Just in Case — Travel Know-How That Might Come in Handy

Useful Know-How on Your Trip — Just in Case It Comes in Handy

Even if you read up before you go, some things you only learn by doing. From how to board the first-class train at Japan’s Nagoya airport to how to fill your stomach for just 8 dollars in Toronto, Canada, we’ve gathered tips that may come in handy someday.

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1. How to Ride Nagoya’s First-Class Airport Train

At the end of last year, I went to Nagoya. The fastest way from Chubu Centrair International Airport to the city is the μSKY train, which reaches Meitetsu Nagoya Station (名鉄名古屋) in 30 minutes. You need a μticket to ride it, but when I tried to buy one at the vending machine, the process wasn’t what I expected, and I struggled more than I’d like to admit (!). The sign above the machine said only, ‘A limited express car requires a special car ticket in addition to the fare ticket.’ I selected the number of passengers, then the special car (first class car), then the destination, but the payment button never appeared. I repeated it several times with the same result. Just as my patience was running out, I finally figured it out. Here are the steps.

1. Select the number of passengers
2. Press the “one way ticket + first class car ticket” button
3. Select your destination
4. Add the special car ticket
5. Choose your seat

Once you’ve done that and inserted your money, two tickets come out: a regular ticket and a special car ticket. At the gate you use only the regular ticket, then keep the special car ticket and sit in your assigned seat. Once I knew how, it felt almost anticlimactic, but I couldn’t help wondering whether anyone really manages it on the first try, going by that sign (I still wonder). Of course, if you know just three words—“Meitetsu Nagoya, μSKY, futatsu (two)!”—you can skip this whole process at the ticket counter... Buying a μticket from the vending machine: wasn’t it hard for everyone?!
by P, the Listless Editor

2. Going to a Jazz Bar in Berlin, Germany

Techno clubs aren’t the only way to spend a heated night in Berlin. There are also jazz bars! Germany’s love of jazz is more fervent than you might expect. Every summer, around ten jazz festivals take place across the country, and the founders of all three of the world’s great jazz labels (Blue Note, Verve and ECM) were German. In Berlin, where some 150 jazz performances are held every day, you can find a jazz bar almost anywhere without trouble. A show usually costs 30 euros, and you need to bring cash. Jazz bars open at 8 p.m., and to claim a good seat, arriving right at opening is a must. Here are a few jazz bars I visited on my trip to Berlin at the end of last year.

🎷Jazzclub-Kunstfabrik Schlot: The bands are so good you’ll wonder if 30 euros is really all it costs! The audience skews older, so it’s recommended for anyone who wants to drink and listen to music quietly. Entry is first come, first served, with no reservations. Invalidenstraße 117, 10115 Berlin
🎷 Zig Zag Jazz Club Berlin: Berlin’s most famous jazz club, where reservations are essential (if seats remain, you can get in). Young bands perform here too, so the crowd is younger. Hauptstraße 89, 12159 Berlin
🎷 Donau115: A jazz bar in Neukölln, currently Berlin’s hippest neighborhood, with a more casual atmosphere than the two above. It hosts an open mic every Tuesday, so it’s recommended for anyone who wants to get actively involved in jazz. Donaustraße 115, 12043 Berlin
by JM, the Overinvested Editor

3. Eating a Meal for $8 in Toronto

If you want a quick, tasty, cheap local meal that fills you up in the middle of downtown Toronto, go here: Don Juan’s Food Truck. It stands right in front of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and the location alone is spectacular. It sits squarely among the convention center that hosts international events, the CN Tower, Toronto’s Union Station, the Rogers Centre baseball stadium and big hotels. A short walk away is Harbourfront Park. It’s a place you can’t skip when traveling in Toronto. The food is spectacular too, with generous portions at low prices. A hot dog and fries combo is 8 Canadian dollars, and it fills up one adult (as of 2022). The sausage and the potatoes are both big. A grilled hamburger is $8 and a small poutine is $8, equally generous and the cheapest meal in the area. A sandwich with a drink at the café across the street will run you about $15. Don Juan’s Food Truck has a 4.9 rating on Google. It takes cash only. Add a canned drink ($2) to your combo and take it to Harbourfront Park to eat. There are plenty of benches along the waterfront.
by H, the Reckless Editor

4. Hiking Pololu Valley

On Hawaii Island, commonly called the ‘Big Island,’ you’re heading to Pololu Valley rather than Hawaii Volcanoes National Park or the Mauna Kea observatories? Then you’re probably a traveler who has visited the island at least once before, or one staying in Hawaii on a relaxed schedule. Pololu Valley is a hidden hiking spot at the island’s northeastern tip. From the overlook on the cliff, you can enjoy a short hike along a mountain trail down to a black sand beach. The trail is quite steep and full of rocks and thick tree roots, so if you take the downhill lightly and get careless, you’re likely to get hurt. In sandals or thin-soled sneakers, the soles of your feet may ache. If you want to bring something, I’d recommend water sandals and a folding chair. The waves are rough, so this isn’t a beach for swimming. Instead, it’s great for walking barefoot on the black sand or sitting in a chair and zoning out. Many visitors come with children or pets (I saw several people heading down with hiking baby carriers on their backs, and met a puppy bounding about, overjoyed). If you only want a photo for social media, it’s fine to stay at the overlook and head back.
by P, the Listless Editor

5. Listening to Jazz in New Orleans

Jazz was born in New Orleans in the late 19th century. In this city, music is everywhere, even if you don’t go looking for it. Walking through the French Quarter, you constantly pass street performers, and on Frenchman Street and Bourbon Street, every other door is a jazz club.
Of them all, I recommend making a point of seeking out Preservation Hall. It is a live venue run by a nonprofit organized in 1961 to protect traditional New Orleans jazz. It occupies a former gallery inside an old building constructed in 1803, and though it’s called a “hall,” it’s closer to a small room. With only a few long benches where people sit packed together, you’re lucky even to get a standing-room ticket. There are three or four shows nearly every night, and tickets are hard to book, so I needn’t say more about how great the performances are. With no microphones or speakers, and no heating or air conditioning either, it’s a fully analog live show. It’s a magical experience in which the musicians’ breathing and playing reach you vividly. Note that video, audio recording and photography are all prohibited during the show. The moment you take out your phone, a flashlight beam will come flying from somewhere to warn you.
by P, the Listless Editor

6. Turn On Google Maps

It may go without saying, but whenever a friend is taking a road trip in the United States or Europe, I recommend using Google Maps for navigation. It simply has far more information than Apple Maps. Since the second half of 2022, there has been one more reason to use it: Google began offering eco-friendly routing.
In Google Maps’ navigation settings, turn on “Prefer fuel-efficient routes” under the route options, and you’re all set. Google Maps will then find the route that uses the least energy for your engine type (gasoline, diesel, hybrid or electric). For gasoline and diesel vehicles, it prioritizes routes with steadier cruising, while for hybrids and electric vehicles it favors routes that make good use of regenerative braking. With this, Google hopes to help make transportation, which accounts for 18 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, at least a little greener. Oh, right. There’s no point searching for this option in your Google Maps right now. For the moment, it’s available only in North America and Europe, and it will likely take more time to reach Korea, where the relevant data is lacking. Still, if you’re planning a trip to North America or Europe, choose a low-emission flight through Google and put Google Maps to work for a greener road trip.
by Reckless Editor H

7. Lie Down at Gardens by the Bay

Opened in 2012 on the Marina Bay waterfront, Gardens by the Bay is a signature Singapore landmark where nature and technology live in harmony. Spread over 101 hectares, it is divided into three themed gardens and is home to plants from around the world, from rare tropical highland species to flowers, orchids and trees. As you step into the outdoor gardens, the towering Supertrees catch your eye first. These giant tree-shaped structures, up to 50 meters tall, take on an even more fantastical atmosphere after sunset. When Garden Rhapsody, a live show that blends music and lights, begins, huge crowds fill the entire area. If you want to enjoy the performance fully, I recommend lying flat on the ground around the Supertrees (many people do watch while sitting or lying on the ground). Facing the night sky head-on as light and music play together, those 15 minutes will stay with you as a short but dazzling moment. The show runs twice every evening, at 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., and according to a local guide, the 8 o’clock slot makes it much easier to find a good spot.
by Deadpan Editor P

8. Etiquette During a Fado Performance in Portugal

Four years ago, at the end of the year, I traveled in Portugal with my mother and my younger sister. On the night before we headed home, we looked for a restaurant with a Fado performance, since many places were closed over the Christmas season. Fado is traditional Portuguese music in which poems full of longing are set to melody, and as you travel through Portugal, it isn’t hard to find restaurants where you can enjoy Fado over a light meal.
While the mournful guitar and the soloist’s sorrowful voice filled the room, the three of us, mother and daughters, swapped impressions of our two-week trip. As a guest at the next table got up to leave, she told us, ‘You have to be quiet when you listen to Fado.’ In an instant, all our faces turned bright red. Feeling like we’d become the worst kind of customers, we broke into a cold sweat that ran down our backs. Here is the Fado etiquette I learned through that embarrassing experience.

- Immerse yourself fully in the music during a Fado performance.
- In Portugal, Lisbon and Coimbra are known as the cities for Fado. In Lisbon, people applaud when a song ends, whereas in Coimbra, they show their appreciation with a cough.
- If you don’t pay a separate fee for the performance, some restaurants require you to order at least 50 euros’ worth of food, so be sure to check.
by Overinvested Editor JM

9. A Local Bún Chả Spot in Hanoi

Hanoi is the capital of Viet Nam, and the capital of bún chả. Believed to have originated in Hanoi, bún chả is a Vietnamese dish in which rice noodles, charcoal-grilled marinated pork and vegetables are dipped in a sweet and tangy broth made with fish sauce. On a hot, humid Hanoi summer day, when you sweat just standing still, I walked for the sole purpose of eating bún chả. The place was Tuyết Bún Chả 34, a restaurant named a “Top Choice” in the Lonely Planet guidebook. Because it was in a neighborhood that was neither a tourist spot nor a busy downtown area, I relied on Google Maps to find it, never quite sure I was headed the right way. When a small, shabby restaurant appeared before my eyes, I felt even more uneasy. Only after I dipped the pork in the broth and took a bite did all my doubts vanish. The meat, with its lingering charcoal aroma, was thick and juicy, and the vegetables served alongside were fresh.
The most famous bún chả place in Hanoi is probably Bún chả Hương Liên, near Hoan Kiem Lake. It is the bún chả restaurant that former U.S. President Barack Obama and the celebrated chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain visited together in 2016. I’ve been to both, and Tuyết Bún Chả was far better. When I looked up recent reviews, they said the interior had been renovated and is much cleaner than before. It sells only bún chả and nem (called ‘chả giò’ in the south).
by Deadpan Editor P