Travel essentials
Find a practical starting point for your next journey.
How to get into the water safely on a first Sydney surf: what the beach flags mean, patrol seasons, rip current advice, lessons and board hire.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingIn a Chilean earthquake, protect yourself indoors and, on the coast, head for high ground at once after strong shaking. Which agency warns you and why a foreign phone may miss alerts.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhy official UK travel advice says to carry your actual passport in China, where it gets checked, and how to carry it safely on Chongqing's steep streets.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhat to settle on medication rules, insurance cover, and vaccination timing before a Guangzhou trip, plus local health notes for the region.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow the Shanghai tea tasting and art student scams work, the pattern that ties them together, and what to do if you find yourself in one.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingOfficial Spanish crime figures for Barcelona, the difference between hurto and robo, the methods police describe, and how to file a denuncia.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingExplains the recognised scam and pickpocketing patterns around Sacre-Coeur, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and busy transit lines, what to do, and how to report it.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingIndian pharmacies must record Schedule H1 supplies in a separate register kept three years. What that means at the counter, and what your destination country allows.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhich medicines you can bring into Japan with no paperwork, when you need an Import Confirmation or narcotics permit, and why Adderall is refused and Vyvanse is not.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSeoul runs 40 public late-night pharmacies open 10pm to 1am, 24-hour stores sell 13 listed medicines, and 119 is the emergency number, not 1339. How to use each.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingUXO in Laos is a low risk on main roads, towns and cleared sites, but a real one off-path in rural provinces. Where contamination is heaviest, the rules to follow and visiting COPE.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingThe seismic alert you will eventually hear in Mexico City: how many seconds it buys you, why 1985 and 2017 shaped the city, the drill, and what to do.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhy Mexicans do not drink the tap water, what the rules on ice and food hygiene actually require, how to read a street stall, and what altitude does to your first days.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingThe fietspad is a legal traffic lane for bicycles, not shared pavement, and Dutch law gives cyclists priority there. Here is how the system works and what not to do on foot.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPractical habits for a first trip to Manila: using accredited transport, handling money sensibly, and knowing which official systems exist to fall back on.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSingapore's famous fines come from named statutes, and most quoted figures confuse a settlement offer with a court maximum. Here is what each one really says.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingThailand bans importing e-cigarettes, and even carrying them in transit. The laws, the penalties, 2026 enforcement, cannabis rules and duty-free tobacco limits.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhat Phuket's beach warning flags mean, when the Andaman coast gets rough, and where to read the official marine forecast before you swim.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhat care costs a visitor without US insurance: emergency room versus urgent care, EMTALA, ambulance bills, cash prices, prescriptions and travel cover.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhat to settle before renting a motorbike in Hoi An: licence validity, insurance cover, helmets, deposits and damage checks — and when a bicycle is the better call.
Editorial preview · factual review pending