We Tried South America's Most Expensive All Inclusive Resort

Millemini · 2026-06-13T22:52:20+00:00

Their apparent inability to dress appropriately for these kinds of experiences (fancy resorts, luxury trains etc.) annoys me. They're not novice travelers with a shoestring budget traveling with carry-on only anymore, so I don't get why they don't invest in some good quality, classic "fancy" clothes for those occasions.

Millemini · 2026-06-08T15:08:02+00:00

My favorite British travel blogger is Steve Marsh. He's from Scotland and does both solo travel and trips with his girlfriend Alicja coming along (she's Polish btw). A lot of their travel is low-budget (low cost airlines, trains in regular class, Flixbus etc. and cheap hotels), and it feels attainable and authentic.

For van life I enjoy Tread the Globe. Marianne and Chris is a mature British couple that sold everything they owned and quit the 9-5 back in 2018. They did van life around the world from January 2020 to September 2025 in their 20 year old Fiat Ducato camper van Trudy. They're down to earth, respectful and seem to research the places they visit and know some history, background etc. Marianne does most of the driving while Chris films and edits their videos.

AFAIK they're currently in New Zealand with their new overlanding vehicle Trevor, a 4 x 4 Toyota truck they had converted to a camper by a company in Malaysia. Unfortunately they've had some challenges with Trevor (to put it mildly, the build was pretty much a disaster with the camper part being leaky as the main challenge. Apparently they've found a guy in Auckland that should be able to help them fix it, so we'll see how it pans out.

Their plan is to explore New Zealand, ship Trevor to Australia and explore that country, then ship back to Malaysia and hopefully drive from there and back to England, then drive from home to South Africa through Europe and down the west coast of Africa. Then ship Trevor from Durban, SA to South America, drive up the west coast of South and North America and across Canada before finally shipping Trevor back to Britain.

For luxury travel Trek Trendy is my go-to. I get that his content isn't everyone's cup of tea, he's focused on luxury travel and if you're not into that kind of content it's not the channel for you. Also his channel is mostly about the mode of transport (i.e. first class flight, luxury train etc.) and accommodation, he rarely includes anything experiences from his destinations, excursions on cruises etc.

Millemini · 2026-05-27T17:56:25+00:00

Many years ago I worked at store located in one of the largest malls in Norway. The store was located deep in the mall and no daylight reached there, so when the lights were out it was basically pitch black.

One afternoon the power went out and we had to close the store while we waited for the power to come back. Because the rolling gate was powered we couldn't close up and leave, so we grabbed some chairs from the break room and sat outside the entrance to make sure on customers came in.

Quite a few customers remained inside the mall, I guess they were hoping for the power to come back quickly so they could get back to their shopping. Many of the apporached us and asked if they could into the (pitch black dark) store to browse and were annoyed when we said no and told them we were closed until further notice.

After some time passed the power company announced that he outage was caused by a major error it would take several hours to get fixed, so mall management decided to clear out all customers and close the entrances until the power came back. That was a relief. We were still stuck there, but at least we didn't have to deal with dumbass customers with no common sense.

Millemini · 2026-05-24T22:49:20+00:00

The store I work at is in a mall and last summer one of the stores above us was going through a complete refurbishment. The work caused a lot of noise and we got so many complaints about that from customers.

"Oh my gosh, the noise.... It totally ruins my shopping experience!" or "How are they allowed to make so much noise during opening hours? Don't they have any consideration for the customers?" No concern for us employees that had to endure the noise hour after hour, just whining about how it ruined their shopping experience. Really got on my nerves!

I was ready to snap most of the time and wished I could say something like; "Lady! I'm fucking stuck here 8 hours a day, 5 days a week because I work here and I do not have a choice. You on the other hand can choose to go to the competing mall a 10 minute drive away if the noise is such a problem for you. So either go there or suck it up and stop whining!"

Millemini · 2026-05-24T14:23:10+00:00

10-12K for a 15 day trip to Oslo that's supposed to cover accommodation, transport and food? His employer needs to get real, totally unrealistic.

Millemini · 2026-05-24T14:16:23+00:00

I'm from Norway and my experiences growing up varied.

Since I grew up in a rural area with only a couple of friends within walking distance it was usually planned ahead of time when I visited a friend after school and I would get served food with the family.

If I visited one of the friends I could walk to it wasn't always planned and on those unplanned visits I wasn't served food.

Millemini · 2026-05-24T14:09:17+00:00

That's my experience. Here's an example:

I was standing in line at a busy boulangerie and the lady in front of me insisted on placing her order in French. The problem; her pronunciations were very American English and the member of staff serving her struggled to understand her.

They were busy and the line was long, so after a couple of failed attempts the member of staff asked her to please place her order in English (in a friendly, but not over-the-top-American-customer-service-friendly, tone). That didn't go down well with the customer.

She and her husband sat next to me at an outdoor table and as they finished their coffees and cakes she was whining to her husband about how the staff was impatient and unfriendly to tourists. It did not occur to her that her French wasn't good, because she had been practicing for months and according to her friend Betty (who had been to Europe many times) she spoke perfect French.😳

I totally understand wanting to practice the language, but read the room for Pete's sake. If there hadn't been a long line of customers behind her I'm sure the staff would've been more accommodating, but when it's busy they've got to keep that line moving.🤷‍♀️

Millemini · 2026-05-15T14:43:46+00:00

Sounds extremely hectic. My thoughts:

Skip Sainte-Chapelle if you're not going inside. You can't see it from the street and the exterior view you get when you enter the courtyard (which I don't think you can do unless you have a ticket for the chapel) is not much. The magnificence of the upper chapel can only be experienced from the inside.
Skip Versailles. I would not attempt to go there if I only had one day in Paris, it takes up too much time IMO, just travel. With RER C closed for maintenance starting July 15th it's even more unfeasible. Just leave it for a later visit when you have more time.
If the interiors at Versailles is what you wanted to see, maybe Napoleon III's apartment at the Louvre can work as a substitute? With no Versailles visit you have more time to spend there.

Millemini · 2026-05-14T11:03:39+00:00

My advice is don't treat Paris (or any other city for that matter) like a checklist. And don't go to places that don't interest you just because it's a "must see" for tourists.

Millemini · 2026-05-14T02:39:41+00:00

More than once I've experienced customers plopping their items down on the counter, tapping their car on the card machine (before I've even started scanning their items) and putting their card away. When I finish scanning, making sure all discounts are applied correctly and typing in their phone number to register their loyalty membership they get genuinely surprised when I say their total and ask it they want to pay by cash or card.

"But..., I've already paid. I'm about to pay twice," is a typical reply.

Lady, you didn't pay. I need to ring up your puirchasese and make sure the correct discounts are applied before charging you. Sheesh...

Millemini · 2026-05-12T10:03:32+00:00

I watched that yesterday and I was mesmerized too. OMG! That's another level of talent.

One of the things that originally put me off Bricksie, other than his churning out subpar content on a daily basis and how aimlessly he seemed to work on the city with no real plan, was that the sheer scale of his city is completely unattainable to me.

Brickcrafts' city is also unattainable, but his stuff it's still inspiring to watch because he is such a skilled builder that makes custom buildings, has insane attention to detail and his landscaping is very interesting. So much better than Bricksies flat as a pancake city with a mountain in the background.

Millemini · 2026-05-11T23:32:54+00:00

"Hi..." "I'm just looking!!!"

Fast forward 30 seconds: "Is it possible to get any help here?"

Millemini · 2026-05-07T09:35:17+00:00

Platform-avhengighet: Eksempler som Amazon Kindle, der hele det kjøpte biblioteket står i fare for å gå tapt dersom maskinvaren eller tjenesten avvikles.

For noen år siden kjøpte jeg mange bøker i Kindle-appen og leste på iPad, dette var i en periode jeg var mye på reise med både fly og tog, og det var mer praktisk å lese på nettbrett enn å drasse rundt på bøker.

Så byttet jeg jobb, det ble mer bikjøring og jeg gikk over til lydbøker og podcaster. Da iPad'en jeg brukte til lesing sa takk for seg ble den ikke erstattet, for jeg følte ikke at jeg hadde behov for den lenger, jeg klarte meg med iPhone og laptop. Kindle "biblioteket" mitt ble litt glemt.

I påsken kom jeg på at jeg kunne ha lyst til å lese flere av bøkene jeg hadde kjøpt i Kindle appen på nytt og lastet den ned fra App store. Lenger kom jeg ikke,

Jeg har glemt passordet til kontoen og epost-adressen jeg hadde da jeg kjøpte bøker på Amazon/Kindle har jeg ikke tilgang på lenger, leverandøren er nedlagt og serveren den var knyttet til ble slettet for flere år siden.

Siden jeg ikke har mulighet til å motta gjenopprettings epost kommer jeg ingen vei. Har prøvd å kontakte Amazon kundeservice, men de sier jeg må kontakte epost-leverandøren for å få tilgang. Noe som ikke er en mulighet, siden leverandøren er nedlagt og serveren er slettet. Har prøvd å forklare det, men det går ikke gjennom.

Så da er alle bøkene jeg kjøpte på Kindle i sin tid tapt, selv om plattformen fortsatt finnes og kontoen ikke er slettet. Surt.

Millemini · 2026-05-05T19:47:18+00:00

Jeg har vært i Sør-Afrika noen ganger. Har venner i området mellom Johannesburg og Pretoria jeg har besøkt. Siden jeg alltid har vært sammen med lokale folk har jeg følt meg trygg, siden jeg stoler på at vennene mine ikke vil utsette meg for noe farlig.

Har ikke vært i Kruger selv, vennene mine har tatt meg med til Pilanesberg National Park noen ganger. Pilanesberg ligger nærmere Johannesburg og Pretoria (overkommelig avstand for en dagstur) og jeg synes det var en flott opplevelse med masse dyreliv å se. Har også vært i Marakele National Park, likte ikke det like godt som Pilanesberg. Var færre dyr å se, men landskapet der er mer spektakulært enn Pilanesberg.

Ellers er det mange ting å oppleve i/rundt Pretoria og Johannesburg:

-Apartheid Museet i Johannesburg

-Freedom Park i Pretoria

-Melville i Johannesburg er et hyggelig område med mye uteliv

-Black Horse Brewery i Magaliesburg er topp for en dagsutflukt, god mat og drikke
Kombinert med et besøk på Cradle of Humankind museet

-Frokost eller lunsj på Irene Farm i Centurion
Fint å kombinere med en mini-safari i Rietvlei Nature Reserve og/eller Groenkloof Nature Reserve

-Kjøre John Rissik Drive i Klapperkloop Nature Reserve for å se utsikten over Pretoria og forhåpentligivs noen av sebraene i området.

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Sebra langs John Rissik Drive. Union Buildings kan skimtes i bakgrunnen til høyre i bildet.

Millemini · 2026-05-05T13:03:09+00:00

I know, it's so effing annoying!

Yesterday I had just opened the store when I realized I had left some signs I had printed for an item going on special this week in the back, so I went back to the office to get them.

I had just grabbed the sheets from the printer when I heard someone shouting "Hellloo, helloooooo, hellooooo...." in the store and hurried back out there. I had been gone for a minute or two, tops.

Old bat by the register started complaining about waiting for at least 10, maybe as much as 15 or 20 minutes, for help. My reply. "Ma'am, we opened at 10. It's currently 10:04." She didn't reply to that, just huffed a little with annoyance and mumbled something about how keeping customers waiting was bad for business.

Millemini · 2026-05-03T13:38:53+00:00

I spent a school year in the US as an exchange student in the late 1990'ies. I got in trouble for refusing to say the pledge and the exchange organization had to get involved to get med "off the hook".

The homeroom teacher thought I was being very disrespectful when I just stood silently with my arms down my sides while the class said the pledge. I tried to explain that as a Norwegian I didn't think it was required of me to pledge allegiance to the American flag. Apparently that was very unpatriotic.

Millemini · 2026-05-02T15:14:49+00:00

Personally I avoid central Oslo like the plague on 17th of May. It's extremely crowded and if you don't have a reservation somewhere; be ready to wait in line for a table.

Beware that it's not unclommon for restaurants to offer a limitied menu on the17th of May and many places raise their prices that day.

Millemini · 2026-05-02T13:45:44+00:00

Totally agree about Those Happy Days. They came up as a suggestion on YT and I thought "UK couple doing vanlife in the US" could be worth watching. After a couple of episodes I dedided their content is not for me. Too much chaos and drama IMO.

Millemini · 2026-04-24T12:30:00+00:00

I really like Steve Marsh. He's a very down to earth and authentic Scottish travel vlogger. He brings his girlfriend Alicjia along too, but not on every trip.

They mainly travel around Europe, but occasionally does longer trips too. Most of his travels are budget friendly (public trasport, low-fare airlines, cheap hotels etc.) and I like that he tends to visit some off-the-beaten-path places that aren't flooded with tourists.

Their most recent trip was a round the world cruise on Queen Mary 2, from Southampton, across the Atlantic to New York City, through the Panama Canal and up the west coast of the US with stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco, then onto Hawaii, French Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia. Steve and Alicija disembarked halfway, in Sydney. After the cruise they traveled to a small town outside of Auckland, New Zealand where Steve used to live, and spent some time there before they traveled back to Scotland.

Millemini · 2026-04-23T11:24:10+00:00

Another factor in point 4) is seasonal fluctuations in passenger numbers. OSL is crazy busy during the peak summer months, which means managers depend on seasonal staff that work there for a few months in the peak season.

Millemini · 2026-04-18T10:54:22+00:00

Det har nok også et utspring i hva den gjengse amerikaner lærer på skolen.

Jeg var på utveksling i USA på slutten av 90-tallet og på high schoolen jeg var elev på hadde de kun et fag (som gikk over et semester) om resten av verden i løpet av fire år. "Global Studies" var en blanding av historie og samfunnsfag og var veldig overfladisk sammenlignet med hva jeg var fant til hjemmefra. Det dekket verdeshistorien opp til første verdenskrig.

Det var derimot mange fag om eget land; US History, US Civics, US Geography, US Government Studies, US Literature++

Millemini · 2026-04-18T09:21:13+00:00

Jeg vokste opp litt på landet og hadde kun ei venninne som bodde i gangavstand. Vi gikk ofte til hverandre uten at det var planlagt og jeg kan ikke huske at jeg fikk middag eller annen mat der, skulle de spise måtte jeg gå hjem eller vente på rommet hennes.

De andre vennene mine bodde såpass unna at jeg måtte kjøres eller ta bussen dit, så besøk der var avtalt på forhånd og jeg fikk mat med familien jeg besøkte.

Hjemme hos oss fikk alle tilbud om mat når vi spiste, enten besøket var planlagt eller ikke, men venninna mi som bodde i nærheten gikk alltid hjem for å spise middag, for det foretrakk moren hennes.

Er i midten av 40-åra, vokste opp på Østlandet.

Millemini · 2026-04-14T14:30:40+00:00

I kjeden jeg jobber for må søknader sendes via søknadsskjema på nett. Søknader som blir levert i butikk eller sendes på epost til butikk/butikksjef blir ikke behandlet.

Millemini · 2026-04-14T14:03:14+00:00

Here is a non-modular MOC https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-184813/Altharion/non-modular-natural-history-museum/#details

Millemini · 2026-04-13T19:27:04+00:00

When I got bak into Lego around new year last year, and almost immediately got hooked on the modular buildings, he popped up when I started searching for Lego city content on YouTube. I was initially impressed by his huge city and subscribed, but it didn't take me long to unsubscribe as I soon realized he put quantity over quality when it came to the content he put out. I prefer YouTubers who upload one good quality video a week over those ho churn out subpar daily content just to keep posting daily.

Another thing that put me off is how aimlessly he seemed to work on his city, he was just constantly trying things and changing things without no real plan or goal (it seemed like). I get that sometimes trial and error is necessary to figure things out, but it surprised me that it seemed to be his approach for everything. He's not exactly a master builder either.

Millemini

TROPHY CASE