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VideosTravel Guide

How I found the cheapest Tourist Mobile Sim in Canada

by VV
written by VV

On my first day in Toronto, I went out of my hotel to find a mobile sim. Being a tourist my primary requirement was internet data. I went to Eaton centre which is a big shopping mall on the famous Dundas square in Toronto Downtown.  So if you are looking for a mobile sim in Canada, my experience may help you.

Mobile networks in Canada

Some of the popular mobile service providers in Canada are Rogers Wireless, Bell, Telus, Chatr Mobile, Cityfone, Virgin Mobile, Lucky Mobile,  Koodo Mobile, Public Mobile, Freedom Mobile, etc. Of them, Bell, Telus and Rogers are the three major telecom companies. Others are MVNOs or resellers which do not own spectrum or network infrastructure and buy them from the major companies and resell to the end customers.

Cheapest mobile network with maximum internet data in Canada

As I was looking for a service provider which offers maximum internet data in less money, I found Lucky mobile suited my requirements. Cost of Lucky mobile sim was around 45 Canadian Dollars (around 2,300 Indian Rupees) including taxes. In this value I got 5 GB of internet data, Unlimited Free calls in Canada. My Mobile Samsung Galaxy S7, bought from India was compatible with the network.

What else in this video

I arrived in Toronto from Niagara falls in the evening. Checked in the Hotel Chelsea which is one of the Star Hotels in downtown Toronto. Visited Dundas Square & Toronto Eaton Centre. After buying the mobile sim I visited the famous CN Tower which used to be the world’s tallest tower. Watch this video to see my experience of buying a mobile sim in Canada, the famous Christmas market of Toronto & get information on CN Tower entry tickets and timings.

Visiting Niagara Falls from Canada

 

My other travel series

 

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Videos

ISTANBUL: Safe for Female Travel! How cheap for Vegetarians!

by VV
written by VV

Is Istanbul safe for a solo female traveller? Watch this video to know about it. Also how affordable is the city for a vegetarian tourist! I tried to find out answers to these questions during the initial days of my trip to Turkey. Watch this video for more details.

Where did I stay in Istanbul

I stayed in Dongyang Hotel near Sultan Ahmet area in Istanbul for a few days. You will get an idea about the cost of a hotel or hostel in Istanbul in this video.

Hotels and Hostels in Istanbul


 

Supermarkets in Istanbul, Turkey

I visited a supermarket called Sok in the Sirkeci area of Istanbul. I have shared the cost of things I bought from there. If you are also a vegetarian budget traveller like me, this part of the video would be helpful for you. Though there are also some other famous supermarkets chains like BIM, M Migros, Greens, Carrefour, etc.

Bollywood in Turkey

I met some volunteers who help tourist visiting Istanbul. Watch the interesting conversation with the school girls about India, Bollywood, Amir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Indian soap operas like Utaran. They revealed some interesting things about their mother and grandmothers in this context ;)

Souvenir shop & Mobile sim cost in Istanbul

I visited a souvenir shop near Sultan Ahmet called Ottoman Art in Sirkeci, bought some souvenirs from there. I also visited a local mobile sim shop near Sultan Ahmet to find the cheapest mobile networks available in Turkey.

How to reach Taksim Square, Istanbul

Then you’ll watch interesting sessions with Turkish & Afghan fruit sellers and at the end, you will see me travelling in Istanbul tram to Kabatas for visiting Taksim Square. There also I met an interesting tour guide who helped me reach Taksim Square and understand a few basics about Turkey.

My other travel series

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Travel Guide

USA Travel Guide

by VV
written by VV

AUTHOR: RAHUL TYAGI

I am an Indian living in USA for almost 9 years now. Based on my experiences I have shared a few inputs which may be useful for anyone planning to visit USA for tourism, work or study for short or long durations. Check USA travel guide for details on ways to travel on a budget in USA, getting a mobile sim, accessing free internet, getting vegetarian food and many more relevant topics.

FOOD

How to find good Restaurants in USA

In order to make sure that you are able to eat and have good options while you are travelling to USA please download a useful App called as “Yelp” which can help you find a restaurant near you or wherever you are going. You can also choose a specific cuisine you are looking for.

Vegetarian food in USA

You can get Vegetarian food at most restaurants in USA. Make sure that you ask the waiter that you are looking for something “without meat”. Also, a lot of times they can make a dish without meat if you ask them. Also note that in Indian Restaurants in USA, generally, you’ll get complimentary (Free) Rice with every dish you order.

Indian Grocery stores in USA

In the most major cities, you will find Indian grocery stores as well where you can get almost everything you will get in India.

INTERNET

How to get Free Internet in USA

You will find free WiFi at almost all Coffee Shops in USA. If you are travelling across USA search for the nearest Starbucks. They offer you free WiFi with no time limit and you do not need a phone number for connecting to the WiFI. Starbucks is pretty lenient with customers, you do not necessarily need to buy anything at Starbucks. You can just go inside Starbucks sit and connect to WiFi and enjoy.
Another place you can access free WiFi is public libraries, every city in the US has a public library where you can not only access free WiFi but also access to PC and printing services etc. and on top of that access to Public Library in any city is Free.

Free WiFi tips

Also, there is a retail chain across USA who provides free Access to WiFi. Check this link,  https://www.thesimpledollar.com/ten-places-to-find-free-wi-fi-in-any-neighborhood/

These applications also can be used to find free WiFi Hotspots near your location. ‘WiFi Map’ & ‘Wiffinity’

MOBILE SIM

Mobile Networks in USA

There are three major Wireless Operator in USA. Verizon (Only CDMA), AT&T (GSM) and T-mobile (GSM). Rest anyone who is selling you a SIM card is what is known as an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). They are virtual operators using the physical network of the above three operators. Usually, MVNO’s are cheaper than AT&T, T-mobile as they buy data, voice and text services in bulk from these operators and pass the benefit to consumers. AT&T and T-mobile are equally good but T-mobile has a slightly better network, especially in remote areas.

Here are few MVNOs that can be good for your stay and provide the same connectivity as AT&T and T-Mobile will provide:

H20 Wireless [ Uses AT&T Network]

I use it. Benefits: Free calls to India. You can get this SIM for $1 directly at either Best Buy or Target or Walmart locations.
Plans: https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainControl.php?page=planMonth. It does say Monthly Plan but essentially it is a Prepaid Monthly with no commitment required.

Ultra Mobile [T-Mobile Network]

Needs to be ordered Online to avoid paying an extra activation fee
Plans: https://www.ultramobile.com/monthly-plans/

Cricket Wireless [ Uses AT&T Network]

You can get this SIM directly at either Best Buy or Target or Walmart locations.
Plans: https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans

Straight Talk [ Uses both AT&T & T-mobile]

You can get this SIM directly at either Best Buy or Target or Walmart locations
Plans: https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans

Other Helpful links

1. https://bestmvno.com/ (Dedicated for MVNO and Cheap Plans) and
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators [ List of MVNOin USA ]

STAY

Budget stay options in USA

You can use Couchsurfing to stay for free with locals. Airbnb is also very popular for staying with the locals in the USA. The good thing about Airbnb is that staying at an Airbnb is usually cheaper and comfortable than hotels. Please make sure that you are staying at an Airbnb which has a rating of 3 stars and above or else your stay can be really bad. The best is staying with people who are tagged as ‘Super Host’.

Free credit on AirBnb: Use www.airbnb.com/c/rahult27 to get $40 Credit with signup which you can use towards your stay.

Other Options [ Not personally used]
https://www.bedandbreakfast.com/
https://www.hostelbookers.com/
https://www.hostelz.com/
https://www.hiusa.org/
https://www.hihostels.com/

TRAVEL

Public Transport in USA

Most cities have good and some cities have a great Public Transport system. Boston and New York have a great Train/Subway/Metro system. You can usually buy Cards depending on the city for unlimited travel (for Ex. 2 Days, 14 Days, 30 Day pass) which gives you access to both Train and Bus (please check each city-specific information) for unlimited travel. Please make sure you check out the Public Transport website for the city where you are travelling.

Taxi or Uber!

If you plan on using Taxi, try leveraging either Uber or Lyft for getting from one place to another especially short distances. Also going into and out of Airports you usually have a service called as ‘Super Shuttle’ which will Pick you and Drop you off at the Airport depending on your address.

Buses in USA

Also, buses are really good and you can find cheap tickets if you book before time. Please make note that Bus Travel is not good for Long Distance Travel.

Useful Applications / Website

Uber : https://www.uber.com
Lyft : https://www.lyft.com/i/RAHUL95122
Super Shuttle : https://www.supershuttle.com/
Bus : https://wanderu.com and https://www.gotobus.com/

Budget Flights in USA

Frontier and Spirit Airlines are the two major low-cost airlines in the USA. To travel the long distances, flights are the best option. You can get really cheap tickets if you buy them in advance. Although there are a few other websites like airfarewatchdog.com and Skiplagged.com to get dirt cheap deals, alerts and tricked fares.

How to deal with the Emergencies

If you have an emergency like medical or theft or anything that requires immediate attention, call 911 immediately. 911 is a universal number for use across the USA for any kind of emergency. If you need help but is not an emergency and you have no other option, call 311 (please double check depending on City ). Also If you can’t figure out anything, go talk to a Police Officer (sitting in a Police car or if you see one) they are very helpful. Indians, in general, are really helpful, even if you don’t know them.

Medical emergency in USA

Medical expenses in USA are very high. Please make sure it is a good practice to cover yourself against any medical emergencies while you are in USA. Out of pocket medical is very high. I would advise you to get a Travel Insurance Plan for USA. You can also buy Medical Insurance before you travel from India but I would suggest picking provider who is local to USA as it would ease your claim and approval process.

Aggregator website that helps you compare different choices are listed below.
Square Mouth: https://www.squaremouth.com
Visitors Coverage: https://www.visitorscoverage.com/
Insubuy: https://www.insubuy.com/

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TravelogueVideos

Egypt: Vegetarian food | Mobile Sim | Local transport | Hostels

by VV
written by VV


It was not that difficult to find vegetarian food in Egypt as it was in most of the South-East Asian countries. In these two videos, I have shared information about vegetarian food, how to get a mobile sim in Egypt, Local transportation in Giza and hassles which a tourist may face in Egypt.

Vegetarian food in Egypt

I was served Egyptian fool beans during my flight between Jeddah to Alexandria. I liked it so much that most of the time during my week-long trip in Egypt, I had fool beans with the traditional bread/roti called Aish. There are a lot of other options for vegetarians. E.g., Koshari, which is also said to be the national dish of Egypt can also be made without non-vegetarian ingredients. Falafel is another vegetarian dish which is also quite popular in many other countries. Watch for more videos which will show you what I ate in other places in Egypt.

According to the information provided by the hostel staff, there are a few Indian restaurants in Cairo, Giza and major tourist destinations like Alexandria & Luxor.

Cost of vegetarian food in Giza

I went to a local restaurant called El Gizawy. There are a lot of other restaurants near the Giza Pyramids. I had a few Aish, Falafel, Fool and two other vegetarian dishes for 15 LE which is equivalent to 55 Indian Rupees. The quantity was much so I had the same meal two times.


Tourist Sim in Egypt

Talking about the best mobile network in Egypt, I chose to buy Vodafone as suggested by many locals. The sim cost me 150 LE. There are other mobile networks like Etisalat, Orange (formerly Mobinil) and We (Government owned).

  • Sim Cost – 150 LE
  • Validity – 1 month
  • Internet data – 3.5 GB
  • Talktime – 25 minutes

Documents required to get a mobile sim in Egypt

I was not asked any document to purchase a mobile sim in Egypt. The shopkeeper just asked for money, and he gave me a pre-activated prepaid mobile sim.

Local transport in Giza

Public buses are the cheapest mode of transportation in Cairo and Giza. As per the fellow local passengers the bus fare range from 1 to 5 LE. Minibuses are also another option. Giza and Cairo are also connected with an underground Metro train. Apart from the regular taxis, you can book Uber cabs in Cairo, Giza and other major cities of Egypt.

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VideosTravelogue

Bali bike taxi, mobile sim & Kuta beach

by VV
written by VV





Bali bike taxi is called Ojek, the cheapest way to travel in Bali. Generally, their rates are fixed. I got to know about this crucial information on the last day of my Bali trip. More details about Ojek are available in Bali travel guide. In this video, I have also shared my experience on Kuta beach which is another happening place of Bali.

In this video, you will get to know about –
  • Kuta beach activities
  • Cheapest way to travel in Bali
  • Mobile sim in Bali
  • Bali Malls and market
  • Discovery mall, Bali
  • Art Market, Kuta
Check my 5-day Bali itinerary

My other travel video series

Hitchhiking in Russia – 2017

Hitchhiking in Malaysia – 2017

A trip to the offbeat Himalayas:  Spiti – India – 2017

Hitchhiking in Thailand – 2017

Hitchhiking in Austria- 2016

Hitchhiking in Czechia- 2016

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