Travel Tips

Sleeping on the Sweden-Finland ferry; how rowdy does it get?

Sleeping on the Sweden-Finland ferry; how rowdy does it get?

4/7/2023 3:42:51 AM The day of the week has a big impact on the number of passengers. In the weekend there might be more party people cruising. You can ask the ship’s staff about the amount of passengers on board. Cruise and one way passengers might be separated into different cabin sections, even if the […]

Fastest public elevator in the world

Fastest public elevator in the world

1/11/2017 3:55:34 PM Taipei 101 observatory elevator hits 60.6km/h. The elevator gets fully pressurized before it starts moving and it’s incredibly fast to get up there. You can take it by simply purchasing a ticket at the base of the building. I would recommend a crystal clear day to go up there as the visibility […]

Forced to pay a customs fee for importing a used wedding dress into the Netherlands. Is there a way to avoid paying?

3/6/2023 11:39:00 AM Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer. In The Netherlands, you can virtually always object (‘in beroep gaan’ / ‘bezwaar aantekenen’) against decisions made by government agencies. You need to make sure of the following Make sure you object within 6 weeks. Send your letter per registered mail (‘aangetekende brief’). Make sure you have […]

What should I be aware of when eating street food?

What should I be aware of when eating street food?

1/9/2023 5:21:23 AM A couple of perhaps less obvious tips: Wash/sanitise your hands before every meal – in many countries you can get quite dirty quite quickly, especially when visiting highly trafficked areas like tourist hotspots. Trust your senses of smell and taste – if something tastes bad, spit it out; that is unless you’re […]

Do visits to conferences while a visiting scholar reset the 90 days under VWP?

7/30/2012 3:34:24 AM You should not be using the VWP to enter the US as a visiting scholar. The VWP comes instead of B1/B2, while the status you’re interested in is J1. You should get a proper visa and then you won’t have to worry about what happens if you get caught breaking the terms […]

Travelling to Kyzyl, Tuva from Mörön, Mongolia

11/20/2016 10:39:36 AM To me it seems your only viable option is to use the Border near Koch Agach. Traveling to Tuva is gruesome, international bordercrossings between russia and mongolia are few and far in between. Also keep in mind that on the russian side there is a 50 km border control zone where you […]

I am an active member of the Communist Party of Greece, will I have trouble visiting the US?

8/15/2022 6:53:31 AM While certainly the INA is the relevant legislation here, there are quite a lot of other rules so it is nice to find a more or less up-to-date Clarification of U.S. Visa Law Pertaining to Communist Party Members from the U.S. Embassy in Nepal posted on October 6, 2020 — it confirms […]

Non-US citizen traveling between states

11/8/2012 8:34:49 AM You can show any state ID to TSA officers, airline employees and if necessary police offices. In fact, it’s better to show them a state ID since almost all passengers show them a state ID. However, if you are not a US citizen or US permanent resident you must always carry your […]

Where is this tower, likely photographed in Belgium about 100 years ago?

Where is this tower, likely photographed in Belgium about 100 years ago?

7/11/2020 12:17:51 AM This is not in Belgium, but in Béthune, France, although not far from the Belgian border. The belfry (the tower) is originally from 1346, but was destroyed during the first world war and rebuilt between 1921 and 1923. You can find it on Google Streetview from almost the same point as your […]

How many tourists are allowed in Antarctica at one time?

10/19/2012 9:35:23 PM I could not find any reference that confirms these claims. Anyway I found out this article in The Guardian: Cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers will be prohibited from landing anyone. Only 100 visitors are to be allowed on shore at any given time, in an attempt to prevent damage to […]

How many hours should I consider allowing to visit Suomenlinna and Seurasaari islands?

8/8/2012 10:47:05 PM I wrote a blog post about my trip to Suomelinna – it’s doable as a half day trip, if you want, but you could also take a picnic and enjoy the grassy areas if it’s nice and sunny (beware, it was freezing with an off-shore breeze in summer when I was there). […]

Land transportation between Asunción, Paraguay and Santiago, Chile

11/27/2016 7:44:42 PM At the moment, Pullman del Sur offers direct connections between Santiago and Asuncion. From Santiago, they leave every Tuesday at 11am for 80.000 CLP. Crucero del Norte also travels between Santiago to Asuncion. They leave every Monday and Friday at 11:50am. You switch buses in Cordoba, but you buy just one ticket […]

Etihad refusing to board at AUH despite being medically fit to fly, airport police called and now being detained (Updated 2022-06-03 with resolution)

Etihad refusing to board at AUH despite being medically fit to fly, airport police called and now being detained (Updated 2022-06-03 with resolution)

5/28/2022 10:04:36 PM Don’t lose your cool when flying! "Things escalated quickly and the airport police was called." First, it’s a bad idea to throw angry temper tantrums when flying generally. Airlines are a lot more security conscious than they used to be, and there’s an understanding that an irate passenger can actually do serious […]

Why are visas not electronic?

3/9/2014 9:26:56 PM One reason is that not every country has computerised their passport/visa system. They’re coming along, but still. In addition, not every country’s system is linked together. So even if you scanned it in at one border, you can’t tell that’s happened at the next. Crossing into Zambia in 2005, they opened their […]

Where to buy a second-hand smartphone in Seoul?

8/5/2013 1:43:49 PM There are a huge amount of new phone shops almost everywhere, but I hardly remember where used phone stores are. Probably the reason will be simple–there’s no money in the used phone business. Buying a new phone in Korea also means signing a contract (usually for 2 years) with a mobile service […]

Is the 4 Corners Monument wrong, or is Google Maps wrong?

Is the 4 Corners Monument wrong, or is Google Maps wrong?

2/14/2022 10:58:13 PM The answer is somewhat interesting. The monument itself is the legal border, as defined by New Mexico v. Colorado, 267 U.S. 30 (1925) because it lies directly on the lines "as surveyed". However, the surveys themselves were slightly in error and may be as much as 1800 feet out from the geographical […]

Where should I leave my passport and electronics if there is no safe in my apartment?

9/1/2017 8:22:59 PM If you have simple tools [flathead, philipshead screwdriver] you can dismantle something in your apartment and put it inside. Anything big enough that will hold your money and passports. Also, hedge your bets and separate them out. I can’t speak for hiding something as large as an ipad, but it’s less valuable […]

Is it possible to travel on river/canal from Bruges, Belgium to some point on the Rhine?

Is it possible to travel on river/canal from Bruges, Belgium to some point on the Rhine?

7/20/2022 7:20:59 PM UNECE has a very good map of European waterways available here: https://unece.org/DAM/trans/main/sc3/AGN_map_2018.pdf Here you can see that there are quite a few options. The route north to the Netherlands has already been mentioned, but you can also go south to France, and then across to the Rhine. What is the longest distance […]

Does my B1/B2 Visa for the US permit me to travel there from anywhere, or just my home country?

10/10/2012 4:27:20 PM You should not have any troubles travelling directly to USA from Sweden. At most, you’d get questions at the airport in Sweden when checking in, and you’d have to explain (or prove) your current status in Sweden. The US authorities won’t care much where are you flying from, as long as you […]

Why was this border agent rude to me?

10/4/2021 10:48:06 AM There are lots of good answers here, but just to add – I would strongly advise against keeping money in your passport. You actually were lucky this time. In some countries, in particular, in Eastern Europe, where the situation with corruption is pretty bad still, the border control office might charge you […]

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