Around the world
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Interview with Pierre Salviac: Former rugby commentator and travel enthusiast
Pierre Salviac began his career as a journalist as a great reporter and covered historical events (Vietnam War, Appolo 13, Bloody Sunday, …). He is also known to have been the voice of French rugby for 20 years.Passionate about traveling, he continues to travel the world for pleasure.Pierre Salviac was kind enough to grant us an express interview.You’ve been traveling for 50 years, what are the big differences compared to today?The main revolution in travel lies in the comparative flight price engines. And in platforms such as booking.You now travel for pleasure, are you the type to plan everything or to improvise once you get there?It is the flight offer…
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Transportation: Google Maps in Japan, don’t believe it 100%, how to avoid the pitfalls
We just spent a few days in Kyoto and took regional trains, local trains, JR trains, local buses etc. and we have to warn you: follow Google Maps, but double-check, always! Because the mistake can come from your inattention Note: we don’t have a JR pass, so don’t count on us to tell you which lines are compatible with your pass. We don’t know 🙁 Situation 1 : Remain on board There are two trains with different names to take in a row, but Google Maps tells you to stay on the same train (“Remain on board”) He isn’t wrong, but YOU may make some mistakes. Follow these steps to…
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Sending a letter to France from abroad – Test and advice from Service Postal (servicepostal.com)
This post isn’t sponsored Even if most of the procedures can now be done online, there are still cases where you need to send physical mail (signed contracts, sending registered mail, …) For the reception of mail (which is then scanned for me), I have already mentioned the traveler’s mail service To send mail, I used until now the online service of La Poste It works very well but the service has two drawbacks A limitation of 8 pages maximum by mail. We can do double-sided but in some cases it isn’t enough. The ergonomics of the service is null and void. Really! An operation as basic as entering the…
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Onsen and Sentō: the guide to public baths in Japan
Having loved the experience of thermal baths in Budapest, I was eager to discover the Onsen in Japan I had the opportunity to get a taste of it by testing an Onsen in Hanoi, Vietnam, but the day after our arrival in Osaka, we went to a first real Japanese Onsen The experience is great and we will surely test several of them during our stay 🙂 In the first part of this article we will describe how a session in an Onsen takes place. In the second part, we will talk more specifically about those we have tested Obviously you won’t find many pictures in this article, this will…
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SIM card with prepaid 4G data in Japan: how much does it cost? Where to buy it?
Buy a SIM card before you leave SIM cards in Japan are expensive and the purchase / activation process is quite complex (see all indications below). A cheaper and simpler alternative is to buy a SIM card in France, before leaving. With this offer for example(Amazon link) you get 6 GB of data valid for 15 days at the rate of 24 € which is much more interesting than what you will find on site. At the end of the 15 days, the SIM card can be recharged. Where to buy a prepaid SIM card at Osaka (Kansai) airport? After passing through immigration and collecting your luggage, locate the area…
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Itinerary Vietnam: 3 weeks, Budget & Advice
Recommended itinerary I have already written an article about the beautiful landscapes of Vietnam here. Here is the itinerary that I recommend if you want to visit Vietnam in 3 weeks. The destinations are rather touristic, but I assure you, even the Vietnamese go there. Some new popular local destinations are Co To, Binh Lap, Binh Ba… but Vietnamese people rent a car to go there, or pay an agency to get there, there is no open bus for that yet. The links go back to my travel diaries.The links to the bus or train schedules refer to the site 12go.asia, a very famous Singaporean site.Although it is a very…
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Prepaid 4G SIM card in Vietnam: how much does it cost? Where to buy it?
Why should I buy a SIM card in Vietnam? Because you need the Internet to order your Grab (equivalent of Uber in Vietnam)Tourist agencies tend to call you to confirm the imminent arrival of your bus / any change related to your trip. Vietnamese telephone operators Viettel MobiFone VinaPhone Vietnamobile Viettel is the operator Irecommend if you can find a SIM card from this operator at the airport because it is the only one for the moment (2018) to offer a very good 4G service. It belongs to the army so the infrastructure is better, you can get better reception.Other operators offer 3G, and are just starting to deploy 4G.…
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Hoi An Travel Guide (Vietnam): What to visit, When, Budget, Transportation, Money…
After a month spent in Hoi An, we discovered the best addresses of this pretty and small town. We will share them with you in this guide (long but complete). Let’s get started! How to get there? By train: there are trains that stop in Da Nang, a seaside town 25km from Hoi An. Then you can take an Uber/Grab (more info about Grab here) to Hoi An (for about 270,000VND). Use our code GRABTOURDUMONDE for a 1st free ride By plane: the nearest airport is also in Da Nang. If you take the plane, sit near the window, the landscapes are breathtaking From the airport, there are shuttles to…
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Travel Guide to Custom Clothing and Tailoring in Hoi An (Vietnam)
If you fell in love with custom-made clothes in Hoi An, know that you aren’t alone! Hoi An is very famous for its tailors. They are everywhere, you can’t miss them! The prices being very affordable, it is difficult to resist. It is also a great experience to have clothes specially designed for you. For JB, it was a first. The particularity of Hoi An is its express service: a custom-made garment in 24 hours, this allows us to answer the orders of tourists who stay only 2 or 3 days. Usually, in Ha Noi, I have to wait a month, if the dressmaker wants to take care of my…
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How to get VAT Refund in Thailand: Tax Refund in Thailand
As soon as you buy something over 2000 baht in Thailand, you can ask for a VAT refund. The VAT refund (around 4.5%) will be done in cash at the airport. It’s very easy, just follow the instructions below. First step When you buy more than 2000 baht in the same store, ask for a Tax Invoice. To do this, simply give your passport at the checkout, you will receive a yellow sheet and the original invoice stapled on top.You can see that the VAT is 6.5% (361 baht) of the purchase amount (5530 baht), but I will only be refunded 250 baht (because the state still takes a small…
