kind of follow that sign and then you come to UK immigration. So then finally through the parking lot you come to UK immigration where of course they check you to see if they just want to say goodbye to you I guess which is kind of interesting. It's not the same way always at the airports, certainly not for going to Europe. uh... and so then they clear you then you drive might say about a hundred yards and then there's the french uh... so you haven't even got on the train yet you actually do that you're you're on friday french border in england yeah yeah it's a you you get into customs there or you can get you know so that's where they check you for french customs and then the everything changes near the it the whole vibe changes literally
03:05 uh... and then you get the yeah i mean a lot of this is more french than english i think is in you drive up the uh... first have to go through the security gate which is kind of cool which has like magnetic shit under it so you have to you drive through this one area this cameras and it's checking your whole car i guess to make sure you don't have anything bad on board right uh... and then for the clip flexi customers you have a little like first class kind of well more like a business class lounge and they pack up a little box for you So Flexi Class is actually... It's like a business class. Are there only two classes of service? Yes, regular and Flexi Plus. And so you can get out of your car and go do something? Yeah, so you park at the... you have to do that either at the shopping mall or you can do that after the shopping mall if you have regular class you can't do that. Flexi Plus they have a little... yeah it's literally like a little lounge. You drive up, you park
03:59 It's about halfway between the shopping mall and the actual train. And you can go inside, it's nice, it's air-conditioned. Everyone's French, even on the English side. And they have really nice baguettes, and it's all great French snack food, so no crap. uh... you know and like real strong espressos and cappuccinos and they'll pack a little box for you and then you take that into your car and you know there's a very discreet little LCD flat screen that tells you it's time to board and then you get in, you drive and then you go down a little ramp and then you turn into the uh... turn right into the train and then uh... because we're passenger cars you go up uh... to the double decker so you go to the upper level
04:42 And you just pull forward until the guy in front of you, and then there's people assisting all the way through. It's like getting on a ferry boat from Seattle. Yeah, kind of like that. It's about the same distance between the wall. You can open up your door comfortably, but you do have to look out to make sure someone's not walking alongside the cars to one of the restrooms, for instance. And then it's just a train. But now, okay, that's a, actually, you know what would be cool? You gotta take one of your cameras that's got video capability and kind of like glue it to the dashboard and then film the whole little thing. It's kind of boring, it's not that exciting. I have one I have to post one of these days which is a simple video of me trying to get out of the parking lot at the Venetian Hotel. That's impossible isn't it? It goes on forever this video. But anyway. Go left here to come back and gamble more.
05:35 So anyway, let's go back to this Lewis. So you park now, can you get out and get on? Is there a regular train hooked to this or is this just all cars? It's all cars, right? So you're actually going... So I was pretty much one of the first ones on. And so you actually drive all the way forward through all these different carriages. And I counted... Oh, you mean they're hooked together? So in other words, you can go from one car to another? I mean, one of the carriages? to another you can drive through from one to another? When you get on, I think there was row 36 or cabin 36 I think was the first one that I saw because it has LED displays and I drove forward all the way to number 12 I think.
06:19 And then, you know, then there were other people in front of me, so then you stop. And then they close the doors between the carriages, just like a regular train. But they do open if you want to get from one to the other, because there's restrooms located every other one, I think. So you have to go through those, you know, automatic... Yeah, the red door. Yeah, the electric doors that let you... That they open. Push, push. Yes, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And then until a guy helps you, you make sure that you pull up to the bumper baby. And then kill the engine and you have to keep your windows halfway open. It's not comfortable. It is kind of warm, particularly on a day like this where we've got 85 degrees.
06:57 and uh... but then when warm in the tunnel to uh... will so once the train gets going then uh... it did cool down a little bit but uses thirty five minute ride and then kind of like after twenty five years he's a wall can you see the walls of the time or yes low yes you need there are uh... windows and so you can see lights for the flashing by and and we could be on space mountain me and they could like take me right back to do that to say that uh... folks and i went in and you know i drive out and i wouldn't even know if you have no bearing whatsoever. But then you come out of the tunnel and then of course... Wait, wait, stop. How long does this take? 35 minutes. Oh, that's not bad. No, so you eat your lunch, you know, and you chill out and you drink your cappuccino in your car and maybe you get up, stretch your legs and then you're there.
07:44 and then you drive off and of course it's kind of weird because then you have to drive on the right hand side of the road. Right, and your steering wheel is on the wrong side so it's a dangerous journey. It's for thrill seekers only John C. Dvorak. I mean, I'm sure, you know, those wrong hand side of the road cars is just, you know, you can't see the pass. Yeah, I don't miss it. I mean, for me it's, when it comes to Operating machinery, I'm ambidextrous. You know, helicopters, you fly right seat. Airplanes, you fly left seat. I don't have any trouble driving in England in the car with the steering wheel on the wrong side of the road. I just don't like to have it where I'm on the wrong side of the road with the wrong side steering wheel because you can't see to pass. If you have to pass somebody, you have to damn near pull the whole car out into the other lane to see if anyone's coming.
08:32 Well, but you know, you... Come on man, how long have you been driving? I mean, you know how big the car is. It's dangerous. I'm just saying it's a dangerous proposition and people... It's dangerous, damn it! Wait, here's what's worse about it. It looks stupid. You look like an idiot with the wheel on the wrong side. I hadn't considered that. I actually had a nice little Panama hat on, you know, like, gee, I must look like a real total dick. Yeah, I would think. So, it's 35 minutes, that's not too bad. What's the cost on it? That's very expensive. I think I paid round trip was 240 pounds. So, yeah, 500 bucks. Not cheap. 500 bucks? Oh yeah. Holy crap. Yeah, but you get a sandwich.
09:17 In a nice box. Now I think the regular, it's not that much more expensive, I think the regular probably still would, now of course you can load up four people in my car, I was just by myself, there's no points off for the number of passengers you have on board. It's just per vehicle, so it does get a little bit less expensive if you're splitting the cost. Yeah, I guess with four people it would be okay, but geez. What's the train ride? I took the train once, but I can't remember what it was. It wasn't nearly that. The train took me all the way to Cologne. Right. The TGV, the high-speed train. Well, actually, the Eurotrain comes to drop you off somewhere. I can't remember where. A couple of different places. Paris, and there's one that goes toward Amsterdam and stops somewhere. In Antwerp, doesn't it? Yeah, that's it. Yeah, Antwerp. Yeah, you need to get off and get on something faster.
