Travel Tips

Crossing the Black Sea (Ukraine to Georgia) by boat – risk of being boarded in a private vessel?

10/29/2020 8:10:35 AM Despite the picture you may get from the media, the area is quite safe. My mother lives in Crimea and I visit her every once in a while. Life didn’t change much after the peninsula changed flags. A few things to keep in mind are the laws of Ukraine and Georgia: You […]

Turkish transit visa on arrival

3/1/2015 2:17:43 AM Officially Turkey no longer issues Visa-On-Arrival at any airports. The Visa-on-Arrival has been replaced with an “e-Visa” which can be applied for electronically at http://www.evisa.gov.tr/ eVisas are generally issued immediately so you could potentially apply for one whilst in the airside area of the airport if you had internet access, however you […]

"Lord of the Rings" Tours in New Zealand

7/18/2016 2:00:21 AM I think you can go to Glenorchy where most of the war scenes in lord of the ring are photoed Is it possible to get a permit to travel to Tibet (Lhasa) from Beijing by train, without a tour guide? 2/3/2016 10:46:23 AM I’m late to the party but for anyone reading […]

Airplane seat dimension regulations: are there any?

2/28/2015 9:14:05 AM I can’t figure out if you are mainly asking about regulations or about possible differences between planes from the same model that might interest a traveller. If you want more details on the former, you might consider asking on the aviation sister site but regarding the latter, there are definitely differences. Airlines […]

Is it possible to get a permit to travel to Tibet (Lhasa) from Beijing by train, without a tour guide?

6/18/2014 8:40:18 AM You can get the permit without a guide, but you must be accompanied by a guide in the Tibetan area — the government doesn’t allow solo foreign travelers. Now it’s easier to get Tibet Travel Permit for foreigners. Since this year, The government didn’t close Tibet, it’s a symbol that it’s easier […]

Why am I getting weird security questions with CLEAR?

5/14/2023 1:10:30 AM If you’re wondering why all the weird questions for addresses you never had, that is a common method used by identity verification services. They choose an obscure question from your history, like past addresses, phone numbers, vehicles owned etc. They give you a list of options, one of which might be true […]

Can I travel to my home country without US passport?

2/27/2015 6:52:49 AM US law says you must leave and enter the US with your US passport, but the US border officers do not actually look at the documents of people who are leaving, so they do not actually enforce that part of the rule. As for returning, as others have noted, you can get […]

Photos of people in airplanes specifically not permitted

2/17/2023 11:41:40 PM Surely it depends on the jurisdiction to which the plane is subject, just like with ships? The law of the country under whose flag the plane flies applies to everyone in the plane, just as it would on land. If that country specifies restrictions on photographing people you are bound by those. […]

How to pack a desktop PC for overseas travel?

12/22/2022 1:14:26 AM If you really care, don’t even think about it. Dismount your disks, travel with the disks alone and at the destination, mount those disks in a comparable machine… Failing that, if you don’t still have the original wrappaging, why not just bubble-wrap it? What happens if you hold up two credit cards […]

Visa for taking the New York Bar Exam?

2/27/2015 6:47:16 AM If you qualify for a VWP/ESTA then visiting in order to conduct forms of business where you aren’t being paid is normally permissible: The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens of participating countries* to travel to the United States without obtaining a visa, for stays of 90 days or less for tourism […]

What happens if you hold up two credit cards to the RFID readers on the London Underground turnstiles?

11/14/2022 12:19:41 AM If the reader detects two cards, it should throw an error. If it only detects one – and that is quite possible, think how many times you need to take a couple of tries at touching your card – it will charge that one. Just hope it only detects the SAME one […]

Where to find hikes accessible in November and reachable by public transport from Denver?

11/9/2022 1:39:22 PM A word of caution. People die when hiking in Colorado regularly due to adverse weather events – especially during the winter months. Snow can come suddenly and hit hard. I recommend following the advice in the answer by @Nate Eldredge as this limits your elevation to much safer levels. If you really, […]

Are the terms "visa denial", "visa refusal", and "visa rejection" used in the same standardized way in countries that use English?

Are the terms "visa denial", "visa refusal", and "visa rejection" used in the same standardized way in countries that use English?

2/13/2015 12:44:02 PM Schengen regulations consistently use “refusal” when an application has been examined and a negative decision has been reached, as shown by the form reproduced in Gayot Fow’s answer and by the Schengen Visa Code, e.g. article 32: Refusal of a visa Without prejudice to Article 25(1), a visa shall be refused: […] […]

Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?

10/30/2022 2:11:45 AM I have done it but there was a good weather reason for the change. Notably, the agent said it was allowed because the flight change wouldn’t get me to my final destination any earlier. Tips on where to buy clothes for cold weather in Lille, France? 10/29/2022 11:43:13 PM It depends on […]

Where is the "Office for Foreign Aliens" in Siem Reap, Cambodia?

2/13/2015 11:05:04 AM It looks like that page I quoted on www.cambodiahome.com is at least out of date, and probably just outright wrong. I asked the person at the desk at my guesthouse and it seems jpatokal and Tom are right that it can’t be done directly in Siem Reap. The guesthouse quoted me a […]

Booking Roomettes on Amtrak

Booking Roomettes on Amtrak

2/9/2015 4:29:55 AM Roomettes are indeed assigned, and which one you get will be indicated on your ticket (as highlighted below): You can request a particular roommette (or bedroom, family bedroom, bedroom suite, etc.) by calling Amtrak or seeing an agent at the station; as with airline seats, the earlier you do this the better […]

Tips on where to buy clothes for cold weather in Lille, France?

9/19/2022 12:16:38 PM Other answers have mentioned Decathlon, but when I was a student that would have been way beyond my budget. In terms of best quality to price ratio, the kilo shop might well win. Lille has a kilo store. The principle is that you select clothes then pay by weight (by the kilo). […]

Are there any ATM's in Toronto where you can withdraw more than $400?

2/6/2015 10:20:19 AM Hope it’s okay I answer my own question as it might be useful to others but I tried an ATM at Scotiabank and I was able to withdraw $1000. Not sure if it’s that particular ATM or just that bank’s machines but years earlier I renember being able to withdraw a large […]

Places to Visit in Seattle as a Nirvana Fan?

2/5/2015 1:54:58 AM Fortunately one fan wrote up such a tour idea for the NY Times. To summarise, he started by staying at the Marco Polo, a motel where Cobain used to get his heroin nearby, and shoot up in room 226. 413 Fleet Street South is a noted spot next, as the house Cobain […]

Why do French customs search Flix Buses?

8/1/2022 8:53:00 AM Apart from random checks which can happen anytime, there are also temporary border controls throughout the Schengen area. The list of temporary border controls is on the official website and the list of notification includes France. It says the following: France (1 May 2022 – 31 October 2022) Continuous terrorist threat, secondary […]

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