Destinations

Category Archives for Destinations.

Passenger Fined $1870 After Sausage McMuffins Were Found In Their Backpack

by Gary Leff on August 2, 2022

Aug 02 2022

U.S. immigration is hard-nosed in Toronto, especially for Canadians entering for temporary work. Portland used to have a reputation as “Deportland.” At most ports of entry to the U.S. they’re looking for terrorists, and people with immigrant intent. In Australia they’re looking for… snacks.

It was only last month that Australia fined a woman $1750 for failing to declare a half-eaten subway sandwich. Now a passenger has been fined $1870 after McDonalds McMuffins were found in their backpack.

The 10 Best Cities In The World

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2022

Jul 26 2022

The Economist produces a research report on the top 10 most livable cities in the world. How many have you been to? How do your favorites fare? What Are The World’s Most Livable Cities? This year’s top 10 most livable cities are ranked as: Vienna Copenhagen Zurich + Calgary Vancouver Geneva Frankfurt Toronto Amsterdam Osaka and Melbourne Can this list make any sense at all? Many of these cities are awesome, I'm sure, but these lists tend to be biased towards cities that are cold, expensive, or boring, which suggests that the listmakers have a shitty definition of "livability". — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 25, 2022 Vienna is incredible, but I wouldn’t want to live there though I’ve been attached to it since Richard Linklater’s 1995 classic Before Sunrise where young American Ethan Hawke is…

U.S. Immigration Deports Woman After Repeatedly Asking If She’d Had An Abortion

by Gary Leff on July 14, 2022

Jul 14 2022

U.S. immigration deported an Australian woman after repeatedly asking her whether she’s had an abortion. They suspected her of planning to cat sit while vacationing in Canada as well as on a future visit to the U.S.

Interest In International Travel Skyrocketing Now That Testing Requirements Lifted

by Gary Leff on June 14, 2022

Jun 14 2022

In the first 72 hours since the announcement that the U.S. requirement for a negative Covid-19 test to fly to the country would end United Airlines reported 2.4 million searches for international travel on its website.

To be clear, people still should not travel if they’re sick. But the testing requirement wasn’t just keeping people from traveling when sick. It was keeping them from travel because of hassle and uncertainty.

The Insanity Is Ending: Travel Testing Requirement For Flights To The U.S. Ends Sunday

by Gary Leff on June 10, 2022

Jun 10 2022

In a huge blow to the testing industry, a negative Covid-19 test will no longer be required to fly to the U.S. for departures starting Sunday at midnight. The rule made little sense, and contributed little, but created hassle and uncertainty for travelers.

U.S. Imprisons, Strip Searches And Deports Man Over Little-Known Immigration Technicality

by Gary Leff on June 9, 2022

Jun 09 2022

Did you know that foreigners cannot visit the United States and then make Canada or Mexico their next destination, at least if they’re from a Visa waiver country in Europe or somewhere like Australia (and not actually getting a Visa, something almost no one does)?

One Australian learned the the hard way that the rule is onward travel must be to somewhere “other than a contiguous territory or adjacent island unless they permanently reside there.”

Disney Worker Destroys Wedding Proposal In Front Of Magic Castle

by Gary Leff on June 8, 2022

Jun 08 2022

An employee at Disneyland Paris destroyed a park guest’s wedding proposal by “snatching [the] ring and ushering them away” while the man was in the act. The suitor says he was given permission to be there, while the worker saw the couple in a restricted area.

U.S. Citizens Will Once Again Be Allowed To Visit Cuba

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2022

May 16 2022

The Obama administration opened up travel to Cuba. President Trump tried to roll that back. Now President Biden will reinstate much of what the Obama administration tried to do eight years ago.

There’s Huge Financial Risk Traveling Internationally As Pandemic Flexibility Policies End

by Gary Leff on May 6, 2022

May 06 2022

Consider that Airbnb no longer allows positive Covid test refunds, and United Airlines no longer runs APUs during boarding and deplaning. The travel industry is moving on from its pandemic policies. And that means travelers are increasingly on their own – especially if they test positive for the virus during travel and aren’t allowed to fly home.

The White House Spent $2 Billion On Tests, Has No Intention To Stop Requiring Them For Int’l Travel

by Gary Leff on April 6, 2022

Apr 06 2022

Requiring a negative Covid-19 test to fly to the U.S. did not stop the Omnicron variant from entering the country, and it didn’t stop the Omicron wave. Requiring testing for travel but not for anything else makes no sense at all. The antigen tests that are accepted are hardly a guarantee against a passenger carrying the virus. We aren’t pursuing an ‘eradication’ policy against Covid like China is. Barely-piecemeal efforts are largely symbolic.

But the Biden administration says lifting the testing requirement for international travel is off the table.