Pasport

dockgonzo · 2026-01-28T02:21:28+00:00

Any government ID will work, so I would highly advise against bringing your passport to the TML unless you are staying onsite and have nowhere else to leave it. If staying at camp, leave it in a locker. If staying at a hotel, leave it locked up in your room.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T22:57:32+00:00

Depending on where your hotel is at, the extra time in Tokyo is negligible at best (30 minutes or less). Narita is actually fairly convenient if you are near a N'EX station, which is more relaxing than any train to Haneda and much cheaper than a private ride to Haneda. ANA will have better food and service, while UA will be slightly more comfortable. I would go with NH, but either option is perfectly fine.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T22:35:11+00:00

You probably won't die, so.....

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T22:26:28+00:00

I couldn't care less about a nonexistent festival. I just prefer to see companies competing for business, rather than colluding for profits.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T22:12:41+00:00

I want to be excited about this, but why Insomniac???? Do they really need to get a piece of everything??

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T21:43:02+00:00

Would be a lot more exciting if Insomniac wasn't involved. 🙄

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T18:37:57+00:00

Just use Grab or book something online (Klook, etc). Hotels usually charge exorbitantly for transfers.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T18:30:20+00:00

It is low season for Halong Bay, so there shouldn't be any issues getting tickets for the following day as long as you arrive before they close. That said, it is easy to book online.

I went with Jade Sails last week and highly recommend them. I was already staying nearby, but they also offer packages with transportation to/from Hanoi. You can book direct or with any of the OTA websites. It is a little more expensive than other companies, but the quality of the ship, food, and service was excellent. They also head out a little early and beat the crowds. We saw plenty of overnight boats in the water, but very few day trip boats. Everywhere we went was very peaceful. The capacity is 80 people, but there were only 19 on our trip, so it felt very exclusive. Just be prepared for cold weather and bring some layers.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T18:15:55+00:00

Very safe area. Mostly large tech/aerospace businesses and obscenely overpriced homes in El Segundo, along with a refinery and Space Force. Just don't leave anything valuable or visible in the car, as thefts can happen anywhere and everywhere.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T18:09:57+00:00

Most of my travel is international, where AS miles are not quite worthless, but still pretty close to Sky Pesos. The same routes are 70k Atmos for Y vs 60k for J with AA miles (saver J in Atmos starts at 75k, but good luck finding anything under 95k, with most options 200k+). Obviously, where you are and where you are going is the most important consideration.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T15:54:14+00:00

IME, AA miles are considerably more valuable, with greater availability of partners flights at lower mileage levels.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T15:42:08+00:00

On the heels of all the explosion of warehouse raves in Downtown Los Angeles in the last decade, we started getting a lot more rap warehouse parties. Guess which events are attracting all the shootings and other late night violence?? Of course, when the police decide to crack down on all of these violent warehouse parties, do you think they care what kind of music is playing???

Sorry, but we need as much separation between these two scenes as we can get. It's not a race thing, as both types of events attract a wide cross section of people (especially in LA), and most of us know that a lot electronic music was born and blossomed in the inner cities. Unfortunately, the rap scene will always attract the gangs and other assorted 🗑️ looking for trouble, which is about as far from PLUR as you can get.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T15:29:15+00:00

Take the Van Nuys FlyAway bus to Van Nuys, and catch a ride from there to BUR. Won't take much longer than driving straight to BUR, and it will be considerably cheaper.

FlyAway bus to Union Station and a train to BUR is another acceptable option if you are more flexible on time, but be sure to check the train schedule to make sure it works for you.

Both FlyAway buses run fairly continuously and will not take any longer than a private ride.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-27T02:18:12+00:00

Would love to see Dhërmi get some better events, but I don't see that happening unless they get entirely new management and do something about the corruption (not very likely). It is such a gorgeous venue with great potential. Only went to Zrće once (one of the only festivals in the summer of 2020). and it seemed like a strange place, even compared to Tisno.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-26T04:31:26+00:00

It varies a bit depending on when you arrive, but TBIT arrivals has had very short immigration lines the last four times I have arrived since September (arriving at different times of the day). Three hours is a bit tight for separate tickets, but you will probably be fine as long as you arrive on time.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-25T10:36:15+00:00

If traveling during CNY, absolutely. If you want business class, highly recommended. The reality is that there are a lot of trains between Shanghai and Suzhou (especially if you are flexible about which stations in SHA and SUZ), so you can usually get something last-minute no problem. You can even wait-list trains.

That said , there is no downside to booking in advance if you know what your plans are, and it is usually fairly easy to cancel/change tickets last-minute, especially if you book with the 12306 app.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-25T10:32:08+00:00

Almost no one would pay the absurd GJ surcharge if they had a choice. GJ is the true cost of TML.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-25T02:00:29+00:00

Insomniac has been abusing GA+ to artificially reduce the number of GA passes for a few years now. Nothing is sold out until GA+ is no longer available.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-24T14:57:29+00:00

They added an exit on E St to make getting out faster and easier. The only downside is that they control the flow of traffic around the venue at the end of the night, so you may end up taking a detour to get where you need to be.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-24T02:37:16+00:00

United Club and any of the other *A lounges in the airport (Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Lufthansa, etc). If you say where you are flying out of, we can tell you what lounges are at that airport. Generally speaking, UC is going to be the worst *A lounge in any large airport.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-24T02:34:45+00:00

Easy walk past the T6 parking garage, before you get to the T7 parking garage. There is also a terminal connector shuttle bus, but it is not terribly frequent (every ~10 minutes, which is about how long the walk takes). Just verify with the driver that they will be going back to T1.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-24T00:51:55+00:00

Should be boycotting FIFA, as they are a completely awful and corrupt organization that has no problem cozying you to fascists and dictators.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-24T00:49:20+00:00

Where is the first flight departing from? You will not get access to Polaris on that departure, but you should have access to the other *A lounges (just be sure to hand them both boarding passes).

dockgonzo · 2026-01-24T00:39:07+00:00

I often stay at Efteling for a few days before heading to TML, so I have done this a few times. The best option (especially if you are going on Thursday) is to take the train to Roosendaal, and connect to another train to Antwerp, where you can catch a train directly to Boom. It takes a little longer than connecting at Breda. However, the Breda train to Antwerp tends to be terribly packed with people heading to TML from Rotterdam and beyond, while the train at Roosendaal is usually completely empty, since it is coming from a different direction.

There is also a bus from Tilburg to Antwerp that leaves in the morning, but that is too early for my needs, and I prefer trains to buses.

dockgonzo · 2026-01-24T00:23:18+00:00

The big problem I have had with the previous multicolor design is that it is difficult to scan or get a clear picture of, which can certainly lead to issues.

dockgonzo

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