Prince George: Treasure Trove Casino

Shawn and I were going out of our minds with boredum this evening so we decided to head out for a bit. We went to the mall, wandered around aimlessly and then on our way back home made a quick detour to the Treasure Trove Casino.

I withdrew a $50 from the ATM which had a ridiculous service fee of $1.75 and we proceeded to wander around. Honestly we weren't there to be gamblers, we were just bored and neither of us had stepped foot in the place before.

So we played a cheap slots and both of us were down. After about 30-40 minutes and down about 30-40 dollars we were on our way out the door when I decided to throw my last $10 in to a $0.25 machine. I kept hitting max bet which was $0.75 per play and on the second last hit before I would have lost it all I got three full bars across.

So 45 minutes in the Casino left me down $2.75 (most of which was the ATM service fee).

The Casino in general is nothing special, it's mainly slot machines with two texas hold'em tables and a variety of other table games (about 12-15 tables in total).

Tallinn to Tartu Bus Ride

The bus ride from Tallinn to Tartu is almost painless. I departed the Tallinn International Bus Station around 1000 HRS and was on the road for 185 km. Somehow 185 km took three hours. I was standing in my hotel in Tartu about 1310 HRS.

The roads in Estonia are in quite good shape, I believe that we went so slow on account of quite a bit of road construction and bridge renovations along the highway. But who am I to complain about a 140 EKK ticket (8,95 Euro).

Most of the highway that you will drive down is somewhat un-scenic, a bit of forested area and natural growth forest, but for the most part you will see farm land of various kinds throughout your journey.

When you arrive in Tartu there is quite a cheap hotel right opposite the bus station's entrance. It's called "Hotell Tartu." Dorm rooms are available for 19 Euro, the place is spotlessly clean, breakfast is 5 Euro, it's 7 minutes walk from the historical centre and only a couple minutes from a McDonalds and a large shopping centre. Not to mention the entire hotel is blanketed in wireless (wifi) internet which I just love. I didn't see anything other hostels in the city during my walks, though I did see a sign advertising one, but I never found it.

Tourist Information Tallinn Estonia

Arched Doorway
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Tallinn is a beautiful city in the northern part of Eastern Europe. The "Old Town" is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is very well deserved. Tallinn is quite a modern city in the downtown area, which makes a beautiful contrast to the "Old Town" only a couple of hundred metres away.

Tallinn was first mentioned in history in 1154 by an Arab geographer named Al-ldrsi on his "map of the world." Today it is a developing city of just over 400,000 people according to a 2007 census. Tallinn is an important Sea Port city and has multiple daily ferries running between Rostock, Stockholm and Helsinki.

Tallinn is an extremely touristic city. There is roughly 4-5 hostels operating in the Old Town area as well as one in the Kristine area. The airport is only a short 10 minute ride from town with a city bus that runs twice hourly for 15 EKK.

There are several tourist information centres in Tallinn, in the city centre there is a large Viru Plaza Mall just across the street from the entrance to "Old Town" which has a tourist information centre on the main floor. This is also the same building that houses the public city buses (not international ones).

The other Tourism Information Centre is located near the main square in the Old Town:

Tallinn Tourist Information Centre
Kullassepa 4 / Niguliste 2, 10146 Tallinn, Estonia
Phone: +372 645 7777
email: turisminfo@tallinnlv.ee
web: www.tourism.tallinn.ee

The Tallinn card

If you are staying in Tallinn for any length of time, it might be advisable to try and save money buy purchasing the Tallinn Card. This card gives you free admission to many of the cities tourist attractions and it generally a good value. There are several cards you can purchase, from 6 hours to 72 hours.

The Tallinn card can be purchased from the tourist information centres or you can find more information about them at their website.

General Information

Population: 400,000
Currency: EEK (1 Euro = Approx 15.5 EKK)
Time: GMT +2
Emergency Phone: 112

Language

Hello - Tere
Goodbye - Nagemist
Please - Palun
Thank You - Tanan
Sorry - Vabandust
Help - Appi
How Much? - Kui Palju?

More Interesting Language

Hello my dear - Tere, Kallis
Cheers - Terviseks
Hello, I love you - Tere, ma armastan Sind
Marry me - Tule mulle naiseks
Give me a kiss - Anna mulle musi
I can't understand a word - Ma ei saa muhvigi aru
You have a nice ass - Sul on kena tagumik
I am not a stupid tourist - Ma ei ole turistinass

Money Matters

Tallinn is very touristic, sadly that comes at a price. You always pay a premium when you are in a high tourist area. But here are a few prices to give you an idea of what to expect.

Hostel Room (Dorm) - 19 Euro
Hotel Room (Private) - 30 Euro
Hotel Room for 2 - 42 Euro
Apartments - 60-160 Euro
Fuel - 1 Euro / Litre
0.5L Beer (Restaurant) - 3,25 Euro
Slice of Pizza (Restaurant) - 3,50 Euro
Slice of Pizza (Grocery Store) - 1,25 Euro
Cigarettes - 1,50 Euro - 2,50 Euro

Hostels

Tallinn Backpackers - 12 Euro
Old House Hostel - 19 Euro (VERY POSH)
Viru 5 (Part of Tallinn Backpackers) - 20 Euro
Old Town Backpackers - 13 Euro
Chillout Apartments - 12 Euro

Popular Bars

Hell Hunt
Pub With No Name
Scotland Yard Pub
Woodstock
Depeche Mode Bar

Adult Entertainment

There are loads of strip tease and sex clubs in Tallinn, there is about three in the "Old Town" area and at least five more in the city centre. The women are hot and the drinks are reasonably priced, or at least similar to the high tourist prices in most of the Old Town area. There are also many casinos of different sizes in the city if you are in to gambling!

Transportation

The city of Tallinn is very small and can easily be walked across in less than one hour. However you may still need to get public transportation or a taxi from time to time. The airport has an express bus that leaves from the bus terminal in Viru shopping centre for 15 EKK and there are loads of trams and buses to take you to all corners of the city.

Taxi service can be a little bit frustrating, and I would like to share a little quote from the tourist information office.

Tallinn's taxis are somewhat notorious for overcharging - even locals get ripped off. Ask for an estimate of how much the ride will be beforehand. If it is more than 150 EKK then you must be going out of town or they are cheating you [normal price 1km = 6-8 EKK, starting rate 35-45 EKK].

Bus Station Adventures

Cathedral Entrance
Originally uploaded by kden604.

This morning for lack of things to do, I decided to walk to the bus station. Tomorrow I will probably take a cab in the morning, just because I'm a bit lazy and taxi's are reasonably priced.

But this morning I met this elderly woman, I would estimate she was about 80 or so. She travels on her own quite a lot and was on her way to Latvia. She had some really major physical problems in terms of walking, stairs and spoke only broken english. She headed to the Bus Station around 10am by bus and tram to save money.

So I walked to the station, but left an hour later than her and when I arrived at the Eurolines office she was there having a dispute with the desk clerk. Eurolines only takes local Estonian currency not Euros. So she had to go to the currency exchanger just down the hall. However because she isn't the most technically inclined person she only uses travelers cheques and only had 10 euro in hard currency.

When I had finished purchasing my ticket I heard her disputing the rates with the exchanger at the Tallinn Bus Terminus. 10 Euro would be enough for her ticket if he was to give her 15 EKK to the Euro, which is the going rate in most of the city. But he was only giving out 12.5 or 13 EKK. This left her short of money with no way to get cash from a machine and no banks around, not to mention her bus was going to leave soon.

So I offered to just give her the difference she needed which was just a couple of euros, but she insisted that I just change the 10 euro bill at the "decent" rate of 15 EKK. Anyways, long story short I changed her money and made sure she got one the bus and she was very happy.

Now as for my ticket, I am going to Tartu Estonia tomorrow, it's about 4-5 hours on the bus and cost 140 EKK (8,95 EUR). I don't really know too much about Tartu, it's a university town and there is a 19 Euro a night hostel just near the bus station which I already confirmed my reservation.

Saving Money on Long Haul International Flights

Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 N538US
Originally uploaded by WrldVoyagr.

The most expensive part of starting that travel adventure is normally the initial flight to take you to the area of the world you are interested in visiting. For most North Americans it means the flight to Europe or Asia.

Long Haul flights don't have to break the bank. There is many low-budget no frills airlines that takes you between major hub destinations. It's important to read the fine-print and baggage allowances on sites like these, but even mainstream carriers have the occasional seat sale.

It's always best to try and book between big international hubs. If you are flying from North America to Europe look for destinations like Paris, Frankfurt, London or Amsterdam. If you are flying from North America to Asia look for flights to Hong Kong then get another flight from Hong Kong to your Asian destination.

Long haul international flights tend to be booked well in advance, at least 2 months a head of time for saving the most money. Under one month and you will almost certainly pay more than you should. Make sure when you are looking for flights you search each day of the week, you would be surprised how often companies have a cheap flight on the same day of the week, every week.

The only destinations that really seem to be expensive to fly to are African destinations. I find it rather annoying and a bit troublesome. You can get to Egypt for a decent price but most other places are going to cost you.

Personally for long haul flights I would check out the main stream travel websites like Kayak, Condor, Expedia, and Orbitz.

Once inside Europe the world is really your oyster, there are many low-budget airlines between the different European countries. Very cheap fares on air travel even on short notice bookings (under two weeks). Ideally the prices are best around the 2.5 to 4 weeks in advance for booking short flights.

If Asia is what you are interested in there isn't a much better hub airport than Bangkok. You can easily fly daily to almost every other major city in Asia.

ATM, Credit Cards and Travelers Cheques

Credit Card Bills
Originally uploaded by Snappy Larry.

Everyone worries about how much money (in cash) they should bring with them on their trip. Should you bring travelers cheques, use the ATM machine or just pay on a credit card. In this article I hope to give you some practical advice that will help you with your travel decisions.


How much local currency should I take?

Buying foreign currency in your country is probably very expensive in terms of exchange rate and bank fees. My advice is to take just enough for your transportation to your hotel, or none at all! I'll explain why shortly.


Credit Cards and ATM Machines

In all of my recent travels I have never found a major problem using my VISA or Mastercard in another country. Not to buy things at stores, but to use it as a cash source at an ATM machine. Personally I try to pay most things on my credit cards (mainly because I'm greedy and want to get points) and use cash for small items and street vendor food.

The first thing you need to do before you travel is to change all your PIN codes to four (4) digits. Many ATM machines in Europe and Asia will not accept five (5) or more numbers in your PIN code and it could leave you poor and penniless!

The next important step is to notify your bank or credit card company that you are traveling. Sometimes your card may get flagged as fraudulent use if you don't let them know. This is especially important when you are traveling to many countries over a short period of time. One quick and simple phone card could potentially save you from a major headache.

Personally I suggest pre-loading your credit card with money and withdraw cash from ATMs with it. Generally bank machines will give you excellent exchange rates when you withdraw in this fashion, however you must be aware of international transaction fees which could amount to $3-5 dollars or more per transaction! It's a good idea to talk to your bank and make a flat rate plan if you will be traveling for a long time. Alternatively you can withdraw larger sums of money to make the transaction fee less per dollar on average.


Travelers Cheques

To be honest I think travelers cheques have pretty much become obsolete in terms of global traveling. You still see the occasional person who carries them, but you have to find a bank or travel agent that accepts them and will give you a good rate for cashing them in. If you go to smaller travel agents or stores quite often they will want huge commissions to cash in your travelers cheques. It takes you more time and effort doing it this way that withdrawing by digital means through an ATM machine.


Cash and Hard Currency

If you are planning to travel and insist on bringing hard currencies, then the British Pound (GBP), American Dollar (USD) and the Euro are the ones to travel with. When you cash in money often you get better rates on higher denomination bills. That means if you give the exchanger a $100 note he will give you more per dollar for it than if you give him a $20 or $10. Avoid exchanging money at airports, bus depots, train stations and in major tourist centres, you'll save yourself some money if you find a bank or an money exchanger that is out of those areas.

Some countries you will find totes offering to exchange your currency on the street, sometimes this can be an excellent and convenient method of changing money at a good rate, but make sure you don't hand over the cash until he has counted out his end first and double check the money and the amount before you finish your transaction and watch out for obsolete currencies in Eastern Europe and developing countries.


Exchange Rates and Cashing Out

The best way to ensure you will get a good exchange rate is to check the prices on the Internet. The most common website used by most travelers is xe.com and it's wonderful universal currency converter. The rates are updated all the time and you can enter in any amount and switch it to over 75 different currencies.

When leaving a it's generally best to spend all the local currency you have in that country. Do your best to budget that by the time you arrive at the border you will have almost no money left. I know it is very difficult to exchange money from some countries outside of their neighbouring countries and even harder once you get back to Western Europe or North America.

Additionally some countries have strict rules about taking local currency money out of the country. If you try to cross the border they can either force you to exchange the money or in a worst case scenario try to confiscate it!


Enjoy your travels

Worrying about money and currency exchanging shouldn't play a big part in your vacation. Even if you don't get a good rate, you are still only talking about losing a few dollars. It's important to just have fun and enjoy your vacation. Currency exchanging seems confusing and trying to remember how to think in different currencies but after a while you just get used to it!

Paris Hilton out of Jail

Paris Hilton y su nueva imagen
Originally uploaded by oscarher43.

Ok. So I admit that I'm more than 3/4 of the way through a bottle of wine. But I just turned on CNN and that stupid twat is out of jail.

I admit I really didn't think she was going jail anyways. She got differed to a "special" jail after having her sentence reduce by almost half.

Now after she actually began to serve her sentence in a wussy jail already she lasted five days before being released to the probation board with a fricken ankle bracelet.

Oh god forbid she sits in her mansion, yeah it's so bad to have to be confined to such a horrible home. She'll probably just throw huge parties and have everyone over to have fun.

Celebrities in the USA are fucking angels, it is absolutely ridiculous how they get away with murder. If the average person had done half the shit she did their ass would be grass.

She will probably make the media in the next few days talking about how horrible her experience was, how much it changed her and how much she really appreciates her freedom and how sorry she was for what she did.

Fuck that, it's all bullshit she doesn't appreciate shit. She lives in a fantasy world where lawyers and money make laws of the land not applicable to her.

Ok I'm done.

*cough* bullshit. *cough*

PS - What do you want to bet the fucking ankle bracelet is diamond studded? Pfft.

Gas Prices in Germany

You think Canada is bad?
Originally uploaded by kden604.

For those of my Canadian readers... If you think that gas prices are expensive there... well look at this sign I took a picture of a couple days ago.

Seems like our summer high prices? Not quite, these prices are in EUROS not Canadian dollars!

PER LITRE NOT GALLON!

Diesel: $1.60846 CAD
Benzine (Regular): $1.94985 CAD
Super (Medium): $1.97946 CAD
Super Plus (High): $2.06496 CAD

Aint that some shit?

Seat Classes on Indian Trains

Train Bridge
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Train travel in India is an experience to put in mildly. With over a billion people in the country there is never a shortage of people to fill up the trains, especially in the cheaper classes.

I personally have only traveled in 2nd Class Sleeper and 3AC which are the two most affordable for long haul trains. Smaller rides you can purchase "Ticket Class" which is no seat just squish yourself in there. Additionally, there is a train called the Shatabdi Express, which is really fabulous, offering chair class cars with decent food and good service.

Classes to ride:

1. 2nd Class Sleeper
2. 3AC Class
3. Ticket Class
4. Shatabdi Express

2nd Class Sleeper

2nd Class Sleeper is how the bulk of the population travels in India. It's a series of bunk beds essentially with 3-4 people sitting on each bunk. The key to being happy on one of these long haul trains is to get a UPPER BERTH. Trust me on this one, getting up to the upper berth almost ensures you will have your own bed and room to lay down. If you have a reserved bed on the lower ones people will always be sitting close to you and you are entitled to ask them to leave after 10 PM, but this proves more difficult that it is worth.


3AC Class

3AC Class is actually a step up from 2nd Class Sleeper, it has closed windows, fans, and of course as the name implies, Air Conditioning. The ticket cost is roughly 30% above the 2nd class sleeper but it is less busy and much more comfortable. Generally the people who ride in this class are "western style families" with good incomes and a few kids. I laughed because it was nothing but slacks and polo shirts last time I rode this class.


Ticket Class

Ticket Class is a unique experience that I suggest you try at least once. You probably won't get a seat, or you'll end up sitting on the ground or on some luggage. People do travel long distances on this type of ticket, but I really won't suggest traveling more than a couple of hours. It's an interesting way to meet the locals and they tend to be rather amused that a western tourist is buying such a cheap ticket.


Shatabdi Express

These trains are really great, from New Delhi to Agra and Bhopal you can take the Shatabdi Express. This is by far the most common tourist mode of transport. The Chair Car class is great, it's like business class on an airplane with big reclining seats, served food a bottle of water. These are wonderful trains and they cost around 300 rupees for a 2 hour ride. Yes it is quite expensive in terms Indian trains, but trust me on this one, it's well worth the money.

Too Funny - Beer Farts?

I posted this morning before going to bed how late it was. But after the internet cafe, I decided to get some breakfast... So rice with sausage and pork thingy and egg.... Breakfast of champions let me tell you.

I paid my guest house for a few more nights, got some clean sheets, gave them some laundry, listened to some red hot chili peppers on the disc man and then finally decided I should sleep. I estimate it was around 8 or 830ish...

I woke up around 2pm, which consider the hour I went to sleep, wasn't all that bad. I was checking my hit statistics and referrals for my website, and I really had to laugh when "hungover farts" as a search puts me at number one on Google.

"Ken, what is your website known for?"

"Well, Hungover Farts."

Now this is just some random phrase that someone searched for. But if I go to the Google Webmaster Tools, like sitemap... My top search engine queries are:

"ramsies ii"
"soft beach nweiba"
"cafe vlora in vancouver bc"
"kipling scoop m coconut"
"shanty towns in cario"
"indian embassy in cario"
"attractions in dubrovnic"
"moses ramsies egypt"

As you can see, my more colourful search engine queries almost all have spelling mistakes. Interesting how fucking up makes you "special."

Sometimes the results are really screwed though, because they are based on word matches, for instance, "cafe vlora in vancouver bc." It's really bogus because I've never been to a "cafe vlora" before. However, I have been to a cafe in Vlora (Albania) and I'm from Vancouver BC. I think it's interesting how it works anyway.

Other Interesting things about this blog:

Approximately 839 pages are included in Google search engine, there are only 8 websites that link to me, there is an average of 34 people that view this website daily, and this blog makes almost nil on AdSense =) However my Masonic Blog earns a respectable amount of money per day. Perhaps it's because it is more of a niche site?

Perhaps I have delusions that this blog would be able to support some more travel, or at least contribute to it. But I think it could finance one or two coffees in Europe per month :) I could write on one subject all the time, maybe get better search engine rankings in that area... but quite frankly what fun is that?