Travel Tips

Why is Amtrak so expensive in the Northeastern US?

5/17/2018 10:01:00 PM I am somewhat surprised no one has mentioned another reason: the fairly short distances and high speeds (by North American standards) in the Northeast Corridor make Amtrak feasible for businessmen on expense accounts. It’s not an accident that the expensive Acela (which only beats the regular train by 30–40 minutes Washington to […]

Will using a Mexican debit card in Cuba get me in trouble in the US?

2/19/2014 2:43:46 AM Long story short. I think what you’re concerned about FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). The minimum amount required reportable by any foreign institution is $10,000, which means that if you keep under that amount in your Mexican account they technically don’t have to report it but they still might anyway. There […]

How can I discover what time of the year hotels will be cheapest for a given city, e.g. Tokyo?

How can I discover what time of the year hotels will be cheapest for a given city, e.g. Tokyo?

12/26/2014 12:15:54 AM Hotel pricing in Japan is generally highly seasonal, and many hotels go so far as to publish a “room rate calendar” (客室料金カレンダー) that shows exactly how prices vary through the year. Disney has a nice, clear text-based one, but I’ll use this rather more typical image from the Resonate chain in Kyushu […]

Do I have to carry snow chains in Europe?

12/16/2014 6:47:43 PM You can often rent snow chains from automobile clubs (e.g. ADAC in Germany, or ÖAMTC in Austria). So if you know that you will not need them again it might be cheaper to rent than to buy. This assumes of course that you will return in order to give them back. How […]

Are the tax return document mandatory for a Schengen visa?

7/8/2014 12:35:43 PM If you are travelling as a tourist then follow their guidelines carefully as mentioned on their website http://www.vfs-france.co.in/delhishortstayvisa.html They don’t require 3 years of IT return but only 1 year of IT return. What they will see if the amount you have in your bank account. France recognizes that to survive you […]

How accurate is Google Maps for travel times?

12/7/2014 5:09:21 AM I cannot answer for Japan, but in Kuwait Google is by no means exact, but it has been fairly close (~5 minutes from my anecdotal calculations) to the actual time it took between destinations. In Kuwait it also accounts for traffic congestion and will tell you how much delay traffic is causing […]

Best time to see cherry blossoms in Japan?

Best time to see cherry blossoms in Japan?

3/6/2014 6:59:45 AM The majority of Japan’s major cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka etc) are located on the half of the country that faces the Pacific Ocean. The climate in most these areas is similar and so most tend to hit full bloom around the first weekend of April. You can see them […]

Changing clothes in Kochi

11/26/2014 12:54:10 PM It will be really hot and sticky so clothes won’t last for long. I used to wash my clothes whilst having a shower to kill two birds with one stone. Then they dry really quickly as it is so hot. There will be loads of places doing laundry though. Which are the […]

Which are the non Schengen countries that allow entry for Schengen visa holders?

Which are the non Schengen countries that allow entry for Schengen visa holders?

11/4/2016 3:55:04 PM There are 19 countries that are not part of the Schengen Area and which you can visit without a national visa if you do hold a schengen visa. For more information, please have a look at http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/non-eu-countries-where-you-can-go-with-schengen-visa/ How far can one go from Addis Ababa without needing prevention medication for Malaria? 2/6/2017 […]

Trekking in Georgian Tusheti region? Safety?

Trekking in Georgian Tusheti region? Safety?

3/18/2014 5:52:08 AM You are quite safe if you have no European good-looking girls in your company. If you have such girls you might be in big trouble, because Bride kidnapping is still a popular ritual in Georgia and Chechnya. Pass the border between Georgia and Russia is better in Kazbegi (Other roads go through […]

How far can one go from Addis Ababa without needing prevention medication for Malaria?

11/14/2014 10:24:10 PM There is no malaria in Addis Ababa at all it is dry for the mosquito to survive. They need rather wet and dampy places. Also it is relatively colder than the other areas they seem to spread.In all the regions in the country where malaria may be found there are hotels with […]

Misspelt address on passport

2/8/2014 6:42:24 PM The address is mostly a convenience (in case the passport gets lost). In my country, reporting an address change is not mandatory and Canada even advises you to change it yourself. It might be a problem as far as the Indian authorities are concerned so I wouldn’t recommend doing that but there […]

Entering the USA by land border

9/6/2017 12:11:19 PM To enrich the experience, it seems that land crossing is dealt on a case-by-case basis. Riding Amtrak from Montreal to New York (Adirondack train), it all began at the Montreal central station when personnel was giving away entry application forms (huge ones, A4-paper-sized) to passengers in line in front of the stairs […]

Is there a way to get from Douala to Brazzaville/Kinshasa with terrestrial public transport?

12/4/2014 10:20:32 PM The best answer you’re going to get is from someone who’s done it which, as you linked in your question, would be this guy. If you follow his instructions to get from Douala to Pointe-Noire it’s then a simple case of getting the Congo-Ocean Railway straight to Brazzaville. The only part he […]

How safe is it for a British Sunni Muslim to visit Iran with family?

2/9/2014 10:25:10 AM I Googled and found these 9 Sunni mosques in Tehran, 1 – Sadeghiyeh mosque, located at the Sadeghiyeh second circle, 2 – Tehran-Pars mosque, located on Delavaran street, 3 – Al-Quds mosque, located at 20km on the old road, 4 – Persian-Gulf mosque, located in Fath, 5 – Al-Nabi mosque, located in […]

How can I find out when cruise ships (of any line) visit a particular port?

8/21/2017 4:39:04 AM Another site that lists ships’ arrivals in ports is WhatsInPort.com. Choose the port of interest (country first, then the specific port). Once on the page for the port, click on the “Cruise Ship” link for a listing of all ships that call on that port, including passenger capacity; or go farther down […]

Carrying poster tube on Amtrak trains

2/8/2014 11:02:47 AM Depending on the details you want to present on your poster (in terms of optical resolution [dpi]) you may consider printing your poster not on paper, but on cloth like fine cotton or silk. (I do not refer to canvas.) Several times I saw this at conferences in Europe and the U.S., […]

Can I get from Gatwick airport to London by Oyster card?

5/23/2017 9:57:15 AM Since January 2016 you can use your Contactless or Oyster card to travel from Gatwick to London on both normal rail services, and the Gatwick Express. The prices for single fares on normal services can be found in the Single Fare Finder, and based on it a trip from Gatwick to East […]

How can I use a US Xbox 360 in Beijing?

2/9/2014 9:05:02 AM In addition to codinghands’s answer, for point 3, my experience in Guangdong suggest the outlets are usually universal. Anyway, a travel adapter should solve the outlet problem for you. As a side note, console games have been banned in China since the 2000s until 2013. People in China had managed to play […]

Why are so many airline check-in counters idle so often?

4/25/2018 1:05:26 PM It’s not that they are idle per say, they actually fill up and get busy quite often when there is a flight that is ready to take off. The thing with airlines is that they are busy around the time flights are leaving, and like any other business, they have busy times […]

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