Tips
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[review] SIM Card Abroad: Unlimited Internet with Holafly (+ discount code)
Looking for a SIM card abroad to get internet as soon as you arrive, without paying your French operator’s ruinous roaming fees? The simplest solution is often to install a travel eSIM before departure. We’ve used Holafly’s eSIMs many times and highly recommend them. Holafly offers plans with unlimited mobile data for 200+ destinations. The offers can cover a single country, several countries in the same region (like Asia) or 110+ countries with its World offer. There are also monthly subscriptions for frequent travelers. By by clicking here or by entering the code NOMADBENTO at checkout, you’ll get 10% off all Holafly eSIMs, 10% off Holafly Plans subscriptions for 12…
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How to extract your reMarkable highlights and send them to Anki? [AI prompts & github]
On Kindle, you can very easily export highlighted passages, but that’s not the case on reMarkable. I used CODEX to create a local web interface where I can select my reMarkable files (epub/PDF), extract the highlights, and send them to Anki. Here’s the interface: You can see that you can: Everything is exported directly to ANKI via Anki Connect. You just need the Anki app installed and open on Windows. Then, the decks will be synced with Ankiweb. For each card, you see the highlighted passage on the front, and on the back, its context (one sentence before, one sentence after). If the same file has new highlights, the old…
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How to translate an entire book with AI (Claude Code instead of ChatGPT) for a polished, consistent translation
For those who have never used Claude Code, even if the “black window where you type commands” (the terminal) intimidates you. No coding skills needed: just know how to type text. 1. If you’ve already translated a book with chatGPT or claude.ai, you know the struggle Claude translates well, everyone agrees. So you open claude.ai, paste a passage, it gives you a nice translation, you copy it into Word. For a short excerpt, perfect. But translating an entire book that way, after a few chapters, it goes downhill. First, the endless copy-paste. Each passage is a paste-and-copy routine. For a book of several hundred pages, that’s thousands of back-and-forths, not…
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Settling in French Polynesia: what are the steps with the Social Security system?
As I was seconded by my employer to French Polynesia for a few months, I naturally wondered about the health insurance I would be entitled to. Because even though in Tahiti we are on a little piece of France in the middle of the Pacific, Polynesia has its own Social Security system, completely independent from the one in mainland France. This system is called CPS (Caisse de Prévoyance Sociale). The only hospital in French Polynesia is in Papeete. If you are on another island, any slightly serious health issue will require a medical evacuation by plane, and the bill can quickly run into tens of thousands of euros. It is…
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Driving a Scooter in Tahiti: Which License? What Insurance? Where to Buy?
When settling in Tahiti, you have to think about how you’ll get around. Public transport exists but isn’t very reliable, so you’ll quickly find yourself limited in your travels. Since we plan to stay for about a year, we quickly ruled out the car option: too expensive, and in any case, Papeete’s traffic jams are pretty off-putting. The ideal solution seems to be a scooter which we can also take with us on the ferry when exploring the other islands of Polynesia (you can take your car too, but it’s more expensive). Once you’ve decided on a scooter, another question arises: 50cc or 125cc? Driving a 50cc? To drive a…
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Getting an ESTA despite traveling to Cuba after 2011
About to spend a few months in French Polynesia for work, I carefully fill out my ESTA application in anticipation of my stopover in the United States (reminder: it’s essential, even for a simple transit). I felt a jolt of stress when I saw the following question: “Have you traveled to, or been present in Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011?” Yes, that’s exactly my case (I went in 2017), and I don’t remember seeing this question on my previous applications. Some might be tempted to answer “No,” encouraged by the lack of a stamp in their passport. Very…
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How to Order on Taobao with CSSBuy (to France, Europe): My Review and Experience 2025
Today, I’m going to show you how to buy on Taobao using a Taobao agent, a middleman who receives Taobao packages and reships them to you anywhere in the world (France, Europe, etc.). The service I use is called CSSBuy, and you can use my affiliate link to sign up, which might get you some coupons. Why Taobao? Cssbuy CSSBuy is a Taobao agent, meaning they’ll receive Taobao packages for you in China and then send them anywhere in the world, to your home in France or elsewhere. If you have multiple packages, they can consolidate them into one. Packages are stored free of charge in their Chinese warehouse for…
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Combined Air France + SNCF ticket: how to get your train ticket
Now living in the countryside and wanting to buy a plane ticket to Vietnam, I discover that Air France offers combined Train + Plane tickets. Quite interesting: not only is it no more expensive than buying the two separately, but above all, if a train problem makes me miss my flight, Air France will cover me (refund, seat on the next flight, etc.). The day before my departure, I log into Air France to check in: it works without any problem, as usual. However, I can’t find how to get my SNCF train ticket! I don’t panic, I tell myself that whatever happens, I’ll be able to show my reservation.…
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My favorite addresses in Hanoi (Vietnam) (artisans, shopping, scooters, massages, etc.)
You know I take advantage of my trips to Hanoi to buy a ton of stuff and get lots of things custom-made. Here are the addresses of my favorite artisans, shops, and services at very affordable prices. I hope you’ll have time to enjoy them. Remember to download GRAB, the equivalent of Uber, to get around freely in Hanoi (don’t walk, it’s polluted and hot!). Jewelry Silk accessories and clothing Clothing Watches Massage & shampoo Scooter rental in Hanoi Leather goods Art of tea Restaurants & dishes to try JB and I filmed some videos to show you how to eat certain dishes: See this post on Instagram A post…
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[Practical Guide] Tulip Festival in Amsterdam 2025 (Netherlands): Keukenhof & Access to the Fields
That’s it, the famous park Keukenhof has opened its doors: from March 20 to May 11, 2025, the whole world comes to admire millions of tulips, of all varieties and all colors near Amsterdam. How to make the most of it? We have just spent a few wonderful days in Lisse and Amsterdam, and here are our best tips. Accommodation It’s better to choose accommodation around Amsterdam During tulip season, accommodations are sky-high. But Dutch public transport is plentiful, and shuttle buses are set up to make your travel easier. So instead of staying in the center of Amsterdam at a premium (count €200/night), you can choose the following cities…
