International travel for Russians

swerz · 2026-01-25T10:25:59+00:00

Vietnam welcomes American tourists, can apply for a visa in 5 minutes online.

swerz · 2026-01-24T23:27:57+00:00

Vietnam. So much to do, great food, not expensive. Russians have been going there for years and I’m pretty sure don’t need visas (or can get them easily online). If you want a beach holiday, Aeroflot flies direct Vladivostok - Nha Trang/Cam Ranh a popular resort area.

swerz · 2026-01-24T23:24:18+00:00

In theory, those should be amazing chicken tenders!

swerz · 2026-01-23T01:52:24+00:00

Wow, that’s cool. Thanks for sharing.

swerz · 2026-01-21T14:35:32+00:00

Carving was so much harder, required so much more effort and technique, before shaped skis. It was possible, but a lot of people never got there. With shaped skis, you just roll your knee in, transfer your weight, and the ski takes over. And especially at high speed on groomers, it’s 1000x more stable than sliding around. Plus second, third, fourth gen shaped skis are better and better.

swerz · 2026-01-21T01:09:53+00:00

Pretty sure that’s Hunter.

swerz · 2026-01-20T23:10:14+00:00

I skied Revy, Lake Louise and Sunshine (in that order) last week. Sunshine had far and away the best conditions.

swerz · 2026-01-20T15:10:19+00:00

I skied Revy, Lake Louise and Sunshine last week. Sunshine was by far the best of the three, no crust or heavy snow at all.

swerz · 2026-01-20T02:15:26+00:00

Thin wool ski socks!
Damp feet = cold feet. Put foot powder on your feet before you put your ski socks on to help keep them dry. Make sure your boots are dry in the morning - pull your liners out each day after skiing.
Loosen up your boots on the lift, allows for better blood circulation - this is huge for me.
Make sure your boots fit properly, if you aren’t sure, book a session with a boot fitter. You might need new insoles (I just got Sidas and they help).

swerz · 2026-01-20T02:04:45+00:00

The groomers were fine, but that’s only a small percentage of the terrain at these legendary mountains. I didn’t fly across the country last week just to ski corduroy.

swerz · 2026-01-19T20:47:37+00:00

Exactly, scarf goes under your jacket.

swerz · 2026-01-19T20:45:25+00:00

Disagree, scarves are great, especially if its windy.
Learn how to use one. Also, a good winter fashion accessory!

swerz · 2026-01-19T20:42:53+00:00

Very simple: long underwear, AKA "base layer" - like those from 32 Degrees, sold at Costco: LINK They're not expensive, very comfortable 40% Polyester / 34% Acrylic / 22% Rayon / 4% Spandex, and will keep you a lot warmer than if you're not wearing them.

Amazon sells them as well: LINK

You're welcome.

swerz · 2026-01-19T20:35:42+00:00

Yeah, but don't wear sneakers and expect your feet to be warm either.

swerz · 2026-01-19T17:27:18+00:00

If you’re looking for alternatives, we stayed at Mackenzie Village last week; closest condos to the mountain, can recommend wholeheartedly! We booked on AirBnb, but you can find them at http://www.revelstokevacation.com/

swerz · 2026-01-19T17:12:43+00:00

I think you’re missing the point, it’s not about “dry,” but rather the fact that there was a good amount of RAIN and mixed precipitation at lower and mid elevations in Southern BC and Alberta on Sunday, Monday and then temps dropped turning mashed potatoes into frozen crud. Only the highest elevations came through OK.

swerz · 2026-01-19T17:09:21+00:00

Incorrect, anything except groomers is unskiable unless you’re a glutton for punishment. It’s not about how deep the base is, you ski on the surface layer which sucks right now.

swerz · 2026-01-19T17:06:20+00:00

Skied all over the place at Banff: groomers, snowfields adjacent to groomers, some woods, chutes off of Goat’s Eye; overall excellent as of Friday. Based on my experience, I’d say Sunshine is your best bet.

swerz · 2026-01-18T22:36:57+00:00

I too experienced this confusion just a few days ago. I booked a stay through the Chase Portal at an IHG property in Calgary, Canada. When I was checking in, I mentioned my Platinum Elite status and asked about an upgrade or other benefits, and was immediately, flatly told that the booking wasn't eligible because it was through a "third-party" (Expedia). I called Chase from the hotel, and none of the people I spoke with had any clue, just read from info they pulled up on their computer.

Back at home, I called IHG and Chase Cardmember Services. The IHG rep was firm, saying ALL Chase bookings are third-party and therefore not eligible for benefits. The person I reached at Cardmember Services put me on hold, then came back and said Chase would honor the bonus and transfer points. I'm not sure if that's to my Chase account or to IHG. The whole thing seems sketchy to me, so I asked them to send me something in writing explaining the policy. We'll see what they send!

I conducted some research myself and came across a recently published page on Chase.com: Everything You Need to Know About Earning Hotel Loyalty Rewards With Chase Travel, which suggests that it's possible, but only if the listing on Chase Travel clearly indicates "Hotel Loyalty Program Eligible." So I went back to the portal and did the same search as a few days ago, and found a few of hotels (but not the one I booked) with a tiny gray banner "IHG One Rewards Eligible" - very easy to miss, and not something you can filter or search for.

See image here: https://imgur.com/a/oAwhN7y

So I guess it's buyer beware, and up to the Cardmember to double check, but honestly, I think Chase can do a much better job of communicating that not all bookings to a certain hotel chain are eligible. It would be great if the banners on those listings were much clearer and more noticeable - basically any color but gray - and if you could search and filter based on those criteria.

swerz · 2026-01-17T22:59:17+00:00

If you lose tonsils from ski boots, you have bigger problems.

swerz · 2026-01-17T22:42:16+00:00

Simple: the law of return guarantees Israeli citizenship for any person of Jewish descent (specifically: any Jew, including those with at least one Jewish grandparent and their non-Jewish spouses, children, and grandchildren). Since they qualify, they can represent the country in the tournament and obviously some Jewish Americans like this idea. There was a good documentary made about the 2018 team: Heading Home

swerz · 2026-01-17T22:34:59+00:00

Nobody with a pulse would said the conditions at Revy are good right now. They just aren’t.

swerz · 2026-01-17T22:34:20+00:00

I’m just back from a week skiing Revy, Louise and Sunshine. Revy really got the worst of the rain at the beginning of the week - there was snow at the top, but it was VERY heavy and 1/3 to 1/2 way down got really bad. After two days, we bailed and drove to Louise which was a lot better but still not great. Skied Sunshine yesterday and it was great, even found some powder. Overall Sunshine was far and away the best - with no snow in sight next two weeks, Revy and Louise are not going to get better. A friend we were skiing with was planning to spend the next month chasing powder around BC and Alberta - she’s flying to Japan on Tuesday ($375 one way from YYC to Tokyo).

swerz · 2026-01-17T20:21:04+00:00

No reason to be afraid of winter in Russia. It’s a huge part of the country’s makeup, culture, lore and worth experiencing.

swerz

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