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Does a C1 US transit visa allow entry and travel (tourist) in Mexico? I am a South African passport holder and will be travelling to Mexico in May for 10 days. My flight is via a US airport, where I will be in transit for a few hours on the way to Mexico and then again when I return. I will not actually be visiting the US at all. I understand that US tourist visa holders can enter Mexico as a tourist.I have 2 questions: If I apply for a C1 US transit visa, can I still use this to enter Mexico? Or does only the B1/B2 US visa allow for entrance into Mexico? Once I get my US visa, do I have to separately apply for a Mexico tourist visa or can I just arrive in Mexico and show them my passport with the US visa in it – ie is this enough? <Q> If you have a US multiple-entry visa, you do not need a Mexican visa: <S> Additionally, permanent residents in the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom or the Schengen Space countries who wish to travel to Mexico do not require a visa to enter Mexico as tourists, transit or business visitors. <S> Source: Visa for Mexico <S> I believe you will not need to apply for a Mexico tourist visa, you will only show your US visa. <S> I have a B1/B2 US visa and I used only the US visa. <A> As stated in Timatic, the database used by airlines: Visa required, except for Passengers with a valid visa issued by Canada, Japan, USA, United Kingdom or a Schengen Member State for a maximum stay of 180 days <S> So you do <S> not need a Mexican visa, but your C1 visa must be multiple-entry (which it should be) in order that you can re-enter the US on the way back. <A> Technically you need a US B1 or B2 (F, H, L, M, <S> J non-immigrant series are good as well) visa for entry into Mexico if you do not have a Mexican Visa to begin with. <S> I have seen issues in Mexico City when entering with a C1 transit visa other than the C1/D crew visa. <S> You will still need to fill out the FMM form (usually given out in the plane or on landing) and keep the bottom half during your stay in Mexico and it will be collected when you depart.
| Travelers who wish to visit Mexico, regardless their nationality, holding a valid, multiple-entry visa for the United States of America, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom or the Schengen Space countries DO NOT need to apply for a tourist, business or transit Mexican visa.
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Does JFK offer gate passes to pick-up/drop-off unaccompanied minor? I am picking up my 12-year old niece on a jetBlue flight that lands at JFK then dropping her off at JFK a couple of days later for her return flight. Does JFK offer a gate pass so that I can pick her up at her gate and drop her off at her gate on her departure day? There's no information specific to this on either jetBlue's or JFK's website. Added from a comment by OP: As an update, when picking up my niece I needed to pick her up at the JetBlue office near Terminal 5's baggage claim. When sending her home, we checked in at the JetBlue customer service counter - at another location near baggage claim - where she was given a UAM lanyard, and I was given a mock-boarding pass to escort her to the gate. For the record, even if you have TSA pre-check, you will need to go through the non-pre-check TSA line. UAMs are the last to board, and their "adult" needs to wait at the gate until the plane has left the ground. <Q> In general, gate passes are issued by the airlines, not by the airports. <S> JetBlue's website implies that they do generally issue gate passes to allow guardians to meet unaccompanied minors: <S> Drop-off / Pick-up information <S> Please note, the parent/guardian must request a gate pass at the airport ticket counter to drop off their minor at the departure gate. <S> If a gate pass is issued, we request that the person dropping off the child leave a cell phone number with the airport so that a JetBlue crewmember can contact them to meet their child in the event of a gate return. <S> ... <S> This information can be found by entering the airport name in the search field, then selecting the Unaccompanied Minor Information link under the main airport heading. <S> However, there are some indications on JetBlue's website that they do not issue gate passes at JFK. <S> From this page , in the section about minors arriving from the Dominican Republic: <S> Unaccompanied minors and other special service customers can be met after clearing Customs due to local airport procedures which do not allow the issuance of gate passes in JFK. <S> And from this page <S> : If you're picking up an unaccompanied minor, please go to the Baggage Services office on the Arrivals level of T5. <S> Please ask a JetBlue crewmember if you need assistance. <S> It is not 100% clear, however, that a gate pass would not be issued (perhaps at the Baggage Services office) for an unaccompanied minor arriving on a domestic flight. <S> I would suggest calling JetBlue customer service if you want to be certain whether or not meeting your niece at the gate is out of the question. <S> You could also try calling 718-632-6355, which according to this ten-year-old Consumerist page is the direct number to the baggage office at JFK; but no guarantees that one will work. <A> Have a looksie at the following link: <S> http://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/webcgi.exe?New,Kb=askBlue,case=obj(675) <S> " Please note, the parent/guardian must request a gate pass at the airport ticket counter to drop off their minor at the departure gate. <S> If a gate pass is issued, we request that the person dropping off the child leave a cell phone number with the airport so that a JetBlue crew member can contact them to meet their child in the event of a gate return. " <S> And I assume you will need to fill in this form: https://www.jetblue.com/p/umnr.pdf <A> If she's traveling alone, you won't have a choice: JetBlue considers a 12-year-old to be an unaccompanied minor , and you will need to comply with all their procedures for this, generally including a gate pass and going to the gate. <S> Her ticket will need to have been booked with the unaccompanied minor fee applied (and meet their itinerary requirements, only nonstop flights). <S> On departure, you'll generally need to request a gate pass and accompany her to the gate, and you're required to stay until the aircraft has taken off. <S> For domestic arrivals, you'll generally need to get a gate pass and show ID matching the information provided by whoever put her on the flight. <S> I'd arrive early to allow extra time for the paperwork. <S> The staff at the check-in desks will know the local procedures and will issue gate passes as appropriate. <A> As part of an international airline that operates from/to JFK I can tell you that most of the airlines do not offer that service, but if you call them they might grant that type of access. <A> This done by airlines on request. <S> You will have to ask at the check-in counter. <S> You could call JetBlue as well to ask. <S> Typically airlines will give gate passes for requests like this. <A> JetBlue will definitely issue a gate pass for one person only when departing for a domestic flight. <S> I have had problems with arrival though because there has to be enough time for you to go thru TSA security customs and when the plane arrives. <S> Be there at least an hour earlier. <S> My son was 6 at the time and was escorted to the baggage claim area with JetBlue staff. <S> I assume they were the last ones to board.
| Since guidelines vary among airports, please check the unaccompanied minor section under the specific airport the unaccompanied minor is traveling from to determine if a gate pass may be issued.
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Rules for this road junction in Germany What are the rules for this junction? Bear in mind, there are no signs or road markings to indicate what kind of junction it is, nor to indicate any kind of right of way. This is an extremely rural area. Maps view Satellite view It looks to me like a standard roundabout. Inheriting the rules regarding that. There is however, no signage indicating a roundabout. My confusion stirs from the usage of this junction by other drivers. For an example, (using the overhead map as reference) if you are coming from the left road and you wish to go straight ahead, it is the second exit. You curve downwards, then back up past exit 1 and exit the roundabout at exit 2. Everyone else (no hyperbole) drives straight over the top portion of the roundabout. As if the roundabout doesn't exist. There is enough space to support two lanes of traffic. On the top side of the roundabout. However, it feels very wrong. I always drive through this junction, treating it like a standard roundabout. I wonder if this behaviour might result in an accident however, given that it doesn't seem to be the normal behaviour for this junction. Photos from the ground for the curious: <Q> This is not a roundabout, as the signs indicating a roundabout are missing. <S> Hence, this is not a roundabout, but the tree(?) that you see is simply put there to slow down and route traffic. <S> The fact that the "Gartenstraße" seems to have a different color is an additional indication to the drivers that this is indeed a normal junction with the usual rules. <S> Note that the reason for putting the tree there could be that they want to force the drivers coming from the east and turning into Gartenstraße to turn in a more sharp way rather than cutting corners, which could be dangerous. <S> This looks like a residential area, where the maximally allowed speed is normally <= <S> 30 km/h, so the potential for roundabout confusion should not lead to accidents. <A> Road marking also doesn't imply that there could be a roundabout. <S> This is just a normal T-formed road junction. <S> You should give a way to the vehicles coming from the right side of you. <S> PS. <S> Your behavior - curving downwards while intending to drive through on the top segment - can lead to an accident! <S> You would expect that other drivers would give you a way because you're on a roundabout, but they woudn't! <A> While the other answers are correct <S> I'd like to add an aspect. <S> In the last picture you can see sign 325.2 indicating the end of a " verkehrsberuhigter Bereich " (traffic-calmed zone). <S> This means that you are limited to walking speed and pedestrians have priority in any case. <S> There could even kids be playing in the street. <S> This further decreases the risk of accident at such a junction. <S> If you happen to meet another car, right has right-of-way. <A> This could be an example of a "Ghost Roundabout" , something I first came across on the wonderful 99% Invisible website. <S> I'll paraphrase from their own posting in case it ever falls away, but basically: A ghost roundabout operates on a strange theory: confusing drivers will cause them to be more careful as they pass through residential and other reduced-speed zones. <S> This so-called “ghost roundabout” looks a bit like either a vehicular roundabout or a pedestrian crosswalk but <S> in fact serves neither function. <S> It is simply meant to attract the attention of vehicle operators and get them to slow down as they drive by. <S> If the road marking you are querying about is indeed a "ghost roundabout", then as @Nuesser states: treat it like a standard "T-Junction".
| If there are no signs indicating that this is a roundabout, then this is not a roundabout. According to the traffic rules for roundabouts, (use source: https://www.avd.de/regeln-kreisverkehr/ ), they have to be marked by roundabout signs.
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I have multiple citizenships, and somehow landed in legal trouble while travelling abroad. Which embassy should I contact for consular services? Consider the scenario where you are travelling overseas, outside of the jurisdiction of any of the countries to which you have citizenship. You somehow end up in legal trouble, and are arrested. By the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a foreign citizen has the right to request consular notification when arrested. How do you decide which embassy to request contact with? Obviously the answer would depend on the specific situation, but I was hoping that someone might be able to give a general answer as to what the thinking should be for a multi-citizen needing consular services. <Q> I had to do this in Bolivia. <S> South African and NZ citizenship. <S> Needed to contact my country and Interpol. <S> Neither has a presence in Bolivia. <S> So I went to the 'closest' <S> I could think of - the British consulate. <S> A quick call to them <S> and they were able to give some initial advice, but then connect me with the NZ consulates in Chile and Argentina, who contacted Interpol on my behalf as well. <S> Long story short - if your country doesn't have a presence, pick a country 'closeish' to your country who is on good terms with it. <S> If they can't help you, they'll likely try to get you to someone who can - it's kinda their job, <S> no matter who they work for. <A> The answer is going to depend wildly on the citizenships you hold, and the country where you get in trouble. <S> The larger the diplomatic presence, the more resources will be available to assist you. <S> A secondary factor would be to choose the country that has the best diplomatic relations with the country where your problem occurred. <S> That way, the country that is assisting you will be in the best position to negotiate on your behalf, if that might be useful. <S> Of course, the best answer of all is to do your homework and understand what is permitted in a country and <S> what isn't, to minimize the odds of you needing consular assistance to begin with. <A> @MarkMayo 's and @JimMacKenzie 's answers are great. <S> Another thing to consider is how each of your countries of citizenship are likely to view the "legal trouble" that you got into. <S> For example, if you have been accused of sexual conduct with a minor (whether or not you are actually guilty), it might not be such a good idea to seek help from the USA if you also hold citizenship in a country that is not known to prosecute its own citizens for overseas sexual behavior. <S> On the other hand, if you have been accused of engaging in unlawful political activism or religious proselytism, the USA, with its strong belief in such freedoms, is probably more likely to see you as worthy of assistance than, say, an Islamist or Communist country (unless, say, you were arrested for advocating for Communism in Egypt and you can get China to apply political pressure for you). <S> Similarly, use common sense here. <S> If you have been accused of stirring up Neo-Nazi activism, don't expect the German or Polish embassies to cry many tears for you, even if you hold their passports.
| My personal advice would be to choose the consulate or embassy with the most useful presence in the country where you are having difficulty.
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Entry to the US with an expired Nexus Is it possible to enter the US through the Nexus lane while my Nexus card is being renewed? And how? <Q> The grace period is normally 6 months, but as of December 2019 CBP has extended it to 12 months. <S> If you submitted a renewal application before expiration of your current membership, then you can continue to use your benefits until the renewal is finalized (up to 6 months after your expiration date). <S> CBP <S> "I have submitted my Trusted Traveler application for review. <S> Did CBP receive my application?" <S> As of December 2019, the Dashboard of the Trusted Traveler Program website says, Due to a significant increase in application volume, we are extending the grace period from 6 months to 1 year for any submitted renewal application. <S> This means you will continue to receive full benefits for 1 year while U.S. Customs and Border Protection is finalizing your renewal application.… <S> This note then links to a popup document <S> How do I renew my Trusted Traveler (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST) membership? , without a clear URL. <S> This popup document says, … <S> If you submit a renewal application before your membership expires, you will be able to continue to use benefits up to 1 year after your membership expiration date. <S> … <A> No, it is not. <S> You are permitted to renew as early as one year prior to expiry <S> so there is no need to leave renewal to the last minute. <S> You can, however, use a non-NEXUS lane as usual, using your passport or other WHTI-compliant identification. <A> You can use your NEXUS card for up to 6 months past the expiration date just as Jason said. <S> So long as you submitted your renewal application before it expired. <S> Here is the link that gives you that information. <S> https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1332/~/i-have-submitted-my-trusted-traveler-application-for-review.-did-cbp-receive-my <A> The links above no longer work - here is the new link https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1332?language=en_US - note that the article calls out that you an use your card for up to 6 months if you apply to renew it before it expires.
| According to the CBP website , you can use an Expired NEXUS card, provided you have submitted your renewal, for up to 6 or 12 months after expiry.
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Is it risky to send a copy of my Passport to someone I only know online? A few months ago, I met a man online, who lives in Jordan. He has asked me to fly over there from the US to marry him. He will pay for my flight and other accommodation costs, to which I have agreed. He asked me to send him a scanned copy of my passport, which now makes me hesitant. I want to know if anyone has been in this/similar situation before on Travel Stack Exchange? Should I send him my passport details? What could someone do with a copy of my scanned passport? <Q> Do NOT continue speaking to this man, for your own safety! <S> It's clear that you feel lonely and desperate for intimate companionship, and that's who these people target. <S> This man may either keep you in Jordan as a sex slave, use your identity for (further) criminal activities, force you to aid him in getting to the US illegally, or anything else. <S> We don't know this man's exact intentions, but anyone saying they'll marry you after a few months of online contact along with requesting your passport information invariably is up to no good, period. <S> Think about whether you've disclosed anything sensitive about yourself in any way. <S> If so, report this to the police. <S> Otherwise, simply block him on all channels without a word. <A> This seems very suspicious, and, in my opinion, you should stop talking to this person right now! <S> Some countries give absurd control to men over their wives. <S> Not sure about Jordan, but might be worth to take a look at it. <A> That'd be a bad idea. <S> Who knows what he'll do with the passport info alone. <S> May be he'll start using the info on the passport to create some duplicate ones. <S> May not be exactly that, may be he'll use your info for illegal activities. <S> People do this kind of stuff! <S> Forget about flying there <S> , avoid any contact or sharing of personal details with this person.
| Sending personal info to anyone you don't know is always risky.
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Why is air travel between South American countries so expensive? I checked the price to travel around South American countries (Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, etc) but it is insanely expensive, often taking over $500 to fly to other countries. For example, I searched for a one-way flight from Santiago to Rio de Janeiro, and for the next three months, the cheapest ticket still costs $340. The distance between two cities is just 1,816 miles. The distance between Shanghai and Singapore is 2,365 miles and the cheapest ticket costs $111. Shanghai to Paris costs $345 yet takes 5,756 miles. The other cities in South America follow this pattern as well; the ticket is extremely expensive compared to flights in Asia (East and Southeast) and Europe. Example (the cheapest one-way ticket for the next 3 months as of 2018-03-20 on Google Flights): Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro: $140 Sao Paulo to Santiago: $284 Sao Paulo to Montevideo: $232 Lima to Bogota: $303 (Buenos Aires to Mexico City: $794) This makes the whole trip to these otherwise cheap countries no longer attractive cost-wise, and I feel it is even more expensive than traveling around Western Europe for 3+ months. So why do countries in South America take so much money to travel around? <Q> As so often with 'why' questions about prices, it is what the people are preparing to pay and what the companies can offer their services for. <S> Part of the equation will be the taxes. <S> Part lack of competition. <S> And likely there will be no cheaper alternatives by other transport that are enough competition for the airlines to lower their prices. <S> In Europe, there are many ways to get from one country to an other, including (and not restricted to) bus/coach, train and privately owned car. <S> The distances are such that people will often elect to fly to gain a few hours, but they have the alternatives and many people will use those. <S> In North America the distances are greater already but still giving other options. <S> In South America, the distances are often much larger and people are less inclined to travel in the first place, when they have to travel <S> they have fewer options and have to go with what is available for the prices asked. <S> When you compare the prices to the incomes of the average worker in the countries involved you get an even higher price than in Europe and North America. <S> If the only option to visit a relative in an other country will cost you a months wages, you do not travel there unless you have to be there. <S> Rich people will be able to afford to travel, but they can also afford the current prices and often more. <S> As such the development of cheap travel is much slower, even when there are enough (foreign) visitors to fill the available flights. <A> My guess is that you have a mix of two problems: the airline you choose and the prices policy. <S> For me, as a Chilean, a round trip from Santiago (Chile) to Montevideo (Uruguay) cost around USD 130, tax included. <S> Try to use a VPN service, the browser in guess/private mode, and get a quote from a low cost <A> I would like to add to @Willeke's answer by questioning your initial premise: <S> This makes the whole trip to these otherwise cheap countries no longer attractive cost-wise, and I feel it is even more expensive than traveling around Western Europe for 3+ months. <S> You presume that being a cheap country means air tickets must also be cheaper. <S> To analyse that, lets take a look at the costs of running a single flight in the United States: <S> Fuel is cheaper in the US compared to South America, by about 50% Crew labor <S> isn't significantly cheaper, with Brazilian pilots making more than American pilots Renting/owning aircraft is cheaper in the US <S> All other expenses are generally comparable as they aren't significantly dependent on the costs of local labor <S> Which means that it isn't significantly cheaper (and potentially even more expensive) to run a plane in South America compared to the rest of the world. <S> Then you may ask why you're able to get dirt cheap tickets in South East Asia and the answer is volume . <S> Asian airlines are able to run dozens of flights per day between the most popular city pairs , while the number of passengers traveling internationally in South America is relatively low. <S> The most popular route in South America (Rio to Sao Paulo) is dirt cheap, with flights available for as low as $75. <S> If the number of passengers traveling between Rio and Santiago was the same I guarantee you could get excellent deals for that route as well. <A> Looking at it the other way around, these are excellent prices and the ones you mention for Asia are insanely cheap! <S> The main guess would be density of population. <S> We have the same issue within Canada flying from one province to the other. <S> It is extremely expensive and frustrating that domestic flights can cost a significant amount more than international ones elsewhere. <S> Comparatively Asia and Europe are much denser than South America. <S> This actually compounds the problem because it means there is less business for airlines to compete for and <S> so there ends up being a lot fewer airlines and competition. <S> As quite usual, flight costs tend to dominate travel costs, so the longer you stay at each destination, the more affordable it will be. <S> Although I was surprised to find out how expensive Brazil is compared to other South American countries and there, the cost of flying was relatively minor compared to staying and eating. <A> I´m from Argentina and currently living in Netherland. <S> I do like to travel as much as i can. <S> Sadly travel in South America is not cheap, there are a lot of factors..... <A> Have you looked at two-way flights? <S> There may be cases where two-way flights are several times cheaper than one-way. <S> Some agents know this, they will sell you a two-way flight even if you're just buying one leg. <S> Also, some European airlines can offer one-way flights for a fraction of price because they have routes with stopover, and everybody they pick up at stopover is free money for them. <S> Flew this way from Buenos Aires to Santiago with KLM - was the most economical option at $150.
| The "parking" for the Planes is NOT cheap, so usually Airlines pay higher fees to land in different south american countries than they do in Europe or in the US.Nonetheless, what you may lose in tickets you are going to save in food, hotels, etc....
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Remedies when bus company makes me miss a flight I'm buying a bus ticket to get to Boston 23 hours before my flight to ensure I reach my departure airport on time. If I didn't arrange bus transport well in advance, what legal remedies would I have if a delayed bus caused me to miss my flight? <Q> There are no remedies. <S> Greyhound's terms and conditions explicitly disclaim liability for delays: In no event shall carrier be liable for consequential or incidental damages for loss, damage or delay, including weather delays. <S> And as far as I know, there are no laws in the US that would require them to give you any kind of compensation beyond what the contract specifies (i.e. none). <S> Maybe you can find travel insurance that would help cover your losses in case of such a delay. <S> (Read the policy carefully to make sure it would cover such an event.) <S> But Greyhound won't. <S> By default, this risk is assumed by you and nobody else. <A> Transport does not work that way <S> If you book separate segments from separate companies, they don't owe you anything for a missed connection. <S> They got you to the agreed location, their job is done. <S> If you book a multi segment ticket "thru" from a single airline, then that airline is responsible for your missed connections. <S> So for instance if Delta sold you Glenwood Springs to Dubai, with GS to Denver and JFK-Dubai being codeshares with Amtrak and Emirates, and the Amtrak train is super late... <S> It's all on Delta to get you to Dubai. <S> If you booked the Amtrak segment on your own (to save money), then tough beans. <S> So that thing you are looking for, happens with thru ticketing. <S> Buy tickets that way. <S> If you can't, buy missed connection insurance. <A> You cannot coerce any company into taking that liability. <S> It lies with you. <S> Regardless of the form of transit, when you book separate tickets from point A to point B and point B to point C, the liability of a missed connection at B lies solely with you. <A> One possible course of action in this situation is to make alternate arrangements once it becomes clear that you're not going to make your flight, and then present a sympathetic story to the company's representatives. <S> A few months ago, my wife and I planned a trip to France. <S> Our outbound itinerary involved taking Amtrak to Boston and then a flight out from Logan. <S> When it became evident that the train was severely delayed, I talked to the station agent; she was sympathetic to our plight, and cancelled our Amtrak tickets for a full refund. <S> We drove two hours to the airport instead (spending a couple hundred dollars on airport parking, which was what we were trying to avoid by taking the train.) <S> But there are a lot of caveats to this advice, and it might not be applicable to all situations: <S> We actually had an alternate method of transportation to get us there. <S> The station agent suggested Uber instead, which also might have worked. <S> (In the event, we had never used it before and weren't about to try it out for the first time in a high-stress situation.) <S> We didn't actually use Amtrak's services at all; if we had taken the delayed train and then tried to claim compensation, we almost certainly would have been out of luck. <S> The station agent didn't have to give us a refund; <S> the Amtrak tickets we had purchased were non-refundable, so the best we could have expected was a voucher for future travel. <S> I suspect that if our destination wasn't quite so romantic or exotic, the agent might not have been as willing to bend the rules for us. <S> We didn't try to claim any compensation from Amtrak for the incidental expense of the long-term parking at the airport, or for that matter the gas used to get us to the airport. <S> I'm sure that they would have politely told us to go pound sand if we tried. <A> Many Travel Insurance policies cover the cost of flights missed because of documentable delays in transfers to the airport, but usually only if they are on a "public conveyance" (as I recall the wording from one policy) and (obviously) if the scheduled time would have permitted catching the flight properly (which probably means the full however-many hours the airline recommends). <S> So a bus would count, and probably a taxi, but not your in-laws promising to drive you and never showing up. <S> I think that the availability of travel insurance is pretty much your only hope in this situation. <S> Otherwise, the risk is yours to take. <A> The only way I've ever seen <S> Travel Company A take <S> responsibility for Travel Company B is if A booked B for you (i.e. was part of a package deal). <S> Cruise lines, for instance, will book shore excursions for you or you can book your own, but with the understanding that, if you book it yourself, you're on the hook if you miss the boat (slightly oversimplified for the sake of example). <S> As Gerrit also mentioned, sometimes public transits in Europe will also have agreements for liability, but only in limited circumstances (i.e. they have a partnership with said company). <S> Such agreements are uncommon. <S> So, no, you cannot compel a bus company to take responsibility for you missing a flight. <S> The only exception here might be something catastrophic (i.e. the bus flips over, catches fire, etc). <S> In that case, you can sue for damages after the fact, and throw the missed flight into that number.
| If you want someone else to be liable for getting you from point A to point C, you need to purchase that on a single ticket or else purchase missed connection insurance , wherein you pay an insurance company to assume that liability.
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If I go to Singapore, where can I get internet for my cellphone? I want to go to Singapore for a few days. How do I access internet there? Is there a wifi? Roaming would be very expensive. I use Indosat currently for internet. <Q> To connect to the network you need to be able to receive a SMS to a mobile phone (not necessarily the device you want to access Internet with). <S> This also works with a foreign phone number. <S> There's two networks, an open one (Wireless@SG) and a secured one (Wireless@SGx), if you want to access the second one, you need to download one of the apps . <S> Here's a website of one of the operators with detailed instructions . <S> The network is available at many public places, such as stations, hospitals, some malls and even hawker centres. <S> However it's not always easy to find one. <S> There is a list of all hotspots , but it's really long and probably not very useful. <S> So your best guess would be to just go somewhere and see whether it's available. <A> You can buy a prepaid SIM card (StarHub is probably the cheapest). <S> There are wifi networks in the airport, Starbucks, etc. <S> Completely open wifi networks are quite rare in Singapore. <A> This hotel provides a smartphone with Internet access to its guests. <S> I've stayed there last year and used that. <S> You can share the connection with your device too. <S> I believe there can be more hotels providing that.
| There is a free Wifi system, which is available at many locations around Singapore called Wireless@SG .
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Are 30-day tourist visa extensions ever denied in Thailand? Their website says it's possible, I'm just wondering how likely it is to happen: After arrival in Thailand, a tourist visa may be extended at the discretion of an immigration officer once for an additional 30 days with the total period of stay no longer than 90 days. https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/ <Q> Yes. <S> I went through the extension process in January. <S> (As an aside, the new Bangkok Immigration office is fairly inconvenient to get to; plan accordingly.) <S> While I was being interviewed the Canadian at the desk next to me did not have a valid address on his extension form; he argued with the immigration officer that it was not important. <S> He did not get his extension. <S> So in answer to your question if the visa extensions are ever denied, yes it has happened at least once. <A> Note that the extension is available for people with a visa applied in advance: ie not VoA and not people getting a visa exemption (a stamp in the passport at arrival). <S> So if you're planning to stay 90 days in Thailand, you have two solutions: Apply for a 2-entry visa, and do a border run, plus either apply for an extension, or do a second border run if you can get a 30-day visa exemption. <S> Enter on a 30-day visa exemption (again, assuming you are elligible), and do two border runs. <S> Note land/sea border runs are limited to 2 per year. <S> But if your goal is 90 days, you should be good to go. <A> If you haven't stayed in Thailand for too long on tourist visas, fill out all the paperwork correctly, look presentable and act patient and polite with the officers, it's highly unlikely you'd be refused. <S> In rare cases, some immigration offices might ask you for additional documents, such as proof of address or TM.30 form, but will still issue you the extension on another visit to the immigration office. <S> Thai immigration doing 30-day tourist visa extensions are NOT tasked with actively using their judgement to sort applicants into accept/reject groups, but simply checking the documents and performing a routine bureaucratic procedure. <S> Of course, they still have the authority to deny you the extension for any reason whatsoever, so if you annoy them, they're having a bad day, <S> you're impolite or not presentable, they could do it.
| It is unlikely Thai immigration would deny the 30-day tourist visa extension if you comply with the requirements.
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Can I return to the United States as a tourist after being there illegally for most of my life, as a minor? I was born in Brazil and came to the United States at the age of 7, in 2007. I no longer need to live in the United States because I have found success in investing and no longer depend on having a job. I am going to buy property in my home country soon, but I have just turned 18. Will I ever be able to return to the United States to see my friends and other family members? Even if it is a 30-day visa? And, if so, in the future, am I still eligible for the EB-5 visa? Will I be barred from entry? <Q> Unlawful presence does not accrue for children under 18 : <S> An alien whose unlawful status begins before his or her 18th birthday does not begin to accrue unlawful presence for purposes of section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Act until the day after his or her 18th birthday pursuant to section 212(a)(9)(B)(iii)(I) of the Act. <S> If you leave before 180 days of unlawful presence, there is no automatic ban. <S> Between 180 days and one year, a three-year ban. <S> Over one year, a ten-year ban. <S> So pack a suitcase now . <A> Legally - yes. <S> Practically - it depends. <S> As Andrew Lazarus pointed out, you seem to be still all right and would be eligible for a tourist visa. <S> However, given your personal history and family ties, a consulate would consider you a high "no-return" risk. <S> Normally, high risk individuals can demonstrate ties with their native country, but in your case it would be years until your ties to Brazil will outweigh your ties to US. <S> The above paragraph is specific to a non-immigrant visa, like visitor's or student's. <S> For an immigrant visa (like EB-5), you don't need to show ties, and there is nothing that I see that can disqualify you. <A> That is fairly hard if you were ever in the country illegally. <S> Having property (especially real-estate) in your home country helps a lot. <S> Family ties help a lot. <S> A steady job helps a lot. <S> Ultimately it's going to be very hard to get a tourist visa, but it's not impossible unless you have a ban. <A> This also all depends on whether the United States Government is aware of your presence here in the country illegally. <S> If you have money, and buy property in Brazil, and go home without having ever been caught out for being here illegally, then there is nothing in your record to show, and you can get a non-immigrant visa at any time without a waiver because you won't be banned.
| To get a nonimmigrant visa to the US you need to prove that you'll be leaving the country before it expires.
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What are the recommended vaccines for travel to Thailand? I think i'll be staying in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Bangkok. I'm from the UK. <Q> Britons can look to the NHS's Fit for Travel website, which provides detailed health recommendations for most countries. <S> Courses or boosters usually advised: Tetanus. <S> Other vaccines to consider: Cholera; Diphtheria; Hepatitis B; Japanese Encephalitis; Rabies; Typhoid. <S> Also see the guidance on the risks of malaria, dengue, and zika, among others. <A> CDC has pages on this for many countries. <S> For Thailand, they recommend Hepatitis-A and Typhoid, in addition to the "routine ones" everybody should have. <S> And then, depending on where you go and what you do, they offer half a dozen others. <A> According to Spain's Health Ministry (link in English but recommendations in Spanish :| <S> Spain, you know...): <S> Mandatory vaccines: <S> yellow fever vaccine for those coming from places with yellow fever transmission risk. <S> You are from the UK, so it doesn't apply to you. <S> Recommended vaccines: just the ones already included in the official vaccination program. <S> Your family doctor might recommend additional vaccines depending on your health record. <S> Paludism: while most of Thailand is safe, there's risk of paludism transmission in the borders with Cambodia and Myanmar, so you are warned to take precautions if you are travelling to those areas. <S> Most cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, islands like Phuket, etc. are safe. <S> Now to the personal experience: I've been to Thailand without taking any additional vaccines beyond the ones I already took 20+ years ago. <S> It was a (wonderful!) road trip: several places, rural villages, some street food, some wilderness, etc. <S> We had zero problems regarding diseases. <S> However, we did have a medical problem, because the sun in Thailand is freaking strong -- even for a Spaniard used to 40 Celsius in summer. <S> My wife got a heat stroke! <S> So make sure you wear sunscreen at all times, a hat, and even a long-sleeved t-shirt wouldn't hurt either.
| NHS recommended immunisations for Thailand include the following: Confirm primary courses and boosters are up to date as recommended for life in Britain - including for example, vaccines required for occupational risk of exposure, lifestyle risks and underlying medical conditions.
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Can airport gates be double-booked? Arrival and departure gates are listed as the same Tomorrow I am flying from BWI to ORD (flight NK761), then ORD to MSY (flight NK815). Right now 761 is listed as arriving at gate L11. Flight 815 is listed as departing from gate L11. 761 lands at ORD at 7:35am... 815 is supposed to depart at 8:05am, which is cutting it close, but shouldn't be an issue as long as my first flight is not delayed. My question is, how can two different flights, with overlapping arrival/departure times, be scheduled for the same gate? What if we aren't able to deplane from my first flight because my second flight is at the gate and boarding? <Q> According to flightradar24 the aircraft with registration N529NK flew BWI-ORD-MSY on Mar 22. <S> On March 23 N521NK <S> is/was scheduled to fly BWI-ORD but due to disruption landed in BOS 15 hours late. <S> Hence its schedule for today doesn't make much sense. <S> It is scheduled to fly BOS-BWI and land in BWI at 9:06am and then miraculously take off at 06:17 to fly BWI-ORD. <S> Either the flight will be delayed or another aircraft will fly this route. <S> In summary, the reason for the same gate is that it was supposed to be the same aircraft. <S> Whether it will be is another question. <S> Update:It seems N521NK <S> did fly BWI-ORD (NK761) but unfortunately landed two hours late leading to the missed connection to ORD-MSY (NK815) which was operated by <S> N506NK . <S> I suspect that lead to the OP spending rather a long day at various airports today. <A> L is a new set of gates for American Eagle at ORD. <S> It is not uncommon to see Eagle flights blocked for only 30 minutes at the gate. <S> 99%, the aircraft that operates BWI-ORD will also be operating the ORD-MSY flight. <A> What if we aren't able to deplane from my first flight because my second flight is at the gate and boarding? <S> Then the ground ops controllers at the airport will either hold your inbound flight on a taxiway or at a hold point until the gate has cleared, or reassign your inbound flight to another gate, or park you at a remote stand and bus you to the terminal. <S> Gate assignments are in no way fixed in stone - they can change at a moments notice.
| Often at busy airports, aircraft will get assigned a gate once they have landed and are taxiing to the terminal.
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Row 60 on Lufthansa Airbus A380-800 I have a 10+ hours trip in an Airbus A380-800, and I noticed the seat 60A was available at check-in time. The layout of the plane looks like this: I took this seat, based on the natural idea that it provides extra legroom. However, I've searched over the internet (e.g. here , here and here ) and there seems to be no precise information about this. People mostly complain about the closeness to the kitchen and the slightly reduced width, but no proper mention to the legroom. Does anybody have experience with this seat? Is it worth it for its legroom? Also, I have 60A, which is a window seat. Does it have enough frontal space as to stand up and get to the hallway without disturbing others? <Q> That means, because there is no seat in front of you, that: You cannot stretch out with your feet under the (non-existent) seat in front of you (thus actually limiting your legroom). <S> There will be limited (if any) pockets on the wall so you will not have much room for personal items. <S> Because there is no seat ahead of you all of your hand luggage will have to be stowed in an overhead bin <S> (thus limiting access during the flight). <S> Your tray table will fold out from the armrest, and will be smaller, less stable and more awkward to use than one that folds down from the back of another seat. <S> The above is from my personal experience of flights where I have ended up in a seat with a wall in front of me. <S> I have vowed to never again voluntarily choose such seats in the future. <S> And finally, it's still basically a window seat, so you will always have to disturb people to get out to the aisle. <A> There are usually two possible situations for first-row seats: <S> There’s a lot of empty space right in front of you. <S> This is usually (but not always) the case when you are right next to a door (looks like seats in row 75 and window seats in 76 are like this). <S> In that situation, you do have lots of extra leg room, but you don’t have anything you can lie your feet against, so it’s not necessarily very comfortable, depending on your habits. <S> Note that on some planes, the door bulges at floor level, which may restrict legroom for window seats <S> (this is probably part of the reasons there are no window seats in row 75). <S> There’s a partition in front of you. <S> This seems to be the case here. <S> In this situation, you usually have more space at knee level, but not necessarily at foot level (on a regular seat you would have your feet under the seat in front of you). <S> To know if it’s actually better you would need at least a picture to judge, ideally with one of a regular row for comparison). <S> It also depends on your height and the size of your feet :-) <A> Ok, I'm right now at the plane, I couldn't change my seat and had to stay in row 60. <S> To summarize (with respect to the questions I had initially): no leg stretching, and still need to disturb everyone to get to the aisle (but at least they don't need to stand up as well but just move their feet) <A> We have sat in the exact seats, and there was plenty of leg room. <S> We have a service dog and we all love it. <S> In fact in a strange coincidence we just booked these seats yesterday — they are called preferred seating now at a cost of $45.00 for each seat (which they just started last month).So for the additional cost <S> I think it is worth it.(I <S> wish there was only 2 seats instead of three but sometimes that third seat is empty so lots of extra room.)Also on the bottom off the wall there is a large pocket for your feet <S> so I would go for it <S> but once again this is only our opinion. <A> For LH A380, go for upper deck economy, they are the best. <S> Small Econ Cabin, 242layout with 6rows <S> , it is quiet and <S> you get your meals serviced quickly. <S> Window seats also a small storage room next to the wall. <S> And upper deck is less noisy with the engine sound too. <S> Beware <S> that on the upper deck behind business on some airlines (such as Thai Airlines,), you cannot walk around and cannot go downstairs, and thus are are trapped in a tiny area. <S> The ceiling is also lower. <A> I flew on Lufthansa last week same model aircraft. <S> I try to choose an aisle seat whenever I fly <S> so I can at least stretch my legs in the aisle. <S> Seat 60A, you will be wedged against the window, I would have chosen the aisle seat. <S> There is a wall and your food tray will be located in the armrest. <S> Your entertainment console won't be easily viewable as if you took one of the seats behind you it would be in the headrest in front of you. <S> That jet also has seats available in the upper deck. <S> Your best bet is to choose a seat in the center on the aisle and check to see if anybody selects a seat next to you. <S> I had an entire row to myself on my flight because it was pretty empty. <S> That helps to stretch out a little. <S> Good luck.
| Assuming that the image represents the flight in question I would not choose this seat for extra legroom, the reason being that there is a wall directly in front of your seat.
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Can a parent use dual citizenship to transport a child out of the USA without a US passport? Is it possible for a parent to take an American minor out of the country, if the child has dual citizenship to the destination country, but without a US passport? Example: Mom has US and Italian citizenships and passports. The child was born in the USA with standard birth certificates. The child does NOT have an American passport. Mom has filed for the child to have dual Italian citizenship, without the father's knowledge. Can the mom potentially travel with the child to Italy without the USA passport and without the father's knowledge? Are there any safeguards to prevent this? I've searched somewhat carefully for this particular scenario and I'm not seeing anything specific to prevent this from happening. Basically, it seems like a vulnerability a parent could use to transport their child out of the USA and avoid detection from the other parent. A USA passport for a minor requires both parents' approval, whereas a foreign dual citizenship can be much more single parent-oriented. Thank you! <Q> If the child has a foreign passport, there's not much chance that anyone would stop the child from traveling overseas without a US passport. <S> The US government does not enforce the law requiring US citizens to bear a valid US passport when leaving the country. <S> However, many countries have measures in place to prevent international child abduction, and they will not allow a child to enter with just one parent unless the parent has proof of sole custody or a notarized letter of permission from the other parent. <S> Airlines know about these rules and enforce them. <S> These rules often operate independent of the child's nationality. <S> Even those that do take nationality into account, for example Italy's, may also protect the rights of the foreign (i.e., US) parent. <S> See for example <S> Lufthansa's page on the topic : Unaccompanied minors and children under 14 years of age with Italian citizenship, who are travelling alone or with someone other than a parent or legal guardian, must carry the following completed declaration form: ‘Dichiarazione di affido’ <S> (Law no. 1185/67). <S> The form can be obtained from the local police station (‘questura’), but not from the airport police. <S> The form must be fully completed and must be carried together with the child’s passport. <S> If the documentation is incomplete, the child may be refused boarding. <S> You can find further information on the website of the Polizia di Stato. <S> There's no mention of the parents' nationality. <S> More applicable to the case mentioned here: <S> Unaccompanied children and teenagers under the age of 18 travelling to/from an airport in the USA, and unaccompanied children and teenagers under the age of 19 travelling to/from an airport in Canada, require a notarized consent letter from their parents or legal guardians. <S> If a child or teenager is travelling with only one parent or guardian, the notarized consent letter from the parent/guardian who is not travelling with them is required. <S> If a parent/legal guardian has sole custody, then proof of sole custody must be presented. <S> Many countries demand a consent letter from the parents or legal guardians. <S> Children and teenagers without notarized consent letters may be refused boarding. <S> Please contact the nearest consulate of the country to which you are travelling for information regarding additional documents that may be required. <S> Further information is also available at: • For the USA www.travel.state.gov <S> • <S> For Canada www.travel.gc.ca <A> If the child has a non-US passport, including an Italian one, there is nothing to prevent the child exiting the US and flying to Italy, either directly or via another country. <S> Italy imposes restrictions on children with an Italian passport travelling without a parent, e.g. on Alitalia's site : <S> Minor accompanied by parent/legal guardian - <S> the name of the parent or legal guardian traveling with the minor must be on the travel document and a birth certificate or certificate of family status must also be carried so that the authorities can ascertain the identity of the child's parents <S> This will not be of any help if the child is travelling with a parent. <S> This US government site gives advice regarding the question: <S> Your child, although they were born in the United States or abroad to a U.S. citizen parent, might also be a citizen of another country. <S> A child may acquire another nationality without the consent of the U.S. citizen parent. <S> A child may acquire citizenship by the child's birth abroad, by a parent born outside the United States, or a parent who acquired a second nationality by naturalization. <S> Enrolling in the Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program does not stop a dual national child from getting (or traveling) on a foreign passport. <S> If your child has, or might have, another nationality, contact the country's embassy or consulate directly to ask about denial of that country's passport . <S> Following a comment from @user102008, it's not legal to apply for an Italian passport for a child without the consent of both parents (absent special circumstances): a passport application using the downloadable form below signed by: a) both parents, or b) by one of the parents with the signed consent of the other parent and a photocopy of the latter’s identification document; <S> My child has travelled to and from the US with only one parent and has entered the US on a US passport and exited the US on a non-US passport and has not required any documentation from the non-travelling parent. <A> The US State Department recommends informing the embassy of the other country (in this case Italy) about the situation. <S> Your best bet, I would think, would be to make sure a note is in the airlines’ database for the Italian passport, with the hope that they would not allow her to board with it.
| Yes, if your spouse succeeds in acquiring a non-US passport for your child, it is very unlikely they will be prevented from exiting the US without approval from the other parent.
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What is the safest way to adapt a two pin British shaving socket to a European two pin (Germany) for use with an electric toothbrush bought in the UK? I have a Braun electric toothbrush that has the two pin British shaving connector. What is the best means to charge it in Europe, specifically Germany? <Q> Most UK to European plug adaptors have specially shaped Line and Neutral holes that will allow either a shaver or 13 Amp plug to be used in a standard European mains socket. <A> UK Type G adapter, then a UK to EU adapter. <S> This is slightly less safe than using one single adapter, but much better than trying to force something into the wrong socket. <A> The safest way without a doubt is getting an EU charger. <S> Same with laptop chargers -- just swap the IEC C7 AC cable ("figure eight") or IEC C5 ("mickey mouse) for a cable appropriate the local power socket. <S> It doesn't get safer than that. <S> Avoid plug converters whenever you can. <A> sometimes the "shaver socket" in Europe is slightly different than in UK (more narrow). <S> Sometimes not. <S> So it's a matter of luck. <S> If you want to use your toothbrush and the socket is different you can buy an extension cable and connect to a socket in the room with an adapter.
| If you can't find a UK->EU adaptor that will take a shaver plug (as in the top answer), you could also use a combination of a standard UK shaver ->
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If I have been deported and banned from the US, can I travel through US airspace? I was deported from and banned for life from the USA. I have been traveling through South America seeing different countries. I'm currently living in Peru and want to travel to Europe. One way to travel would be flying through US airspace, to Canada. My main question is: can I pass through US airspace on my way to Canada as part of a flight to Germany? Are there are other alternatives to travel from Peru to Europe while avoiding North America all together? <Q> So you'll be fine - you just need the documents for transiting Canada and entering Germany. <A> Flying over USA airspace is not a problem. <S> What is a problem is that Canada, like the USA but unlike many other countries, requires you to have a transit visa in advance . <S> Peru is not on the list of visa-exempt countries. <S> The Canadian authorities may know that you were deported and banned from the United States, and if so, I think your chances of getting the Canadian visa are reduced. <S> You should apply in advance, and as other answers mention, you should be prepared to book instead through airports where you will not have this problem. <A> You cannot land in the US (does not matter if it is only a transit). <S> However, I am not seeing any issues with getting a flight to Canada. <S> You need to have in the mind that you will need to land in Canada. <S> So, maybe, you will need a Visa+ for that. <S> Could you go to Europe avoiding US or Canada? <S> Yes, you can... <S> You could go to Brazil and get a flight to Portugal, for example. <A> Personally I would fly direct from Guatemala to Madrid. <S> Or From San Pedro Sula to Barcelona. Or from Panama to Amsterdam. <S> I'm from the UK and can fly to the US without a visa, but due to bad mannered people in the US airports I now avoid flying through the US whenever possible. <S> I'd rather invest my money in countries who treat me nicely. <S> On the Spanish route I have never had any hassle from anyone. <S> It's worth the extra cost. <S> Airlines you want to look at include KLM, Iberia, Air Europa, British Airways. <S> I've never had any difficulties in Canada and the people are friendly, but they can be quite strict <S> and it adds an extra complication to your trip. <S> As far as airspace is concerned it doesn't matter about the US at all. <S> The Canadians have a deal with the US to manage those flights. <S> Probably easiest to avoid US and Canada
| The airline will collect Secure Flight information when checking you in, but there is no restriction preventing you from flying over US airspace just because you're inadmissible to the US.
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Which tickets to buy for Catacombs in Paris? I am very confused whether or not to buy advance tickets for the Catacombs in Paris and what the prices are. I believe the official site is: http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/visit/access-opening-times-accessibility/museum-admission If you look at the information you will see:Type of visit Full rates ConcessionsCatacombs and exhibition 13 €* 11 €*Coupled ticket Catacombs of Paris - Archaeological Crypt 17 €* 14 €* I believe "Concessions" means "child", "disabled", "elderly" and certain other terms, BUT I'm not sure. In fact I have a 15-year old with me so it's relevant. What is the Archaeological Crypt? Is it worth it? It's not described on the website. Further adding to my confusion, a few lines down one sees: PLAN YOUR VISIT!BUY YOUR TICKET ON-LINE TO REDUCE YOUR MINIMUM WAITING TIME,AND BENEFIT FROM AN AUDIOGUIDE.AT FULL PRICE WITH TAPE GUIDE: 29,00 € YOUTH RATE FROM 4 UNTIL 17 YEARS OLD (WITHOUT TAPE GUIDE): 5,00 € These prices seem completely different than the 17 and 14 given above!Finally to add to the confusion I see this on the same page! Free Admission (upon presentation of a valid ID): Youth 17 and under, Why pay for a youth when they are free? At the actual site where you pay: http://b12-gat.apps.paris.fr/Offres.aspx You will see:CHOISISSEZ LE NOMBRE DE BILLETS PAR CATEGORIETarifs au 29/03/2018 reste 20 PlacesPrix unitaireQuantitéPlein tarif coupe file avec audioguide29,00 €T. jeune coupe file sans audioguide 4-17ans inclus5,00 € Can someone explain the pricing for adults and youth? Is it perhaps more to get advanced tickets? Is the audio guide essential? Many thanks. <Q> We visited the catacombs in 2015. <S> I can share our experience. <S> We did not buy tickets in advance. <S> We went about one hour prior to opening and lined up. <S> It did take us about half an hour after opening to get into the catacombs. <S> The later in the day you go, the longer you'll wait. <S> I didn't find the wait to be objectionable. <S> The nice thing is that they limit the number of people inside, so you have a pleasant, unrushed experience inside. <S> It really is a very interesting tour. <S> The audioguides aren't essential but they are very good . <S> We enjoyed having them. <S> I can't comment about the archaeological site - I'd suggest asking about this when you buy your tickets, if you take my advice. <S> This was one of the highlights of our experience <S> and I certainly recommend that anyone who goes to Paris visit them. <A> maybe it's not so well translated, anyway "concessions" means reduced rate. <S> So you have the full price and the reduced price. <S> below is explained who can benefit from reduced price and who can enter for free: <S> Reduced rate (upon presentation of a valid ID) : Youth and young adults (18-26), large families and holders of the "Paris Pass Famille", school teachers and librarians, holders of "Navigo-Améthyste-Emeraude" card, members of : la Sauvegarde de l'Art Français, la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, la Société francaise d'archéologie, la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France. <S> Free Admission (upon presentation of a valid ID) : Youth 17 and under, disabled and their personal care attendant, job seekers and beneficiaries of the following income support supplements : RSA, allocation parents isolés, allocation personnalisée d'autonomie et aide sociale de l'Etat pour les réfugiés, city of Rome inhabitants (Paris twin City), city of Paris employees and councillors in activity or retired, professional visual artists with written evidence, <S> Art World professionals : International Association of Art Critics, museum guides, French and foreign curators, « la commission du Vieux Paris », ICOM and ICOMOS members, journalists, art press reporters and federations. <S> Consider that the prices you see in the table on top are for ticket bought on-site, as written below the table. <S> so your son can enter for free if you buy the ticket there. <S> If you want to buy the tickets online you pay 5 euro for your son (without audioguide) and 29 for the adults (with included audioguide). <S> Usually the catacombs are not so crowded, you can go "early" in the morning and the queue will not be so long. <S> The Crypt is a different attraction located below Notre Dame Cathedral. <S> The entrance is in front of the cathedral. <S> So a complete different location. <S> It shows some old ruins of the ancient roman village. <A> To answer my own questions... <S> The Crypt is below the Pantheon. <S> The day I was there, you could just walk into the crypt. <S> You did have to pay for the Pantheon (perhaps 8 euro for adult and 0 for children). <S> I found the Pantheon and crypt well worth it. <S> Still can't figure out the pricing on the website for the Catacombs. <S> All tourists (and french folks ) thought the website was horrible. <S> I CAN SAY that I highly recommend getting some tickets in advance. <S> The difference between the different options is slight, but the wait times on the day I went was significant. <S> We ended up going without tickets and waited slightly less than 3 hours! <S> The wait for folks with tickets was not trivial - I'd estimate about 1 hour. <S> But that's a significant savings in time that more than covers paying 5 or 10 euros too much. <S> I can easily believe that on days it's not crowded one could just show up and get in almost as quickly as those with advance tickets, but personally, I wouldn't risk it.
| Honestly I would not buy the tickets in advance.
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Wire transfer from America Does anyone know of any bank in America that will execute a wire transfer to another country for a customer who does not hold an account with them? Or do most banks require you to hold an account with them? <Q> Where would the money come from, if you do not have an account with that bank? <S> Are you trying to bring cash to a bank to turn in to a wire? <S> In any case, the answer is probably no . <S> Nothing, as far as I know, stops you from opening an account in a bank, depositing the money, and sending a wire with it, provided you have suitable identification. <S> We might be of more help if we knew why you needed to do this, in case alternative methods of transfer are available. <S> For small amounts, for example, you could use an International Postal Money Order. <A> To send to and from the USA, seem to be pretty low rates and easy to use. <S> You do not need to have the same bank as the sender or receiver. <S> Was using PayPal at first <S> but that's very expensive especially when sending a big amount. <A> I've used http://xe.com/ <S> and https://www.moneycorp.com/uk/ to move money from the the US to Europe (family). <S> My bank would do it as well, but these services are a lot cheaper. <S> Of course you need an account with them, but it's not a big deal: <S> open the account, deposit the money, transfer the money, close the account or let it sit empty. <S> It's similar to opening an account with an online retailer like amazon.com.
| Banks are required to verify identity for international transfers as an anti-terrorism and anti-laundering practice. I've personally used TransferWise .
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How suicidal are electric "suicide showers?" Some people refer to the showers commonly found in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia which have an electric heating element built into the head as "suicide showers" due to the apparent risk of electric shock. How high is this risk really? Even if one was to get shocked how likely would it be at a dangerous or even fatal level? <Q> I live in Brazil and used this kind of shower for a good amount of my life. <S> On the summer we actually remove the gas shower and install this eletric shower, cause it is cheaper. <S> So, with that said, I'm pretty confident that it depends more on the capability of who made the instalation than the shower itself. <S> I've been showering this way for twenty years and never had a problem. <S> I can undestand why foreigners would be scared to the point of naming it a 'suicide shower', <S> but in my opinion, there's no need for such fear. <A> These are common in rural areas of Ecuador and Peru. <S> I have used them for years and only got some mild shocks a few times. <S> Those in hotels that use them, were pretty much always safe. <A> I was shocked by one of these one time, in Costa Rica. <S> It was just a quick jolt, nothing too painful and nothing lasting. <S> Different brands and models are certainly different though, so always worth it to be careful. <S> I wouldn't stress out about it <S> and I certainly wouldn't avoid staying in a place or visiting a country that is known to use them. <A> You will find something very similar, not in the shower head, but on the wall of your shower, in many bathrooms in Germany. <S> Usually 10-20 kilo watt, an electronic fuse that shuts down the power within a microsecond if any electrical current is misdirected, and it produces water at the exact temperature that you want immediately . <S> https://www.siemens-home.bsh-group.com/de/produktliste/warmwassergeraete/durchlauferhitzer <S> I'd love one of those in my home, but a UK electrician would probably get a heart attack if you ask them to install it. <S> They are supposed to be very energy efficient, and if you use solar energy to create warm water, they can easily just add that little bit extra temperature that you want. <A> I've used good ones and not-so-good ones. <S> The electric element is in the water, but of course you can avoid getting shocked if you avoid putting yourself in a place where you close the circuit. <S> i.e, don't touch metal plumbing. <S> The best is if the shower floor + wall is plastic and you only touch plastic while the heater is on. <S> The one you pictured would be a lot safer if they moved the on/off switch a few inches over so you could more easily avoid touching the metal pipe until it's off.
| More than 95% of the time, it runs fine and without risk. Get it depends on the installation and maintenance of these as the ones that shocked me were in very remote areas.
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Alcohol as necessary medicine when visiting dry countries? In hospital a few years ago, I met a man who needed to take anticoagulation medicine daily. However, he had some sort of stomach enzyme that prevented him absorbing the medicine. As a result, daily, an hour beforehand he'd announce he was taking his 'first medicine' and drank a glass of white wine (which the doctors had noted would inhibit the enzyme). (excuse my medical terms, I'm relaying second hand). Anyway, the question is - if he wants to travel to a dry (as in no alcohol) country, like Iran, or Brunei - could he, if he needs the alcohol? Would a doctor's letter be enough? <Q> Whether any country will recognize the user of alcohol for medicinal purposes presumably depends on that country's medical regulators. <S> Dry countries might allow the user of alcohol on a foreign doctor's prescription, or they might require the prescription of a doctor licensed to practice medicine in that country, or the regulator might only approve alternative therapies (for example, to interfere with the enzyme in question) that do not involve alcohol. <A> It will depend on the country. <S> In Brunei for instance, non-Muslims can import twelve cans of beer and 2 bottles of liquor, every 48 hours (when doing a Labuan run for instance). <S> You can only consume the alcohol inside your residence, hotel, etc... <S> You won't be able to buy any in-country. <S> Other countries can be stricter, and it would prove dangerous to break the law. <S> But in all muslim countries, doctor's orders won't fly, especially a foreign doctor. <S> A person needing alcohol for medical reasons would have as much leverage as a person with a cannabis prescription in Singapore. <S> Zilch. <A> If the person in question truly needs alcohol as medicine, it would be best to purchase it in a medical container rather than carrying a bottle of whiskey in your luggage. <S> Of course, you'd still have to declare it as a medicine at each border, but I expect the border guards to be more lenient if it appears as something that could actually be used for treatment.
| It is best to ask the doctor in your country about how to obtain medicinal alcohol, but I expect it to be packaged similar to ethanol used for scientific research :
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Italy's SITA Bus tickets (Campania Region) buying process and questions I'm planning a trip to Italy to various places and one of them is the Amalfi Coast (Amalfi, Ravello, Conca dei Marini and Positano), which I'll get there by SITA bus from Salerno. While looking for how to buy tickets, I learned that they don't have e-tickets and have small shops, like cafes and newspaper stands, to sell bus tickets. The closet one I'll be in proximity to will be an actual bus ticket stand in Salerno. (Correct me if I'm wrong) How reliable is buying tickets from these newspaper stands and such? If I'm uncomfortable buying it from those newspaper stands and cafes, can I buy those bus route tickets ahead of time? Also, is there anything I should know about SITA bus? <Q> All your assumptions about tickets resellers are true. <S> Keep in mind that if the bus gets full you will have to wait for the next ride. <S> With this said It will be relativel safe for you as you will take it from its departure place (not an intermediate stop) <A> Let me start writing this by stating that SITA has become overcrowded in the last years. <S> So, if you can take a ferry instead, that option is always preferable . <S> The Sorrento-Amalfi route is the busiest of them all. <S> Salerno-Amalfi is much better. <S> Yes, it's safe to buy the tickets from newsletter stands, cafes, bars .etc. <S> A full list from where you can buy the tickets is here: <S> https://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/agenzie <S> (only in Italian...make sure you select 'Campania' if asked... <S> SITA also operates routes in Puglia and Basilicata) <S> Check this link for what tickets you need: <S> https://www.ravello.com/sita-bus-schedule/#corsa-singola-ticket <S> Basically it depends on the departure and arrival town. <S> For Salerno-Amalfi you need AC3 which costs € 2.40 . <S> The trip takes roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes . <S> If you want to reach Positano from Salerno, keep in mind that you will need to change buses in Amalfi. <S> Amalfi is the central transport hub on the Amalfi Coast. <S> Same thing if you travel from Sorrento anywhere past Amalfi. <S> You need a change of buses in Amalfi. <S> Other things to keep in mind: validate your ticket once you boarded the bus <S> the buses have ample luggage storage when you wait for the bus in a station on the road, make sure you signal to the driver to stop <S> the drivers are quite helpful, so if you don't know when your stop is up (all those curvingroads will confuse you very fast), ask him nicely to announce it <S> whenyou board the bus. <A> For travelling on Sita bus from Naples to Amalfi coast, we found out the hard way today that you have to buy tickets from the designated shop. <S> See photo attached. <S> We could not buy the tickets on the bus, or at other tabbacci shops. <S> The designated shop we found was opposite Napoli Garibaldi station, by the roundabout junction between Corso Arnaldo Lucci and Via Galileo Ferraris. <S> We then alighted the bus to Agerola from the bus stop around 50 meters down Via Galileo Ferraris. <S> Posting here in case it helps future travellers!! <S> Picture of ticket seller
| I don't think you can buy bus tickets in advance as they are generic ride tickets (with time limit if I remember correctly) without assigned seat.
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Do celebrities require work visas for every country they visit? By celebrity, I mean maybe a famous singer. If they are doing a world tour, they are doing "work" in many countries around the world. From my understanding, in most countries if you want to "work", you must have some sort of permit. I also know that it depends on the type of work you will be doing. For example, in Canada, if you are working as an athlete or coach , you do not need a permit. What about singers/actors/filmmakers? Do they require work visas to most countries they visit? <Q> If you're a celebrity organizing a world tour you are guaranteed to have dozens of crew members or partners resolving various issues with logistics in every country. <S> Remember that visas aren't the only barrier - you need legal contracts, booked venues, insurance, transportation, backup plans if something goes wrong, advertising, security, accommodation, etc. <S> And not only would the celebrity in question need a visa to travel, but also everyone else in the crew as they're essentially short term employees in a foreign country. <S> So the answer is <S> But no, that's not a big deal for them. <S> And keep in mind that celebrities can be refused a visa as well , just like normal people: <S> British authorities denied rapper Snoop Dogg a visa for a series of planned concerts, publicists for his tour said in a statement Saturday. <S> A spokeswoman for the Home Office said she couldn't comment on an individual case, but did point out that foreign citizens could be barred from entering the country if there were concerns about their presence. <A> Several countries have "Entertainment" visas, which are are for singers/musicians, actors, and their back-stage crew. <A> Celebrities are largely treated like other human beings for immigration purposes. <S> They might have some exemptions or expedited processes (Top government officialls routinely pressure Home Office or USCIS etc) or special categories <S> e.g. <S> O visa <S> however that's the extent of it.
| yes , even big time celebrities need a visa (or an equivalent, such as an EU passport for EU countries) for every country where they perform.
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Why can't airline tickets be booked far into the future? Why it is not possible to book airline tickets more than 12 months in advance? Why there is always 1 year and not 2 years or more? Is there any technical aspect behind this policy? <Q> It's less of a technical constraint and more of a practical one. <S> The servers maintained by airlines could certainly hold another year's worth of flights. <S> As it is, airlines are always adjusting capacities on routes. <S> They add and drop frequencies, open and close routes, and change their fleet. <S> Planning all of that out one year in advance takes a tremendous amount of work. <S> Planning out two years is even more work, but for what? <S> Presumably you're asking because you want to buy airline tickets earlier, but most people don't buy very early at all. <S> Most airline customers buy their tickets within 100 days of the flight. <S> Many buy within 30 days, and a huge percentage of business travelers buy within a week or two. <S> Hence, the airline would put lots of energy into planning a schedule and setting prices an extra year early for very little return. <S> That's simply not the best way to run a business, so they don't do it. <S> Source: Personal Experience. <S> I work in revenue management for an airline. <A> Speaking from experience, it has a lot to do with scheduling. <S> I'll pick on Delta for a second. <S> Delta doesn't know what air routes it's going to be traveling more than a year out <S> (they literally won't let you book beyond that). <S> Maybe an analysis showed a route wasn't profitable and they nixed it. <S> Maybe they had to add some new ones and reshuffled the schedule. <S> The problem is you've got a lot of moving parts. <S> Here's a short list of some of the considerations that go into airline schedules: airplanes pilots runway capacity (you're competing with other airlines too) <S> gates <S> local ground crews passenger demand for a route <S> In reality, schedules shift as demand does. <S> I've booked Delta tickets 5-6 months in advance and, in a lot of cases <S> , I'll get an email closer to my travel <S> that tells me my schedule has changed, sometimes by hours. <S> Most low cost carriers don't let you book more than 6 months in advance. <S> It just comes with the territory. <S> Incidentally, the cruise industry generally doesn't let you book more than 2 years in advance, and mostly for the same reasons. <A> Aside from scheduling and related topics, calculating the cost two years in advance is hard. <S> Flight costs are driven heavily by fuel costs. <S> Predicting these in advance is hard. <S> As is it hard to predict personnel costs, taxes, airport charges <S> (i.e. it's not even clear whether the city of Berlin will have a new airport in two years or not). <S> The margin per ticket is quite small. <S> British Airways earned €6 per passenger in profits in 2011. <S> With ticket prices in the three digits <S> this is less than 10% margin in a highly competitive market. <S> A small unexpected increase in cost can make this a loss easily. <S> Also for a passenger it is questionable whether it is an good investment to pay money that early. <S> You lose flexibility in your life planning, can't invest the money elsewhere and are under the risk that the airline goes bankrupt. <A> Most of the GDS's built by airlines to handle their inventory and loads just do not have a year field in the date, that's why you can only book a ticket <S> +330 days or so into the future. <S> I'd say this is the number one reason, with these distribution systems changing this may do to. <A> As well as the difficulty scheduling in advance when you don't know what demand will be like, I imagine another concern would be fluctuation in the price of fuel over a longer period. <S> Airlines try to hedge their fuel costs to allow for this, but obviously the longer the period the more risk - if you're offering prices now for flights in 18 months' time, and fuel costs increase significantly in the meantime, you're facing a major financial hit. <A> From a technical point of view, one could certainly design a computer system that would let customers book indefinitely far into the future. <S> You could say, flight 1207 flies Monday, Thursday, and Friday of every week, every year, forever. <S> But is the airline prepared to say that it will fly these same routes on these particular dates and times forever? <S> If the airline lets you buy a ticket for 20 years from now, they would be committing that they will still be offering that flight in 20 years. <S> What if market demands change and they want to reduce the number of flights? <S> Or just reshuffle them some, like make a flight leave a little earlier or later. <S> So they have to put some realistic limit on how long they will commit to this schedule. <S> Someone else on here mentioned that "most" customers book within 100 days of the flight. <S> I haven't seen statistics, but the number of people who know they want to make a certain trip more than a year in advance has got to be very small.
| The issue is that it doesn't make much sense from a scheduling standpoint. The airline can't commit to never, ever dropping or changing a flight.
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Wrong salutation (Ms instead of Mr) in international air ticket My son's Kuwait Airways ticket from India to Italy has the wrong title: 'Ms' instead of 'Mr'. Contacting the airline, they have included a remark in their system to read 'Ms' as 'Mr'. However, as the ticket/boarding pass will still mention 'Ms', will this be an issue at the immigration counter at the airport? <Q> they have included a remark in their system to read 'Ms' as 'Mr'. <S> That's it then, don't worry. <S> And checking for titles on a ticket is not the job of an immigration officer, it is the job of check-in staff and they will see a note by their office. <S> Many airlines do not allow any changes to names after a ticket has been issued but if you request them for such changes due to a mistake they indicate those in remarks for check-in staff. <S> That's exactly what they did for you <S> and that's good enough, don't worry. <S> I have made this mistake multiple times wih different airlines and those remarks have always helped. <S> I've never been questioned about those. <A> There is no issue with this on immigration counter as titles are optional everywhere. <S> You would note that your son's passport doesn't have a title or salutation <S> , that should tell you how important it is to get this right. <S> I would be more worried about the transit through Kuwait. <S> The airport is undergoing construction so I hope your son is able to find seating as the airport gets very crowded. <S> A new temporary terminal and a new airport are both under construction. <S> Relax, and have a safe trip. <A> From personal experience, this absolutely didn't matter for me, when some airline a while ago (can't remember which one now, possibly Emirates or Egypt Air) issued a ticket to me with "Mrs" on it instead of "Mr". <S> I contacted them at the time and they told me not to worry. <S> The name match fully against my passport - and that was sufficient. <S> When you arrive at the passport or customs control, you don't need your boarding pass nor ticket, so this shouldn't matter again. <A> No problem. <S> My wife travelled once on a " Mr" salutation. <S> To Kuwait on a Kuwait airways flight from Cochin airport.
| When I arrived at the airport, nobody even remotely bothered to check the title/salutation.
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Check in to conflicting flights I found myself in an interesting puzzle. Here is the simplified version: I have a flight from A to C, connecting through B. I decide that from B I actually want to go to D, so I buy a separate ticket for that journey*. The B-C and B-D flights are around the same time and with the same airline**. Will there be a problem with checking in to B-D, given that at that point I will already be checked in on their system to the whole trip A-C, including the leg B-C? No luggage is involved. Some extra information:(*) Every leg is relatively short within Europe, on economy fare. In particular, changing the A-C ticket to A-D would likely be pricier.(**) The B-D trip could be done with another airline. Does this change the answer? <Q> No , there won't be any problem. <S> I will note, however, that if you make a habit of buying A-B-C tickets and getting off at B, and give your frequent flyer number every time, the airline will eventually get grumpy. <S> However, doing this once or twice is fine. <A> There might be a big problem with any checked-in bag. <S> If this is all with the same airline, your bag might be checked through to destination C, with no opportunity to retrieve it at the intermediate stop B. <A> This can be interpreted as you cancelling the "B-C" leg, which incurs a change fee (as stated in the contract of carriage). <S> It sounds insane, but airlines want you to pay for not taking a flight that you have already paid for. <S> They can enforce this if they detect it <S> You need enough time. <S> Depending on the airport and airline, you may have to leave the secure area, check in, and then go through security again. <S> In many cases check in closes 1 hour before departure, which may be more than your connection time. <S> Any return flights from C to A would get cancelled by the airline. <A> I would not count on being able to do this with the same airline. <S> Many airlines implement revenue protection systems that can automatically cancel duplicate bookings. <S> Since it's not physically possible to take all the flights you've booked, the airline may detect that and cancel one of your bookings. <S> There may be a higher chance of success if you use different airlines.
| Separate bookings are separate bookings and don't affect each other, even on the same airline. It's unlikely but not impossible that you will get problems at check in.
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Half an hour layover in Vienna between international flights I arrive from an internal flight in Vienna and have half an hour layover in Vienna for my next international flight, booked as one ticket. No other possible flight. Will I make it? If not, then what? <Q> You may be okay: <S> Vienna states a minimum connection time of 25 minutes for some connections. <S> See https://www.viennaairport.com/en/passengers/arrival__departure/transfer <S> The fact that the airline booked you on one ticket is encouraging: it's a legal connection. <S> Rebooking a passenger and/or having to put them in a hotel is expensive for the airlines. <S> If that happens frequently they would increase the connection time and stop selling this type of ticket. <S> Keep in mind that actual schedules are often padded: makes their on-time record look better and reduces delay penalties. <S> A flight where all goes "as planned" arrives significantly earlier than scheduled. <S> This being said: everything needs to go "as planned" and any delay or hiccup will throw you off. <A> If it's a Schengen connection, you're probably fine if there are no delays to the incoming flight. <S> Nevertheless, if you do miss it, just go to the airline desk and they'll rebook you on the next connection. <A> The absolute minimum I ever made it in was 40 minutes and that was with SKIPPING lines and RUNNING like crazy through the airport. <S> (In my experience in those cases my suitcases didn't make it anyways) <S> So you should reach out to your airline (now or at the airport that day) and they will (should !!!) <S> book you on a different flight. <S> You could also do that in Vienna when you actually miss your flight (have done that before), but I recommend getting it done before because it will be less stressful for you! <S> Hope that helped! :) <S> P.S. <S> As of my knowledge; airlines are required to re-book you and give you at least 1 hour to change flights.
| From my experience - you will not make it since you will have to go through additional security again and passport control for your international flight.
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Flight With KLM to Santiago with a stop in Buenos Aires I have a flight with KLM from Amsterdam to Santiago, Chile with a stop in Buenos Aires. I am wondering how this stop affects me. I will not be transferring to another aircraft, this flight simply stops in Buenos Aires then continues to Chile. Do I remain on the plane seated or do I get off and wait in the lobby to reboard again? Is there a special route in the airport that these passengers take if we do have to deboard? Or is it simply following signs to connecting flights just as any other connection flight would be? <Q> You should follow the instructions given to passengers by the crew. <S> Most likely you'll remain inside the aircraft. <A> I've taken a couple of flights where there is a intermediate stop. <S> On one occasion, I was heading to the plane's final destination (St Lucia) and there was an announcement asking us to stay on the plane if this stop (Antigua, IIRC) <S> wasn't your destination. <S> On the return to London, the plane stopped again and more passengers boarded. <S> I don't recall if anybody got off or even if there was an announcement about that. <S> On the other occasion, I was heading to the plane's intermediate stop (Bangkok) and got off there. <S> Other passengers stayed on board and carried on to the plane's final destination (Kaohsiung). <S> On the return, there were already passengers on the plane, but I couldn't tell if they had just boarded earlier than me or had come from the plane's original departure point. <S> On other occasions, I've had to change planes (Buenos Aires is one of these) <S> and of course you get off and follow the connections signs. <A> How long is the stop over? <S> While you wait in the transit hall - they will clean the aircraft, stock up on food, etc.
| Generally what happens is, you will be asked to disembark from the aircraft, wait in the transit hall, then re-embark onto the aircraft.
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Why are airfares getting cheaper or at least we have stable airfares for the last 10 years? In the last ten years I have seen at least stabilty in airfares. How is it possible that before 10 years one had paid (in average) more for travelling than today (my own experience)? I have seen this stabilty also in well-established airlines like Lufthansa or Air France. Is this because that we have today more online travel websites that are taking less commission for each ticket they are selling because they don't need a lot of infrastructure like travel agencies in the old days? <Q> There's deregulation and increase of competition. <S> Carriers now provide simplified service : worse meals, fewer meals, fewer baggage options,paid baggage options, etc, etc. <S> This includes well-establishedairlines. <S> They are no longer obliged to provide that stuff for free, and they actually can't at the price point where they're at. <S> There's also competition : Airlines from Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Quatar work in zero-tax environment, can provide much cheaper flights. <S> Traditional airlines have to cut expenses and/or apply for tax exemption or outright subsidies to their national governments. <S> Money is cheaper now. <S> Deposit rates approach 0%, and loan rates hover slightly above. <S> Even when carriers are based in countries with more inclined currencies, they find ways to borrow at low rates. <S> This means planes leasing is cheaper for them. <S> Airports also figure out other ways of raising money other than putting it in your ticket, such as duty-free shops or shaving some money from rail/bus tickets to the airport. <S> There are economies of scale . <S> When there are twice as many people and twice as many planes, it's slightly cheaper per person and per plane. <S> Internet does matter . <S> 15 years ago airlines dabbled in ripping off customers who bought tickets on their website, showing triple prices to you if they thought you were rich or a business traveller. <S> Today, you would fire e.g. skyscanner and see competitive offerings. <A> While not disagreeing with alamar, I think there's another way of looking at it. <S> The travelling public is incredibly price sensistive. <S> In other words, people really want to fly places, but pretty much everyone will pick the cheapest option whenever they do, outweighing considerations of comfort, convenience, time etc. <S> This means that an airline that offers a flight for $390 will sell lots more tickets than one offering it for $400. <S> Airline profit is all about filling seats (since the marginal cost of flying a full plane over one with an empty seat is pretty much nothing). <S> This means the $400 airline will quickly cut its price, which means the $390 airline will cuts its price, and so on. <S> It also explains why there is a constant reduction in comfort (packing in more seats to a plane) and a switch to additional fees <S> - people choose the $380 flight over the $400 flight, without realizing that the $380 flight involves a $20 baggage fee and a $10 'airport fee'. <S> It's also worth pointing out that while prices are remaining constant, you are getting less for your money in some terms. <S> Once upon a time your flight included a decent amount of leg room, a meal, a free checked bag, the ability to choose seats, and the guarantee that if you bought a ticket you would actually get on the flight. <S> Now the price of your ticket does not include those things. <A> Another factor is the price of oil. <S> Fuel prices are a large cost driver for airlines and in a competitive market price changes are likely to be passed on to customers. <S> If you go to <S> http://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart turn off inflation adjusted, turn off log scale and set the time to 20 years you can see a picture of what has happened to oil prices in actual dollars. <S> If we look at the graph there was a general upward trend until 2015 or so with a peak and crash in 2008. <S> Then there was a sharp drop back in 2015 brining the price back to 2005 or so levels.
| Price sensitivity also explains the low cost airlines exist, which manage to sell tickets no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable their flights.
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How to go from all four Moscow's (DME-SVO-VKO-ZIA) international airports to the city center? What are the best options (cost, time) from all four of Moscow's international airports to the city center with 1 Carry-on bag and 1 checked bag abt. (23 KG) ? <Q> The least stressful is Aeroexpress . <S> It's a non-stop train from the airport to one of the city's railway stations which are in the center. <S> One-way ride is 30 to 40 minutes. <S> It serves Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo. <S> Other possibilities are bus and taxi. <S> Bus may cost less than Aeroexpress but it will bring you to the end metro station and you'll have to change to the metro if you want to reach city center. <S> There is no Aeroexpress to/from Zhukovsky, so the only possibilities are Express-bus and Train+Bus. <A> It is rather expensive, especially if you travel in a group (and hence need several tickets), but runs on time and without any problems. <S> Just check the timetable in advance, as the intervals between successive trains are relatively long (from 30 minutes to 1 hour, and a long break in night). <S> Another option is taxi (better order a taxi through app such as Yandex. <S> Taxi). <S> This is more expensive that Aeroexpress if you travel alone, but can even be cheaper if you travel in a group. <S> However, travel times are often unpredictable due to Moscow traffic. <S> They are very cheap, but they can be slow (due to traffic and/or due to their schedule), and you may find the whole system harder to understand (you should find the needed bus numbers in advance, find where they stop at the airport, check the schedule etc.) <S> Also they will bring you only to a subway station on the outskirts of the city, and you will need to take additional subway ride. <S> Note also that Zhukovsky is a very small airport only recently put into operation <S> , so there is no Aeroexpress, and other transportation options may be limited. <A> I think that a decent option is Uber or Yandex. <S> Taxi app. <S> The caveat here is that you would want to already have local SIM with data plan. <S> If you come with international SIM you can spend on data in the roaming more than on the cab. <S> Most likely, you can pick up a data SIM in the airport.
| There are also regular buses that connect the airport with subway stations. Taxi or Uber; some airports AFAIK even have kiosks to order Yandex. As Neusser has already answered (+1), the simplest way it to take Aeroexpress speed train that connects each of the three main airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo) with stations in Moscow center.
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Can a twenty-year-old bring to the USA alcohol purchased legally in Spain? I overheard a friend asking another friend whether she, being of legal age here in Spain, would have any trouble taking wine purchased here back to the USA where she is not allowed to buy it. The response was merely anecdotal, so I decided to try to find better information. A person over eighteen can legally buy alcohol in Spain. If under 21, can she (USA citizen) bring some back to USA? If not, what are the consequences for the attempt? <Q> Simply, no. <S> If the traveler declares the alcohol, it will be seized as the traveler is not of age to import it. <S> If the traveler is traveling with someone of age, perhaps that person can import it on his behalf, but even that is legally sketchy. <S> It would be best to consume the alcohol abroad, where possession of it is legal. <S> Here is a reference from CBP about this . <A> The fact that you bought something legally somewhere else isn't actually relevant. <S> When you want to bring an item into a country, it's that country's law that applies. <S> Indeed, the law about what you can bring into a country is usually even stricter than the law about what you can buy when you're there. <S> For example, you can legally buy raw meat in Spain and in the US <S> but you can't bring raw meat from either one to the other. <A> Legally, no. <S> In practice yes, provided you are a little lucky and it is under a liter. <S> I successfully did it a few times when I was under 21. <S> In my experience if you are a US citizen, and you do not declare anything, you are likely waved through US customs without an additional check of your bag. <S> This is not a guarantee and depends on the customs agent's mood and view of you. <S> I believe there is possible random check before you receive your bags from baggage claim for smuggled goods and dangerous items. <S> Since you are allowed to bring up to one liter of liquor undeclared a single bottle of wine or hard liquor in a suitcase is not going to raise any eyebrows. <S> The people checking for serious smuggling are not going to waste time checking the age of each person with a single bottle in their bag. <S> It is my understanding <S> if you are caught, customs will simply confiscate the alcohol. <S> You are not violating any customs laws as long as you are under the amount that must be declared. <A> I brought back a bottle of pisco (brandy) from Chile last year. <S> I was 19. <S> Got detained when I arrived back in the states, but after 20 minutes of waiting they let me go. <S> It was really weird <S> and I probably wouldn't do it again, <S> but maybe you'll get lucky too. <S> I said it was for my parents and that seemed like a good enough excuse to them, I guess. <S> Don't tell jeff sessions
| If the traveler does not declare the alcohol, and it is discovered, it will be seized as the traveler is not of age to import it, and will be penalized for smuggling undeclared goods into the United States.
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Why would an aircraft take off earlier than the planned departure time? It happened to me just one time, I don't know how common it is. I wonder why it can happen. I was hanging at duty-free shops before a flight from Germany to Turkey. I heard the last call announcement 40 minutes before the departure time and my name was explicitly mentioned. When I went to the gate, boarding had been completed except me. Normally that airline closes the gate 20 minutes before the departure. The pilot announced that he was talking to the control tower to take off earlier than planned. At the end we couldn't take off earlier, but I didn't understand why they tried to do this. <Q> My retort would be "Why wouldn't they try to do this?". <S> Nobody is likely to be unhappy about arriving earlier than expected. <S> I doubt anybody particularly enjoys waiting in an airport departure lounge and would complain about having their time cut short. <S> So why not try to get everybody on the plane early, depart early and get to your destination early? <S> If nothing else it means a slightly shorter work day for the flight crew. <S> Sometimes this is caused by unexpected slot restrictions at the destination due to oncoming weather. <S> In such situations they calculate the cost vs benefits of an early departure. <S> In this specific case only 1 already-checked-in passenger was missing and was easy to trace. <S> My assumption would be that the last call didn't mean they were about to refuse boarding, just that they only had a few passengers left to board and wanted to try to get them on board. <S> If you'd taken 20 minutes to get to the gate they'd probably have still let you on, but don't count on it and if there is ever an announcement related to your flight don't ignore it just because you still have plenty of time before departure. <S> I should note that none of this is from experience on the airline side of things, just my experience as a traveller <S> so there are likely more informed answers to be had. <A> Short answer, because they can. <S> The airline makes their own schedule and can change it whenever they want. <S> Departing and arriving early has more upside than downside. <S> Keep in mind, you must be at the gate at the original Boarding Time . <S> Meaning, yes, if Boarding Time is 10:15, they can start boarding at 10:00 if they want and make last call at 10:16. <S> If a passenger is not present at 10:16, they can close the flight and depart. <S> Point being, the only time that matters is Boarding Time, especially if the flight is delayed. <S> ** <S> There are two notable exceptions to this: <S> Slot Controlled airports where the destination airport gives departure clearance. <S> This is however relatively easy to get moved up. <S> Gate space at the destination. <S> ** <S> In some cases, such as a remote stand, they load the bus once, at boarding time. <S> So if everyone makes it through by 1016 and you're no where in sight. <S> The bus, and your plane, are gone. <A> Going early when possible can pre-compensate unexpected delays later, which would otherwise delay the plane's next flight. <S> For example, if something breaks down as it's landing and needs unscheduled maintenance. <A> This could also be related to air crew duty hours. <S> Duty hours are limited to ensure the crew is getting enough rest to work safely . <S> The hours logged include time spent sitting in the airport waiting for the departure time or on standby waiting to be assigned to a flight. <S> If part of the crew is near their duty time limit, departing early might prevent calling in a standby person to allow completing the flight legally. <S> If they can get the flight off early enough to land within the limited duty hours then they don't have to cancel a later flight. <A> Weather can be an issue here. <S> If planners are aware of an oncoming storm, it makes sense to get planes out before it hits the airport, or to get planes down a window between weather systems. <S> In the extreme case of this, you have Delta flight 431 , and balls of solid stainless steel from the entire team to put a 737 down the gap between an outer arm of the hurricane and the core. <A> I run into this quite frequently on the YQR-YYZ (Regina, Saskatchewan-Toronto Pearson, Ontario) route. <S> My strong suspicion is that it's due to frequent delays in Toronto. <S> Sometimes due to congestion or weather, you may not be able to land when you expect and can be delayed in the air while awaiting clearance. <S> Also, the taxiing can sometimes take awhile depending on which runway you use to land, so wind direction and congestion (which affect runway choice) can elongate the wheels-on-the-ground-to-plane-at-the-gate time. <S> Of course, sometimes wind conditions can slow you down en route, too. <S> The sooner you're in the air, the more likely you can be at the gate at the scheduled time, irrespective of what's going on at the destination, and when the destination is a busy airport, that's important. <S> (When the departure airport is a quieter one, it seems a lot easier to get into the air early. <S> I've been in the air as much as 20 minutes early flying out of YQR, on jets as large as an Airbus 319.) <S> So... passengers should expect it. <S> And of course, as mentioned by others, arriving at the destination early is never a bad thing, especially if you have a meeting to attend or a connecting flight to board. <S> The worst case scenario is that you're stuck in the destination airport longer and the originating one shorter.
| If it's near the end of a month in which there have been a lot of weather delays, the airline company may be in a situation that there is no one remaining to call in and their next choice is cancelling flights because they can't legally start them. This is rare, but possible. The departure time is an estimated time, but it can change out of circumstance, necessity, and convenience.
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Dual US-Swiss citizen with family emergency and expired US passport I need to travel to the US ASAP, to visit for family matters. However, my US passport has expired recently, so I was planning to visit using my Swiss passport. Would this be a problem? I have always used my US passport when entering the country. It's a time problem. Will border control give me a hard time? <Q> Well you cannot be refused entry to the US, but on the other hand, with the Swiss passport you need an ESTA to board the flight, which will likely be denied as you're a US citizen (but if not, you're good to go - <S> in this case only present the Swiss passport to check-in staff, and only the expired US passport to US border control). <S> So my advice: apply for an ESTA first thing you do and see if it gets approved. <S> Another option is flying to Canada or Mexico and continuing to the US by land. <S> For Canada, besides your Swiss passport (which requires an eTA), you can also use a US birth/citizenship/naturalization certificate (which doesn't require an eTA). <S> Yet another option is to get an emergency passport from the US embassy in Bern. <A> I see only two realistic options to quickly get to the US without a valid US passport: <S> Get an emergency passport in Bern for $110. <S> This is the logical option. <S> Fly to Canada or Mexico using your Swiss passport and then cross the US border by land. <S> Bring all the documentation you can -- expired US passport, birth certificate, other proof of citizenship, Swiss passport, driver licence, other proof of identity. <S> If you can prove that you are a US citizen, US authorities are legally required to let you in. <S> But be warned that they are not required to be nice to you. <S> It is technically illegal, but there is no penalty . <S> So expect a lot of unfriendly questioning if you try this option. <S> Flying to the US without a valid US passport is generally not an option. <S> You are very unlikely to be given a boarding pass if you don't satisfy the US entry requirements. <S> The airline employees can be stricter than the US authorities, because the airline can be fined and is liable for the costs of returning anyone who is not admitted on arrival in the US (and you have no legal "right" to get on their plane). <S> To use your Swiss passport you need an ESTA . <S> I'm not sure if you are eligible for an ESTA as a US citizen; <S> some say it can be done . <S> It's a risky option, but I guess you could try it. <S> Just be absolutely sure that you don't make any false statements on the application. <A> Always keep your passports up-to-date for such emergencies. <S> You never know when you are going to need to travel. <S> You can likely get a rushed US passport renewal, but flying on your Swiss passport and presenting your expired US passport as evidence of your US citizenship is probably the best course of action. <S> Your airline is going to require you to have an ESTA to fly to the US, but as a US citizen, you're not entitled to get one, so be sure to show them your US passport if asked, too. <S> (They have to fly you home for free if you won't.)
| The more recently the US passport has expired, the less trouble you'll have, but you are entitled to US entry - it's just going to be an issue of whether the airline believes you'll be admitted to the US or not.
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Apply for a Bulgaria visa in Canada How do we apply for a Bulgaria visa in Canada? According to the website , it looks like there are no VISA APPLICATION CENTERS (OUTSOURCING CENTERS) in Canada. These are all the application centers listed on the website: RUSSIA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES QATAR OMAN BAHRAIN SAUDI ARABIA TURKEY KAZAHSTAN Then it seems that we have to use the service provided by VFS Global according to that webpage. However, from the VFS Global website, the only thing that I can find is this at the bottom: And Canada is not in the list. What do we do? <Q> Edited: <S> Yes, you need a Visa. <S> Source <S> @Yuchen Zhong (OP): A Bulgaria college of mine got in touch with foreign ministry in Bulgaria and confirmed that we do need a visa to visit Bulgaria. <S> PR status doesn't help. <S> Not True <S> : Bulgaria tourist visa is not required for citizens of China living in Canada for a stay up to 90 days. <S> https://bulgaria.visahq.ca/requirements/china/resident-canada/ <A> A Bulgaria college of mine got in touch with foreign ministry in Bulgaria and confirmed that we do need a visa to visit Bulgaria. <S> PR status doesn't help. <S> However, having any visa from any Schengen country is enough for entering Bulgaria. <A>
| If you're not in one of the listed countries where Bulgaria uses outsourcing centers to receive visa applications, you must file your application directly with the Bulgarian embassy or consulate.
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Will Ukraine let me in if they see I've been in Russia first? I am planning a trip through Russia so I have to get the visa in my own country (Australia). But then I plan to go to Ukraine and I can get a visa upon arrival (if under 15 days). Is there any risk that they would not allow me in? I'm just a tourist although I am of Ukrainian background and have relatives in Ukraine that I will be visiting. <Q> There is no risk. <S> Even Russian citizens are allowed to visit Ukraine, so why would somebody who has visited Russia be not allowed to enter the country?.. <A> The only thing you should keep in mind is that if you'll during your visit to Russian Federation enter the occupied territories, such as the Crimean peninsula or part of Donbas behind so-called separation line from the Russian territory, it'll be considered an illegal border crossing <S> and then you'll be either denied entrance to Ukraine or arrested. <A> You can definitely go to Ukraine after Russia, don't worry. <S> Note that visa upon arrival only for Australians exists at Ukrainian airports only , and not at the land borders, and that you need to fulfil the requirements for the visa-on-arrival. <S> Were you to get a visa before arriving to Ukraine, you could cross (to my repeated experience efficiently and hazel-free) overland from Russia. <S> Do, however, stay clear of the Donbass and Crimea to which the dispute has had some profound implications for travellers .
| Ukraine doesn't practice prohibiting people who have ever visited any other country entrance to its territory.
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How do I convey that I'm ready to pay my tab in Greece? I'm 15 days into a 30-day trip all across Greece (Athens, northern mainland, islands). Everything has been great except the long wait each time we are ready to pay our bill when we're out to eat or for drinks. In America, cleared plates or a credit card/cash sitting on the table is an indication that we are ready to leave. Here it seems they are in no rush at all. We've even waited 20 minutes (they weren't busy). They print the tickets and bring them out immediately but take much longer to take payment. Multiple times we've had to walk to them - which feels a bit rude. My question How do I more clearly indicate that I am ready to pay and leave? or Am I just being an impatient American not attuned to the Mediterranean pace of life? <Q> In many parts of Europe it is considered rude for a restaurant to bring you your bill without being asked. <S> Meals are expected to be relaxed, unhurried affairs, and for a restaurant to bring the bill, or ask for payment, without being asked is seen as them trying to hurry you out. <S> This is more acceptable in Europe than the US, because generally a waiter won't disturb you unless they think you want something. <S> (The endless "is everything alright <S> - how is the food?" <S> questions from North American waiters still faintly irritates some of us European expats.) <S> If language is a problem, then the universal "mime writing something on your hand" usually works. <S> If you are in a hurry, ask for the bill as soon as your last item is brought, and ask to pay as soon as the bill is brought. <S> If you are paying by cash, then leaving the cash on the table is also acceptable <A> In Greece you should just signal to the waiter. <S> Either raise your hand or do what DJClayworth said. <S> It is not uncommon for people to ask for extra plates (fries, tzatziki, feta etc.) <S> , so they will wait for you to tell them when you are ready to pay the bill. <S> (Also in many restaurants when you signal for the bill they bring a dessert too!) <A> That would apply if you were at an a' la carte restaurant. <S> In general we raise our hand & say the bill please (cos as Giorgio said sometimes we raise our hand & order extra dishes etc). <S> The best I've discussed with American friends is the body language, meaning from place to place things can be different from such things to greetings so feel free to ask. <S> Enjoy your holidays :)
| As such it is absolutely expected that you ask for the bill, or if you already have the bill ask to pay it. Have a look at what others are doing - they may be paying at the counter (though this is pretty rare in Europe). Attract the waiter's attention.
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Getting a package from the US while travelling through South Europe I have to send a package from the US to someone travelling along the European Mediterranean coast. One option would be to send it to a hostel, but this could easily fail, or be tortuous for the recipient. I also don't want to use any flight-by-night mail forwarder. This person will be moving, so it has to be predictable when it will arrive (at least within a time-frame of 2-3 days). I wonder whether some official national postal service (equivalent to the USPS) or well-known companies like DHL, FedEx or UPS would accept that a package is sent to one of their branches, to be picked at a concrete day, by showing some ID. I suppose these companies would provide the same quality of service across the world. The choices are Portugal, Spain, France and Italy (by order of preference. Is this feasible? How would such a service be called? <Q> Several shipping companies provide options for shipping to a branch for pickup with ID. <S> You could check which one has a more convenient branch location for you. <S> DHL <S> "Hold for Collection" : <S> At times, it can be easier to have your customer collect shipments from a DHL managed Service Point, rather than attempt a delivery to an uncertain address. <S> Simply request the option at the time of booking and our Customer Service staff at destination will notify the Receiver when the shipment is ready to collect. <S> Shipments are held for up to 7 calendar days free of charge. <S> UPS <S> "Hold for Pickup" : <S> At no additional charge, UPS can hold your package up to five days... <S> UPS will deliver your package to the UPS Customer Center you choose and then call the recipient when the package is ready. <S> Packages are usually available by 8:30 a.m. on the scheduled day of delivery. <S> FedEx <S> "Hold at Location" : <S> Most FedEx locations will hold a package. <S> The Find FedEx Locations tool at fedex.com can help you locate one in seconds. <A> In most of the world, you can have letters and packages sent poste restante , addressed to an individual in care of a particular post office, to be held until the intended recipient visits to pick it up. <S> In English-speaking Canada and the U.S., the service is also called general delivery ; in Spanish-speaking countries it is also known as lista de correos . <S> It is extremely common, for example, for people on lengthy journeys like the Camino de Santiago or the Appalachian Trail, to have supplies sent ahead of them via poste restante . <S> Not every post office in every country will accept poste restante mail, but as there are Universal Postal Union (UPU) guidelines for it, you should be safe with the main post office in larger cities. <S> How long the post office will hold the package, the addressing format, the pickup or storage charge if any, and other procedures will vary by country. <S> You can search on this term on the website of the relevant country's postal service; Wikipedia offers an overview of poste restante as well. <S> Comments by Makyen and others suggest that poste restante mail is not always reliable, especially outside of rich countries. <A> As a Portuguese national, I can tell you to take Portugal out of the equation with such a short time frame. <S> Our bureaucracy is bad. <S> Your package can be hold hostage for up to 20 to 30 days in our customs for inspection. <S> Forget our national postal system. <S> It is not unheard of getting mail a couple of months after it is expedited locally. <S> A couple of years ago, my sister-in-law sent us a package from London in early December, by regular mail, and it arrived in mid/late April. <S> As for Fedex, my experiences in the past are not good with them. <S> DHL seems to work better. <S> Both are costly. <S> I remember to deliver a document out of this country in a short time frame (3-5 days) <S> the best option used to be paying around 150 Euros to have a special DHL service. <S> I would guess they similarly support the equivalent inbound service. <S> If we are not talking about documents but objects, you will surely have to clear customs, and I can pretty much assure you that if you do not have a margin of a month for bureaucracy, you would better forget Portugal.
| You may try your hand with FedEx, UPS, DHL, and other international delivery services, who will hold a letter or package at a local office or with their local partner (which may in fact be the postal service) for a period of time, although their charges will be considerably higher than regular mail. DHL has a stronger presence in Europe.
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Why does Paris have two large train stations next to each other? (Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est) In Paris, there are two large train stations close to each other, but still separate and at a walking distance: "The (train) station of the North" - Gare du Nord, and "The (train) station of the East" - Gare de l'Est. Now, you might think maybe one of them faces North and the others faces East, so that trains don't have to make the turn, or something (I still don't see why the couldn't have two platform areas as part of the same station even in this case) - but they both face North-North-East. So what's the logic of having both these stations? I'm guessing there's some historical, rather than technical, reason for this. Also, is it fair to assume that trains travelling from/to East of Paris will always stop at Est and trains travelling from/to North of Paris will always stop at Nord? <Q> The Gare du Nord was originally the Paris terminus of the Compagnie des chemins de fer <S> du Nord <S> (see Wikipedia ). <S> The Gare de l'Est was originally the Paris terminus of the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Paris à Strasbourg , which became the Compagnie des chemins <S> de fer de l'Est <S> (see also Wikipedia ). <S> These companies, with others, were eventually amalgamated into the SNCF in the 1930s, but by that stage there were already two stations with different railway lines going into each. <S> In general, trains from the Gare du Nord take the Lille line north (to e.g. Picardy, Calais, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne and London) and trains from the Gare de l'Est <S> tend take the Strasbourg and Mulhouse lines east (to e.g. Strasbourg, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Munich, Moscow). <S> However, trains from e.g. Normandy go into Gare Saint-Lazare, and trains from the south-east go into Gare de Lyon. <S> The following map shows where the lines from each of the Paris stations go. <S> The original can be found here , by Wikimedia Commons user Sémhur. <A> In the capital city, because this was the only city served by all the main lines, each network built its own main terminus station. <S> However, it was convenient for passengers if these stations were fairly close together, so the second railway company to be founded built its station close by that of the first. <S> Then it could advertise, as part of its service, the ease of transferring to a train on the rival network. <S> In London, this led to the main three stations - Kings Cross, St Pancras and Euston - all being within 5 minutes walk of each other. <S> Similarly in Paris. <S> It must be remembered that the railways were invented by George Stephenson in England, which had the first railway network, and that other countries - France, Germany - based their systems on successful design features of the original English system. <S> Thus it occurred for historical reasons only, in an age long before the railways passed into the ownership of the State, which didn't occur until after World War Two. <A> If you look at the map, the two stations are separated by not much more than the width of the platforms in each station. <S> There is a hospital dating back to 1653 between the two stations. <S> If that hospital and other buildings had been razed they could have easily joined the two stations into one enormous station, however since the trains from Gare de l'Est all curve to the right and go East, and the trains from Gare du Nord go north it may have made more sense to keep them separate, both from the pov of retaining existing historic buildings and from the point of view of making it easy for passengers. <A> I won’t repeat the very good answers which explain that this is for historic reasons when the two concessions were run by separate companies. <S> However, I would like to point out that: trains for the RER E suburban line come from lines linked to the Gare de l’Est, but end up in underground station Magenta which is actually closer to Gare du Nord (and connected to all the metro, RER, suburban and mainline train platforms of Gare du Nord) <S> there haven been several projects to connect the two stations, though this has never been achieved yet. <S> It’s regularly revived. <S> the CDG Express line will depart from Gare de l’Est, but will use a short connecting track (la virgule, “the comma”) to join tracks coming from Gare du Nord <S> So the separation between the two is not as strict as it may seem. <A> I don't know the specifics related to the situation in Paris, but as Henning mentions in comments, this is not specific to Paris. <S> I guess in most cases the reasons are historic. <S> The two train stations might have grown to being closer to each other.
| The simple answer is that the reasons are exactly the same as in London, where, in the Victorian age, different parts of the railway network were built and owned by different private companies. A couple of things that might or might not be relevant to any case: The stations might have been owned by different companies that wanted to run trains in roughly the same direction.
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Validity of train tickets in Germany I am living in Germany and recently had to buy a one-way ticket to get to Frankfurt. After acquiring the ticket, I was wondering how long the ticket is valid after the purchase. The ticket was for a regional railway. Departure was from Glauburg-Stockheim. It is not mentioned on the ticket itself and I couldn't find anything on the web as well. The only thing that you can see on the ticket, is the time (and date) when it was bought. My questions are: How long is a one-way ticket valid after purchase? How does an inspector know if it has been used? A bit off-topic: Can I ride the tram with the one-way ticket? (I know its possible with day-tickets) This question does not need to be answered for the checkmark <Q> For German regional/local tickets, there are two cases: <S> Valid after stamped. <S> You have to start the journey immediately after stamping. <S> They don’t always show lines/sections/arrows to indicate this, so you have to read it. <S> The ticket should also say something like "Nur gültig ab Entwertung". <S> An indicator can be that the date and time (when the ticket was bought/printed) is not clearly visible. <S> Valid <S> after printed. <S> You have to start the journey immediately. <S> They typically show the date and time of the print in a clearly visible way. <S> They typically say something like "Ticket bereits entwertet". <S> (For longer train journeys, there are tickets that can only be stamped by the train staff. <S> These tickets should show the date range in which they can be used once, and the planned train connection you’re supposed to use.) <S> How long the tickets are valid before stamping (i.e., when buying them far in advance) might depend on the terms of service of the responsible Verkehrsverbund . <S> The terms I know allow you to use the ticket as long as the price is still the same, and if the price changes (only at the beginning of a year), you can use tickets with the old price until the end of March of that year. <S> After that, you can return them and use their value as credit for buying a ticket with the new price. <S> They are either valid for a certain low number of stops ( Kurzstrecke ) or inside a certain region ( Preisstufe , Zone ), and there is generally also a time limit, typically depending on the category (I’m not sure if this time limit is always printed on the ticket, but it should at least be stated on the website or in their terms of service). <S> You should have no problem reaching your destination in this time limit as long as you don’t interrupt the journey. <S> The one-way tickets are only valid for one direction (no round trip), of course, and detours are typically not allowed. <S> In this direction, you can use any kind of public transport which is organized in a Verkehrsverbund (train, bus, tram) and which has local stops, i.e., everything that’s not <S> a long distance train (IC, ICE) and not an intercity bus. <S> If you stay in the time limit, you may interrupt the journey. <A> The specific one-way ticket from the RMV your question is about, has to be purchased directly before the start of the journey and is only valid until you reach your destination without any breaks. <S> This means you are not allowed to purchase them in advance and use them later. <S> There are no stamps or marks on the ticket to prove that it was already used. <S> However the validity of the ticket is determined by the date and time printed on the ticket. <S> Even though I can't give you an exact number of hours, this ticket counts "automatically" as invalid if the time of travel and time of purchase differs too much from the time it would have taken you to reach your destination if you started your journey right after the purchase. <S> According to the transport regulations it is also not allowed to hand the ticket to another person after you reached your destination. <S> If you travel with such a one-way ticket from another person you do it at your own risk of having to pay an increased transport charge of currently 60 EUR. <S> On the ticket the destination tariff area is printed, probably in your case for Frankfurt (Main) it is 5000. <S> This area basically covers the city of Frankfurt and you can also use the trams to reach your destination within this area. <S> For a detailed plan of the tariff area you can download a map . <A> The other answers (+1) pointed me towards the answer to your questions <S> but I have the feeling they did not fully articulate what this answer is. <S> The key is that, in many cases, tickets have to used immediately. <S> That's why they don't need an explicit duration of validity like tickets <S> have in many other places. <S> They are valid for the duration of the next connection between your point of origin and your destination (in practice possibly with some leeway regarding which exact train or connection you are using?) <S> Train guards therefore do not need to determine whether the ticket has already been used as the opportunities for fraud are very limited. <S> Even allowing for a comfortable time buffer or allowing you to take the second or third available connection, it would be very difficult to squeeze an additional return trip or meaningful intermediate stop. <S> A side effect is that it is not possible to buy a one-way ticket in advance, as explained in the link provided by @tallistroan.
| How long the tickets are valid after stamping/printing depends on the ticket category.
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Aren't there road signs that show populations of towns in the UK? I had a trip from Heathrow Airport to Swindon and later turned back to the airport via the M4. During the trip I haven't noticed any signs that show populations of towns. When I searched for London on the internet, the results were mostly for a city in Canada. Did I miss the road signs or aren't there any signs? <Q> I have lived in five countries including the UK and never seen such a sign in real life. <S> I only know them from American movies, where I've always semi-felt they were some sort of Wild West joke or something, like when they reduce the number by one after a lynching. <S> I can't conceive of why the population would be posted outside a town, rather than its GDP, area in hectares, name of its mayor, or some other random datum. <A> Most villages/towns/cities have signs saying "Welcome to {name of village/town/city} ", but they (almost exclusively) don't have populations on them in the UK. <S> When you drive along motorways, like the M4, you don't go into any villages/towns/ cities, so you don't see the "Welcome to {name of village/town/city} " signs. <S> You do see "Welcome to {name of county} " though. <S> London, UK, possibly doesn't have these signs anyway - London's too big. <S> I expected to find signs to the boroughs and/or the towns and villages that have been absorbed into Greater London, but I didn't find anything for "Welcome to Westminster sign" on google images, or for Hackney or Brixton either. <S> Possibly only smaller towns and villages bother with the signs. <S> I did find <S> this for Tolworth, an area of the Kingston-upon-Thames borough. <A> At least one existed: one was erected in Trowbridge in 1999, and then replaced later. <S> But they are exceedingly rare, and I'm not entirely sure that these count as 'road signs'. <S> Source: Geograph <A> According to a brief google search (and from personally visiting several countries on different continents), the population number on the welcome sign seems to be a North American custom. <S> I've never seen this anywhere else. <S> So, to answer your question, there most likely are no such signs, you didn't miss them. <A> You didn't miss them - they don't exist here, or indeed almost anywhere outside of the USA as far as I've seen. <S> Also, our councils can hardly manage to fill potholes, posting optional factoids on signs is just extravagance. <A> What they do quite often have, however, is "twinned with", showing the other towns and cities they are partnered with for cultural exchange reasons - as shown on the bottom of the Trowbridge sign in @Dragon's post <A> In the UK, we have no local registration of one's residence. <S> You can move somewhere and the only thing the council knows about a change in residence, is one name on the council tax bill, a new kid in a school, new benefit claim, etc. <S> There is no need to register other family members or lodgers. <S> The only reasonably reliable count of population is every 10 years when the census is taken. <S> The rest of the time, it would be a costly hassle for councils to maintain such a sign.
| As others have said, town signs in the UK don't have the population on.
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Using a non-US passport to travel domestically for a US citizen, as my US passport has expired I am a US-(another country) dual citizen currently living in the States. The only forms of ID I have right now are the US and non-US passports. Naturally, the latter has no US visa in it. I need to renew my US passport right now (urgently), so I will not have my US passport for the next month. I also need to fly domestically during that time. Would I be able to use my non-US passport as ID in the airport, or would they be concerned with the lack of a visa in it? I do not have a US driver's license or state ID to use as an alternative. <Q> Note: this is based on what I have read online, I don't have personal experiance. <S> AIUI <S> TSA is not immigration. <S> They would not normally have a reason to be interested in immigration status and because of the way US visa's work not having a current visa does not imply a forigner doesn't have a valid immigration status. <S> However ICE can do random checks of people near international borders (including airports) even if they were not crossing the border. <S> So I would suggest that you make a copy of the ID page of your US passport before sending it in for renewal and carry it with you. <A> I can report from personal experience: I do this all the time with my non-US passport, which has no US visas or even entry stamps because I am, like you, a dual citizen. <S> Nobody has ever paid the slightest attention to my immigration status. <S> If someone does ask you about your immigration status (for example, if you encounter US Border Patrol in McAllen or Brownsville, Texas) you should of course tell them that you are (also) a US citizen. <S> They may detain you for further investigation, but you can't get in trouble with them for having only your foreign passport. <S> Peter Green's suggestion of carrying a copy of your passport is a good one, especially if you are going somewhere with significant Border Patrol activity. <S> A photocopy of a passport is not a secure document, of course, but it could well tip the balance for a Border Patrol officer who is deciding between believing your claim of US citizenship and taking you to down the station to investigate more thoroughly. <A> I have often gone through TSA showing only my UK passport. <S> It does not have a visa, because I am a US permanent resident. <S> Moreover, TSA does not look for visas. <S> I hand them the passport open at the page that has my name, photo etc., and that is all they look at. <A> You should only need to have a government-issue photo ID to get through TSA for domestic travel (ie. <S> driver's license, passport (any country), etc). <S> But only for domestic travel. <S> If you attempt to use a non-US passport (either for exit or entry to the US), then you run the risk that you are entering or exiting the USA under a false pretense. <S> This could result in inability to travel on that trip that you are doing it, or on future travel. <S> It's best to have your US passport available and up to date at all times. <S> Most processing centers have expedited service (for a fee) that should help. <S> There are a lot of third-party agents offering to do this, but from personal experience, I would avoid them. <S> I've had situations where an expired passport was only discovered the day of travel with my family <S> and I had to send them ahead and drive to a processing center (Tucson) and get it done. <S> But I did manage to get it same day, pleading my case, and although it cost me dearly with airline re-ticketing, I was able to board my international flight about a week later and meet my family at the international destination. <S> From personal experience, an expired US passport should be avoided where possible. <S> It's not that big a deal to renew <S> and you should do this at least 6 months before any international departure. <S> Note that some airlines or airport exit points will not let you board a flight either to the US or from the US if you have less than 6 months expiration on your passport, so do this within 12 months of its expiration to avoid any issues.
| A foreign passport is on the official list of acceptable ID for the TSA.
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How to get from Stansted to Cambridge on public transport? Could you please tell me what the best way to reach Cambridge is, when you land at Stansted airport? I suppose train is a good solution. Is it necessary to book in advance on the internet? Which company would you advise me? Will it be much more expensive if I buy it when I'm at the station? Do you think that coaches are a better solution? Thank you for your help! <Q> There are direct train connections between Stansted Airport and Cambridge, but at some times it is quicker to take a local train towards London and change at Bishops Stortford or Stansted Mountfitchet. <S> Check www.nationalrail.co.uk in advance, or when you get out from the baggage claim if you have a mobile device with a data plan that works in the UK. <S> The trip will take between 30 and 45 minutes, and most times of day you shouldn't need to wait more than half an hour for the train. <S> A ticket costs £10.40, and for this relation it does not get cheaper by buying in advance. <S> The same ticket will be valid whether you catch a direct train or one with a change, so you don't need to know which train you will manage to catch when you buy a ticket at the machine. <S> Most of the trains are operated by Greater Anglia, but one train per hour is run by CrossCountry. <S> The ordinary tickets you buy from the Greater Anglia ticket machines at the station are valid on CrossCountry too. <A> The train would normally be the best option, being direct and taking 30 minutes. <S> Another option which might be cheaper, or if there is engineering works going on, is the National Express 727 service, which is direct and takes around 45 minutes. <S> It doesn't matter which company you use to book the ticket with as they charge the same fares, however some charge additional fees. <S> If you use Southern Railway - https://www.southernrailway.com/tickets they don't charge any fees. <S> A flexible single (use anytime that day), is £10.40. <A> The cheapest ones I know are A1CabCo ( prices : currently £46.50 STN to Cambridge) and CamCab (£50, although not reported here ), but there are others. <S> Booking via telephone 24 hours in advance is advisable. <S> Be sure to ask what payment methods are allowed: it's usually by cash or by card over the phone.
| As for booking the train, in general, it is cheaper to book in advance, but not in this case. If neither the train nor the bus are an option, e.g. because it's early in the morning (the last night bus is at 2.30am, while trains stop two hours earlier), different companies offer taxi services to and from Cambridge for around £50.
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Travelling to Mexico from the UK with a Polish passport My boyfriend and I have booked a holiday to Mexico. However, he has a Polish passport and I've been unable to find out if he'll need a visa or not. Any help on the matter will be greatly appreciated. I just want to make sure we are all prepared. <Q> Here is the Mexican government's list of countries that don't require a visa for Mexico , when entering as a tourist or other visitor without work permission. <S> It includes Poland ("Polonia"). <A> Per Timatic, the database used by airport check-in staff: Visa required, except for Nationals of Poland with a normal passport for a maximum stay of 180 days <S> So no, he does not need a visa, and this is true for all EU/EFTA citizens <A> From Polish MFA travel guide (in Polish) <S> : <S> No visa is required for Polish citizens in the case of tourist, private or business stays not exceeding 180 days.
| He doesn't need a visa when travelling for up to 180 days.
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Does my wife, who is accompanying me to a conference in Australia, need a separate visa application? I am from India. I have been invited to a conference in AI to be held in Australia this year. I want my wife to accompany me during the trip, since we wish to tour Australia as well during the same period. (We have been married for only 5 months and this will be our first long trip together.) As I understand, I need to apply for a business visitor visa, while my wife needs to apply for a tourist visitor visa. Should we apply in a single application or separately? Moreover, I am a scientist, while my wife is not working currently. My trip is completely sponsored by my company, whereas I will be paying for my wife's trip. What will be the best way to present my case to the visa officer? <Q> The relevant page for the visitor (subclass 600) visa on the Department's website (once you have provided your details) provides the following under the Visa applicants tab: Including family in your application Family members who want to travel to Australia with you must lodge separate visa applications. <S> You cannot include them in your application. <S> To link your family’s online applications together, create a group in ImmiAccount in the ‘Manage Groups’ tab and include the Group ID and name in each person’s application. <A> Sharing the perspective of someone who sometimes speaks at conferences. <S> Talk to your conference organizers <S> The best thing to do would be to reach out to the conference organizers. <S> They are physically in Australia and if it's anything like conferences I've attended <S> they're well versed in how to deal with visas. <S> Some larger conferences I've attended even work with law firms and would happily speak to an immigration lawyer for you if things get problematic. <S> We don't know all the nuances <S> There might be nuances in Australian immigration law with relation to your field (in this case AI). <S> People on this site are likely not aware of those. <S> Your conference organizers probably know about these if they exist and would love to make sure you have a smooth journey. <S> Conferences generally really like to make sure that speakers are happy. <S> If you can't reach them <S> A good second option would be your advisor (in academia) or boss (if working for a company in the field). <S> If you can't get help from them <S> Large open source projects you're involved in are a good third option. <S> For example Node, which I contribute to has a travel fund and could also help with legal advice. <A> Check your own visa requirements first. <S> Conferences and events on the Australian Government's website is a good starting point with expandable subheadings. <S> The "Event organisers and participants" section indicates that if you are an attendee but not a paid participant/speaker, you may be eligible to attend on a visitor's visa. <S> If you are a participant, however, you may need a Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408). <S> The "International Event Coordinator Network" (IECN) states that the IECN provides free advice to event organisers. <S> As recommended by Benjamin Gruenbaum in his answer, contact the conference organiser to take advantage of this. <S> The visa finder on the same site site suggests your wife may need a tourist (600) visa. <S> The visa finder does not guarantee that the visa it suggests is the correct one under all cirumstances - it's just a search. <S> K2moo4's answer covers means of linking your family's applications together. <S> Note <S> I am not a lawyer and the Home Affairs' website <S> does not guarantee that information obtained from it is always applicable. <S> Please attempt to confirm independently (e.g. with the organiser) that you are applying for the correct visas.
| Family members who are accompanying Business Visitors and are not themselves intending to engage in business visitor activities while in Australia should apply for the Tourist stream.
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Finding flights leaving from a given gate today Is there a way to lookup online all flights that departed from a given gate at a given airport on a given day (say, today)? For example, suppose I would like to know which flights departed from gate 28 at SJC this morning. <Q> A significant part of gates get reassigned all day long, for various reasons. <S> Also, many airports keep international departure gates intentionally unpublished, for security reasons; only cleared passengers of those flights can see them on the monitors inside the international area. <S> So looking at that for the future is probably 1 in 3 wrong or inaccessible; looking at it for the past probably correct but useless. <S> I am not aware if this is published anywhere; you could try to search on flightaware.com or similar websites. <A> The flight status page of the airport gives you some data on gate usage: https://www.flysanjose.com/flight-status <S> However, it's only a 4 hour rolling window and there is no history. <A> The format that this information is in also makes it extremely time-consuming to use and only worth the effort in extreme cases. <S> I'm talking about recordings of Air Traffic Control ("ATC") services that are available on sites like liveatc.net . <S> Generally speaking, departing aircraft will have to call ATC on the relevant ground frequency to request permission to push-back and start their taxi. <S> In these radio requests, the pilot would normally inform ATC of their gate (or stand) number. <S> Hence, by listening to the recordings of the relevant frequency, you could piece together a list of flights that departed from any given gate. <S> If trying to do this, one thing to watch out for is that, at some airports the numbering of the gates that passengers see is different from the numbering used for aircraft movements. <S> e.g. passenger Gate A10 at London Heathrow Terminal 5 is used for busing passengers to aircraft parked on remote (i.e. non-airbridge) stands with numbers 570 <S> +. <S> For your example, liveatc.net has its page on SJC here and their archives of the Ground frequency here . <S> You can pick any date/time in the last 30 days to listen to. <S> (To save yourself listening to hours of silence, do note that times are in UTC not PDT!)
| For many airports this information is available online but for only a limited period.
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Time necessary for making a connection flying Easyjet from Bristol, UK to Amsterdam and connecting on Delta Airlines to Detroit, MI, US How much time should I allow for attempting to make a connecting flight departing Bristol, UK on Easyjet and making my connecting flight on Delta Airlines to Detroit, MI, USA at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport? I would have approximately one hour and ten minutes should I attempt to connect with the earliest possible connecting flight with Delta. If I do not make that connection, I would have at least an additional two and a half hour wait for the next available flight. What do you think my chances are of making that first connection? <Q> This is a bad plan. <S> EasyJet and Delta do not interline, so you'd be purchasing two separate tickets. <S> When you do this, you are responsible for arranging your own connection, not the airlines. <S> If you have checked baggage, you'll have to go through immigration, baggage claim, and customs, then go to the Delta counter and check them in before proceeding through security and exit immigration. <S> Since the check-in counter and boarding door close before the departure time, this is not practical to do in 1:10 even if everything is on time. <S> Because you've arranged your own connection, Delta is not responsible if you miss your flight (even if the easyJet flight is delayed) and could require you to pay a considerable amount of money for a ticket on a later flight and/or incur the costs of a lengthy delay. <S> Since you are, as your username notes, a "first time traveler in Europe," I'd book this all on one ticket with another airline, even if it costs more, so you don't have to worry about your connection. <S> If you must have two separate tickets, I'd allow several hours to give yourself a cushion for at least some delays; you could consider giving yourself a very long layover and taking the train into Amsterdam for a look-around, as it's a fast and easy trip into the city. <A> EasyJet does not do connections and does not do 'one ticket' with other airlines or even their own. <S> So you are on your own if the EasyJet flight is delayed. <S> I have flown a few times on this route in the last few years and my record of delays runs from nothing to almost 3 hours. <S> With 2 out of 6 journeys with a delay of two to almost three hours. <S> One time I had an hour wait to pass through passport control in Amsterdam, just because it was busy <S> and there were problems with the automated passport control system. <S> Based on that I would not book an ongoing flight with 3 hours or less in Amsterdam. <S> If you can, consider the KLM flights from Bristol, as that company does do 'one ticket' or 'guarantied connection' and you can stay airside in Amsterdam when you have arranged your right tickets. <S> So it depends on how important your ongoing journey is. <S> Or get a single ticket Bristol - Detroit with KLM and Delta. <A> You have no chance whatsoever of making that connection. <S> Delta will close check-in for the Detroit flight an hour before departure <S> so, if your EasyJet flight is on time, you will have ten minutes to get through immigration, collect your bags and check them in again. <S> In ten minutes, I doubt you'll manage more than getting to the immigration queue. <S> You mention that, if you miss your connection, there's another flight in two-and-a-half hours. <S> That honestly doesn't help you very much at all. <S> First, that flight is quite likely to be completely full. <S> Second, even if it isn't, you'll have to pay to change your ticket. <S> It is your responsibility to arrive at the airport on time and if you fail to do that, the airline is under no obligation to put you on another flight for free. <S> As far as the airline (in this case, Delta but this applies whenever you have a flight on a separate ticket) is concerned, another airline's plane being late is just the same as the train being late or you setting off too late in your car. <S> If you haven't already bought these tickets, I strongly recommend that you change your plans. <S> Buy one ticket that covers your whole journey. <S> In that case, you must get to the first airport on time <S> but, then, if a flight on that ticket is delayed, they will put you on the next available flight because it was their fault you missed the connection, rather than yours. <S> Furthermore, with one ticket, your bags will automatically be checked through to your destination and you won't have to go through immigration at Amsterdam. <S> If you have already bought the ticket from Amsterdam to Detroit, you need to allow much more than an hour for your connection. <S> I would allow at least three hours: you're recommended to check in at least two hours before departure and this allows an extra hour in case your incoming flight is delayed.
| If you have to fly EasyJet, consider to fly to Amsterdam a day ahead of time.
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Does an Indian citizen need a visa to visit Trinidad? Does an Indian citizen, living in Canada on a student permit, need a visa to visit Trinidad for a holiday? <Q> NO, you don't need a visa. <S> Source: <S> https://klm.traveldoc.aero <A> Make sure to also examine the visa requirements, if any, of any intermediate countries you'll land in while on your way to and from Trinidad. <S> You may need a transit visa for particular intermediate countries or airports. <A> Trinidad and Tobago (TT) <S> Visa required. <S> Visa Exemptions: … Nationals of Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India , Israel, Japan, Korea (Rep.), Nicaragua, Peru, Russian Fed. <S> , Turkey, USA, Uruguay and Venezuela for a maximum stay of 90 days. … <S> Warning: <S> - Visitors must hold return/onward ticket
| According to Timatic, the system airlines use to determine whether you can be admitted to a country or not, you do not need a visa for Trinidad itself when traveling on an Indian passport.
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Traveling with friend/roommate, do we go through Immigration separately or together? I will be traveling to Thailand and Japan with my friend/roommate. We booked our tickets together. My question is, when going through Immigration and Customs at our destination, do we go through together as a 'single family' or is it okay to go through separately? We live in the same apartment, but we are not related. Another question (I'm just curious), the Immigration and Customs officers, would they be able to know if we booked our tickets together or is that information not available to them? <Q> If airport staff directs you to separate lines, just go with it. <S> As to whether they know you're travelling together, maybe, maybe not, but it doesn't matter. <S> There's nothing at all unusual about friends travelling together. <S> Important point, if you're asked if you are travelling with someone, don't lie . <S> Just say yes and if asked, point out your friend. <A> When I travel together with someone (whether my mum or a friend), it's always been natural for us to approach together, including in the UK, France (including Guadeloupe and Martinique), Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Bosnia, Macedonia, Turkey, North Cyprus and Georgia (in fact I will often hold both of our documents). <S> So far no one has ever given us grief for that. <S> However, anecdotal evidence suggests officers may not allow it if you aren't family, but unless you're in an ultra-sensitive country like the US, where you risk getting sent back over the slightest error, the worst thing that can happen is they ask one person to back off while the other one is processed. <S> If you absolutely don't want that to happen, stay together in the queue, try talking to each other so the officers realise you're together, but let one approach the officer first, and if asked about the other person, point to the other person. <S> the Immigration and Customs officers, would they be able to know if we booked our tickets together or is that information not available to them? <S> In some advanced countries like the US, they may know once they scan your documents, because of advance passenger information. <S> In general, though, no. <A> It depends much more on the place you are travelling to than on your relationship status. <S> On my last trip to Russia, for example, that customs officers told us clearly that the signs "approach individually" also apply to married couples. <S> Anyway you will have separate visas and passports. <S> For Thailand approaching together might work, for Japan <S> I dimly remember the same as for Russia above was true, but it's been 10+ years since I travelled there. <A> We always approach separately because it is faster. <S> However, after landing in Japan (Tokyo-Narita), my girlfriend came to the officer and he asked if we had traveled together, then he prompted me to go, so we went through immigration at the same time. <S> Japan immigration is very professional and helpful, just asking about the purpose of a visit and sometimes inspecting luggage. <A> Since you are not going to the US, I wouldn't sweat it, though I would expect the Japanese to be a bit alert, especially if you are younger, since you are coming from a country that is known as a source for drugs. <S> Sometimes they want people "traveling together" to approach together, sometimes only family, sometimes only individuals. <S> If this is a typical vacation trip, then all should go very smoothly and the Thai and Japanese officials are always very polite. <S> If your traveling companion is behind you there will be no problem. <S> There may be cases where people pretend not to know each other and go through separately, so I would avoid the appearance of that. <S> As to US, here is a typical experience from this site: <S> I've entered the US from Canada (@ <S> YVR pre-clearance) a few times with friends, and I've had the officer get angry with me for both situations. <S> 1) Walk up alone, friend stands behind red line: (Officer looks up at friend standing behind red line): <S> "Are you two traveling together?" <S> "Yes, sir." <S> "Then why ISN'T HE UP HERE WITH YOU!?!?!" <S> (Friend hustles forward.) <S> 2) <S> Another time, walk up together, friend stands next to me. <S> "Are you two a family (sneer)?" <S> "No, Sir." <S> "The GET BACK BEHIND THE RED LINE!"
| I can't see any problem with going separately: both of us had a form with address of hotel we planned to stay (actually, it was Airbnb apartment), passport and a ticket. While you may be close, you are not a family unit and should approach separately. In general, approaching seperately is always the safe option.
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What is minimum information required to identify if two people will be on the same flight? I have a set of users and their itinerary details. I want to figure out who all will be sharing a common flight. I do not want to rely too much on the "Departure time" as people could have entered an approximate time into the system. How can I figure this out with minimal information? Initially, I thought two people with the same flight number and same departure date would be on the same flight. But the same flight can be used again on the same day. Would the combination of "Flight no + departure date + departure city" be enough to identify a unique flight itinerary? What would be optimal information to identify this? I also have to keep in mind that there could be people with multiple flights in their itinerary and if at least one flight is common with another passenger, that has to be shown too. <Q> To fully answer this question you need the administrative operating carrier and flight number, scheduled departure date, departure airport, stops and arrival airport. <S> If all of these are the same the flight will be shared. <S> You specifically need the administrative operating carrier as there may be multiple marketing carriers for a single flight, so if you look at the marketing carrier and flight number you may get false negatives. <S> There are flights in Alaska with 6-7 stops, with people getting off and on at each stop. <S> This also means that the question is not yes <S> /no, <S> but yes/no/partially. <S> You suggest that people are going to be entering information into the system. <S> Most people will only know their marketing carrier and flight number and not the administrative operating carrier. <S> As such, you may have to source a timetables dataset to map marketing flight numbers to administrative operating flight numbers. <A> I once flew from Auckland International to Great Barrier Island, and upon checking in different passengers were given different coloured boarding cards (as far as I know each group was given only one colour). <S> These corresponded to different aircraft that we would be travelling on, even though we had nominally the same flight number, departure time, departure airport, and destination airport. <S> So, I do not think there is a general answer to your question. <A> You've really got two separate questions here - one of which is potentially a fit for here ( <S> although Aviation. <S> SE might be a better fit). <S> The other belongs on one of the more computer science SE sites... <S> Firstly, around the minimum set needed to know if two people are on the same flight. <S> With some very corner case exceptions (eg, very small aircraft flights that run "on-demand" rather than being on a true schedule), the combination of flight number, departure city, and scheduled departure date will give you a unique combination. <S> (I specifically call out scheduled departure date, as the actual departure date could change due to a delay, at which point these details will not be unique). <S> The need for the flight number and departure date is hopefully obvious. <S> The need for the departure city is required because, as you called out, flight numbers can be reused even on the same day. <S> With some very (very!) <S> small airlines there may still be conflicts, but these will be at least extremely rare, and short of adding in schedule departure time (which you've said you don't want to do) will generally not be something you can resolve. <S> The second part of your question around how to actually detect two people are on a common flight, given the information above, is a question for another site in the StackExchange network, not this one. <A> Airlines will keep flight numbers unique per day and departure airport (not city - some cities have multiple airports). <S> The ATC system can't handle two planes in the air at the same time with the same flight number. <S> So you need to look at the combination of date-flight #-departure airport. <S> This assumes that flight# includes the airline code.
| The arrival and destination airport are needed to determine whether the two itineraries overlap on the flight number, as a flight number may consist of multiple stops, where people are sold some subset of the stops.
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Can I take a soldering station on a plane? I am going to Australia to study for a Master's. I am an electrical engineer and I am thinking about taking my tools like a soldering station, screw drivers, etc along but I wonder if it will be allowed on a plane. I will be carrying one big suitcase for everything and a small backpack for minor items. Should I keep that soldering station in the big suitcase? Should I take it along? <Q> There is no reason to bring it into the cabin (they're not fragile, valuable or useful in-flight) so just don't do it. <S> Some overzealous person might think you'll stick in a sharp point and stab someone or plug it into your in-seat power and proceed to employ thermal-rectal cryptanalysis techniques. <S> Personal experience- <S> I had bringing on on-board questioned (but not prohibited, but it hung on opinion) even before 9/11, and things have tightened up infinitely since then. <S> Of course butane or battery-powered soldering irons are entirely another matter. <A> I have, on occasion, had sharp-looking tools (regardless of whether they were actually sharp) taken off me at security. <S> If you're checking a bag, put it in your checked bag. <S> If you're not, at least unscrew the tip from the iron, so it looks less stabby. <S> I'm not aware of any country with travel restrictions that'd prevent you from taking a soldering station in a checked bag. <A> As others have said, these belong in checked baggage, not in-cabin. <S> You might want to prepare for questions at customs about your intent. <S> One aspect would be: are these occupational tools, and do you intend to seek enmployment here? <S> Another might be, are these bomb-making tools? <S> Either way, I'd be prepared to convince them that you'll be using these things strictly in a harmless hobby or educational role. <A> Depending on how much stuff you are taking/how long you are spending in Australia, it might make more sense to box your equipment and other personal items that you won't need while travelling and ship them to your destination. <S> This might then allow you to get by with one carry-on item which is more convenient for airline terminal transfers, buses/cabs, or any amount of walking. <S> Also, if you happen to be booked on an airline that charges for checked-in bags, shipping your stuff might make financial sense as well.
| Put it in the checked bag and you should be fine, assuming it's a conventional mains-powered soldering station.
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Is my European smartphone already unlocked? I have a smartphone bought at home (Europe) and I changed providers during the time I've had it. This meant I went to my new provider, asked to become a customer. They gave me a new SIM card (with number transfer, so I kept my old number). I put it into my phone, they activated it, it worked. Both old and new providers operate in the same country. At that time, I hadn't heard about locked and unlocked phones. Now that I'm planning on a trip outside of Europe (to the US) and want to buy a SIM card there, I'm reading everywhere that your phone has to be unlocked or it won't work with another carrier. Does my previous experience mean my phone is already unlocked? Or is this unlocking something specifically for changing countries? <Q> There are two types of locks: A "SIM lock" that restricts which SIM cards from which provider you can use. <S> A "Region lock" that restricts in which regions your phone can be (initially) used. <S> For the former, you should check with your provider. <S> (See also the answer by Sebastiaan van den Broek) <S> The second type of lock is cell phone manufacturer-specific. <S> For example, Samsung build such a lock into their phone such that you need to use it with a local SIM card in the geographic region stated on the phone cardboard box for at least 5 minutes of talk time before it can be used in another region. <S> Shouldn't be a problem for you either. <A> You should take at your country’s legislation at for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock <S> and then if necessary check it with your provider. <S> Europe or the EU does not have a law against this such as for example Singapore, but in my experience it’s not a common practice to sell locked phones anymore. <S> Still best to find out before you need the phone elsewhere though. <A> Is my European smartphone already unlocked? <S> Yes. <S> Most likely. <S> The only commonplace form of locking that I am aware of that is used by vendors of phones in Europe <S> is locking the handset to SIMs issued by a specific phone-network when that network subsidises the initial cost of the phone. <S> When purchasing a phone you usually have a choice of monthly-tariff, pay-as-you-go (UK term) or SIM-free. <S> The SIM-free option is always unlocked in my experience. <S> Note that there are also various "locks" that the end-user can enable on the phone hardware and/or separately in the SIM - basically a kind of password. <S> These are not relevant. <S> I changed providers <S> When you change network providers in the EU (or at least in the UK), the phone must be in an unlocked state. <S> If it was previously locked, you typically pay the existing provider an unlocking fee - after which the phone can be used with any provider's SIM. <S> You might not need to unlock the phone, if you change between providers that use the same underlying network, for example when there is one or more mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) using the same underlying network . <S> E.g. changing SIM from one provided by a network operator to an MVNO using their network or between two MVNOs using the same network. <S> I've never had any problem with a phone bought in the UK used in other parts of the planet. <S> There can be problems with frequencies supported - <S> in the early days you paid a premium for tri-band or quad-band GSM phones that would work in the USA (there were basically two types of phone, ones that worked worldwide except the USA and ones that worked in the USA). <S> Nowadays the situation is far more complicated. <S> I just wing it <S> , I figure I can always buy a cheap phone at the other end if things don't work out.
| If you once changed to a different company, then most likely you do not have a SIM lock.
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Can I leave the airport if I am traveling though the US from the UK? I'm staying over in New York for 4 hours before my next flight that lands again in America. If I do my immigration at New York, can I leave the airport for example to get food, and then just come back 3 hours later and wait for my next flight? Or do I need to wait in the airport until my final flight? <Q> Yes, you will pass through immigration and customs at your first point of entry when your plane lands in New York. <S> At that point, you have entered the US and you may go wherever you like. <S> You will probably find, however, that 4 hours isn't that long for a domestic connection. <S> The New York airports are always busy, and you may be waiting for some time to pass through the border checkpoint. <S> Then getting anywhere from the airport takes time, no matter how you choose to travel. <S> You will definitely not have 3 hours spare to wander around. <S> There are plenty of options for food inside the airport for people in exactly the same situation as you. <A> In theory, yes, though you may not have enough time. <S> if I do my immigration at New York <S> You have no choice about that; you will do immigration there. <S> You'll also need to claim your checked bags, if any, clear customs, and recheck the bags, after which you'll need to pass through TSA security before reaching your gate. <S> All of this could easily take a couple of hours. <S> It's unlikely to take much less than one. <S> Even reaching the gate to get off the plane can take 30 or 45 minutes at JFK; such times are not at all unusual, and if something exceptional is happening then it can be longer. <S> Once you've rechecked your bag, nothing keeps you from leaving the airport, but do check the security line to see how long it is before you make any decisions. <S> It takes an hour or more to get to Manhattan, so that's almost certain to be out of the question. <S> If you're arriving at JFK, you might take the A train to the Rockaways and have a stroll on the beach. <S> If you're arriving at Newark, there's not much to do as far as I'm aware. <A> You will not however, need to clear customs and immigration. <S> You do that at your first port of entry. <A> However, there's nowhere to go <S> that's close enough to the airport that you could get there, do something, and get back to the airport in time to catch your connecting flight. <A> You can leave the airport, but four hours is not that much time, especially as you will need to go through immigration and security (for your connecting flight) in that time. <S> Also, bear in mind that you will need to obtain a visa before flying to New York , unless you qualify for a wavier (I don't know the conditions on this, but all my colleagues from the UK here need to have a visa just to pass through the US between the UK and Mexico).
| As the other answers say, you must go through immigration at your point of entry and you can leave the airport in principle . You will be able to leave and return again, but bear in mind, you will need to clear security again.
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Cheapest option to exchange money in Japan I will be travelling from Europe to Japan and considering what's the best way to get Japanese yen: Bring EUR from home country and exchange in Japan - airport or other place? Use ATM in Japan - how much does it charge? Pay by credit card - availability to use such option? Additional fees? <Q> Best Methods of Exchanging Currency: <S> Especially if the bank covers ATM fees . <S> If you are charged ATM fees, they will vary based off the ATM used. <S> You can find an ATM in every 7/11 store. <S> Travel cards tout 0% transaction fees. <S> Regular cards can be 3% or more per transaction. <S> For safety, take a few credit cards in the situation that one is not accepted. <S> Never do a cash advance with a credit card from an ATM machine. <S> This is basically using your credit card as a debit card. <S> This usually has a very high fee %. <S> Some cards might start charging interest immediately on cash advances. <S> If you take cash: Don't exchange at any airport. <S> Terrible rates and extra fees. <S> Airports have ATMs - use those instead! <S> There are currency exchange storefronts in major cities. <S> The rates beat the airport, but usually are not as good as an ATM or credit card. <A> Just want to expand on @Garry's answer, which is absolutely correct. <S> If you have a low/no fee credit card, that's my preferred option since you don't risk being saddled with unused currency which you have to convert back <S> (incurring exchange fees again!) <S> when you return home (plus my card gives me rewards.) <S> But while Japan is increasingly friendly to credit cards, it's still very much a cash economy so make sure that you maintain some cash with you. <S> As noted, an ATM is the best option for that. <A> Another option is Revolut. <S> From Using Revolut in Japan : <S> The main problem in Japan is that most of the cash machines don’t accept any western cards, and a lot of shops/hotels/businesses like to deal in cash. <S> Revolut has no transaction fee until you go over whatever the monthly limit is at the moment ( <S> £500?),but even with fees it was better rates than my traveling companions. <S> But according to ATMs in Japan : None of the ATMs in Tokyo gave me money. <S> My GF’s MasterCard worked in the international ones. <S> Revolut MasterCard was refused everywhere not even getting to PIN screen. <S> I even used the ATM locator. <S> At least paying at restaurant worked with the card, but there are so many cash-only places.
| If you want to use a credit card, check the card for foreign transaction fees. The ATMs in 7/11 shops or post offices are usually pretty reliable, but get out plenty of cash when you find one. ATM is the best option.
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Am I at risk of unusable half banknotes in Quebec? According to this CBC article from 2015, some people in Quebec cut bank notes in half, which are then used as two separate notes each worth half the original value. These notes are known as "demi", and are not widely accepted: "It's money that can only be circulated among these local users," said Patrick DuBois, a demi user from Carleton-sur-Mer, Que. "No one else will accept it anywhere right now." However, another person is quoted mentioning tourists: Martin Zibeau, a demi user from Saint-Siméon, said it's impossible to know how many people are using the quirky local currency, but he personally knows of more than a dozen. "It's something that's still developing. It's funny --- there are a lot of tourists who have seen it and spread the word across Quebec." My question is: Is there any risk that I, as a tourist, will be given a demi note in change, which I will then find myself unable to use elsewhere? Associated side questions (which will probably help answer the main question) are: Does this practice still exist? Is it widespread? Can I refuse any demi notes I am offered and insist on unmutilated currency instead? As it may influence answers, please note that I am planning on visiting Saint-Siméon, so it's not like "this only applies in obscure places you'll never visit". <Q> but I've never seen a half bill yet. <S> Don't forget that Quebec is a huge place <S> so it's definitely not a widespread, province-level practice. <S> (which is true, no one here will). <S> If you find yourself with one though, you can always exchange them for (metal coin) change before leaving the area. <A> I live in Quebec. <S> I ever heard about demis, never seen one (even in remote places) and honestly you are 100% allowed to refuse them. <S> Actually, as per the Currency Act article 11 (Canadian law), "it is not allowed to melt, break up or use coin for any other use than as a currency". <S> Tearing or mutilating willingly <S> a bank note is also illegal not advised in Canada and can be punished with a fine of up to 250$ and 12 month of prison with a reimbursement of the fees involved in replacing the notes. <S> Most banks will accept broken notes to their fractional value ( <S> so half a 10 <S> $ note will be exchanged free of charge for a 5$ note). <S> It happened twice to me that notes broke in half <S> and they exchanged it even if I had one half and 50 or so small brittle parts (when they changed for the plastic-issh ones that we not heat <S> /cold resistant = <S> > <S> this is fixed now). <S> Obviously the teared note will then be discarded. <S> Damaged notes are also replaced and removed from circulation. <S> This replacement rule is applied to the discretion of the bank: some will give you 50%, other will expect both parts, but they must do something with it, because they must make sure that volume of money circulating remains mostly the same as per Bank Of Canada guidelines. <S> People damaging notes to create demis are actually perpetrating an illegal act passible of having to pay for replacement of the notes and therefore won't can't force you to accept a demi. <S> If they are stupid enough/not knowledgeable enough and insist for you to accept it, tell them about Currency Act consequences of mutilating notes. <A> I've been to Quebec two times specifically (for a week each), and been across to Gatineau from Ottawa a couple of other times, and I've never encountered such a thing. <S> It may not be of great consequence, though, because in my experience, if you are given a half of a bill, you can take it to any bank in Canada and be reimbursed for half the complete bill's face value. <S> This has been in place to give people some recourse if their currency is damaged by disaster. <S> I confess, though, that I'm unable to find written verification that this is the case. <S> My strong suspicion is that half-bills would only be given to locals, so unless you specifically request it in a region that does it, I doubt you'll encounter it. <S> What you can do: simply refuse them if offered. <S> Mutilated currency is not legal tender for debts in Canada, and in fact most purchases are not legally considered to be debts, so you can refuse it if offered.
| You can always refuse the half-bill if someone gives you one, just say you're going to a big city (Quebec or Montreal) and you're afraid they won't accept it there In short, no This practice is very localized, all the places mentioned in the article are small towns out east, I've heard of it
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Can you reserve a seat with a free child ticket for trains in the UK? I'm trying to book train tickets from Edinburgh to London, we have a child who just turned 4. Whenever I go to reserve seats I'm given the option to reserve only 2 seats and not one for the child who will travel free. How do I reserve 3 seats? One option that works is that I select Child's age to be 5 and then I'm given an option to reserve the third seat but obviously I have to pay child fare then when my child can enjoy free travel. I'd rather pay the child fare and guarantee a seat if its more trouble to get a seat right when we board. I have tried at TheTrainLine and VirginTrains websites so far. <Q> It looks like you've discovered all the options. <S> From the Virgin Trains site : Kids under 5 go free Yup, that’s right – totally free. <S> However, as under-5s don’t need a ticket, they also won’t have a reserved seat. <S> There are a couple of ways to make sure there’s a place for their little legs to get a rest. <S> If you’re feeling spontaneous every train has an unreserved coach which should have some empty seats. <S> If you ask the station staff in advance, they’ll happily tell you which coach it is and exactly where to stand on the platform to be ready. <S> If you want to ensure you’re under 5 gets a seat then its best to purchase a child’s ticket in advance. <S> Grab a child ticket along with a Family and Friends Railcard (see above). <S> This can be as little as a couple of quid, gives you both a discount, can be used for advance fares, and for bargain travel during peak times. <S> It doesn't appear there's an option to take advantage of the free under-five fare and reserve a seat. <A> Part of the point of the free travel is that the small child is assumed not to require a seat. <S> You will not be able to reserve a seat for them without paying a fare. <S> Obviously if there are spare seats when on board they can use them. <S> Worth considering a Family and Friends railcard. <S> In my experience it is cheaper to buy an adult and child ticket with the card than just the adult ticket alone without. <S> It might well pay for itself on this journey alone. <A> National Rail 's summary of child fares makes the issue much clearer, at least to me: <S> Children under five years of age may accompany fare-paying passengers free of charge, unless the Train Company you want to use specifies otherwise in their notices and other publications. <S> Since their seat is not merely not guaranteed, but subject to withdrawal at any time, it's clear why you can't reserve one. <S> If you want your child to have a reservation (or even the right to occupy their seat for the whole journey!) <S> then paying the child fare seems like the way to go. <A> The option I took a few months ago (with a 4 year old too big for long periods on a lap) was simply to put her in my reserved seat and sit on the floor/stand/perch on the edge of her seat. <S> As an (able-bodied) adult the discomfort of having to do this is minor compared to the discomfort of dealing with a grumpy small person. <S> I was booking a long journey with several legs, some of which didn't even have reservations, but I'd have had to pay for her all the way through or juggle <S> ~16 tickets for the 2-person round trip (which isn;t handy when you're carrying a child and large rucksack through the barriers with little time to spare). <S> Carriages with reserved seats in them tend to be rather full, due to the way reservations are assigned to seats, so if you're averse to paying for a child's seat, you might find you're better off in a carriage without reserved seats. <S> That's a gamble of course. <S> It's common, though annoying, for people to reserve a seat and then sit elsewhere (very common on my intercity commute). <S> But if you have an "advance" ticket you will have a reservation and are supposed to sit in that seat by ticket validity rules.
| However, children under five years of age who are travelling free may only occupy a seat which is not required by a fare-paying passenger. A railcard could be advantageous if you want to book the child fare and get a reserved seat.
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Realistic time to get to and from LAX? I suppose this is something of a two part question. Let me start by saying I am very familiar with airports, so I am aware of the general time to de-plane, go get your luggage, leave the terminal, etc. However, I have never been to LAX, nor have I ever rented a car. Now to my question. In June my family is planning a vacation to California. We will be flying in/out of LAX, and our vacation rental is in Santa Barbara. My family will be flying out of O'hare, and will not arrive until around 930 Saturday night. I live a few hours away from the rest of my family so I will be flying separately. I am thinking of getting an earlier flight (landing around noon or 3 pm on Saturday). I was hoping I could take care of renting the car, go to Santa Barbara to check on the rental place and get the keys, and do a little solo sight seeing before I head back to LAX to pick up the family at 10 PM. So my first question - Is this a reasonable time table? Google maps has the drive from LAX to Santa Barbara at 1 3/4 hours. That is obviously very doable if I arrive at noon and need to be to LAX at 10. However, I have always heard how bad traffic by LAX is so I am not sure what potential time that could add in. Which makes my second question - Is Google Maps travel time still reliable in regards to LAX traffic? <Q> As @Newton says, you can use Google's leave/arrive options to estimate the range of times. <S> Time to get out of LAX in your rental car is more variable depending on rental car company than at airports that have shared shuttles to a single rental car location. <S> Google maps thinks it's going to be a bit less traffic on the way back to LAX (less than 1h50 min via the 101 Hollywood freeway, so they say to leave SB by 8:10pm). <S> If you check again close to your actual departure time, the routes and times will take into account the inevitable accidents, closures, construction etc. <S> I imagine there's also a non-zero chance the family's flight out of O'Hare won't be on time. <S> I use tracking sites like flightaware.com to avoid having to wait around more than necessary when picking up people at the airport. <A> This is entirely doable, given that it's a weekend. <S> LAX to SB is about 2 hours with moderate traffic. <S> In LAX all car rental places are off the airport so you have to take a shuttle <S> and it could be up to an hour or so from landing until you sit in the car. <S> Make sure you have a nav system available (your phone is fine): the car rental lots are in an odd locations and signage to the highway is pretty bad. <S> If you head up straight 101, you should be in SB by 6pm at the latest. <S> If you have time to kill, I highly recommend driving up the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu instead. <S> It's about the same distance and half an hour more of driving time: <S> But it's one of the most scenic drives in the US (in my personal opinion). <S> Plenty of opportunities for quick stops on beaches or cliffs. <S> To get back to LAX, I'd leave SB at 7.30pm <S> or so. <S> That's plenty of margin to park the car and get the arrival gate. <S> You can check traffic life, and if it's good, wait until 8pm. <S> CAVEAT: <S> traffic is generally low to moderate at these times, but this is LA and traffic chaos is always a possibility. <A> Well....it's possible, but IMO, not worth it. <S> Meaning, if all you want/need to do is get the key <S> and that's worth driving 300+ miles. <S> Go for it. <S> If getting the key ahead of time is not critical, there are more viable options to explore closer to LAX.
| While it's unlikely that you will hit heave traffic, it's not impossible: once coming from LAX I spent an hour just for the 10 miles from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara and that was around midnight!
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Where can I learn about rules of the road in Europe? I've been to Europe numerous times (more than 20 countries so far) but never hired a car yet primarily because of being intimidated with too many rules. I'm from India, driving cars since the last 10 years and excellent at driving in traffic conditions, open roads, hilly terrain etc. On my upcoming European trip, I would finally like to be able to gather the courage to drive (in Slovenia) I would like to know where I can find information about basic driving rules / rules of the road (like they would teach children). Probably might be very basic for most, but specifically related to : Painted markers on the road (there are so many signs that understanding it just does out of hand) Parking rules such as parking discs, parkomat machines, colored parking markers on the road etc. ? How to fill Petrol (I couldnt find the word Petrol when I was reading this : . What is Super 95 and Premium 98 ? Most of the information I have found online are some standard minimalist rules for people from the western world (with lots of basic assumption). Where I am from, such level of rules do not exist. Are there driving classes available anywhere in Europe for foreigners or if you can share names of some books, online resources, videos etc. ? Would appreciate any help that I can get. <Q> Parking rules can be very obscure in Slovenia. <S> I once was trying to pay for parking place in the centre of Maribor, installed local mobile app and even made a five euros transfer to only find out that payment is non-available due to some reason, and after some accidental googling to discover that parking is free from 17:00 till 8:00 in the town. <S> Locals use the rule to park cars in central streets overnight. <S> 95 and 98 are Octane numbers which characterize fuel's sustainability against detonation (0 is that of n-heptane, highly prone to detonation under pressure, 100 is that of iso-octane, very unlikely to detonate, 95 and 98 <S> are much closer to the latter than the former). <S> 95 is more or less standard petrol currently in use in european cars. <S> Please check carefully whether your car runs on petrol or diesel fuel (ask rental agency staff and check at the car's tank opening), as mistakes are fatal to the engine when filling the tank. <A> It's not a small thing to make the transition from driving in one country to another, especially as in your case, when the rules are quite different from your home country. <S> I live in the UK, but even after many years of driving in France and the USA <S> I still find it some effort to make the transition to looking for different traffic conventions. <S> There will be driving lessons available, but fitting them into your schedule may well be tricky. <S> Do you perhaps have a friend who would be a helpful passenger for a few hours? <S> I'd be most concerned about driving safely within the law. <S> So you need to find out about the meanings of road markings and signs. <S> The key things to look for: Signs indicating one-way streets, no-entry signs. <S> Speed limit signs Signs about which lane to be in <S> There are quite a few online resources to help: <S> my memory of India is that this is not the case over there! <S> Here is a list of Slovenian Road signs As you say, there are a huge number of different signs, but there are different patterns: <S> All the warning signs are red triangles, their meaning can usually be guessed. <S> Prohibition signs are red circles, note especially the No Entry sign. <S> The STOP sign is a red octagon - <S> no matter how little traffic there may be, do stop at any junction with these signs. <S> Blue Circles have mandatory instructions. <S> Again the meanings are not hard to deduce. <S> so actually you don't need to memorise all of them. <A> The rules differ between countries. <S> Differ countries don't even drive on the same side if the road, and this is far from the only distance <S> I start a community wiki answer, which everyone is welcome to edit with links to different countries' rules. <S> Ireland <S> The book "RSA Rules of the Road" contains the traffic rules, with simple explanations and diagrams. <S> A PDF version can be found on the RSA site . <S> UK <S> The Driving and Transport web pages contain a raft of information including the Highway Code, penalties & fines, and driving on a non-GB licence https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving
| The RAC overview gives some information, note in particular that one rarely sounds the car horn - For things like fuel and parking you can surely ask people.
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How should I answer the ESTA question about a passport or national identity card? The ESTA appliation asks: Have you ever been issued a passport or national identity card for travel by any other country? Does being a resident of Nicaragua count? I have a resident card, not really a passport or ID, but it works as an ID while I am in Nicaragua. How should I answer the question, yes or no? It then asks, "Are you a citizen or national of any other country?" If I am a resident of Nicaragua, should I answer yes or no? I want to get it right. <Q> A national identity card is a type of ID that proves person's citizenship. <S> They are asking you about those kinds of IDs. <S> Your residency card, drivers license or student card issued by another country and working as an ID in those countries are of no interest for The Department of Homeland Security. <S> The answer would be ' No ' to both questions. <A> I have a resident card, not really a passport or ID, but it works as an ID while I am in Nicaragua. <S> Based on this you're not a Nicaraguan citizen, but a foreign resident. <S> Passports and national ID cards are documents tied to citizenship, so the answer to the question is "no". <A> If you ever had a passport from Nicaragua (even if you are not a citizen anymore) <S> the answer to the first question is Yes. <S> Same for national identity card. <S> The second question is "are you a citizen or national of another country". <S> If you are today a citizen or national of Nicaragu, the answer is Yes. <S> A resident is not a citizen or national. <S> If you were a citizen in the past but are not a citizen anymore, then the answer is "No" because the question is "are you" not "have you ever been".
| A resident card is not a passport or national identity card, so if that is all you have and ever had, the answer is No. You answer whatever is the truth.
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How do I figure out which platform a SEPTA regional rail arrives at for a particular station? I am beyond frustrated at this point. We even called SEPTA's support number, and the person outright lied and said that they have no information about which platform a train will arrive at. (This is a lie because there are signs at the platforms which give this information - if you're already at the station, that is.) My mom wants to take SEPTA Regional Rail from Yardley to the airport. This involves changing trains in center city. My mom has trouble walking and cannot use escalators. Thus, the 15 minutes between the Yardley train's arrival and the airport train's departure is enough only if either the two trains arrive/depart from the same platform (or rather, from either side of the same platform level), or if both trains stop nearest the end where the elevators (NOT escalators) are. I simply cannot seem to find any information about which tracks/platforms any given train will use. I've looked at TrainView - it's useless for scheduled trains, and doesn't seem to give useful information for already-in-motion trains, either. I've seen something called "Next To Arrive" mentioned, but I can't find an actual website for it. Is there a way to find out which platform a train will use at a specific station? (Jefferson Station, in particular - both of the other center city options are problematic even without the accessibility concerns.) (SEPTA = SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, a.k.a. Philadelphia area.) <Q> At Jefferson Station you should be fine, because there are only two platforms, one for trains going east (tracks 1 and 2) and one for trains going west (tracks 3 and 4). <S> The train from Yardley to Jefferson goes the same direction as the train from Jefferson to Airport (west), so you shouldn't have to change platforms if you change trains at Jefferson. <S> (See station diagram thanks to skifans' answer.) <S> The reason SEPTA can't give you the information ahead of time <S> is probably that they sometimes change tracks and platforms at the last minute. <S> This is at the discretion of the train dispatcher and gives them the flexibility to move trains as needed; for example, a delayed train could be moved to a different track if the track it usually takes is occupied by another train. <S> So even if you know which track the train usually takes, it might take a different track occasionally. <S> At Jefferson this usually just means moving trains to the other side of the same platform. <S> It would be quite unusual for them to run a westbound train on the eastbound tracks. <S> Lastly, beware that SEPTA trains are often delayed. <S> If you're planning on a 15 minute transfer, leave enough time so you won't miss your plane just because there is a train delay <S> and you miss the transfer. <A> This is Kevin from SEPTA Customer Service. <S> We are sorry to hear of your experience. <S> Please know that it can be difficult to accurately predict the correct track number for every single train. <S> TrainView at SEPTA.org ( http://trainview.septa.org/ ) does list the track numbers for Jefferson, Suburban and 30th Street stations for trains if you select the train number. <S> However, please know that these track numbers are subject to change. <S> As a result, we always recommend checking the monitors at the station before heading to the platform as track changes can occur shortly before the departure time. <S> Please know that these signs are in a general sense and not all trains on each line follows this due to multiple factors. <S> Also, these signs do not take into account any last minute changes. <S> Again, this is why we always recommend checking the monitors before approaching the platforms. <S> In regards to the “Next To Arrive” feature that you mentioned, this is a feature found on the Official SEPTA app <S> (Link: http://www.septa.org/service/new-app.html ). <S> This feature does not typically provide track information for trains. <S> We do recommend using the app for alerts and to track status information for all of our services. <S> We would like to look more into the call you made to us. <S> Please send us an email at cservice@septa.org with your name and phone number. <S> If you ever need assistance online you can always reach out to us on Twitter (@SEPTA_SOCIAL) <S> , Facebook (Link: https://www.facebook.com/septaphilly/ ) or send us an email. <S> Kevin G. <A> I don't know how accurate it is but Wikipedia shows a track layout for most major stations: <S> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Station_(SEPTA) showing which routes call at which platform, unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with the question to answer if it would be suitable, do edit if you have more familiarity with the system and can work it out.
| We are aware that the signs at the Center City stations do indicate which lines arrive at which tracks.
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Flights with two different airlines, how does online check-in work? I'm planning on buying a flight from Ireland to USA. It has 1 stop: Dublin to UK with Aer Lingus, then from UK to America with Virgin Atlantic. I want to do an online check in to get my boarding passes but since it's with two airlines I'm unsure of how to get both boarding passes, I have both apps for each airline on my phone, do I just enter in the booking reference number from the ticket info I receive through email once I buy the ticket into both apps and get both boarding passes separately or what is the process? I already have visa, passport etc I just want clarification before I buy my ticket. I will also just be bringing hand luggage with me if that is relevant at all. <Q> There are exceptions though, so you should check upfront with the airline. <S> If these are two different tickets/reservation, than you need to check in with each airline individually (using both apps) <S> Keep in mind that some international flights do not offer online check-in since some airlines want to check your travel documents during the check in process. <A> If you bought your ticket with Aer Lingus as a single flight with a lay-over, it's possible that your second flight has a code share, and has different numbers (one flight number with Virgin's prefix, and one with Aer Lingus' prefix). <S> If so, you can check in only on your first flight and receive both boarding passes. <S> If you deliberately bought two separate tickets for each leg of your trip, then you'll probably have to check-in again with Virgin Atlantic. <S> I experienced something similar in my travel GIG->AMS->CDG with KLM. <S> I bought it as one ticket with a lay-over. <S> The first check in on KLM's website gave me the two boarding passes (even though the second flight was an Air France flight (with the AF prefix code) <S> it also had a KL prefix code. <S> That's code sharing). <A> In most cases you will be able to get both boarding passes before you go: <S> On reservation with a single reference number, when you check within 23 hours of your first flight, you will get both boarding passes when you perform your online checking. <S> Should you get two reference numbers, you will be able to get both boarding passes too <S> but you will have to check in for each flight separately. <S> This time, within 23 hours of each flight, you will be able to check-in the respective one and get your boarding passes. <S> Even if you complete the check-in online you will still have to go to the check-in counter to present your documents needed for an international flight. <S> Depending on the airline and airport in particular, you can use a faster lane for those that have done the online check-in. <S> For some combinations, the only thing that you get for checking in online is selecting your seat from the flight map. <S> It can also happen, although rarely, that you check-in online a confirmation that says you are checked-in but <S> this is not a boarding pass , in which case you will have to get to the check-in counter to convert that into an actual boarding pass. <S> This is usually to check-in your documents.
| If this is a single ticket/booking, you just check in with the first airline and in most cases you should get the boarding passes for both legs.
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Can 2009 US 100-dollar notes still be used anywhere in the world? I currently have 100 US dollars (2009 series) and want to use them anywhere in the world. <Q> They are valid, in the sense that they are legal tender accepted by the US Government, but any individual business anywhere in the world can decide whether or not to accept them or not. <S> There is no guarantee anyone will accept your money. <S> Some businesses may not accept $100 bills at all (in the United States, it's not uncommon for stores to only accept $20 and smaller), and of course, the place you are going must accept US currency in the first place (US currency is, overall, quite popular worldwide, but only local currency is accepted at most businesses in the vast majority of countries). <S> Some countries have local idiosyncratic practices about currency acceptance, such as not accepting creased or worn bills. <S> However, the 2009/2009A series is the most recent version of the US $100 bill, containing all the modern security features. <S> If an establishment is willing to accept US $100 bills, they're likely to accept yours. <A> Most countries have their own currency and will not accept US dollars as payment. <S> However, you can find bureau de change or currency exchange shops in most large cities and international airports where you can change your US dollars into the local currency, or if you are in the US, into the currency of the country you are travelling to. <A> US $100 bills are one of the most heavily forged currencies in the world, see for example <S> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdollar <S> A new $100 bill with extra security features was introduced October 2013, labelled "Series 2009A"; is that what you have? <S> Also note that currency may be rejected overseas for reasons that seem trivial; I recently had a number of smaller bills rejected for: a tiny mark from a ball point pen, a worn crease, a tiny tear in the margin, and a bit of red ink from an ATM.
| There are some countries that will accept US dollars, but you should find out what currency is used before you travel.
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Indian custom: Gifting sweets when returning from travel I would be grateful for an explanation of a custom that I have observed among colleagues from India - good Indian etiquette that seems to be extend to co-workers at my new workplace (outside India) where a small number of them work. I have observed that when said colleagues return back to work after a visit to their home country, they bring "Indian-style" sweets, which are offered around the team/office. Some seem to be home-made and some come in what looks like store-bought packaging - not necessarily cheap either. Part of the problem is that we have a slight language barrier. The office lingua franca is English, but this is spoken as a home language by very few people in the office (a number of foreign co-workers from different countries, and the local country is multicultural, too). So we (mostly) get along regarding the technical matters around work to be done, but things like cultural practices are more difficult since people are not always able to convey the correct nuanced meaning in English of what they try to explain, sometimes due to a limited English vocabulary. Cultural backgrounds often contain unspoken, ingrained expectations which one isn't always aware one carries, and thus does not take the effort to explain... In short: I could ask themselves about the sweets, but am afraid to come over as ungrateful, or rudely questioning good manners, when I'm simply curious. So, why are sweets handed around the office? And what are the expectations around this custom? What sort of foodstuffs are generally given in such situations? Should I/other recipients reciprocate in some way? Or is a "thank you" and/or "welcome back" sufficient? Is there a religious significance/connotation? May I decline? May I ask for another one? This happens at other times than Diwali, so I guess this question about Diwali gifts does not apply. <Q> To answer your question- <S> Sweet distribution is certainly an integral part of Indian culture to show our happiness for any good occasions. <S> ‘Visiting home/parents’ is a big happy occasion for us- <S> we just try to share those happy feelings with people (colleagues) around us when we return to offices. <S> So, you can say it is more like “ <S> Hey I am back from home <S> and I got something from India (home) to share with you all ”. <S> Another idea behind is not all of us can make home trip (especially for people outside India) <S> so frequently so let’s share the feeling of your home with these sweets. <S> We Indians always crave for home-made food. <S> This certainly brings us one step closer to our family while we are away from them. <S> If there is any special occasion, the person would probably mention it. <S> ‘Thank you’ is sufficient and if you found the foodstuffs delicious you can always tell so / may take more . <S> You always have the option to decline if you don’t want to eat it. <S> No religious connotation behind this gesture. <A> Sweets (typical Indian recipes cooked at home or brought from market, not the candy you buy in stores) are an integral part of Indian culture. <S> Distribution of sweets can happen for a variety of reasons: Festivals. <S> A happy occassion in the family (wedding, birth, engagement). <S> Religious ceremony ( Prasadam ) Other than this, coming back empty handed from your native place is considered bad form in India. <S> So people bring local sweet delicacies as parting gift with them. <S> The person handing out the sweets will probably tell you if they are for a special occassion or just a part of parting gift from people back home. <S> A thank you would be considered appropriate response on your part. <S> You may decline or ask for other one. <A> This seems to be integral to every culture, not just India. <S> I wonder where the original poster is from? <S> Standard practice, in fact. <S> Where I work, people do this from Europe, from China, from Japan, from Australia, from middle-eastern countries etc etc etc. <S> You reciprocate by bringing things back for everyone when you go on a vacation. <S> And so the cycle continues.
| Sweets are definitely the first choice but one can distribute snacks & savoury items too. In short, this gesture is a sentimental/emotional attachment towards our home. It is common practice to bring edibles from any vacation spot or trip home, or work conference, back to work colleagues.
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Which are the quietest seats the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320? On a recent flight on a Boeing 737, I asked a cabin crew member which seat would be best to take to minimize the audible exposure to engine noise as I was nervous about flying. He responded with 'It's impossible to say, we are a new crew', which did little to settle my nerves. I ended up sitting in seat 23 C, which turned out to be very loud compared to my other option of 7 D. So, for future flights on the Boeing 737 and my other usual the A320-200 , which seat(s) will be quietest ? <Q> Anything level with the engine or rearward thereof will be noisiest during almost all phases of flight. <S> They don't call it the "business end" of the engine for no reason! <S> Also, an aisle rather than window seat is definitely better, in terms of engine and wind caused noise. <S> JetBlue were asked this question enough to produce a video: http://blog.jetblue.com/where-are-the-quietest-seats-on-a-plane/ <S> If it is not just noise, but comfort, I have heard many anecdotal reports of over the wings being the most stable place to sit, where you will feel less turbulence. <S> But that will come with some increased noise as noted above. <A> The only noticeably quieter ride I've ever experienced has been the very front rows of an DC-9/MD-80 family aircraft (or similar) because of the tail mounted engines. <S> In every other aircraft, 737 & A320 families included , the noise level has been essentially the same throughout the cabin, so... <S> The quietest place on the aircraft is the one where you're wearing noise-cancelling headphones . <A> An article on Daily Mail reveals that aisle seats in the front rows are quiter. <S> The numbers of quite rows for Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 are also explicitly mentioned in that article. <S> For passengers flying with a budget airline, they will need to be in the first 14 rows on Ryanair’s fleet of Boeing 737 s, or in the first six to eight rows on easyJet’s Airbus A319 or A320 aircraft. <S> Since those row numbers are for low-cost airlines only, they are very likely to be expensive (e.g. business, first class) for the other airlines.
| Some people have complained about increased ambient noise (not necessarily engine-related) at the very front of aircraft, so I would suggest something not first few rows but no further back than the engines would provide the quietest ride.
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Is there a good way to identify worthwhile scenic routes while driving around the USA? My family and I will be driving around the USA this summer — east and west coasts, and across the southern coastal states. We'll be doing sightseeing, but I'm also wary of missing a lot of scenery by staying on interstates the whole time. What are some practical ways that I can identify portions of the country where it would be worthwhile to get off the interstate and take state routes? I'm sure each small town tourist department will recommend that I drive slowly by their businesses, but on a nation-wide trip, how can I find the most scenic routes? <Q> I would take a look at a site called Roadtrippers . <S> It has exactly what you are looking for. <S> They have article like "The ultimate road trip guide to I-90, from Boston to Seattle" and a whole bunch of different information about traveling not only in the US, but places all over the world. <S> Also, if you just google the interstate you will be on and add "tourist attractions" you will get a host of great information. <A> The American Automobile Association (AAA) publishes many paper road maps and travel guides for its members. <S> Their recommendations for particularly scenic routes are annotated by a dotted green line. <S> For example, in the map below, US-1 along the coast of Maine is denoted as particularly scenic. <S> (Image taken from this blog post , which contains many other tips.) <S> AAA does not sell its maps commercially as far as I can tell (though an Amazon search turns up some resellers); instead, they are provided free to AAA members. <S> If you're already a AAA member, this might be a useful resource for you to tap. <A> These are shown on a US map and also listed in text. <S> The map makes it easy to find roads in or near areas you will be traveling through. <S> The site includes National Scenic Byways including All-American Roads, National Forest Scenic Byways (which pass through national forests), Bureau of Land Management Back Country Byways , as well as other scenic roads such as those designated as such by individual US states. <A> The state of Oregon has specifically designated "Scenic Routes", perhaps other states have similar designations for some roads. <S> For the West Coast and especially through Oregon and Washington and Northern California just driving Hwy 101 is great for scenery. <S> It can be kind of slow going at times so be prepared for that. <A> If you're looking for scenic drive options, this is pretty easy to zoom in on with Bing/Google/YouTube. <S> Start a search with "overseas highway" and "17 mile drive" which are well known scenic routes in the US. <S> The results will contain lists of scenic drives and sites about scenic drives and you can branch out form there. <A> Well, you know your own likes and dislikes. <S> Factor those into the planning. <S> As a photographer and a lover of mountains, when I planned a 6 week holiday in the US <S> I started with a big Ansel Adams book. <S> I picked a bunch of favourite photos, and strung together as many as I thought I could tackle, on an itinerary that worked for me. <S> And it turned out to be a fantastic holiday, covering diverse scenery from the northern AZ desert (Navajo Nation and the Grand Canyon of course) to Yellowstone. <S> As I kept to a relatively low average speed I couldn't avoid soaking up the atmosphere on the stretches between the major events, and those stretches provided a lot of unexpected highlights. <S> So, start by considering what you would like to see.
| America's Scenic Byways is a one-stop shop for scenic routes in the US.
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Will my aircraft have single or double prong headphone connection? I will be travelling on a Boeing 777-300ER and want to use my Sony headphone which has a one-prong connection. Would I need an adapter for a two-prong situation? My return flight is on a Boeing 777-200. <Q> It's hard to say for certain if you need an adapter. <S> Personally, it has been over a decade since I have been on an aircraft that required the two-prong adapters, and I have flown (in that time) on Air Canada, WestJet, United, Continental and British Airways in various types of aircraft. <S> Given how inexpensive an adapter is (a couple of dollars on eBay), if you have time, I'd pick one up and keep it in your headphone case. <A> My recent experience has been on 2-3 Asia based carriers with the 2 prong jacks. <S> However, my single prong headphones worked perfectly fine. <S> It just doesn't fit very well and the contacts are slightly off <S> so I'd have to set the jack in a specific location. <S> The headphones did come with an adapter <S> but it's long been lost. <A> It is not as simple as just buying an adapter since Cathay Pacific business class UK to HK use a twin socket with two different diameter connectors. <S> My Bose adapter with two 3.5mm plugs did not fit. <S> I think the thinner socket with two contacts is 2.5mm and the thicker one is 3.5mm with three contacts. <S> I haven’t been able to find an adapter like that <S> and I don’t know how they are wired to make one up myself. <A> I was in China last October. <S> I flew business class on Cathay Pacific between US and Hong Kong. <S> They had 2-prong plug for the Bose headphones they gave out. <S> I unfortunately didn't have a plug for my own Bose. <S> So I am going to buy my own plug for my next trip <S> so I don't have to use public headphones.
| Many headphones come with these adapters - my noise-reducing headphones come with a pair of them to adapt them to the two-prong jacks you describe, as well as the older 3/8" headphone jack.
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Where and why are there metric road signs in Arizona? A road sign from Arizona: Came across this from the web, found it curious. Traditionally the US, Burma and Liberia, I believe, don't use metric. But there are metric road signs in Arizona? <Q> That photo looks like I-19 in Arizona, America's only metric road ( more from Atlas Obscura ). <S> Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act in 1975, the last time the US had a serious metric system push, and various tests were carried out to start the conversion process. <S> I-19 in Arizona was one of the test sites. <S> After widespread opposition ("Forcing the American people to convert to the metric system goes against our democratic principles" is a quote from Chuck Grassley in 1977, and the guy has not mellowed out since then), the Metric Board was eventually disbanded. <S> But the locals like it : <S> Our bosses at the Arizona Department of Transportation have tried to change I-19's signs back to miles before. <S> The signs have to be replaced periodically anyway. <S> But businesses along the highway say doing so would make their shops harder to find, since the exit numbers would also change. <S> They tried to change the signs back to miles as recently as 2009 , but there was local opposition that put the plan on hold. <S> The issue came up again in 2014 , still without any change. <A> Appears as though it was a timing situation when it was built, during a brief law change. <S> Gizmodo has an article on it : <S> That made sense in 1980, when I-19's signs first went up and when US was near the peak of its flirtation with the metric system. <S> Five years earlier, President Ford had signed the Metric Conversion Act, declaring the metric system "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce" and establishing United States Metric Board to guide the conversion. <S> Schoolchildren dutifully learned their kilograms and centimetres. <S> But the Metric Conversion Act was only voluntary, and there was far too much inertia to change every single label in the country voluntarily. <S> Reagan disbanded the Metric Board in 1982. <S> Instead of leading the charge into brave new metric system, Arizona's highway is a reminder of a failed experiment. <A> I'm willing to bet that this sign is from a place close to the Mexican border. <S> I live in San Diego, CA, a city close to the Mexican border, and I've seen a few road signs in my area with metric units (actually, both metric and Customary units). <S> This sign was put up for the benefit of people who are driving such cars, especially older cars that lack alternate scales for the Customary system. <S> You might even see similar signs in places close to the Canadian border, especially in areas frequented by Canadian tourists.
| The reason why those metric signs exist is because frequently, people driving on those roads are often tourists from Mexico, driving cars that were built for the metric system (speedometer and odometer measure in metric units).
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How to know ahead of time if food will be served during a flight? How to know ahead of time if food will be served during a flight? Ideally, at which time(s) and the menu options. <Q> As JoErNanO said, this is often printed somewhere on your itinerary, though it usually says little more than something like "Dinner, Breakfast." <S> Specific menus vary wildly, so airlines don't generally make them available ahead of time. <S> The exceptions are generally low-cost carriers that require you to purchase meals in advance or premium services like Singapore's Book the Cook . <S> Every airline's website should have a page with meal information. <S> When food is available for purchase, more details on the choices may be available (e.g. for United Domestic/Canada/Latin America flights ). <S> Otherwise, you might find some information from online trip reports. <S> A search for your flight number, "trip report," and "economy" or "business" may bring up someone who has written a detailed report on their flight, including meal information. <S> While menus change regularly, this should give you a decent idea of what services to expect and when. <S> Frequent flyers on forums like FlyerTalk sometimes take pictures of their (usually non-economy) meals and post them. <S> Buying food at the airport to bring on-board is often a more appetizing choice. <A> Most airlines serve meals on international and long-haul flights, and domestic flights that are longer than some threshold, and operate close to usual meal times in the country. <S> In general, when meals are offered, meal services typically starts about an hour after take-off. <S> On long-haul flights, there is often a second meal, typically lighter than the first meal, offered around one to two hours before arrival. <S> On very long flights there may be a mid-flight snack service or available on request. <S> In general, the higher the cabin the greater the quantity and flexibility of the meal service. <S> Many airlines offer a la carte or dine on demand choices in business and first class on international and long-haul flights. <A> Your booking will indicate which meals are served. <S> Typically, shortly after takeoff and shortly before landing. <S> If you ask nicely, the Flight Attendants will usually accommodate alternate times. <S> Depending one the airline, you may be able to view the menu up to 30 days before departure if they offer a choose you meal option. <S> Otherwise, unless you know someone in either catering department, you find out onboard like everyone else.
| The subscription service ExpertFlyer shows the configured meal options for most flights in the world, as configured by the operating airline.
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Refund airline ticket to different credit card I've bought an airline ticket (with SK) that I'm entitled to refund per their Conditions of Carriage because of a schedule change. They've agreed to refund me, but say that they will only refund me to the card I used to book the flight. This card has been cancelled, and I will not be able to get the money from my bank if it is "returned" to this card . Are airlines entitled to only repay you to the credit card you booked with when this is not mentioned in their CoC? If not, who do you contact to enforce your agreement with them (short of small claims court)? <Q> Most airlines, and other companies, will only refund to the original card. <S> This is done to avoid fraud, with people purchasing tickets with a stolen card, then requesting a refund to a card they control. <S> If the airline issues the refund to the original card then it will almost certainly succeed (despite the card being canceled). <S> When this occurs, you will then be able to contact the bank that issued the card and request a refund. <S> In some cases this refund will happen automatically, but it's still worth contacting them. <S> This would only be a viable option if you intended to fly with them again, and normally such a voucher would have an expiry date (often a year, either from the time it was issued, or from the time you purchased the ticket) <A> Call customer service and ask the issue to be escalated. <S> I understand it is easiest and safest for them to pay pack on the original card but - <S> particularly since there is no such restriction on the CoC - there is no reason to disallow another method of payment. <S> Even if you did not cancel your card yourself, it is the same result if the card would be stolen or withdrawn from the market by the bank (last year on of my cards was cancelled because the bank stopped their relationship with the rewards program it was tied to, so it does happen). <S> You can even ask for a check to be mailed. <A> Your assumption of how the credit system works is a reasonable one. <S> However it is also incorrect. <S> The system's refund procedure accounts for this situation. <S> If your card was reissued, the credit will appear on the reissued version of the card. <S> If you cancelled the card and closed and paid off the account, the refund will land as a credit balance on a closed card. <S> It will sit there for awhile and then they will send you a paper check. <S> If you want to hurry that process along, call them. <S> If your address on file is no good and they can't reach you, it will eventually escheat to the state and you can get it from the state. <S> The refund can only reduce your balance, it does not substitute for a minimum monthly payment If you owe a balance on that successor card and want the refund to go to a card with a zero balance so you can get one of those checks, <S> that is one thing the system was designed to prevent. <S> The merchant pays a fair service fee on your charge, and if he does a refund in the official way, he gets most of that back. <S> If the merchant diverts your refund to another place, he loses that merchant fee. <A> I believe this may be to do with the rules governing the issue and use of credit cards (eg Visa or MasterCard Scheme Rules), and the T&C between the merchant (the airline) and their acquiring bank (the financial institution that processes credit card payments on behalf of the merchant). <S> Taking an example from Barclaycard in the U.K., s3.13 of their Merchant Aquiring T&C states:“Any refund must be made on the same card or account as was used for the original payment. <S> You must not make a refund with cash if the original purchase was made using a card or account.” <S> https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/content/dam/barclaycard/documents/business/help-and-support/merchant-terms-nov-17,0.pdf . <S> Logically therefore, it follows that in using your card to purchase the ticket, you (and the airline) are bound by the credit card T&C rather than the airline’s COC.
| The other option is to have the airline issue the refund in the form of a voucher/credit that can be used for future travel.
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Am I allowed to strap a tent to my airport checked luggage? I am going on a hiking trip to Norway and need to put my tent somewhere. Can I put a bag with a tent strapped to it in hold? A bit like this, or at the bottom: The issue is that my bag does not have native straps like that, so I may have to improvise... I am flying with Norwegian Airlines from Gatwick to Bergen. <Q> It depends. <S> Assuming that you don't exceed any size limits, airlines are still often cautious when it comes to any kind of straps, even loose straps on a plain rucksack, or any other dangling parts from checked luggage. <S> The airline may require you to wrap your rucksack in plastic foil to contain any loose ends. <S> Both in Gatwick and in Bergen, there are actually bag wrap services, where you can have that done for you. <S> The reason is simply that any loose ends or parts of checked luggage tend to tangle or get stuck on the conveyor belt system. <S> It saves the airport luggage handlers a lot of hassle if the passengers are required to contain their luggage as one manageable piece with a predictable shape. <A> As long as you are within the size, weight, and content restrictions, you can check pretty much check anything you want. <S> What you (and them) want to avoid are dangling parts (straps, etc.) <S> possible part separation (after all, there is a single tag for the whole thing). <S> Both points are easily solved by putting your stuff inside a (strong) plastic bag. <S> Most airlines I know do provide big transparent bags for this; they are mostly used for child seats and strollers, but they are certainly appropriate for a backpack with stuff attached to it. <S> For more peace of mind, you may want to bring your own bag and not depend on the check-in agent. <A> Consider using an airport bag for your backpack. <S> It would not only solve the tent problem, but it also makes sure that straps and buckles do not get caught and damaged in transit. <S> They only weigh some hundred grams and are easy to stow. <S> Depending on how you pack, they might double as a bag for dirty clothes or similar on your hike. <S> I have this one , but that's just an example. <A> Yes, it should be allowed. <S> I've checked a folding bicycle unbagged on multiple airlines with a strap holding it together. <S> Just make sure there aren't any loose parts hanging out, like make sure the strap itself is tied and not dangling and that the pull string for the tent is packed away where it can't get caught on anything. <S> Ideally you want to put backpacks in a duffel bag, but if you're traveling light and want to skip than you should be fine if you take certain precautions against getting snagged in the conveyor belt. <A> One solution to the outer bag proposed in some answers to keep the straps under control is a rucksack raincover. <S> Some are designed to zip round the entire bag in transit, like this one (not necessarily a recommendation, just an example) . <S> You'd need a lightly oversized one if you're carrying a lot of outside load on your pack, but it would be useful on the trail as well. <S> I've always been OK with strapping the straps tight to the pack and tying off any loose ends, but you might not get away with that everywhere <A> They can ask you to reorganize your luggage if straps could get in the conveyor system OR if items (like the tent) could get loose due to not being fixed correctly. <S> Happened to me two times. <S> But that's no problem at all: you can either take a tape with you to fix your setup on site or use an additional cover which has the advantage to secure your straps (would be bad if they are damaged before the trip). <S> Apart from that you don`t need to worry.
| No airline requires you to check "a bag".
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Handling cash conversions for a short trip to Israel, Jordan and Egypt from India My parents are traveling to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt for a short trip [2 weeks] from India. The travel agency they travel with wants them to convert Indian Rupees(INR) to US Dollars(USD) for their travel and convert to local currency (Shekels for Israel) and others when they arrive in the country they are visiting. I'm not sure if this is the usual procedure. But I do not see much of an alternative as they don't use credit cards or international debit card so carrying cash is the only options. Two question, Is it normal to carry US dollar to these places as it would be easier to convert them there? Would it be better to convert them to local currency to the country they are visiting directly from Indian rupees before reaching there? Edit. They will not be carrying anything over $1500 since all the hotel booking, food, and tickets have been paid for and booked by the travel agency. The cash they will be carrying is only for personal use. <Q> Every mall will have plenty of places to exchange. <S> But carrying around large sums of cash (for a whole trip) is very uncommon and dangerous. <S> Depending on the amount they might have to declare it at customs and face a few questions. <S> I recommend a Credit card as a back up and for expenses like accommodation etc. <S> or as mentioned travelers checks etc. <A> You don’t say how much cash your parents are planning to take or how long they’ll be spending in each country. <S> For security reasons a better option would be taking US$ travellers cheques and a small amount of each of the local currencies for convenience when your parents first arrive. <S> In Egypt, it seems that US$ cash is recommended. <S> https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/africa/egypt/money-duty-free/ Hotels often ask for a credit card when checking in as a deposit against incidentals etc. <S> so it would be worth asking the travel agent about this to avoid any awkwardness on arrival. <A> A multi currency foreign exchange card is the best option. <S> I've used it when travelling from India. <S> I understand the reluctance of an older person to use a card, but it is safer than carrying cash and you lose less money everytime you convert. <S> In your case, when using cash, you pay a conversion charge twice - from Rupee to Dollar and then from Dollar to the local currency. <S> At some exchange points the exchange rate you get will be a rip off.
| Its common to carry US$ and convert in local currency.
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What are these London appetizers? No idea what these are, my first time in London. I didn't make the order. The thing the egg (middle) The rolled meat in slices (left) I can mostly tell what's in them but what are the proper names? <Q> The middle item is a scotch egg (a hard-boiled egg enclosed in sausage meat, rolled in breadcrumbs, and fried), and <S> the item on the left looks very much like a large sausage roll, sliced. <S> (It could be Beef Wellington, but I think that’s too posh a dish to be served alongside the others in the picture!) <A> Beef Wellington: fillet steak coated with pâté and duxelles, then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. <S> OR (agree with @Traveller) <S> Sausage roll, sliced: <S> sausage rolled in pastry and baked (and that would be a rather large version !) <A> The second-left looks like chicken goujons. <S> It is strips of chicken breast, in a (slightly) spicy breadcrumb coating, and fried. <S> Fairly common buffet foot in pubs. <S> The right-most are onion rings. <S> Not sure what the second-right one is.
| Scotch egg: cooked eggs swaddled in sausage meat, then breaded and fried.
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Do U.S. RV parks have high-speed internet facilities? Do people who RV in the U.S. have to make do with 4G cellular data services, or are there high-speed internet services generally available in motor-home parks? ETA: In the U.S., "high-speed internet" generally means "significantly faster than reliable cellular data speeds." Presently, this would be reliable low-latency bandwidth on the order of at least 50Mbps down and 10Mbps up, preferably WiFi. <Q> I've been full timing in my RV across the US this past year, and I work online, so this is my personal experience. <S> 99% of the RV parks will have free, shared internet access. <S> I run speedtests at each site and these are generally < 1Mbps and barely usable to surf or check email. <S> A few have 'premium' internet you can upgrade to which will get you up to ~10Mbps. <S> In all these cases I just ended up using the mobile hotspot included with my Verizon plan for 25Mbps+ speeds and up to 10 gigs of transfer. <S> If you're staying long term at an RV park (6+ months) you can ask to have the local internet provider set up an account for you. <S> In Florida I ended up with Comcast's Xfinity for ~$30/mo with 25+ Mbps speed, no transfer limit. <S> You can pay a little more for higher speeds. <S> Hope that helps. <A> Generally, yes. <S> WiFi, and consequently high-speed internet, is widely available and expected at RV Parks . <S> 50Mbps might be asking a lot, but 10+ is well within reason. <S> Also, consider that it's shared so 30 people streaming HD Netflix might be noticeable. <S> Keep in mind, this if for RV Parks, which are different than what would generally be referred to as a Campground. <S> Meaning, there's WiFi by office and Comfort Station <S> /Bathhouse, but not in the remote areas. <S> There are also many boondocking locations which are popular, and crowded, but provide no services whatsoever. <S> If you're looking at specific locations, this will generally be listed under an Amenities section, but not always...go figure. <S> Any location near to popular tourist spots will have WiFi like any nearby hotel. <A> I agree with @johnh10, I've been a fulltime RVer for the past 3 years (living in my camper and traveling the country with my family). <S> I work a normal 9-5 job doing programming work. <S> RV park wifi is generally abysmal. <S> I almost never connect to it any longer and instead use my cellular hotspots (I carry both AT&T and Verizon hotspots tied to unlimited data plans). <S> I've also paid for "premium" wifi at a couple of parks with no cellular service. <S> In one case, I was getting 2-3 Mbps download speeds and 1 Mbps upload speeds and also had the joy that it disconnected me every 45-60 minutes for 5-7 minutes at a time. <S> I paid $50 for 3 weeks of that experience. <S> In another case, I paid and the connection was solid, but it was still only 5-7 Mbps download speeds. <S> There was 1 park, if you hung out at the pool that you would see 50-60 Mbps speeds. <S> But the wifi in the rest of the RV park was 3-4 MBps. <S> We tried narrowing down on that network and using my WiFi booster to connect straight to it.
| While Campgrounds , many of which do welcome RVs, are very likely to have WiFi, speed and accessibility could be of less quality than an RV Park.
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What makes a highway different from other roads? The "highway" term seems self-explanatory bug a bit confusing.In the US sense, it seems to define roads that are main arteries for long-distance travel but not necessarily freeways. Example: the famous Pacific Coast Highway. I found highways in the US that are pretty close to freeways with off-ramps and median, and others that cross cities like streets. The confusion comes from being used to roads in Europe.For instance, in France, there are "nationales" which are main roads that cross the entire country and often follow a similar-named "autoroute" (freeway with median). Such nationales do have divided sections and slow crossings of towns; it varies. Then there are the "départementales", road maintained by the "département" (administrative subdivision of second level), that may encounter the same characteristics as nationales altough divided sections are less frequent. From all those, I do not know which ones could be named as highways. Also, when talking about car fuel efficiency, there often are city and highway measurements, the highway measurement being often better for obvious reasons. Thus, seems the idea of highway also means faster average speed. Then, is designing a road as highway based on: the type of road infrastructure? the authority that maintains that road? the importance of the axis? the average driving speed? some other criteria? <Q> There are a lot of factors, and it depends on the context. <S> In fact, in Canada, a "highway" is just a public roadway under the law. <S> A tiny sleepy little suburban dead-end street is a highway by this definition. <S> In common usage in North America, though, a highway is a high-speed rural route to take traffic to other cities/towns or other highways. <S> They are usually paved, but in some more remote areas they may be all-weather gravel roads. <S> There is nothing implied about whether they are limited-access (as a freeway or motorway would be); some highways are freeways (and all freeways and motorways are highways), but not all highways are freeways. <S> Some highways are divided and have four or more lanes/carriageways, and some are just two-lane roads with a dividing line between them. <S> (In Scotland, it's not uncommon to have single-track highways, with a single lane for both directions, and the odd passing place for someone to get over.) <S> In the U.S., highways can be federal (e.g. US 2 or Interstate 94), state (e.g. Montana state highway 16), or county (e.g. Montana Sheridan County highway 258). <S> In Canada, highways are almost always provincial or territorial, but some rural municipalities or counties construct roads that approach highway status. <S> It may not be obvious from the construction of the road as to which level of government built it. <S> Highways often pass through towns and cities, and non-freeways/motorways usually do so through local streets, with lower speed limits. <S> Of course, communities grow as well, and these "highways", while still highways in the sense that we are discussing, may seem like a small town main street in some cases. <S> (In fact, major highways pass as city streets through many big cities, but often, bypasses are built around cities so that a person doesn't need to navigate them. <S> My city's busiest intersection is a part of the Trans-Canada Highway, but rural traffic would never go that way, taking the freeway bypass around the city instead.) <S> So... think of a highway as a road through rural country to other places. <S> It could be a major 18- or 20-lane freeway like Ontario 401 or Interstate 5 in places, or it could be a narrow, shoulderless but paved (or even gravel) road through very rural terrain. <A> In the US sense, it seems to define roads that are main arteries for long-distance travel but not necessarily freeways. <S> Yep, that is exactly it. <S> All freeways are highways, but not all highways are freeways. <S> According to the Montana Department of Transportation's <S> Road Design Manual and the classification described in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials A policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (Green Book) (2) <S> , freeways are characterized by "full control of access, high design speeds, and a high level of driver comfort and safety" (MDT RDM Section 2.2.1.1). <S> Arterials are classified by "a capacity to move relatively large volumes of traffic while also serving adjacent properties" (section 2.2.1.2). <S> There are also collectors and streets. <S> Here is a good map of all of them in Montana. <S> A probably more defined aspect of the difference in highways is the topic of access control, addressed in section 2.7. <S> All freeways have full access control, meaning that "no at-grade crossings or approaches are allowed. <S> " <S> I think it is interesting to note that this manual makes no explicit differentiation of a highway vs. a road/street. <S> In fact, never does it define the term "highway." <S> However, due to context and the usage, it is reasonable to assume that all freeways, arterials, and collectors are highways, and everything else is a street/road. <S> Here is a good graph from the manual: <S> So, roads are either highways, or local streets. <S> However, the term "highway" is very broad. <A> For example in Ontario, Canada the roads with numbers in the 400 range (and a couple of others have special rules that attach to them. <S> For example you can't stop (except in an emergency), you can't reverse, you can't drive on them with some types of learner license. <S> The designation of these roads is done by the government - they specifically tell you which roads are highways. <S> In Britain the M-series roads are the equivalent. <S> You have restrictions on what you can do and who can do it, and the list of roads is defined by the government. <S> (Again a small number of non-M series roads have these rules applied.) <A> In the US, the terms Highway, Freeway, Expressway, Parkway and Turnpike are used in inconsistent ways and vary greatly by region. <S> I know that in California, for example, the term Freeway is commonly used and (presumably) means something different from Highway. <S> In the Northeast, on the other hand, Freeway is rarely used and we refer to our high-speed, limited access roads mainly as Highways. <S> Individual roads may be called Parkways (limited truck and bus traffic), Turnpikes (tolls by distance), or Expressways (the same as a highway, to my knowledge). <S> The upshot is that there is no official designation of a road as a highway. <S> The word you're probably looking for is Interstate , which is a Federal term that comes with certain standards of width, speed, etc. : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_standards .
| While the term 'highway' can mean a number of different things, in terms of traffic rules the term is frequently used to designate a road with special rules for high-speed long-distance driving.
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Buses from Hong Kong airport to Tsim Sha Tsui Which buses can I take to get from the Hong Kong airport to 36-44 Nathan Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong? Which ones are the most convenient in terms of the proximity of the destination bus stop and/or fare? (If that matters, I plan to take the bus around 7-8PM). <Q> Another option would be to take the Airport Express to Kowloon and take the complimentary shuttle bus to TST. <S> There are three such buses, K3, K4 and K5, for different parts of TST (because it's a busy and crowded region). <S> Find out which one goes closest to your destination: bus info . <A> Red circle indicates where 36-44 Nathan Road is. <S> From airport, walk to the bus terminus to town. <S> It's to the very right of arrival hall after immigration and customs. <S> Then walk back a block. <S> A21 belongs to a series of bus routes dedicated for airport connection. <S> Its fleet of buses comes with luggage rack. <S> The bus trip costs HKD$33. <S> Prepare exact fare or use an Octopus Card. <S> I recommend against taking the MTR (except Airport Express) with heavy luggages. <S> A bag or two is fine; taking MTR with heavy luggages in evening rush hour is asking for trouble. <S> ($16.9 for Octopus Card; $19.5 for Single Journey Ticket) <S> Exit L1 of Tsim Sha Tsui/East Tsim Sha Tsui Station (green circle in map) is around the corner of your destination. <A> Unless you absolutely need to take a bus, the best path is by the MTR. <S> Take the Airport Express to Hong Kong. <S> Walk to Central <S> (it is a relatively long walk, but all indoors with moving walkways). <S> Take the Tsuan Wan Line to Tsim Sha Tsui.
| Take Bus Route A21 towards Hung Hom MTR Station and get off at Middle Road stop (circled blue). Alternative route for cheaper fare; uses MTR: Bus S1 ($3.5) to Tung Chung MTR Station; MTR Tung Chung Line to Lai King; (walk across opposite platform for) MTR Tsuen Wan Line to Tsim Sha Tsui.
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Track flight prices based on route, not specific dates, on Google Flights Using the new Google Flights, is it possible to track prices for certain routes (e.g. New York to Madrid), but without specific dates in mind? For example, my schedule is flexible enough that I can take a 10 day trip sometime in July or August, so I want to find the cheapest flights within that time. This gist of this question is the same as this one , but here I am specifically asking if this is possible to do within the revamped Google Flights site. <Q> It's definitely not possible right now -- <S> the closest you can get is setting a ton of alerts covering the range of dates you want. <S> As far as I know, no travel site allows setting super-flexible alerts right now since it requires making a lot of queries every day (which can get pretty expensive, especially if you're using a GDS (Apollo/Sabre) as your data source). <S> In the meantime, I'd recommend: <S> Setting lots of alerts (Google Flights is so fast that it doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes to set 30 alerts! <S> It also helpfully groups alerts from/to the same places) <S> Setting one-way alerts in each direction (especially on shorter routes where the round trip price is almost always roughly equal) so that you have fewer combinations of alerts to check/ <S> set Checking back regularly on the site <S> It's frustrating that there's no better solution right now, but I'm sure someone is working on it! <A> There is a website in Brazil that allows users to set price alerts regardless of dates ( voopter.com.br ). <S> All you have to do is set a departure and destination airport and select the highest fare you would be willing to pay (be it a one-way or round trip). <S> It's a collaborative platform, so the more people search flights on it, the higher are the chances to be alerted. <S> Unfortunately, it's not a widespread website, but I still manage to receive alerts for popular destinations all the time. <S> I love it because they use several other flight search platforms <S> so you don't have to spend time looking around. <S> That's how I think Google should do, too. <S> People are constantly searching for flights on Google Flights, so they could use these cheap flight results originating from other people to alert flexible travelers. <S> Actually, your alerts would be based on the highest acceptable price you select on the platform. <A> As far as I know, no travel site allows setting super-flexible alerts <S> right now <S> Kiwi allows alerting through date period. <S> I do not know how good this function really works, but just for you to know. <S> I set it up and received Kiwi notifications only occasionally, so have no idea if the prices didn't change or it's not working properly. <A> EDIT: <S> I missed the point that automatic tracking is needed, but this allows for manual check. <S> As described here - it is possible now
| It's quite easy to determine whether a flight is cheap or not based on its price history.
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Does wearing imperial beard in the UK attract any ire of general public? I love Imperial beard , which is also known as Friendly Mutton Chops . Take this for an example: Source: Maria Ly, via Wikimedia Commons Here is a another gentleman that more people can relate to: General Ambrose Burnside (United States) Source: [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons I love to wear it sometimes, maybe once a year for a few days? Where I come from people don't have those beard styles anymore. Everyone relates them to the old times and that British people loved them back then. On an upcoming visit to Edinburgh,Scotland and London,England I'd love to wear my beard that way. I find that beard extremely graceful. Is there any general disliking associated with it in the UK? I wouldn't wish to become a laughing stock or to draw some ire/snark. I'm in my early thirties and don't look even remotely as good as those gentlemen in the pictures. I'm perfectly fine with a glance or two, and even a small talk about it if somebody likes to. I just don't wish to attract too much negative attention for all the wrong reasons. <Q> but my guess is that you'll get much more attention from people who think it's cool and almost none from people who want to be shitty about it. <S> If you're in the UK in August, the 2018 British Beard and Moustache Championships will be in Blackpool on 18th August. <S> Now that this date has passed, the BBC has footage . <S> So, er, a confession. <S> The above was posted in good faith and was accurate at the time of posting. <S> Today, after getting 101 votes, a gold badge, three silver badges, a bronze badge and 645 reputation, I saw somebody in the UK with "friendly mutton chops", albeit somewhat less flamboyant ones than the photos in the question. <S> In fact, it was somebody in my own place of work. <S> However, I stand by the rest of my answer. <S> I thought his beard was cool. <S> Nobody was being shitty about it. <S> The Beard and Moustache Championship is still on. <A> In the UK any larger town or city you will go about invisible, the smaller the community the more you would stand out... <S> ie a town of a few thousand <S> then you will look different. <S> I have a beard and dress quite well (some might call me a hipster) and live in a town of a few 10's of thousands, I do stand out a little at times depending on the area, but other people also dress well <S> so I only get attention from the odd idiot/drunk. <S> If I go to London/Bristol <S> I look scruffy or the same compared to the way others dress and I am invisible. <S> When I go to visit my mum in her tiny town I either dress down or am content to stand out like a sore thumb. <S> That type of beard is mostly seen on older men, although I have known people in their 20s with that type of beard, as far as I can tell it's not seen as a bad thing, it's just not something you see very often. <S> Go ahead, have your beard how you want <S> , it's your beard, be proud! <A> My friend has a beard very similar to that, he's lived in the UK for years (and also southern Africa). <S> The only time I'd expect any kind of comment is late at night, where people have been drinking. <S> Even then, it's more likely to be a compliment than an insult, I'd have thought. <S> I think it looks pretty cool. <A> I think the only kind of beard that would possibly get you any hostility in the UK is something that looks "Islamic" (thick, long beard mostly around the bottom of the face below the mouth, moustache is absent or not prominent) for reasons around religious tension and associations with terrorism. <S> Anything other than that is either going to be seen as amusing or just ignored. <A> Does it attract ire? <S> I would be very surprised if it did. <S> It's maybe not mainstream, but most people have seen re-enactors, and many may well have seen steampunks, both of whom wear a bewildering and delightful range of facial hair. <S> In fact, if there are any steampunk events on near you while you are in the UK, you would be more than welcome, and your friendly mutton chops would look great paired with a steampunk outfit :)
| You don't see it that often, and it tends to be with older men - but it's not completely out there, even in relatively small towns. As a British person, I don't think I've ever seen somebody with a beard like that. Some drunk people might be snarky about it
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Flight search engine for weekend flights I'm looking for a flight search engine that lets me search for a flight from a specific origin to a specific destination. I don't care on which weekend the flights take place, but I want to find the cheapest flight in the next 2 months that leaves one a Friday afternoon evening and returns at Sunday night or Monday morning. I couldn't find such a flight search engine. Is there anything like that? <Q> It seems like more and more my answers just tend to be "go to Google Flights "! <S> In this case: Search for an itinerary on Google Flights including the origin and destination on Friday and Sunday. <S> Apply the filters for departure time (Friday after 5pm, say; or Sunday after 4pm). <S> Click on the first date field. <S> Look at the numbers for all Fridays from then onwards. <S> Those should be the prices on those Fridays, for 2 day trips, with all of your filters present ! <S> Select the cheapest and book it. <S> Note that you'll have to repeat this twice, once for Friday - Sunday departures, and once for Friday to Monday, but Google Flights is absurdly fast, so you should be good. <A> Kiwi.com has this feature. <S> First enter your origin and destination cities. <S> Next, as the departure date, enter a date range over the whole period you are looking for weekend getaways. <S> It can be over a period of several months. <S> For the return date, enter a Time of stay as 2-3 days: <S> Then search. <S> After the search is made, click "Filters". <S> And click the "Days and times" filter. <S> You can now apply filters for time of the day, and which days of the week to possibly leave and return. <S> So click leave Friday afternoon and return on Sunday or Monday: <S> The results will be automatically updated. <S> Note that since we want to include both flights that return late on Sunday and early on Monday we had to leave the return time filter at all day. <S> This will lead to some results that are not relevant, like returning early on Sunday and late on Monday. <S> So ignore them. <S> Or to avoid those unwanted results, first filter for only Sunday evening, and next for only Monday morning. <A> I had the same exact thought as you a few years ago and created a site to make those searches. <S> It worked for years <S> but then Google shut down the API I used to make my searches. <S> My hacky fix was to add a Search Kayak button at the top of the page that opens a bunch of Kayak windows, each one a week after the previous window. <S> Give it a try! <S> It takes a while for all the Kayak windows to load. <S> Rebound Flights <A> Users can define start of weekend and end of weekend in terms of both day and time. <S> Such as Friday late evening and Monday early morning respectively. <S> Outbound and Return times can be specified along with an option for "Direct flights only".
| https://travelgam.com/ is a site meant for exactly this purpose.
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How far can I go to Gatwick Airport with a zone 1-4 Oystercard? The title pretty much says it all. I'll be leaving from near the National History Museum, so the closest stations are Gloucester Road and South Kensington. My objective is to minimize cost. <Q> I haven't noticed anyone give this answer yet, so I'll give it myself: <S> You can buy a Boundary Zone 4 to Gatwick Airport fare for £6.60 (single with no railcard). <S> You won't be able to buy this online, and most ticket machines won't sell it either, so you'll probably need to ask at a ticket office. <S> This will be valid only in conjunction with a Zone 1-4 Travelcard on your Oyster. <S> You should be able to use this on any service from London to Gatwick, even one that doesn't stop in Zone 4; just use your Oyster at the barriers at the London end (if you have a travelcard you won't be charged) and your Boundary Zone ticket at the Gatwick end. <S> Probably using the pedestrian subway to South Kensington and then going on the tube to Victoria and catching the Gatwick Express will be easiest. <S> If you really want to save cost as much as possible you can go to East Croydon as mentioned in other answers, but you can only do this via the Tram, as East Croydon is only in zone 4 for tram purposes (otherwise it's in zone 5). <S> I would highly recommend against this as the district line to Wimbledon is supremely slow, as is the tram itself, by comparison to heavy rail options. <S> But if you do you'd probably end up buying an East Croydon to Gatwick Airport ticket for £5.30 (any train to Gatwick) or £4.60 (Thameslink trains only). <S> All that extra time to save £2? <S> You'll have to make your own mind up; maybe it sounds good to you, but I wouldn't do that. <A> If you're looking for a route to the nearest point then East Croydon is where you'll end up, taking the District line from either of your starting stations, west to Wimbledon, then changing to a tram for the ride to East Croydon Station. <S> However, it's a long and slow route on suburban commuter services. <S> A faster and simpler route would be to head east from your starting point to Victoria mainline station and catch the Gatwick Express train direct to the airport. <S> You could also take a regular mainline train from Victoria to Gatwick which will take a bit longer but might be cheaper. <S> There's another more involved route via Whitechapel and West Croydon if you're in the mood for adventure. <S> I'm sure you can find others. <S> See the London Zones Map available from the Transport for London web site . <A> Gatwick is not actually in London. <S> But you are actually asking how far you can get on the Z1-4 travelcard <S> The simplest and almost cheapest option is going to be to use the Thameslink service from Farringdon or Blackfriars to Gatwick. <S> Your Z1-4 will get you to either of those two statoins on the circle line, and as at May 2018 a single to Gatwick from either station is just under £11. <S> And it is a simple one station change. <S> A z1-4 will get you to east croydon, but only via London overground. <S> And then you have a one or two train journey onwards, with an additional fare of just over £5 Victoria to Gatwick as of May 2018 is around £17, on regular trains, with the Gatwick express attracting a premium fare of just over £20. <S> In looking at these prices I have assumed that you will be traveling during off peak times. <S> There is a balance of convenience verses price verses length of journey. <S> And Thameslink seems to be a happy medium for what you are requesting <A> Under a fairly specific set of conditions, (you're willing to book in advance and commit to travelling at a specific time, while still being willing to be slightly flexible about what that time actually is) then it's possible that one of the coach services from Victoria coach station will end up cheapest. <S> There are certainly services advertised by "easyBus", but I believe run by National Express advertising £2 single tickets from London to Gatwick. <S> However, from what I've heard, journey times are longer than any of the train routes, and the service can be crowded.
| You can get a train direct to Gatwick from there if that's your real objective. The simple answer to your question is you cannot use a Z1-4 travelcard to do the journey you request.
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Is there any relatively fast yet cheap way to reach the Bronx, NYC, from JFK? In about 12 days (on Wednesday 30th) I'll be travelling to New York City and I'll arrive at JFK around 4pm. I will stay in an AirBnB that's located in the Bronx (Neill Avenue), and I'd like to be there by 10pm if possible (but I'd much rather be there by 8pm), as to not inconvenient the hosts. I have no idea how much time I'll lose among possible delays, getting luggage and customs, hence why I'd like a fast solution. I'll carry a small backpack, my carry-on baggage (i.e. a small suitcase) and a normal suitcase. What are my options to reach it from JFK? Public transportation: using Google Maps for public transport tells me it takes about 2 hours with something like 4 changes in between, which means a big chance of losing at least one and hence an even longer trip. Taxi: Obviously the faster way is probably a taxi, but I have no idea how much it would cost... Probably way more than 100$ , which is too much than what I'd like to pay. Uber/Lyft/similar: no idea how much these cost, since I've never used them before. I feel like it would be a little bit cheaper than a taxi, but I guess for something like a 45/60 minute trip (I guess?) it will still be around 80/100$. Is there any other option or trick that would save me time and/or money? I don't know, maybe there are buses that connect JFK to LaGuardia and I may take one of those and then just some other public transport to complete the trip, something like that? <Q> Starting with the train and continuing by taxi doesn't really make much sense: from anywhere you can get to on a train, the best way to get to your destination is by train. <S> For example, to get from Woodside station to your destination by taxi will take about as long as getting there from JFK with a taxi, and it's only a few minutes faster than taking the subway. <S> A shuttle bus to La Guardia <S> similarly doesn't save very much time. <S> At the cost of a few extra minutes, you could do a three-seat ride by taking the LIRR to Atlantic Terminal from Jamaica and changing there to the 5 train; the transfer is pretty short. <S> If you have a lot of bags, you can save yourself from having to change levels by taking the 2 or 3 from Atlantic to Nevins and changing across the platform to the 5. <S> Otherwise, go downstairs from the LIRR platform and then up directly to the 4/5 platform. <S> The E/R/5 option from Jamaica isn't much worse, though; the E-to-R change at Queens Plaza is also across the platform. <A> Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of great options for this trip. <S> I'd expect it to take at least an hour by private car (Google estimates 50 minutes-1.5 hours, and it will take a bit of time to get a taxi or car). <S> I checked Lyft at 5pm Eastern today, and while the prices will vary depending on demand and traffic, they're currently $66 for a regular ride and $58 for a shared Lyft Line ride ( <S> slower, as it will pick up and drop off other passengers). <S> One of the other apps like Juno may be a bit cheaper. <S> A taxi would be on the order of $55+tip with light traffic, but <S> bad traffic at that time could increase that cost up to $80+tip, per TaxiFareFinder (and possible tolls depending on route). <S> A car service like Dial7 will be about $55 plus tip (and any applicable tolls depending on route) <S> less a $7 coupon if you book online, and you'll get a flat rate with them. <S> That's somewhat expensive indeed, but coming off an international flight with bags and looking to avoid hassle, you might find it worthwhile. <S> There are also shared ride vans like SuperShuttle . <S> You'd have the convenience of no transfers at a lower cost, but I would personally avoid that during rush hour given the time that could be involved in making lots of stops and going out of your way. <S> Phoog already has you covered on public transit. <S> If you're willing to spend the fare for a taxi to Manhattan, you might as well go all the way by car to your destination and save the hassle of a transfer. <S> I'd say it comes down to cost vs hassle vs time: <S> Car, ~1-1.5 hours, ~$60-65, least hassle Public transit, ~1:45-2:00, ~$7.75-$15.25 (higher price including LIRR), multiple transfers <S> For me, a deciding factor might be exactly how far the AirBnB is from the subway. <S> If you have to lug your bags a ways, that could tip the balance pretty quickly. <A> If it were me, I would take a particular route via Subway. <S> E train to Queens Plaza <S> (E Train is an Express Train) <S> R Train from Queens Plaza to Lexinton Ave <S> / 59th <S> St <S> 5 Train to Morris Park <S> The Air Train and E train are very quick, and will get you most of the way in a hurry. <S> The wait for the R and the ride on the 5 train will be a little longer. <S> However, Subway in general is more efficient in the evening. <S> Probably the fastest method after 8 pm would be to take a Taxi/Lyft from Jamaica across the Whitestone bridge to the Bronx. <S> Alternatively, taxi or Lyft from Queens Plaza across the Triboro might be a good idea. <S> A crazy alternative would be the Q44SPS Bus from Jamaica to the Bronx. <S> It would probably be the cheapest method!
| You could take a taxi for the flat JFK-to-Manhattan fare to 125th St and Lexington Avenue, which would be about $65 including tip if you avoid tolls, and then take the 5 train from there to Morris Park or Pelham Parkway. Air Train to Jamaica (Really Fast)
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Is smoking banned in Moscow cafes, restaurants and bars? Are there places where you can smoke? I was wondering about this because I don't smoke myself and somehow I've found myself without that knowledge when someone asked me. I've looked through a bunch of news posts and they have unclear information without sources, and because there have been so many posts over the years it's probably easier to look up the related laws instead. Does anyone know or have links to law book pages about where smoking is allowed in public cafes, restaurants and bars? Also, does the smoking ban apply only to Moscow or to the rest of Russia also? <Q> There's a huge list of places where smoking is currently banned : public transport, local and nationwide, train stations, 15m area around local transport stations medical and rehab institutions <S> sport venues <S> public offices shops restaurants, bars, cafes various public places: educational facilities, entertainment centres etc. <S> According to Wikipedia, all the law's regulations are in effect as of 2017-01-01. <S> And yes, it's a Federal law, so it should be effective across the whole country. <A> There is a law that prohibits smoking "в помещениях, предназначенных для предоставления ... <S> услуг ... <S> общественного питания". <S> This prohibits smoking on indoor areas of restaurants, bars, etc ("помещение" means indoor premises). <S> Smoking on outdoor terraces of restaurants is generally not prohibited, and many restaurants allow it (same for cafes, bars, etc.) <S> There is also a big list of other places where smoking is prohibited. <S> The list is detailed and has a lot of unobvious exceptions (for example, it is prohibited to smoke on train stations platforms, but only on those that are used by short-distance trains only). <S> However, this rule is not exact. <A> Indoor smoking should be banned almost everywhere , including cafes, restaurants and bars. <S> It should also apply to outdoor terraces of said venues. <S> It should apply everywhere in the country, maybe it will be milder as you go further from Moscow <S> (people will just look the other way) <S> but I can't recommend abusing it. <S> You can usually smoke on the street (with exceptions, such as in proximity of schools). <A> Bottom line: <S> It's prohibited in cafes indoors but not outdoors -- unless it's also within a protected territory of another kind. <S> According to Article 12 , part 1, point 6 of the Federal Law № 15-FZ of 23.02.2013 <S> (current edition as of this writing), smoking is prohibited, among other things: 6) <S> в помещениях, предназначенных для предоставления бытовых услуг, услуг торговли, общественного питания, помещениях рынков, в нестационарных торговых объектах; <S> In indoor spaces intended for consumer services, vending, food services, marketplaces, nonstationary trading facilities; There are restrictions for outdoor areas, too, but they have nothing to do with cafes proper: 1) <S> на территориях и в помещениях, предназначенных для оказания <S> образовательных услуг, услуг учреждениями культуры и учреждениями <S> органов <S> по делам молодёжи, услуг в области физической культуры <S> и спорта; In outdoor and indoor areas intended for educational services, cultural facilities, youth authority facilities, sports and physical culture facilities; 2) на территориях и в помещениях, предназначенных для оказания медицинских, реабилитационных и санаторно-курортных услуг; <S> In outdoor and indoor areas intended for medical, rehabilitational and health resort services; <...> 4) <...> в местах на открытом воздухе на расстоянии менее <S> чем пятнадцать метров от входов в помещения железнодорожных вокзалов, автовокзалов, аэропортов, морских портов, речных портов, станций метрополитенов <... <S> >; ... in outdoor areas within 15 meters from entrances to railway terminals, bus terminals, airports, river and sea ports, metro stations ... <... <S> > <S> 11) <S> на детских площадках и в границах территорий <S> , занятых пляжами; <S> In playgrounds and beach territories; 12) <S> на пассажирских платформах, используемых исключительно для посадки <S> в поезда, высадки из поездов пассажиров при <S> их перевозках <S> в пригородном сообщении; On passenger platforms used exclusively for suburban railway services; 13) <S> на автозаправочных станциях. <S> On petrol stations. <S> Part 2 of the same article allows to override restrictions for indoor spaces, in dedicated ventilated areas, but only for long voyage vessels and apartment blocks. <S> Rospotrebnadzor tried to restrict smoking in outdoor areas of cafes but was ultimately debunked by courts, neither did legislators support this initiative .
| As a rule of thumb you may assume that smoking indoor in public places is prohibited (unless there is a designated room clearly marked as such), and smoking outdoor is allowed (unless there is a clear no smoking sign). The law is the same for all Russia.
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Travel within Europe after tourist visa expires I am Taiwanese, and I am in Belgium with my 3 months tourist visa. If I travel to Portugal after my 3 months tourist visa is expired, will someone check that at the airport? My guess is that no, they will only check when I want to come back to Taiwan. What do you think? All the times I traveled I don't remember them looking at anything other than the first page of my passport, not my entry date. <Q> As long as you are already within the Schengen area, you can usually travel to other countries (e.g. between Belgium and Portugal) without any immigration checks. <S> Due to the 'refugee situation', there are currently more or less permanent immigration checkpoints at some internal Schengen borders and higher chances than usual for a random check at other borders. <S> I do not believe that flights between Portugal and Belgium are affected by these 'temporary' measurements. <S> Some airlines (Ryanair) do however check your immigration status also on flights within the Schengen area and will at least refuse to transport you if you are staying illegaly. <S> When eventually leaving the Schengen area to go home to Taiwan, you will however have to go through immigration exit checkpoints and you must expect that your overstay will be noticed. <S> The penalties for overstaying are defined in national laws or regulations and depend on which country you are exiting from. <S> You may have to face an entry ban for several years. <A> Yes they check for visa overstayers. <S> Enforcement varies between countries. <S> Penalties range from fines to re-entry bans. <A> Are you flying or going overland from Belgium to Portugal? <S> Airports check carefully for the sake of aviation security but still might not allow you to board your flight because of your immigration status. <S> Also, the fact that you didn't see them check your entry date doesn't mean it wasn't checked automatically by the passport scanner system.
| Yes there are emigration checks at the airport.
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Lost all my ID documents and money. How to fly home from Spain to Slovakia? I live in Slovakia and went to Spain for few months, where I lost my wallet with all the documents inside. I got here with RyanAir and would like to go back soon. I only have police report for losing ID and photo copies of my documents. I am absolutely broke, means that I really have only money for going back, also that only barely.. I am in Valencia and it would cost over 100 euro to go to Madrid embassy to get travel document. That is even more than flight back home. Can you please help me, what are my options or which are the best ones? <Q> If you haven't called the Embassy of Slovakia in Madrid yet, call them for advice. <S> Going to get an emergency travel document from them is still probably your best option. <S> Avanzabus.com currently sells tickets from Valencia to Madrid for €30. <A> Sorry about your terrible situation. <S> I don't think you will be able to fly without getting to Madrid embassy to sort out travel documents. <S> It won't be a great journey, but have you considered the coach? <S> 02/06 <S> 15:30 Valencia - Paris 03/06 <S> 12:0003/06 <S> 15:00 Paris - Bratislava 04/06 09:15 <A> Ahoj! :) <S> You have several options: 1) Get money from your family real quick. <S> This can be done using Western Union, you get the money they send you immediatelly. <S> 2) Get to Madrid by bus, blablacar or hitchhiking. <S> Several years ago I was hitchiking in Spain with my ex-gf <S> and it was really going well. <S> Hitchhiking alone takes more time but works - and you get there free of charge. <S> 3) <S> To get to Slovakia, consider sharing a car - you can use http://www.spolujizda.cz/ or https://www.blablacar.cz/ . <S> We once used JizdoMat car-sharing service (now bought by blablacar), and it was the cheapest way to get to Prague (from France), appart from hitchhiking. <S> It took less than 24 hours (from Nimes). <S> 4) <S> As for the borders question, I crossed several times and there are absolutely no checks on the borders in question. <S> All countries are part of Schengen. <S> You almost don't even notice you are crossing a border. <S> Not sure about Swiss, but you don't need to pass through it. <S> So you won't need your documents there, but there might be occasional police checks on the road. <S> Your police report would probably suffice there. <A> Find a bus to Madrid, first bus in the morning. <S> The trains will ask you for an ID, don't know if photocopies suffice. <S> And it's also more expensive. <S> But now ask them to send you money through Western Union. <S> It's automatic (like 5-10 min.) <S> Now, you have money and ID <S> Take last bus back if you have to. <S> You can also ask people to buy your plane ticket. <S> Note: <S> make sure the embassy can help you right away. <S> Call them, do not just check their web-page. <S> they could also send you money through Paypal
| Contact someone back home, ask them to buy you the bus ticket with a debit card go to embassy and get travel docs contact someone back home again. I have found Eurolines connections from Valencia to Bratislava for €127.
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Where can I find publicly accessible paternoster elevators? Paternosters look fun, but (as far as I know, at least in Western Europe) they have almost all been replaced by regular elevators for safety reasons. Are there any publicly-accessible paternosters left I can ride in? Wikipedia mentions a few, but they seem to be in private buildings. If you can give a site where I can find them that would be appreciated. (Animation from Wikipedia by RokerHRO; CC license) <Q> that lists every paternoster elevator in existence, as well as whether or not its publicly accessible. <S> Google Translate works well with the site, so it should be easy to find places to visit. <S> Overall your best bet would be to travel to Germany and Czech Republic, as they have the bulk of the worlds remaining paternosters in operation. <S> In fact I rode one this morning here in Prague :) <A> The paternoster at the Arts Tower in the University of Sheffield, UK <S> ( Universities web-page , BBC video ) certainly used to be open to the public. <S> These forum posts from 2012 and a number of more recent Tripadviser reviews suggest that this is still the case. <S> The university also publishes a self guided tour (pdf) which includes the tower and its blurb does talk about the paternoster but also states that there is "Limited access to inside building". <S> Alternatively you could book yourself onto a public event inside the building. <S> Monday to Fridays 15th to the 29th of June <S> an architectural exhibition is taking place in the arts tower. <S> Or you can view their full list of events . <S> The university has also traditionally opened one building up to members of the public to tour in September each year as part of the heritage open days scheme , the arts tower opened in 2012 and the university didn't take part last year (2017). <S> Weather or not they will take part in 2018 and which building will likely be known around mid July (Source) . <S> Obviously there is no guarantee that the paternoster will be running on any given day/time. <S> But i'd image its most likely to be the case from around 9-5 during term time. <S> The building does feature other normal lifts which may be in use instead - something which I would imagine is more likely going to be done for a late evening event or on a weekend/event out of term time. <S> You could send an email and try and ask the exact opening times. <S> Finally, you could also visit on an open day with potential students, there are a handful of dates over the summer or the students union offer more regular tours to non-students. <S> They note that "Although the campus tour will take you past most of the academic buildings, if you wish to visit a specific department and speak to a member of staff then you will need to contact them directly, at least two weeks prior to your visit to the University. <S> " you could ask if there tour includes the Arts Tower, or ask if they would be willing to while you are there. <S> While these tours are open to the public, they will of course be designed for prospective students of the university. <A> Bochum in Germany has one in city hall that's a local city favorite. <S> It was closed in 2013 for legal reasons but re-opened in 2015 by the mayor herself. <S> She hits the button at around 1:50 . <A> Similar to Hilmar's answer , the city hall of Stuttgart, Germany also has a Paternoster that is publicly accessible and frequently mentioned on TripAdvisor . <S> It was opened in 1956 and was temporarily shut down in 2015 due to legal issues. <S> You can watch it being re-opened on YouTube . <S> You can visit the Paternoster during the opening hours of city hall, usually from 8am to 6pm on weekdays. <S> Image by <S> РБМК-1500 from Wikipedia , CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <A> Vienna city hall,active and publicly available Paternoster,open from 06:30 a.m. thru 4 p.m. local time on working days. <S> North entrance #6 (Felderstrasse) <S> https://club.wien.at/magazin/lifestyle/paternoster-im-rathaus/ <S> They celebrate its 100th birthday this year. <A> There are a few Paternosters still operating in Prague - the most accessible one is located in New City Hall, and there are others (I am not sure if they operate) in the buildings of CTU Campus. <A> Somebody posted this video from the Christiansborg elevators -- I would not have filmed it in 90* rotation! <A> You can visit three of them in Brno. <S> They are at these locations:1) Post office next to main train station (there is big sign POŠTA, you can't miss it)2) Faculty of Mechanical Engineering which is part of <S> University of technology (address: <S> Technická 2616 00 Brno)3) <S> Brno city hall ( <S> address: <S> Malinovského náměstí 3 <S> (Malinovsky square 3)) <A> Not sure if the one in the GrossMarkt Halle (in Ostend, Frankfurt am Main), now the ECB is still working and accessible. <S> When I worked in the building (had an office there) <S> I used to ride it everyday.
| There is a fantastic website (albeit in German) called PatList The government building in Copenhagen, Denmark has one; although I'm not aware of how many hoops you'd have to go through to obtain access. Currently there's about 300 such elevators left in operation (of which at least 50 are freely accessible to the public), so they're far from rare.
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Using a European (GSM) cell phone in the US I have an HTC A9s. I could not find it on the US page of the manufacturer so I went to the UK page . According to the specs, it does have the US frequencies: Network42G/2.5G - GSM/GPRS/EDGE:850/900/1800/1900 MHz3G UMTS (#UL):850/900/1900/2100 MHz4G LTE (#UHL):FDD: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8,12, 17, 28TDD: Bands 38, 404G LTE (#UL):FDD: Bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 Will I be able to use it in the US for calls and Internet? <Q> Many years ago, it was highly unlikely that a European cell / mobile phone would work in the US. <S> More recently, but still quite long ago, your phone might work if it supported the US bands. <S> In both cases, the answer might have varied from state to state or city to city. <S> These days, you are unlikely to experience a problem. <S> Phones are now much more standardised than in the early days. <S> I have not experienced a problem roaming in the US for a long time. <S> To be absolutely sure you would need to check with your current service provider and research ones in your destination area. <S> I suggest that you check roaming charges carefully: they might be very high, especially for data. <S> You might want consider getting a local SIM card. <S> How easy this is seems to vary a lot. <A> In addition to the other answers: Check the roaming charges for your provider/subscription. <S> They can be extraordinarily high. <S> The biggest issue is data, as your phone can use a lot of data without you even noticing or even doing anything actively on your phone (background updates of apps, e-mail...). <S> Providers often given data rates using units such as MB or even KB. <S> 0.10 <S> € <S> /MB doesn't seem much, but when you use a few hundred MB per day, that easily adds up to hundreds. <S> Some others will include calls and data for some destinations, but there may be a cap, or a threshold beyond which they start charging per MB. <S> If you decide you definitely want to be able to use voice & data while in the US: <S> check that international roaming is enabled with your mobile provider. <S> Some enable it by default, some don't. <S> Some may require a deposit or something similar to enable it. <S> It may vary depending on your contract. <S> check for any relevant "add-ons" which may reduce your costs. <S> check that your phone has roaming and/or data roaming enabled (the two settings may be in different places). <S> monitor your usage. <A> This is an excellent site I'd visited to figure out which SIM cards would work on my parents' Mi A1 phones in Canada - https://willmyphonework.net/ . <S> If you are looking for roaming, it might be expensive. <S> You are probably better off getting a US SIM (T-Mo, <S> Ultra Mobile etc.) <S> and using it for the duration of your stay. <S> Your choice, of course, but just a suggestion. <A> yes your phone will work also in the US.Regarding internet: you should have the option for data roaming active, otherwise it will not connect to the data network. <A> Yes, GSM phones will work in the US, either on GSM carriers (at&t, T-Mobile) or their resellers (MetroPCS etc.) or MVNOs (Virgin Mobile, LycaMobile etc.) <S> To solve the dilemma of international roaming for call/text/data, get a dual-SIM GSM phone and install both a US and local SIM . <S> These are common (OnePlus, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor etc.) <S> Obviously, when you're in Europe, turn off data roaming on your US SIM (and restrict or disable bandwidth-hungry apps), and vice versa. <S> Btw T-Mobile postpaid allows cheap international roaming and free international texts in most foreign countries. <S> As long as the T-Mobile postpaid account has been active domestically in the US for the preceding n [*] months, and the foreign usage does not exceed fraud threshold. <S> [*] T-Mobile reps have quoted me numbers anything between 1-6 months. <A> In fact I tried to use one of my GSM flip phones (bought new in 2015) in New York and <S> it just said "no network", it didn't even have the possibility for emergency calls. <S> Part of the relevant information is here on wikipedia: <S> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands Europe uses GSM 900 and 1800 ("dual band"). <S> America (not only the US. <S> Also Canada, South America, Central America) mostly uses GSM 850 and GSM 1900. <S> Smart phones are typically quad band phones. <S> I assume the manufacturers don't want to bother with different models for different parts of the world, or nowadays, the possibility to use your smart phone everywhere is far more important than with "cheap" phones that could only text and phone - after all for these services you also need a decently priced plan, or might just be unavailable <S> (time zone difference, vacation, …) or get a throw-away phone in the country you're visiting. <S> You already collected the relevant information about what GSM standards your phone can do, and in fact all relevant ones are covered.
| Not all European GSM phones work in the US (regardless of the SIM card).
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Do Europe's ATMs offer good US$ → € exchange rates? Do Europe's ATMs offer good US$ → € exchange rates, or would I get a better rate buying € in the U.S. at a bank? <Q> In the EU, the Payment Services Directive 2 , article 3(o), which went into force in January 2018, requires that ATMs inform you of every fee and charge added by the ATM operator before you make the withdrawal. <S> As Aganju says, free-standing ATMs are generally more likely to charge additional fees than ATMs at bank branches. <S> Usually the withdrawn amount will be reported in the currency <S> you actually get and your card issuer will convert it to your currency according to their own rules. <S> Card issuers often add various fees to out-of-country cash withdrawals, but that is independent of the ATM being in Europe specifically. <S> Familiarize yourself with your card issuer's conditions before traveling. <S> If you have multiple cards, it is possible that the one that is cheapest to use at home is not the one that is cheapest to use abroad. <S> (And this may differ between use in stores and ATMs). <S> Some ATMs offer to do the currency conversion for you and charge your card in your own currency. <S> This uses exchange rates set by the ATM operators. <S> The rates will usually be worse than what your card issuer would use. <S> The Directive requires that the ATM must show the exchange rate (and any other fees connected with this feature) before you choose to use it. <S> Unfortunately it's not easy to check your issuer's current rates while you're standing at the ATM, but if you remember their latest published rates you will at least have a fighting chance of judging whether you're being offered a bargain or a scam. <S> Unless you hit a particularly greedy ATM operator, withdrawing local currency at an ATM will almost always be cheaper than exchanging cash from home. <S> Getting physical euro notes transported to your home country just so you can carry them back to Europe costs money, and those costs will be borne by you in the form of worse exchange rates than electronic transactions carry. <A> In addition to the other responses, there’s one thing to consider: some banis have an international presence, others have international partners. <S> Those banks will usually offer reduced fees at their own / their partners’ ATMs, so check if this is the case before you leave. <S> In some cases this has very limited use (e.g. Citibank has presence in many countries, but it’s often quite limited <S> so you really need to get out of your way to find one of their ATMs), others have a very large international presence in many countries (e.g HSBC). <S> Partnerships are a lot let obvious and can sometimes be very useful. <S> All in all: do you homework before you leave, check your bank(s) <S> and/or card issuer(s) rates and fees. <A> Typically, there is a series of fees associated, and you often only see the total, so it is hard to compare. <S> the owner of the ATM might charge a fee <S> the owner of the location might charge a fee <S> the company maintaining (restocking) <S> the ATM might charge a fee the bank whos name is on it might take a fee <S> your bank might take a fee any intermediate bank that connects your bank with the bank in the foreign country might take a fee one of the 2 <S> + banks does the actual currency conversion, and although they typically use the interbank exchange rate, they add a fee too; typically as a percentage <S> As said, some of the fees are 'merged' into the rate, so you don't see them (and there is a little sticker on the ATM [probably in 4pt-font and under the bottom of the machine], that informs you about it). <S> Buying currency is not that cheap either, because it requires for a US bank to have Euros, or for a European bank to have US dollar; both of which is effort and they will therefore take a fee, oftne rather higher than ATMs. <S> Worst possibility is exchanging in the airport (most convenient = most expensive). <S> Your best choice is to pay as much as possible with credit card; many offer real fee-free conversion. <S> For the cash you absolutely need, ATMs are the least expensive, as said, stick with ATMs inside banks if you have a choice.
| Your best chance is with ATMs inside banks, with large international bank, or ATMs from banks associated with your bank; that removes many of the potential fees.
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Does the GDPR entitle me to refuse to show my boarding pass at EU airport shops? Every time you shop at airports the shop personnel ask to see your boarding pass even if there's no discount on the merchandise due to the lack of VAT. Given that the GDPR is now in force starting from 25.05.2018, can I refuse to show my boarding pass at EU airports, citing privacy concerns? Or can I at least demand an explanation from the shop keeper of how my personal data is stored? <Q> You can demand that explanation. <S> In this explanation the shopkeeper/company will try to explain what they do with the data, how long they keep it, and why they think it is legal. <S> If it is legally required to collect this data, you are out of luck. <S> If it is not legally required but legal to collect the data, they should give you an option to opt out of data collection without limiting your access to unrelated transactions (i.e. cash for physical goods). <A> This has become common practice since the public found out the stores were pocketing the 20% sales tax savings with out sharing. <S> Here is a link to the British newspaper which claimed to have exposed the scam. <S> https://www.independent.co.uk/money/tax/airport-vat-scam-five-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-boarding-pass-rip-off-10456609.html <A> Even before GDPR my experience is that when I say, "It's not necessary, my destination is also within the EU," then the checkout assistant doesn't push the issue. <S> I've even had one reply, "It's ok <S> , you don't have to show it if you don't want to"; I think that was in a Boots in either LGW or STN. <S> So the answer to <S> "Can I refuse to show my boarding pass" is that you can, and you don't need to rely on GDPR when refusing. <S> Even if you did want a legal argument based on privacy, the old Data Protection Directive has you covered with the principles of legitimate purpose and proportionality: if you're travelling within the EU then it serves no purpose for them to process your data, and it would be disproportionate to insist on it. <A> You can only refuse if the boarding pass is being read electronically. <S> If the cashier just needs to visually see it, then GDPR does not apply. <S> You can still refuse to show it, but then teller also can refuse to sell you the item. <S> If the system doesn't save your name (which is the only personal information on a boarding card - note, the frequent flier number is anonymized and doesn't come under GDPR) <S> then I believe you also are not under GDPR rules. <S> Not sure if this is really worth the wrath of everyone else behind the line at the counter trying to get at the gate. <S> What is the goal here? <S> Privacy? <S> If you pay using your card, they already have more information about you than on the boarding pass. <S> Or can I at least demand an explanation of how my personal data is stored from the shop keeper? <S> They will probably refer you to their term and conditions, a website or some other printed brochure. <S> I doubt the cashier or the manager is authorized to speak on corporate policy and procedure. <S> Even if they are, they will probably pull you aside to speak to you. <S> So again, not sure if this is just a hypothetical question or something practical. <S> I mean, really - isn't the point to overspend on something, get to the gate, and then regret it the entire flight? :-) <A> In the UK at least, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) requires airport duty free shops (or "export shops") to be satisfied that the customer is a passenger or crew by demanding a "transport document" from the customer. <S> This must show the current date of travel, flight number, final country of destination and the time of departure or boarding time. <S> Simply put those duty free shops are not allowed to sell you duty free goods unless you show them a boarding card or airline ticket that has the required information. <S> I imagine this is a "legitimate interest" for the purposes of GDPR. <S> The law is The Excise Goods (Export Shops) Regulations 2000: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/cy/uksi/2000/645/made/data.xht?wrap=true <S> More information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/excise-notice-197a-excise-goods-holding-and-movement/excise-notice-197a-excise-goods-holding-and-movement <S> The airport shops that are not duty free shops ask for your boarding card or ticket because they can claim back VAT if you are travelling outside the EU, although not all shops pass this saving to the customer. <S> Martin Lewis did a good piece on the requirements and differences between the shops: https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2017/05/need-show-boarding-pass-airport-shops-video-guide/ <A> Airport Duty free stores are mostly airside after security and in customs controlled zones where the country's customs officials require the retailer to prove where the products sold are being exported to. <S> It's both for Eurostat reporting as well as the VAT and Excise reclaim. <S> Hence the requirement for the boarding pass whether EU or Non EU.
| You can refuse to show them the boarding card and they can refuse to give you the discount. Certainly, in the UK you can refuse.
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Bicycle routes in Europe Planning bicycle trip in Europe. What are the best maps for trip planing purposes. I know https://www.openstreetmap.org . Would you recommend other ones? <Q> The data quality of OpenStreetMap (and other map services) varies a lot from country to country. <S> Particular problems I have run into with OSM when bicycling are: <S> In many European countries, bicycling is often prohibited along better or high traffic roads. <S> OSM maps usually have no data on this, making it impossible to know if you are allowed to ride along a specific road. <S> Bicycle paths on OSM maps are of unpredictable quality. <S> I have often run into bicycle paths, for which you probably would need a mountain bike and which could at least not be driven with a loaded road or trekking bike. <S> A really odd thing with OSM is that at least a few times, I had planned to use roads that simply do not exist. <S> I am not sure how they ended up on the map. <S> Google Maps is slightly better, at least for some countries. <S> If you use the route planner for bicycling, Google Maps will avoid roads where bicycling is prohibited. <S> Depending on exactly where you are going and if you are planning to follow designated long-distance cycle routes like the EuroVelo network or national cycle route networks, you can often find designated web sites for these cycle routes with much more relevant and up to date information than on any free online map. <S> I am going through France next month by bicycle and one example of such a web site would be 'Loire by bike' . <S> If you speak German, I can also recommend radreise-wiki.de with lots of general information about countries and regions and also detailed first-hand information on many cycle routes. <A> I would go for a bike route planner for the big distances and go with the bike routes they suggest or the maps, for the actual routes you use. <S> The European Bikeroutes planner information page, (much in Dutch but also in English and German) or a link to the planner (which has a tri-lingual interface with just a bit more Dutch) combines long distance routes and suggests, your choice between them, signposted routes, written routes in a selection of languages, GPS routes and possibly others as well. <S> And these days they also have an app for your phone. <S> Out on the street I prefer to have a local 1:50,000 map, by preference one that is made for cycling use. <A> I'm using outdooractive.com quite frequently. <S> It has bike paths incoorporated and tries to route you along them where possible. <S> It requires to open an account with them, which is free of charge. <S> E.g. for a trip from Gent to Budapest this would look like this <S> and of course you may zoom in as much as you like and set custom way points, export the GPX track etc. <S> For detailed regional planning I also use opentopomap.org , which has hillshading and isolines, very useful when planning bike trips. <S> There is no routing available, but you may load GPX tracks into the map. <S> (from such map it may be more obvious that it's better to take the detour along the river than the shortest track. <S> ;-))
| For planning details I do use a local bike route planner as well as Google (or open street map.)
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Can you take alcohol to Sri Lanka from Australia? Can you take duty-free alcohol to Sri Lanka from Australia? <Q> According to Duty Free Allowances from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) site, yes you can. <S> The duty free limits are: Passengers over the age of 18 years of age are allowed the following free imports: <S> Two bottles of wine as well as one and half a litre of spirits. <A> Exporting duty free alcohol from India As Peter M states, going outbound from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) <S> The limits are: Passengers over the age of 18 years of age are allowed the following free imports: Two bottles of wine as well as one and half a litre of spirits. <S> Importing duty free alcohol into Australia Australia is known to have a tough stance at border control, espeically customs. <S> Australia's home affairs indicate that you can only bring 2.25 litres of alcohol as duty free. <S> Alcoholic beverages <S> It further states: <S> There are no duty free concessions on tobacco or alcohol for travellers aged under 18 years of age. <S> Disclaimer: <S> It is often forgotten that importing goods into a country may result a duty to imposed on it. <S> The permissible amount of duty free to be exported from one country may be more than the country that the passenger is importing it into. <S> Australia has strict customs, therefore it is recommended that you bring no more than 2.25 litres of alcohol into Australia, or you will be paying duty on it. <A> This link gives you the allowances at Colombo International Airport. <S> https://srilanka.shopdutyfree.com/en/custom-allowances
| If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring 2.25 litres of alcoholic beverages duty free into Australia with you.
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Munich Airport to Manching I want to go from MUC to Manching, but it seems that gmaps couldn't find a transit (train, bus, etc.). Does anyone knows a way to go there (it seems that Uber is not an option, and I do not know how much a taxi will cost)? PS: I won't be in hurry. <Q> The best source for public transport in Germany is reiseauskunft.bahn.de . <S> You can switch the language to English by clicking on the word "Deutschland" at the top and selecting "Germany" instead. <S> I just tried, there are options. <S> Essentially, you have to take the S-Bahn to Munich central, take a train to Ingolstadt and then a bus to Manching; the total travel time is 2-2.5 hours and the price is 25-35 Euro. <S> According to taxi-rechner.de, a taxi would cost approximately 106 Euros. <S> I guess that's not worth it if you're not in a hurry... <A> Instead of taking the train from Munich central to Ingolstadt, you can also take a bus from the airport straight to the Ingolstadt central bus station. <S> This bus costs between 15,50 and 23 euros (depending on whether you buy a return ticket as well and whether you book in advance) and leaves every hour. <S> See https://www.invg.de/fahrplan_airport_express for the schedule. <A> Manching doesn't have a station and the regional bus operator (INVG) isn't in Google Maps. <S> This is rather close to the town of Manching and you can take one of the regional buses. <S> There's an information desk at the station. <S> Traveling from Munich airport to Manching via Munich city would cost too much time. <A> Except from reiseauskunft.bahn.de which was posted above, the bus site was also helpful: shop.flixbus.de . <S> It found me a nice route to Ulm from the airport in another journey, Google maps failed to find.
| The best way is to take the Airport Express from either Terminal 1 or 2 to Ingolstadt Central Station (Hauptbahnhof).
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Are restaurants closed on Mondays all over the UK? I have visited the UK (London, Reading, Swindon) several times so far. During my last trip to Swindon, I noticed that many restaurants are closed on Mondays. Is this practice specific to Swindon or valid all over the UK? Edit: Since Monday is not a common holiday in Turkey, it is not common for me either. <Q> It is common but not universal. <S> Chain restaurants are usually open all days, smaller restaurants may take a day off during the week and Monday is a sensible choice because more people eat out over the weekend. <S> Other businesses, particularly small businesses, may do the same if most of their trade is weekend shoppers. <S> If you are wanting to visit a particular restaurant, or are staying in an area with only a couple of places to eat out available, it would certainly be worth checking out in advance. <S> In most areas, though, there will be other restaurants around that are open <S> so it is only a minor inconvienience. <A> I would say that most restaurants in the UK are open seven days a week. <S> However, if a restaurant is going to close for a day, that day will almost always be Monday. <S> The same holds for shops and museums – and any other business that does most of its trade at the weekend. <S> (And, if such a business is closed for two days, they'll likely be Monday and Tuesday.) <S> This isn't unique to the UK: I've seen the same thing in the US, for example. <S> It's noted in the comments below the question that public holidays in the UK are commonly on Mondays. <S> In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the day after Easter Sunday, the first and last Mondays in May and the last Monday in August; in Scotland, the first and last Mondays in May and the first Monday in August. <S> However, I don't think that's an issue: restaurants and shops aren't legally obliged to close on these days and, since they're holidays, they're likely to be very good for business. <S> I'd certainly expect a museum that usually closes on Mondays to open on holiday Mondays. <A> Let's use a bit of real data to give you a full answer. <S> I've checked Yelp to find the opening times of restaurants in London, Reading and Swindon (thanks to @ZachLipton for the idea!). <S> The findings are summarised below: | City | Open on Fri 7PM | Open on Mon 7PM <S> | % closed on Mon | |---------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------| | London | 8073 | 7326 | 9.3% | | Reading | 130 | 125 | 3.8% | | Swindon <S> | 41 | 36 | 12.2% <S> | <S> So the answer is <S> We can also compare our findings with equivalent statistics for the Turkish cities of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir: | City | Open on Fri 7PM | Open on Mon 7PM <S> | % closed on Mon | |----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Istanbul | 3174 | 3119 | 1.7 | | Ankara <S> | 481 | 473 | 1.7 | | Izmir <S> | 270 | 266 | 1.5 | <S> The data above confirms your observation that it is very uncommon for Turkish restaurants to be closed on Monday. <A> From my experience this is more common in smaller towns and possibly in the North. <S> I live in the South (about 50 miles North of London) in a fairly large town <S> and it's not terribly common here. <S> I know of a few places which are closed on Mondays <S> but it tends to be smaller and often take-away places (Chinese, chip shops, etc.). <S> On the other hand, I have been on holiday to smaller towns (one springs to mind in the Peak District) where almost everything was closed on a Monday night except for one Indian take-away place. <S> It may be a regional thing or may be more due to the size of town, or a bit of both.
| So I would say that it's somewhat common, but far from universal, and may be more common in some regions than others. no , it is not too common for a restaurant to be closed on Mondays in the UK.
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Entering the US on a student visa early, how can I minimise financial loss? I will be starting my PhD program in the US as an international student in the fall season. On my I20 it says Start of classes: 21 August 2018 Earliest admission date: 22 July 2018 My program requires me to attend a "head start program" which begins on the 23rd July. If I am interpreting "Earliest admission date" correctly, this is the earliest date I can get into the US. This means I only have one day to get into the US and set up. I erroneously thought I had 3 months before the start of classes (I think I confused this with when I can apply for the visa) so I booked my tickets to arrive in the US on July 13th. I am from Australia so I need to take two flights to get to the state I need to go to. Both of these flights are with different carriers. It appears both of these flights are non refundable. I am not optimistic in recovering even half of my money, but I thought I might as well see what options I have in order to minimise the financial impact. I will be entering the US on an F1 visa. Any answers are greatly appreciated. <Q> A bunch of options: <S> You need to call the consulate and ask if this is possible. <S> Visa appointments for student Visas in Sydney only have <S> a 1-2 day wait time, so that feels worth trying <S> Change your flights. <S> Call the airline and ask or try online. <S> In most cases, you will have to pay a change fee plus/minus any difference in actual ticket prices. <S> If this is a single booking with a single ticket number (even if it's two separate airlines), you have to pay change fee once. <S> For two different tickets/bookings you have to pay it twice. <S> Rough estimated would be US$300 for an international and US$200 for a domestic flight <S> You can scrap the tickets and buy a new one. <S> One way ticket from SYD to BOS (example) on Jul 22, will cost you about US$1000. <S> DON'T do this if your original tickets are return tickets and you are planning to use the return legs. <S> If you don't take the first flight, the remaining flights will be cancelled unless you pay a change fee. <S> Attend remotely, make it up during some night shifts, waive it, do some substitute work, etc. <A> In addition to Hilmar's suggestions, you could also consider coming to the US in mid-July, and entering as a tourist. <S> On July 20 or 21, leave the US and cross the border into Canada or Mexico. <S> Spend at least one night outside the US. <S> On July 22, enter the US on your F1 student visa. <A> Talk to the international students office at your school first. <S> If you're required to be present on July 23, they may be able to update <S> the program start date accordingly. <S> As explained in Understanding SEVIS Program and Session Dates , you're allowed to enter the US 30 days before your program start date ("Date orientation or required activities start"), and that can be up to 30 days before classes start (the "Initial Session Start" date).
| If they're able to set your program start date to July 23rd, the date your mandatory orientation begins, you could enter the US on July 13th as planned, which will give you a little bit of time to get settled first. You could try to get your F1 Visa time shifted. Talk to the school and see if there is a way around being physically present during the "head start" program.
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Do I need any special documents when traveling to China as a Chinese citizen? I was born and raised in Europe, and I live in a European country. But I do possess a dual citizenship (with a Hong Kong ID card and Chinese return home permit). I plan on going to China for a month this summer for a scholarship. Will I need to get a visa or will my Chinese return home permit suffice? Do I need to be careful with anything? <Q> No, you can NOT enter the mainland of China as a foreigner if you are a Chinese citizen. <S> Chinese nationality law is complicated because it applies differently in the mainland and in HK/Macao. <S> I'll try to explain. <S> The 1980 Nationality Law applies in every part of PRC, and dual nationality is de jure forbidden in the PRC. <S> If you are a Chinese citizen born with dual nationality, you must renounce your other citizenship (or Chinese citizenship) when you reach the age of 18. <S> However, since you are born to a PRC citizen who happens also to be a Hong Kong permanent resident, the law applies differently to you. <S> The enforcement agencies in the mainland and HK interpret the law differently. <S> In practice, Hong Kong permanent residents with dual nationality are not stripped of their Chinese citizenship unless they personally request so. <S> So, while no one will ask you to renounce your other citizenship, your dual nationality will not be recognized in China. <S> By HK Immigration Department regulations, you CAN enter Hong Kong as a foreigner, and you will be treated as a visitor. <S> If you do anything other than hanging out, though, you need to enter as a permanent resident. <S> If you want to enter the mainland, though, you must use your Home Return Permit because you are a Chinese citizen. <S> No exceptions. <S> Well, if you can cover up the fact that you are actually a PRC citizen, you might be OK getting a visa. <S> But then if they find out you're a Chinese citizen <S> I don't know what will happen to you. <S> Chances are that, since you have a Home Return Card, they already have your name somewhere on their database. <S> So, the answer is: you should enter with your HKSAR passport and Home Return Permit. <S> But another note here. <S> Not all HK permanent residents are Chinese citizens. <S> Technically only those Chinese citizens should get Home Return Permits, but this does not seem to be the actual practice. <S> So, you might actually not be a Chinese citizen, but your Home Return Permit should always suffice. <A> Per TIMATIC, the database used by airlines, you need either an Exit & Entry permit , Chinese Travel Document or Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents to enter mainland China <A>
| Your Home Return Permit (officially the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents) will suffice to enter Mainland China.
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In Italy, how to know parking fee before driving into the parking lot? Is there a way to know the parking fee before driving into a parking lot in Italy? In many other countries there are boards with prices at the gateway, so you see the hour rates before you park. I have almost never seen such price boards in Italy. Am I missing something? <Q> Prices should be clearly marked and visibly displayed by law. <S> Failing this you can try using Parkopedia which tends to keep up to date with parking prices around the world. <A> 30 min payment fee First hour fee <S> Next hours fee (repeated for each hour). <S> Usually paid parking have blue stripes and free ones are white, unless white ones are residential parkings for people who live there, in which case you will notice usually cars parked there will have some kind of ticket/permission with a letter on it to show they're actually people who live and park there <S> and there should be a sign with the parking rules in the whereabouts. <S> Here is an example of price label shown on such parking payment devices. <A> Do you have an example of where you didn't find such information? <S> I don't know exactly which parking lots you are referring to, but when you have that kind of parking lot where you take a ticket at the entrance, you also have a sign telling you what is the hour rate. <S> This is a common type of parking also in italy and, as everywhere in the world, we have the prices shown at the entrance. <S> There could be exception to that, as sometimes I also saw abroad missing prices at the entrance, but they are just a small minority.
| Usually there is a parking payment machine (usually column-like urban structure like this one ) where prices are written usually in the pattern of
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What identification does a teenager need to pass a TSA checkpoint? My 16-year old is considering a non-stop cross-country flight by herself. She does not have a driver's license or an unexpired passport. She does have a school ID with a picture. Will that be sufficient to get her through the TSA checkpoint? Or do we need to panic and try to get an expedited passport or official state ID? I could accompany her to the checkpoint, and I do have ID. The airline is probably United, but we could consider a different one if that would make any difference. (TSA means this question is for the United States.) <Q> There is surprisingly little explicit information on this, but I do see anecdotal reports that teenagers traveling alone (old enough not to require special unaccompanied minor service) can go through TSA with just a boarding pass and stating that they are under 18. <S> The one official source I found with an explicit statement is Frontier Airlines : <S> Minors traveling alone between the ages of 15-17 are not required to have identification. <S> However, it is recommended to have one of the following: <S> Driver's license Passport School ID Library card Birth certificate Social security card <A> TSA's ID requirements state that those under 18 do not need ID for their purposes: <S> Contact the airline for questions regarding specific ID requirements for travelers under 18. <S> So we look to the airline's policy. <S> United won't care about her ID unless she's checking a bag at the check-in counter, at which point they may ask. <S> United says a school ID is sufficient for "children ages 15-17 traveling alone" within the US, including to/from US territories. <A> As others have stated, it's not required for someone of that age to have identification. <S> However, if you're worried about it (especially if you're concerned about being profiled, etc), I'd recommend simply getting a state photo ID. <S> If you have time, it may be worth getting a passport, as they last quite a long time and are a very valuable piece of identification.
| TSA does not require children under 18 to provide identification when traveling with a companion within the United States.
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Flight from France to Japan via Moscow I have purchased a flight from France to Japan for tourism with Aeroflot and I have a transit in Moscow. It is only a 3-hour layover (my flight ticket actually only mentions PARIS-TOKYO). I just wanted to be sure that:1. My luggage will be directly sent to Tokyo Narita.2. I don't need a transit visa for Russia. Sorry if this is naive, I am not used to travel. It seems to me that everything should be ok, but I did not manage to find kind of an "official" confirmation for (1) and (2). Where could such information be on my flight tickets? Fyi, I have French citizenship. <Q> 1) You are travelling with one airline on a single booking: your luggage will be checked through to Tokyo. <S> Aeroflot's information for transit passengers confirms that you do not need to collect your luggage in Moscow 2) <S> From this site : <S> The following applicants do not require a transit visa: <S> Foreign nationals flying over the territory of the Russian Federation without changing flights in the country Foreign nationals flying with an international airline and changing flights in the Russian Federation, at the same airport on both the outward journey and the inbound journey (on condition that this airport has a transit area), in possession of properly completed documents confirming their right to enter the destination country, and an airline ticket with a confirmed departure date from the airport in Russia where they changed flights, no more than 24 hours after their arrival date. <S> (bolding mine) <A> I already done the transit in Moscow without visa, so I can confirm there is no problem, and you are using long leg flights (and possibly large airplanes), so you should also not get problem with transit. <S> You can check your booking on Aeroflot website (it is also in English, not sure about French). <S> Check in which airport and terminal are you arriving and departing. <S> Then check the transit instruction in https://www.aeroflot.ru/ru-en/information/airport/transit <S> You should be careful on airport: sometime there is a small corridors for international transit (most people will go straight to immigration): so before going to police control, check that you are really doing a transit (the deviation is in the same room, on some side, of just before entering in the immigration room). <S> Sometime it is impossible to do the transit without transit visa, but this usually imply short haul flights (e.g. to small airport on ex soviet countries) and changing air carrier, which is not your case. <S> So to be 100% sure <S> : go to Aeroflot website, check your booking for the airport and terminal: then the above link will confirm you that there is a transit (so visa free). <A> Because your trip is in a single booking, you do <S> not require a visa. <S> Per TIMATIC, the database that check-in staff use: TWOV <S> (Transit Without Visa): <S> Passengers with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight to a third country within 24 hours. <S> They must stay in the international transit area of the airport and have documents required for the next destination.
| You do not need a transit visa as you are transiting within the airport.
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Best strategy to get a cheap long-term mobile SIM card for the US? I travel to US every year (sometimes once every 2 years). Every time that I arrive in a country, I buy a cheap prepaid SIM card. The problem is that all these cheap SIMs have a short inactive life, due to their pay-as-you-go nature. For example, most of them will die after 3 months of inactivity, and it is almost impossible to reactivate them. Is it possible to buy a SIM, which work for a long time regardless of its activity? I wish to have a permanent mobile number in the US. I can get US numbers via Google voice and such, but then I need to buy a separate SIM card and set up forwarding and such, which can get complicated. (If this is the best option, I need a step by step explanation of how to make it work). I'm looking for either a prepaid solution (with a 24-month lifespan) or a postpaid solution that I can activate to an expensive plan while there, and a cheaper plan (less than $10/month, i.e. around $100 of unnecessary annual costs) when not there, and an expensive data plan while there. If it works worldwide (as I hear T-mobile's $70/month plan does), that would be a bonus. Supporting calling over WiFi would also be good for using the SIM card elsewhere. So far the strategies I've identified are: Get a postpaid US number Get a prepaid number with online refill/recharge and roaming capabilities, so that you can use the sim once in 3 months. Get an online US number (skype($60/year), google(free + some $ recharge) and use that as primary, forwarding to local throwaway sim while in the US. My question is are there any other strategies that people have used successfully? <Q> I use Google Voice as my stable US number and I am happy with that approach. <S> I simply buy a cheap pre-paid SIM card in each country that I visit, including the US. <S> The Google web page (voice.google.com) is very straightforward; setting up call-forwarding to another number is self-evident. <S> If you have the voice.google.com web page open, you can also receive incoming calls over the browser. <S> Even if you don't setup call-forwarding to another number, Google will transcribe incoming calls to text (remarkably accurate) and send them by e-mail to you. <S> A huge advantage of Google Voice (and the main reason I use it) is that it supports incoming SMS messages in most (but not all) cases. <S> This is important for 2-factor authentication when you are logging in to a US website from abroad. <A> T-Mobile Prepaid almost meets your requirements currently. <S> Note that their offerings have changed over the years and may continue to change. <S> They can get you started with " Simply Prepaid " which is currently $50+tax for 30 days of unlimited calls/texts + 10GB data. <S> You may have to pay extra for getting a new SIM. <S> Before the 30 days are up, log in at https://account.t-mobile.com to pay for the next 30 days. <S> You add the money to a prepaid balance and then it gets deducted when the next 30 day period starts. <S> Repeat every 30 days. <S> When you no longer plan to use the SIM but want to keep it active, log in and click "Plan" and change to " Pay As You Go " which is currently $3+tax for 30 days including 30 minutes or texts. <S> The change will take effect for the next 30 day period. <S> You have to add at least $10+tax to your balance, which will be deducted $3 every 30 days. <S> I'd suggest to log in every 30 days and add another $10+tax every 60 days to be extra sure your account doesn't get deactivated. <S> The catch will be how long you can do this without using the SIM at all, which is not 100% clear from their website. <S> I did this for 75 days of no usage and it was ok. <S> Their website currently says "Service available for 30 days after activation/refill/conversion; then account is suspended. <S> If you have a balance, your plan will resume for 30 days with 30 voice min. <S> or SMS messages. <S> After this 30-day period, your account is suspended. <S> " <S> When you want to change back to the $50+tax plan, log in and click "Plan" again. <S> If you need to change plans and can't wait for the end of the current 30 day period, you'll need to add money to your prepaid balance and then call T-Mobile customer care by dialing 611 from your phone and the representative will make the change for you. <S> They can also help you with other options that aren't on the website like $5 to add 500MB for one day , etc. <A> What I did is use a Google Voice number. <S> To get one initially, you must be in the US and have another US number, but you can keep the Google Voice number once you have it as long as it doesn't sit unused for too many months. <S> Rather than dealing with forwarding settings, I got Google Hangouts Dialer for Android, and changed its settings to ring for incoming calls. <S> This enables you to make and receive US phone calls using your Google Voice number, by using the Google Hangouts Dialer app. <S> In this case, don't install the Google Voice app which would depend on forwarding settings and making calls using your SIM card. <S> The advantage of the Google Hangouts Dialer setup is it only uses data, so you can use it equally well from anywhere in the world that you have data, either Wifi or mobile data. <S> It will work with your throwaway SIM as soon as data is working, both in the US and other countries. <S> The disadvantage is it has slightly poorer sound quality than a regular mobile phone (much poorer if your data connection is bad). <S> The other disadvantage is it doesn't work right with apps like Uber that want to make phone calls directly. <S> I still used Uber <S> but I had to text the driver to call me. <S> The other disadvantage is you can't log into the Google Voice website from outside the US, so you need to make sure you like your settings before you leave the US.
| First, get a T-Mobile Prepaid SIM by going to a T-Mobile store in the US.
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Can I safely eat whatever goes through the x-ray machine? This might be an odd question, but I often take a sandwich or fruit to eat while waiting for the airplane. This means that my food goes through the security x-ray machine. I don't understand much about radioactivity, so I was wondering: Is it safe to eat that food right after going through the security machine? or suffer harmful mutations that can affect ones health?Can it keep some latent/cumulative radioactive effect? Bananas , by nature have a very low level of radioactivity. Does it get increased, for example? Can I safely eat the food that goes through the x-ray machine after the security check? <Q> Is it safe to eat food, drink beverages, use medicine, or apply cosmetics if any of these products have gone through a cabinet x-ray system? <S> There are no known adverse effects from eating food, drinking beverages, using medicine, or applying cosmetics that have been irradiated by a cabinet x ray system used for security screening. <S> The radiation dose typically received by objects scanned by a cabinet x-ray system is 1 millirad or less. <S> The average dose rate from background radiation is 360 millirad per year. <S> The minimum dose used in food irradiation for food preservation or destruction of parasites or pathogens is 30,000 rad. <S> For more detailed information on radiation used for food inspection or food treatment, see Title 21 CFR 179, www.FoodSafety.gov, contact FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, or contact the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service. <S> Souce: <S> The US Food and Drug Administration Home Page (see Question 8) <A> There is radiation that can only heat, radiation that can additionally ionize, and radiation that can actually make stuff radioactive. <S> XRays are the second kind, ionizing radiation, meaning they may alter some molecules (i.e. the arrangement of atoms), but will not affect the atoms themselves(so no radioactivity is created). <S> The altering of molecules may also happen to the DNA molecule, which is why XRays are kept to a minimum. <S> So the apple sent through the machine might get a mutation, but the chance of that being a problem to the apple are remote, and the mutated apple being a problem to you is virtually nonexistent. <S> Sending old school films through an old school XRay might be a problem for the film (film is coated with molecules that are easily altered, because detecting (visible)radiation is it's job, and old XRays used higher power sources). <S> Your association of XRay machines with radioactivity might come from the hazard sign above, that is sometimes quite prominently displayed on Xray machines. <S> It simply warns of ionizing radiation , which can, as stated, damage your DNA, thereby giving you cancer, etc, depending on strength. <S> It's popular meaning of "Danger! <S> Radioactivity" came about because radioactive materials emit ionizing radiation (that's actually why it's called radio active, the ionizing radiation messes with radio-equipment). <S> So Radioactive materials emit ionizing radiation, but ionizing radiation does not produce radioactivity. <A> Yes, you can safely eat food that's been through the X-ray machine (assuming, of course, that it was safe to eat before going through the nuker). <S> There are three main ways that something not previously radioactive can be made radioactive: <S> Neutron irradiation. <S> The X-ray machine uses (obviously) <S> X-rays, not neutrons, so this avenue can be safely eliminated. <S> Bombarding it with very-high-energy charged particles. <S> Again, the machine uses X-rays, which are uncharged, so this avenue can also be safely excluded. <S> Photodisintegration. <S> X-ray luggage scanners use radiation "in the low-to-medium keV [kiloelectronvolt] energy range" , while photodisintegration requires photons with energies in the MeV (megaelectronvolt) range. <S> Therefore, photodisintegration is also not a concern here. <S> (Some specialised scanners for things like large cargo containers do use MeV-range X-rays, but that isn't a concern for the food in your carry-on luggage.) <S> Edit for clarity: photons are the basic units of electromagnetic radiation, such as visible light, X-rays, radio rays, ultraviolent rays, infrared rays, etc., etc., etc.. <S> An electronvolt (eV) is a measure of energy; it is defined as the amount by which the energy of an electron changes when it moves through a potential difference of one volt. <S> A kiloelectronvolt (keV) equals one thousand electronvolts; a megaelectronvolt (MeV) equals one million electronvolts. <S> The more (kilo-/mega-)electronvolts an X-ray photon has, the more energy it carries, and the more damage it can do with that energy. <A> You might be surprised to know this, but you'll get far more radiation exposure on the airplane than your food gets exposed to in the x-ray machine <S> As the diagram makes clear, walking through an airport security scanner exposes a person to about the same ionizing radiation dose as eating a banana. <S> Flying from New York to Los Angeles exposes you to roughly the same amount of radiation you'd get from eight dental X-rays — and less than you'd get living in a stone house for a year. <S> And those peanuts that airlines hand out? <S> They're a little radioactive, too. <S> "Radiation is one example of where people have such a wrong idea about what is dangerous, and are also unaware of its ubiquitous nature," says Barish. <S> " <S> Radiation is all around us. <S> It is in us." <S> There's this handy chart (referenced above) which shows that neither is particularly dangerous on a dosage scale. <S> If you regularly fly on flights passing over the poles, you might need to be more concerned (but even then we're talking LOTS of flights to get a concerning dose). <S> So eat up. <S> There's no danger from the x-ray machine.
| Conclusion: your food will not be any more radioactive when it comes out of the X-ray machine than it was when it went in.
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Is it appropriate to enter a church while a chorus is performing? On Sunday, I was walking in Zürich and came across St. Jakob Church. When I approached the door, I saw that a chorus was performing. Since there was nobody around except the people seated in the church, I hesitated to enter. If that happened at Fraumünster or Grossmünster, probably there would be lots of tourists around and I would follow the crowd. I didn't have that chance at St. Jakob. Maybe the same rules don't apply to all churches, but I wonder what the best practice is. <Q> It can be a rehearsal, a concert, a regular religious service or even a wedding or baptism. <S> As @phoog mentions in his answer, if there is nobody at the door to ask your money you can enter. <S> In the case of a concert, you are asked to stay out of the area unless you sit down and start being one of the group. <S> Rehearsals are less formal, just do not mingle into the choir or go between the choir and the people which are with them (likely in the seats near.) <S> Look for notices, they should be obvious but can be to the side or on the other door from the one you used. <S> And keep your noise down, even more than you would in an empty church. <S> There are some differences between churches, more between denominations than between different countries. <S> And there are also differences between city and countryside. <S> You can expect a church in a city to be more open to tourists, in the countryside there are still churches which are open every day out of tradition. <S> Some denominations are more likely to have churches open than others, like Roman Catholic churches have a good tradition of being open for people to come in to pray, while most of the protestant Christian churches are only open for services and to admit tourists. <S> But this is not a given, as each church will decide its own opening times. <A> If it's a Christian church on a Sunday, it's likely to be a service. <S> Interrupting those, at least as a sightseer rather than a member of the congregation, is likely to be unwelcome. <S> If it's not a Sunday, it may well be a rehearsal for a concert. <S> As a semi-professional musician, I do concerts like this most weekends, many of them in churches. <S> I personally like it very much when visitors come in during rehearsals. <S> Religious buildings get an extra dimension when they are filled with liturgical music, and the more people that can enjoy it, the better. <S> I can't remember when I last did a rehearsal in a church without a few sightseers. <S> If you do decide to go in, it is more important than anything else to <S> be quiet . <S> Make sure your phone is set to silent, and don't answer it if it rings. <S> Don't talk to the people you're with in anything above a whisper. <S> For my money, you don't have to sit there; walking around is fine, but not if your footsteps are audible. <S> The orchestra and choir may well have met that day for the first time, and they will have only a couple of hours to put the programme together. <S> The conductor will be trying to get his or her requirements across to about two hundred musicians in a resonant acoustic, and anything that makes that harder is unwelcome. <A> If there's nobody at the door regulating entrance to the church, then you can assume that the performance is either a concert with no admission fee or a religious service. <S> In either case it would generally be acceptable for you to enter the church. <A> You tagged "switzerland" but did not mention the denomination of the church. <S> If it is a Christian church, it should be free to enter. <S> Historically their doors were always open, but in the late 20th century theft became rife, and churches began to lock their doors. <S> Apart from that, anybody should be able to enter any Christian church, no matter what their own religion, or none, provided they are respectful. <S> There are tourists who go around blindly, photographing everything but seeing and understanding nothing. <S> I hope your way is more sympathetic and experiential.
| When there is a service going on, it will be appreciated if you keep out of the area where the people for the service are, in a busy service please stay near the door, if it is a small group in a side chapel or near an altar, you can move around in most of the church.
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How to call a number from another country while I'm in another country myself? Here's the situtation: there's a team meeting coming, situated in the US. I'm from Brazil and wish to call a coworker from Pakistan arriving there. My number is +55... and his is +92... Is there any difference when calling his number on my cellphone if we're both in the US? Or can I just dial +92... as usual? <Q> Or can I just dial +92... as usual? <S> Yes. <S> Although it is <S> the + prefix that's the "magic" here. <S> It is short hand for the outbound international dialling code for whatever country you are dialling from . <S> This is what allows you to use the same (international format) phone number anywhere in the world. <S> If you are calling from the US then the phone network substitutes + with 011 <S> (the international dial-out code for the US), or if calling from the UK, 00 . <S> Etc. <S> So, the alternative, if dialing from the US would be to dial 01192... <S> - but this will only work in the US (or any country that uses the same dial-out code). <S> Reference: <S> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_call_prefixes <A> You can just dial as usual, just like you would to call him at home, and the call will go through. <S> But you'll be charged for an international call, however your cell phone plan handles international roaming. <S> You may find it makes more sense to plan in advance to use Skype, WhatsApp, WeChat, etc..., which will use only your data connection (or wifi) and not billable minutes from calls. <S> You'd want to check with your carrier to determine your rates for roaming in the US and/or consider obtaining a SIM card from a US carrier, depending on the costs and your expected usage. <A> <A> If we're talking cellphones here, just get into the habit of always storing the proper international prefix with the number. <S> It will not cost you extra to dial such a number as a local call, and if you happen to be elsewhere the number will still work as is. <S> For instance - I'm danish and all my local danish numbers are prefixed with +45. <S> They work perfectly both within Denmark and when I'm elsewhere. <A> One has to keep two subjects separately here: Dialling properly to make sure the call goes through. <S> How much the call will cost you. <S> While the subject of call cost would possibly be an interesting one (though these days less than 2-3 years ago) somethink different is important to make sure you will be dialling the correct number. <S> In case the person you are calling has provided their number properly in international format, i.e. +yyyxxxxx, you won't face a problem. <S> But in case you see a phone number written in national format (i.e. without a country code) and you found out the country code and want to build the international format youself, be careful. <S> Many countries (my experience is from Europa mostly) use geographic area codes for landlines and kind of "virtual" area codes for mobiles <S> and you can dial from landline to landline within the same area code without having to dial the area code. <S> The interesting difference between some countries comes with the leading zero in front of the area code. <S> In some countries, you have to omit it, in others not. <S> Example from Germany: Landline in Berlin: 030 1234546International format would be +49 30 123456 (you drop the 0) Example from Italy: Landline in Bolzano: <S> 0471 123456International format would be +39 0471 123456 (you keep the 0) <S> The rule of thumb is: More often than not, you drop the 0. <S> Just in case you find out it doesn't work, just insert it.
| Yes, you should dial +92, as usual.
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Can I travel to Canada with an expired passport? Can I enter Canada by car (my own vehicle) with a 2-month expired passport? Also, am I able to re-enter the US with the same expired passport. I am a US citizen. <Q> In October, 2018, as we approached the border of Quebec, I suddenly realized my husband's passport had expired a year before. <S> We went to the US Custom's office at the Maine border and they told him as long as he was born in the USA, he could travel into Canada on an expired passport, and return to the US. <S> They didn't even look at his passport. <S> On the Canadian side, they noticed the passport was expired, but let us through without additional questions. <S> Upon returning to the US through Detroit, the border official didn't say a word about the expired passport and we breezed on through. <S> Although I would certainly recommend renewing an expired passport before traveling, it appears that, officially, it is okay to travel to Canada by car on an expired passport. <A> No, you should not be allowed into Canada with only an expired Passport as it is not a valid ID. <S> It might be slightly easier than if you had no ID at all <S> but as you don't meet the entry requirements, CBP can process your entry at whatever pace and using whatever methods they see fit. <S> See: <S> Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative <S> You can re-enter the US from Canada by land using any of these documents: <S> U.S. Passport; Passport Card; Enhanced Driver’s License; Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST); U.S. Military identification card when traveling on official orders; U.S. Merchant Mariner document when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or Form I-872 <S> American Indian Card, or (when available) <S> Enhanced Tribal Card. <A> Can you? ... <S> maybe. <S> It's up to the discretion of the border officer whom you receive in the luck of the draw. <S> If convinced that the document fairly identifies you, the officer has the discretion to accept it. <S> In practice, there is a strong chance that you will be refused admission. <S> As for returning to the U.S., as a citizen you have a right of entry, but the border officer has to be satisfied of this fact, so there is an elevated chance of delay while the validity of the information in your passport is sorted out. <S> (Remember that expired passports have an elevated chance of lacking modern technology, so are more easily forged.) <S> If you lack one of the alternate acceptable methods (trusted traveler card, enhanced driver's license, passport card, etc.) <S> , then it would be a very wise idea to renew your passport, unless you live close enough to the border that you can afford to take the risk of being refused, and don't mind the extra delays that this could cause. <A> We just crossed into Canada and back by car in the Thousand Islands region with two expired passports (July 2019). <S> We had 6 travelers total, all US citizens. <S> Both the Canadian and US border patrol mentioned that they should be renewed (they had expired 9 months ago), but they both said it wasn't a problem. <S> We only noticed that they were expired the night before, and I was anxious after reading several of these boards, but when we crossed into Canadian and he mentioned that the passports were expired, I asked if it would be an issue returning, and he laughed and said no.
| If you enter Canada using Proof of Citizenship, you should expect trouble returning to the US with only an expired Passport as the Canadian and US border requirements are different, even for US Citizens.
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