Travel Tips

How can I be sure the operator treats elephants humanely before booking a trek in Khao Sok national park?

3/1/2016 4:02:00 AM Unfortunately there is no humane way to ride elephants. The elephants suffer a great deal when their spirits are broken to make them more obedient to us humans. Besides that, their spine is not very strong and so having a carriage on their spine is quite painful. We wrote a post about […]

Is there any online resource that can tell me what visa rules are for passport holders of a specific country?

Is there any online resource that can tell me what visa rules are for passport holders of a specific country?

10/26/2022 4:32:24 PM Traveldoc has uptodate information, including covid related restrictions and additional documents. https://www.traveldoc.aero/ Are there data plans for travelers in the USA? 6/1/2023 4:01:57 PM One of the most reliable options is to query the Timatic database: You enter your nationality, your destination and (optionally) other details such as your transit airports and […]

Is there a way to prevent "looking like a tourist" in order to not be harassed?

Is there a way to prevent "looking like a tourist" in order to not be harassed?

7/3/2016 7:32:52 PM Here’s some points describing what tourists look like: Wear huge backpacks. Stand on corners with maps on paper or on their phones. Stand on the street with a frown and their head on a swivel. Carry bags with them larger and more bulky that bags residents carry. “overly cautious” carry a “front […]

Are there data plans for travelers in the USA?

4/12/2017 8:22:47 PM T-Mobile now offers a 30$ prepaid international tourist plan with unlimited data, unlimited domestic texting and 1,000 domestic minutes of talk time, with a free SIM card. The main limitation — apart from no international calls — is that the plan expires in 21 days, so @Oak’s answer still holds for longer […]

Is there a list of free accommodation resources?

12/28/2015 11:32:47 PM House-sitting is an option for longer-term stays, and a really good way to experience a place more as a “local” than a tourist. I found MindMyHouse a good place to start to find opportunities. Suitable ways to get around the Darién Gap? 9/30/2015 12:46:16 AM As a host for both Helpx and […]

How can black travellers deal with unwanted harassment from locals in China?

8/4/2017 7:28:30 PM I spend summers in a tier 3 city – population of about a million. I’m a white male, fairly large, a bit portly. Everywhere I go, many people stare at me, mouth agape. Others avoid making eye contact. This is in a neighborhood where I go every year. Most of the people […]

Suitable ways to get around the Darién Gap?

Suitable ways to get around the Darién Gap?

12/16/2011 2:28:42 PM Several people already mentioned the sail boat option, but as none of them has done it themselves, I will add my experience from May 2009: As said elsewhere the hostels in Panama city act as intermediaries between travelers and the boats. They have a list of boats leaving on certain dates with […]

How to ensure two-factor availability when traveling?

6/13/2023 9:05:34 PM Not an American, but from my experience there’s no problem receiving SMS abroad. When traveling abroad with no roaming plan, you can’t make it receive calls, and you can’t send text messages, but incoming text messages simply work, at no charge. I never experienced significant delay also. This of course requires keeping […]

Why are there no seat belts on trains?

Why are there no seat belts on trains?

6/29/2018 5:48:53 AM In Russian Railways a passenger on upper sleep place can take a safety belt from a porter. Such belt is used at noncurrent carriages, modern ones have turnable barrier. This can prevent falling down accidentally or in case of emergency brake. Considerations for very fragile and expensive (> $100,000) items in carry-on […]

Two parallel diagonal lines on a Schengen passport stamp

1/17/2023 9:24:31 AM To complement @Doc answer which is spot on Croatia is actually in a transitional period to fully abolish internal border controls Since Jan. 1st, internal border controls are indeed abolished for land and sea crossings For internal air controls (Croatian Accession decision) As regards checks on persons at internal air borders, they […]

US Citizen with dual nationality entering US on ESTA, what's the worst that can happen?

12/23/2022 7:19:47 AM So far, the existing answers offer frame challenges, but your actual question has only been addressed in comments. So let’s compile those comments into an answer (because comments are ephemeral). What kind of bad stuff can happen when lying on an ESTA application? Your ESTA gets denied, you get denied boarding by […]

What are these hooks on Amsterdam's buildings?

What are these hooks on Amsterdam's buildings?

6/17/2022 7:53:15 PM In addition to Willeke’s answer, http://shadowsofaforgottenworld.blogspot.com/2016/06/hoisting-beams-in-amsterdam.html?m=1 mentions that these lifting hooks aka hoisting beams were an indirect consequence of attempting to reduce one’s taxes: The smaller the width of the frontage, the lower taxes had to paid. […] Since the houses were so narrow, the stairwells were too steep and narrow, making […]

Considerations for very fragile and expensive (> $100,000) items in carry-on luggage

6/4/2020 2:01:24 AM This answer provides information on acceleration forces in various situations and is intended to add to transportation related answers. Cubesats are designed to withstand substantial acceleration forces and vibration. Forces under the design specification should be able to be achieved during transportation: With 1/4 metre of linear deceleration – so about a […]

Avoiding important carry-on luggage being taken away

11/17/2021 2:43:11 AM The other answers provide excellent advice, so I will add only one additional, albeit important, piece of information. In some jurisdictions, airlines are required by regulation to allow passengers to have access to medically essential items. Some jurisdictions even require security to hand-inspect such items instead of putting them through X-ray with […]

Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?

Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?

3/2/2020 2:40:24 PM Well it is not offensive to call it either way since people use both names but officially it is Hồ Chí Minh city since it used to be Sài Gòn​ until the North won the war and communism started so then it turned into Hồ Chí Minh city. Either way is fine […]

Does the European number for emergencies (112) really work in Germany?

1/22/2017 7:42:32 AM Mobile phones without SIM cards will let you dial any of a variety of standard emergency numbers, including 999, 911, 112, 000, and probably others. If you try to dial another number, it brings up an error message. In addition, you can dial from a locked handset; there is an option to […]

In Germany, what are you supposed to do if your train station doesn't have any working ticket machines?

In Germany, what are you supposed to do if your train station doesn't have any working ticket machines?

8/12/2017 2:51:10 AM In addition to the excellent answers posted: Stations in Germany exist that do not have a ticket machine or any other means of acquiring a ticket. These are typically very small very unimportant stations on tiny rural branch lines, for example the station of Grafenaschau between Oberammergau and Murnau. In this case, […]

How to prevent "Delhi Belly" from eating/drinking locally?

How to prevent "Delhi Belly" from eating/drinking locally?

8/13/2022 1:11:18 AM Plastic water bottles can be refilled and recapped. Buy small bottles with distant expiration dates at large formal stores. I have found that Pizza and Pastries in Mexico are safer. I guess this is because they do not contain much water and would store well even if not fresh. This may apply […]

Is it rude to ask if the food contains pork or alcohol?

12/31/2015 4:32:06 PM Mentioning this at the time of the invitation is indeed ok. The problem might be in mentioning this while eating and causing an awkward situation. The hosts might feel bad if they cooked and then you simply do not eat. How to convince airport security that I am not dangerous when having […]

How to convince airport security that I am not dangerous when having metallic parts in my body?

1/4/2017 3:08:42 PM As others have stated, there is a not very official looking card (a so called Implantatepass in german), in which implants of all kind you have are listed. However, for example in Austria, it’s also possible to have an addition about your implants in your passport. As [1] states: Im Reisepass können […]

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