Wikivoyage:Tourist office/Archives/2017/November

Off limits areas of The Hague at night.

I'm travelling to The Hague towards the end of November (staying over for Sinterklaas), and have previously been warned that there are parts of the city which you don't want to go into on foot after dark, notably De Schilderswijk. I've also been warned that areas around Den Haag Centraal and Den Haag Hollands Spoor railways stations have a significant problem with beggars, some of whom are aggressive. Since I'm completely new to travel in The Hague, can someone who knows the area well give me some pointers on how to get around safely and which bits to stay away from at night? To give you an idea of where I will be, i'll be staying in a hostel, corner of Bierkade and Spui. Thanks! Asked by: DaneGeld (talk) 21:31, 4 November 2017 (UTC)

@Wauteurz: I think you might know an answer or two. I don't know the Hague but to me this partly sounds like some (politically motivated?) exaggeration that seems to be seeping into discourse in the last couple of years. But I may well be wrong. Hobbitschuster (talk) 21:45, 4 November 2017 (UTC)

@DaneGeld: First of all, I am Dutch, yet I am not too experienced with The Hague. I've been there several times thus far, but not long enough to be able to tell you exactly what you should or shouldn't visit, do, et cetera. I will, however, tell you what I know.

The area you're staying in seems like a decent area if you'd ask me, but I can only tell from above. You're quite close to the city centre, as well as Hollands Spoor and Centraal, so there are bound to be beggars around. That doesn't imply anything bad though. It may sound rude, but if you've got nothing to give them or simply don't want to, just walk along. I've only once been approached by a beggar directly, asking for a duppie (dime). They'll understand if you say that you don't have anything to give them. If aggressive beggars were something common in The Hague, I should've heard of it before.

As to what areas to avoid: I don't know. I've only been in the centre of town and can report that the main roads are a-okay. Don't walk into alleyways you don't trust, don't tag along with people you don't trust and never buy drugs off the street but in a coffeeshop instead (drug tourism is a thing here, and I ought to have mentioned it). Don't take photo's of individual people without their consent. I can name more obvious things, but you can probably think of them yourself.

Then yes, the Schilderswijk has a reputation going for itself and it isn't the prettiest of reputations. A general rule of thumb is "If you don't feel like you should be there, don't be there". People from The Hague in general have a reputation of being blunt and to-the-point, if not a tad aggressive. This will only become a problem when you walk too far from the city centre and into the actual woonwijken. I'm guessing you want something more concrete than this, so as a rule of thumb, draw a line from Den Haag Centraal to the Scheveningen Pier with a curve so that it connects the Vredespaleis, Paleis Noordeinde and the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. A rough range of a kilometer from this line outward is what I would mark as the safest area.

This may sound like a whole lot, but I would agree with Hobbit that this is some exaggerated statement. Rivalry between the cities of the Randstad is a thing, and I would expect this statement to have come from someone 'loyal' to Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Don't worry, and if it helps any, feel free to contact me should there be any problems, which I doubt there will be.
-- Wauteurz (talk) 22:26, 4 November 2017 (UTC)

A short airplane/ airport question

I have a friend that's thinking of doing a short travel. And the both of us don't know which type of airplane/ aircraft, it would be assigned. Like from Sacramento (Ca) to Los Angeles, the last I can remember was the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. Or one that has three seats per side, but the first ten or twelve seats and has a single aisle. Then if my friend travels a little far away, like from Sacramento to Los Angeles (stay in for a day) then go to somewhere else. (Because the airport at Sacramento, doesn't go to the named airport that's there. While as Los Angeles, (Lax) does.) While being in a 2 or up to a 4 hour air-flight, etc. Is there a chance that the airplane, might have In-flight entertainment and may listen/ hear random songs? Unblue box (talk) 02:42, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Without any way to identify which airline/plane you are going to travel, the answer is 'yes', there is a 'chance' (between 0% and 100%) of in-flight entertainment. Andrewssi2 (talk) 02:47, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

I would not expect much, if anything at all, on a US short haul. Bring your own food, drink and entertainment (although the flight is only about 90 minutes). When you know your flight number you can check with SeatGuri. --Traveler100 (talk) 03:09, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

(Oh, it's just that if from Los Angeles to Hawaii it would maybe have 'that?') Which my friend takes an airplane from Sacramento to Los Angeles for a job thing. As they have a few offices between the two. Which sometimes they rarely (a company that helps handle shipments like amazon and e-bay, as if the item was damaged or 'a modeled clay bunny and the "ear" was broken', before it was packaged/ got send to a post-office. They will do some of the repair cost. Or proven otherwise.) Then if his company place/ building called him up. Their 'hq' building is in Hawaii. (the main island) As my friend has one of those assistant jobs to computer related stuff. He started the work, when the company (his current workplace, the one to Hawaii) bought out the last few building areas as the last company was downsizing and got sold off to another. And in its place was a gas station, well anything that was built over it, etc. Of about 4 or 5 different locations. Unblue box (talk) 03:31, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

To my understanding flights to Hawaii are operated by somewhat larger planes (Boeing 737, Airbus 320 or even wide-body planes) and these do usually have some form of tv screens above the seats. On the other hand, don't expect anything on smaller planes that are used for operating short routes. Anyways, perhaps the website of the airline tells what they will offer on board. ϒpsilon (talk) 06:16, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Sacramento to Los Angeles? Why aren't you taking the train? According to www.amtrak.com there are offers as cheap as $59 one way for a departure tomorrow. Plus you get a much more generous luggage allowance and as far as I am informed there's WiFi on the train. Hobbitschuster (talk) 12:26, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Well? Before the downsizing, the company had small building locations. (And they had a main building in the respected cities.) which were set in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Then about three months ago, everyone in the old company/ business was retiring as another company bought their last two locations. While the new company was looking for more people to fill those 'bought out locations' and add any of the current workplace.

Then as my friend's work/ job title, he got called to fix their computer items/ stuff in Hawaii. Also around that time the hq office in hawaii, the people that are the computer/ IT staff are on vacation or retiring too. And he started to wonder/ ask about, what airplane sized fleet he would expect. Since I'm a friend to him, and sometimes I'll have a 'headache.' (As that was a few days ago.) Which popped my question, yesterday. Unblue box (talk) 15:28, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

User:Hobbitschuster, business travelers in the U.S. usually take planes; first, the cost savings are only relevant to the corporate bean-counters, while the time savings are significant. Fliers can leave Monday morning for a week-long trip, while a train passenger would have to set out Sunday afternoon or evening. Powers ^(talk) 15:34, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Which place do you like to visit in India, and why?

Asked by: Tripouter

I have never been to India, but If I did, I would like to visit the hill railways featured on a BBC Four documentary series not so long ago. They were at Darjeeling, Ooty and Shimla, and both the railways and the communities linked by them really captured my imagination. --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:44, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

See our India article & regions & cities under it. When I was there, 1970s & 80s, the places I really liked were Goa to relax on beaches, and the temple towns of Bodh Gaya, Mahabalipuram and Konarak. The Taj Mahal is also amazing & lots of people speak highly of places I did not get to like Dharamsala, Rishikesh or Darjeeling. Pashley (talk) 13:19, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Also consider nearby countries. Many visitors to India also go to Nepal, & I found Lahore (in Pakistan) & Kandy (in Sri Lanka) interesting. Pashley (talk) 22:31, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Can I book bungalow accommodation on Phu Kradueng peak, Loei, Thailand, online?

Asked by: 171.101.73.77 10:37, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Hi. According to our article on the park, you can use the official Thai National Park Office website to book bungalow accommodation. The English translation is a bit spotty, however. You can also email reserve@dnp.mail.go.th. Hope this helps --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 12:27, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Traveling by bus in KSA and Jordan

I'm not really sure where to post this but I'm just hoping someone can give me advice on this..

I want to travel from Ha'il, KSA to Jordan this January. Since buses are usually considerably cheaper than planes and Jordan and Ha'il are pretty close, I would like to seek this option out. And I want to travel all over Jordan so I would like to go from Ha'il to Wadi Rum or Aqaba then travel up north and see about getting a bus from Amman back to Ha'il. Or do the opposite, whatever works.

So is this even possible? SAPTCO and JETT are the only bus companies I could find online and neither of them go from Ha'il to Amman or anywhere in Jordan. JETT has buses from other cities in KSA but they are so far away I wouldn't want to waste that time going south or east. I would rather pay more money on a plane ticket than 5-10 extra hours on a bus.

I was thinking maybe taking a bus from Ha'il to Al Qurayyat (which is like $10) then finding a bus from Qurayyat to Amman, but I can't find any online.

While living in Peru I would just go to the bus station and buy a ticket to where I wanted to go. They didn't have any info online. Is it like that here? Is there a good bus station to go to in town? I wouldn't want to waste money on a Uber just to find out they don't offer it anyways.

Also, if anyone could give me advice on traveling by bus in Jordan it would be greatly appreciated.Kimviolet (talk) 19:01, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Asked by: Kimviolet (talk) 19:01, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Unfortunately I haven't been to anywhere in the Middle East but you can have a look at our Saudi Arabia and Jordan travel guides. The company SAPTCO seems to have international lines too, I looked at the SAPTCO website and did find a bus from Hail to Amman in Jordan on 30 November (I just picked a random date). --ϒpsilon (talk) 19:34, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

I don't know about crossing the KSA/Jordan border by bus, but once in Jordan, you can travel all over the country by bus. There is usually a central bus station in most cities where you can find buses for all destinations (you may need to the trip into two or more parts if you're going from one smaller destination to another). Tickets are bought on site. --Xuxl (talk) 19:10, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Toy Shops in London.

Following up on something in the Pub, Does anyone have a list of must visit toy shops in London? Small but quirky independent stores will be preferable over major chains.

Asked by: ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 20:20, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

• I live in Birmingham, so I'm a tourist when I go to London, but I might be able to help. The most famous toy shop is probably Hamley's in Regent Street. I like Benjamin Pollock's in Covent Garden. I also like Davenports Magic Shop in the arcade next to Charing Cross Station. If you like Harry Potter, there is a shop at King Cross Station. Finally, the shop at the Science Museum has lots of fun stuff. --TrogWoolley (talk) 11:07, 24 November 2017 (UTC)