Travel Tips

What tools could help you plan a trip to attend concerts of major European symphonies?

What tools could help you plan a trip to attend concerts of major European symphonies?

8/19/2016 12:37:13 PM With the exception of ticket prices, BachTrack does most of what you want. One can search by city, by hall, by orchestra, by composer, or by work (or any combination thereof), and find performances for the next year. The listings aren’t complete—it focuses on major orchestras in major cities—but that’s probably what […]

Within the United States (Pittsburgh), when merging onto a lane, which turn signal do you use?

Within the United States (Pittsburgh), when merging onto a lane, which turn signal do you use?

6/7/2016 4:59:29 PM The answer is simple you use your turn signals to indicate to other drivers what your intentions are. You were correct to indicate left as your vehicle must turn slightly/merge to enter the main road from the access road on the right hand side of road. As a fellow Pittsburgher driving the […]

Are there any catches/gotcha's with UK 3's 200mb/month free in Europe?

10/7/2016 4:21:04 PM Yes, there’s a gotcha: 3 UK “Feel at home” countries will only make you feel at home if you have dial-up at home (I actually remember browsing the Internet when the whole country had 64 kbit/s to abroad and I had a 14.4 kbps modem). That’s maybe an exaggeration but it’s very […]

Should I bother with invitation for Canada Visitor visa

8/17/2016 5:28:05 PM A letter of invitation can help your application, (it’s no guarantee though) and is not discouraged by CIC, there’s no harm supplying one. Your friend should write it, notarize it and send it to you to submit with your application. You’ll find everything about it here. The CIC website is vague about […]

Can a shop in the Netherlands force you to buy clothes if you take a photo?

4/30/2016 11:22:28 AM Being Dutch, I have never heard of such law. I also doubt there is a law that would cover this, I would take it as a try to intimidate you. But also as a ‘please really, really do not do this.’ If caught out after you made the picture and before you […]

What to do if I overstayed my e-visa for Saint Petersburg/Leningrad Oblast

1/23/2020 9:26:34 AM First of all, if you are not fluent in Russian, you’ll need (this is mandatory) an official translator to a language you speak fluently (in my case it was English, even though I’m a German). The smartest way to get one is to call a translation agency – several of these can […]

Are there caveats not having a permanent address?

8/15/2016 3:52:51 AM One example: if someone tries to sue you, and you have no permanent mailing address to receive the court papers (and hard to locate), the court might permit to notify you through other means – such as using your old last known mailing address, or through a declaration in a newspaper popular […]

What makes the tap water on board airplanes unsafe to drink?

3/8/2016 1:48:33 AM You need to think of water tanks on the planes as being the same as those water coolers you see attached to the back of work trucks. They are constantly being refilled without being scrubbed out inside, overtime bacteria both noxious and harmless may build up inside. The tanks on aircraft have […]

Qantas FF level change ahead of flight

8/14/2016 10:36:11 AM No, there’s no way to make that happen officially. You can always try your luck waving your boarding pass at the lounge, especially at the stopover lounge if your first flight has already taken you over the limit, but don’t count on it. The staff at the entrance are known as “lounge […]

DIY computer in hand luggage – what to expect on security checks?

11/23/2015 12:21:55 AM I’ve travelled from the UK to many European computer/hacker festivals over the last 10 years or so, often taking strange devices similar to yours (homebrew machines, Raspberry Pi boards, 80s retro computers…) through airport and Eurostar security – and I’d say that about 80% of the time it attracts no attention at […]

Should I say hello to the passport control officers, or just quietly give them my passport?

10/9/2018 9:27:03 PM The last time I faced a passport control officer was at Barajas Airport (Madrid/Spain). It was my second time there and I felt SO happy that my smile was covering my whole face as I got off the plane and walked thru the customs hall. When the agent noded me to walk […]

How are days of stay calculated for Schengen visas issued for less than 90 days?

9/1/2016 7:53:09 AM No, there isn’t a special date calculation method for non-90 day visas. Each time you cross an external border, you should get a stamp with a date on it. The day you got an entry stamp, the day you got an exit stamp and every day between them count as one day […]

Why is it uncommon to fill airliners from both ends?

9/23/2015 7:23:44 PM (I know some airports have dual jet bridges, but I don’t think those are ever used for aircraft the size of a Boeing 737.) While this is largely correct, there’s an exception for every damn rule; in this case, it’s the Albany International Airport in New York state, USA. The two gates […]

Why do different hotel websites show different prices for the same room?

8/10/2016 4:17:26 AM I suspect what you’re finding are hotel consilidators Hotel consolidator (also called a hotel broker or discounter) is a travel company or business that buys up blocks of hotel rooms in top destinations and then resells them at discounted rates to the final customer More often you will see this with non-chain […]

Can I extend my stay in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) beyond 90 days by doing a visa run?

9/8/2022 11:41:15 AM Here is an answer based on my experience at the beginning of September 2022. I’m an Australian citizen and we are also allowed to stay in Malaysia for 90 days. Some countries make a distinction between "visa waiver" and "visa free" entry I believe. I know I’m here on a "visa free" […]

Is NEXUS clearly better than Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check for US citizens?

1/2/2018 11:12:10 PM We travel frequently to Canada and find that they are now accepting Global Entry as equivalent to Nexus in terms of fast security check lines and fast customs processing. About the only difference I can see is that Nexus is the cheaper of the two. Meaning of asterisks and binary mask in […]

Personal security during a business trip to Moscow

3/2/2018 2:55:51 PM I grew up in Austria and have spent the last six years in Moscow. There is a big difference between real and perceived security. Many Russians perceive Moscow as not secure and will ask you to confirm via SMS that you have arrived safely in your flat. Also, there are always rumors […]

Meaning of asterisks and binary mask in the US visa

Meaning of asterisks and binary mask in the US visa

5/18/2019 9:47:50 AM Well, this is my Hypothesis (for B1/B2 visas): NOTE : My hypothesis is based on some visas i had seen/observed, further more observations are needed to verify this The person is sponsoring the family has/had some source of income then the number will be 0100 and there will be no whitespace between […]

Visa Documentation to support 'Intent to Return Home' as a retired person

8/14/2016 12:37:18 PM Since the question is generalized about documentation to show “intent to return home” for visitor visa purposes. I will list down a number of ‘ties’ which can be used to show this intent. All of these are based on my personal experience of mine and friends’ visa applications. Details for some visa […]

Is it possible to visit the cockpit after the plane arrives? (commercial flight only)

Is it possible to visit the cockpit after the plane arrives? (commercial flight only)

5/5/2016 2:13:34 PM I was twelve when this happened, but our plane SYD-PER was delayed getting to the gate, so i started talking to the pilot. He was very nice and we were just talking about the best and cheapest way to get a pilot license, when the plane came in. As i said goodbye […]

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