Need something to alleviate my boredom, so figured I’d post! This topic may drag on over several posts over time. This is just the first.
My favorite place on earth (so far). London.
Getting there? From overseas you’re likely to land at Heathrow. There are the other airports like Gatwick or Stanstead or London City. The only other one I’ve ever landed at is Gatwick. You can get the train from Gatwick into the city or get the bus to the city or Heathrow if you need to transfer. People have this weird belief that everything in London is close by. Gatwick is not near Heathrow or the city. Heathrow is right on the outskirts of London. The express train from Heathrow to Paddington takes about 15 minutes each way and costs about £30 for a return ticket (£25 or so one way). Getting the tube in from Heathrow is much cheaper (Zone 1-6 all day ticket is about £6 or something I think, I have an Oyster Card, so I don’t pay much attention), however the tube takes about an hour to get from Heathrow in to the centre of London and is always packed to the brim and is therefore a pain in the ass when you have luggage. It comes down to personal choice, but I will always choose to take the express train over the tube from Heathrow. It might be more expensive, but it’s just so much easier.
Getting around? The tube. Best thing ever. If you’re going to be in London for more than 2-3 days, buy an Oyster Card (card that you use to tag on and tag off when you get on and off that you “top-up” with extra credit when required). It saves you having to buy tickets every day and works out considerably cheaper in the long run. Buses are also a great way to get around, just be mindful of getting on the right ones, otherwise you could end up in some of the less glamorous parts of town (unless that’s your aim of course) 
Where to stay? I’ve done this at both ends of the market. Just to make things clear, staying in London is not cheap no matter where you stay.
From the budget end, I’ve stayed at the Piccadilly Backpackers in Piccadilly Circus. It’s a rat infested hole (ok, so not literally rat infested, but you know what I mean). I’ve stayed in some nasty hostels around the world, but this one takes the cake. Me and a mate booked a private room (bunk beds) for a several day stopover in London at this place about 2 months before our scheduled travel. No problems, got all the booking confimations and everything. Contacted them a few days before our arrival to confirm (since we were arriving at 2am) and everything was great. Arrived at the hostel to check in only to be told they’d given our room away to someone else and that we’d have to spend the night in a 12 bed dorm. No refund. So despite paying £60/night for the twin room (AU$150 for the both of us per night), we ended up having to spend 2 nights in a 12 bed dorm room and got no money back from them despite it being their f-up. The bathrooms were filthy (and even for a hostel they were filthy). The staff were rude and incompetent on a whole new level. The internet room was barely operational. The only good thing I have to say about the place is it is in an awesome location. The Piccadilly Backpackers would be a last resort option for me if all the other hotels in the city were booked out.
In the mid-range I’ve stayed at the Royal National Hotel in Russell Square. I admit the first time I stayed there was prior to my Contiki tour. But I didn’t hate the place and I have stayed there since on my own.
Cost £80 (AU$200) a night for a single room. But it’s clean, you get your own bathroom and it’s not that noisy. You get a semi-decent breakfast. It’s about a 10 minute walk to Oxford Street. It’s just around the corner from the British Museum (which I love by the way). Or you can get the tube from Russell Square tube station which is close to the hotel. If you’ve not got the money to spend on staying at the nice end of town, this place is actually pretty good.
At the nice end of town, I’ve stayed at the Ritz and Claridges. Both start at £250+ (AU$600) a night. But they’re nice hotels. Really nice. Both are in the Soho-West End part of London. Close to the theatres, shops, everything that is awesome about London. If you’ve got the money, I recommend staying in this part of town at a nice hotel. It’s what London is all about. The old-school charm. The included breakfast can be a bit average, but that’s not why you stay there.
What else comes under the basics? Eating?
Indian food. No joke. London has the best Indian food I’ve ever eaten in my life (though sure, I’ve not actually been to India yet). It’s funny watching the Aussies eat London Indian food for the first time. What you consider to be really hot Indian in Australia is more mild-medium in the UK. Hot in the UK is like really really really hot. It’ll probably give you the shits (literally) the first time you eat it, but you get used to it pretty quickly. Suggest ordering the mild stuff to start with! I much prefer to eat at the “hole-in-the-wall” type places in London. Tends to be where the locals eat and it’s cheap, but good food. I don’t think I’ve eaten anywhere particularly fancy when I’ve been in London. Did high tea at the Ritz once, but I thought it was overrated and the food really wasn’t my style. Worth the experience, but I didn’t think it was all that. British food really isn’t as bad as people say it is. It’s stodgy type stuff, but I don’t actually dislike that. It’s a matter of personal taste I guess.
There’s also the matter of shopping, going out, what to do, all that other fun stuff. But it doesn’t come under the basics. Will post more later.
