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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in Skinner boxes

Enshittification is the process by which digital platforms devour themselves: first they dangle goodies in front of end users. Once users are locked in, the goodies are taken away and dangled before business customers who supply goods to the users. Once those business customers are stuck on the platform, the goodies are clawed away and showered on the platform’s shareholders:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Enshittification isn’t just another way of saying “fraud” or “price gouging” or “wage theft.” Enshittification is intrinsically digital, because moving all those goodies around requires the flexibility that only comes with a digital businesses. Jeff Bezos, grocer, can’t rapidly change the price of eggs at Whole Foods without an army of kids with pricing guns on roller-skates. Jeff Bezos, grocer, can change the price of eggs on Amazon Fresh just by twiddling a knob on the service’s back-end.

Twiddling is the key to enshittification: rapidly adjusting prices, conditions and offers. As with any shell game, the quickness of the hand deceives the eye. Tech monopolists aren’t smarter than the Gilded Age sociopaths who monopolized rail or coal — they use the same tricks as those monsters of history, but they do them faster and with computers:

https://doctorow.medium.com/twiddler-1b5c9690cce6

If Rockefeller wanted to crush a freight company, he couldn’t just click a mouse and lay down a pipeline that ran on the same route, and then click another mouse to make it go away when he was done. When Bezos wants to bankrupt Diapers.com — a company that refused to sell itself to Amazon — he just moved a slider so that diapers on Amazon were being sold below cost. Amazon lost $100m over three months, diapers.com went bankrupt, and every investor learned that competing with Amazon was a losing bet:

https://slate.com/technology/2013/10/amazon-book-how-jeff-bezos-went-thermonuclear-on-diapers-com.html

That’s the power of twiddling — but twiddling cuts both ways. The same flexibility that digital businesses enjoy is hypothetically available to workers and users. The airlines pioneered twiddling ticket prices, and that naturally gave rise to countertwiddling, in the form of comparison shopping sites that scraped the airlines’ sites to predict when tickets would be cheapest:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/27/knob-jockeys/#bros-be-twiddlin

The airlines — like all abusive businesses — refused to tolerate this. They were allowed to touch their knobs as much as they wanted — indeed, they couldn’t stop touching those knobs — but when we tried to twiddle back, that was “felony contempt of business model,” and the airlines sued:

https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/30/airline-sues-man-for-founding-a-cheap-flights-website.html

And sued:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/business/southwest-airlines-lawsuit-prices.html

Platforms don’t just hate it when end-users twiddle back — if anything they are even more aggressive when their business-users dare to twiddle. Take Para, an app that Doordash drivers used to get a peek at the wages offered for jobs before they accepted them — something that Doordash hid from its workers. Doordash ruthlessly attacked Para, saying that by letting drivers know how much they’d earn before they did the work, Para was violating the law:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/tech-rights-are-workers-rights-doordash-edition

Which law? Well, take your pick. The modern meaning of “IP” is “any law that lets me use the law to control my competitors, competition or customers.” Platforms use a mix of anticircumvention law, patent, copyright, contract, cybersecurity and other legal systems to weave together a thicket of rules that allow them to shut down rivals for their Felony Contempt of Business Model:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

Enshittification relies on unlimited twiddling (by platforms), and a general prohibition on countertwiddling (by platform users). Enshittification is a form of fishing, in which bait is dangled before different groups of users and then nimbly withdrawn when they lunge for it. Twiddling puts the suppleness into the enshittifier’s fishing-rod, and a ban on countertwiddling weighs down platform users so they’re always a bit too slow to catch the bait.

Nowhere do we see twiddling’s impact more than in the “gig economy,” where workers are misclassified as independent contractors and put to work for an app that scripts their every move to the finest degree. When an app is your boss, you work for an employer who docks your pay for violating rules that you aren’t allowed to know — and where your attempts to learn those rules are constantly frustrated by the endless back-end twiddling that changes the rules faster than you can learn them.

As with every question of technology, the issue isn’t twiddling per se — it’s who does the twiddling and who gets twiddled. A worker armed with digital tools can play gig work employers off each other and force them to bid up the price of their labor; they can form co-ops with other workers that auto-refuse jobs that don’t pay enough, and use digital tools to organize to shift power from bosses to workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/02/not-what-it-does/#who-it-does-it-to

Take “reverse centaurs.” In AI research, a “centaur” is a human assisted by a machine that does more than either could do on their own. For example, a chess master and a chess program can play a better game together than either could play separately. A reverse centaur is a machine assisted by a human, where the machine is in charge and the human is a meat-puppet.

Think of Amazon warehouse workers wearing haptic location-aware wristbands that buzz at them continuously dictating where their hands must be; or Amazon drivers whose eye-movements are continuously tracked in order to penalize drivers who look in the “wrong” direction:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/17/reverse-centaur/#reverse-centaur

The difference between a centaur and a reverse centaur is the difference between a machine that makes your life better and a machine that makes your life worse so that your boss gets richer. Reverse centaurism is the 21st Century’s answer to Taylorism, the pseudoscience that saw white-coated “experts” subject workers to humiliating choreography down to the smallest movement of your fingertip:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/great-taylors-ghost/#solidarity-or-bust

While reverse centaurism was born in warehouses and other company-owned facilities, gig work let it make the leap into workers’ homes and cars. The 21st century has seen a return to the cottage industry — a form of production that once saw workers labor far from their bosses and thus beyond their control — but shriven of the autonomy and dignity that working from home once afforded:

https://doctorow.medium.com/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk-463e2730ef0d

The rise and rise of bossware — which allows for remote surveillance of workers in their homes and cars — has turned “work from home” into “live at work.” Reverse centaurs can now be chickenized — a term from labor economics that describes how poultry farmers, who sell their birds to one of three vast poultry processors who have divided up the country like the Pope dividing up the “New World,” are uniquely exploited:

https://onezero.medium.com/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs-b2e8d5cda826

A chickenized reverse centaur has it rough: they must pay for the machines they use to make money for their bosses, they must obey the orders of the app that controls their work, and they are denied any of the protections that a traditional worker might enjoy, even as they are prohibited from deploying digital self-help measures that let them twiddle back to bargain for a better wage.

All of this sets the stage for a phenomenon called algorithmic wage discrimination, in which two workers doing the same job under the same conditions will see radically different payouts for that work. These payouts are continuously tweaked in the background by an algorithm that tries to predict the minimum sum a worker will accept to remain available without payment, to ensure sufficient workers to pick up jobs as they arise.

This phenomenon — and proposed policy and labor solutions to it — is expertly analyzed in “On Algorithmic Wage Discrimination,” a superb paper by UC Law San Franciscos Veena Dubal:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4331080

Dubal uses empirical data and enthnographic accounts from Uber drivers and other gig workers to explain how endless, self-directed twiddling allows gig companies pay workers less and pay themselves more. As @[email protected] explains in his LA Times article on Dubal’s research, the goal of the payment algorithm is to guess how often a given driver needs to receive fair compensation in order to keep them driving when the payments are unfair:

https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2023-04-11/algorithmic-wage-discrimination

The algorithm combines nonconsensual dossiers compiled on individual drivers with population-scale data to seek an equilibrium between keeping drivers waiting, unpaid, for a job; and how much a driver needs to be paid for an individual job, in order to keep that driver from clocking out and doing something else. @ Here’s how that works. Sergio Avedian, a writer for The Rideshare Guy, ran an experiment with two brothers who both drove for Uber; one drove a Tesla and drove intermittently, the other brother rented a hybrid sedan and drove frequently. Sitting side-by-side with the brothers, Avedian showed how the brother with the Tesla was offered more for every trip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UADTiL3S67I

Uber wants to lure intermittent drivers into becoming frequent drivers. Uber doesn’t pay for an oversupply of drivers, because it only pays drivers when they have a passenger in the car. Having drivers on call — but idle — is a way for Uber to shift the cost of maintaining a capacity cushion to its workers.

What’s more, what Uber charges customers is not based on how much it pays its workers. As Uber’s head of product explained: Uber uses “machine-learning techniques to estimate how much groups of customers are willing to shell out for a ride. Uber calculates riders’ propensity for paying a higher price for a particular route at a certain time of day. For instance, someone traveling from a wealthy neighborhood to another tony spot might be asked to pay more than another person heading to a poorer part of town, even if demand, traffic and distance are the same.”

https://qz.com/990131/uber-is-practicing-price-discrimination-economists-say-that-might-not-be-a-bad-thing/

Uber has historically described its business a pure supply-and-demand matching system, where a rush of demand for rides triggers surge pricing, which lures out drivers, which takes care of the demand. That’s not how it works today, and it’s unclear if it ever worked that way. Today, a driver who consults the rider version of the Uber app before accepting a job — to compare how much the rider is paying to how much they stand to earn — is booted off the app and denied further journeys.

Surging, instead, has become just another way to twiddle drivers. One of Dubal’s subjects, Derrick, describes how Uber uses fake surges to lure drivers to airports: “You go to the airport, once the lot get kind of full, then the surge go away.” Other drivers describe how they use groupchats to call out fake surges: “I’m in the Marina. It’s dead. Fake surge.”

That’s pure twiddling. Twiddling turns gamification into gamblification, where your labor buys you a spin on a roulette wheel in a rigged casino. As a driver called Melissa, who had doubled down on her availability to earn a $100 bonus awarded for clocking a certain number of rides, told Dubal, “When you get close to the bonus, the rides start trickling in more slowly…. And it makes sense. It’s really the type of shit that they can do when it’s okay to have a surplus labor force that is just sitting there that they don’t have to pay for.”

Wherever you find reverse-centaurs, you get this kind of gamblification, where the rules are twiddled continuously to make sure that the house always wins. As a contract driver Amazon reverse centaur told Lauren Gurley for Motherboard, “Amazon uses these cameras allegedly to make sure they have a safer driving workforce, but they’re actually using them not to pay delivery companies”:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/88npjv/amazons-ai-cameras-are-punishing-drivers-for-mistakes-they-didnt-make

Algorithmic wage discrimination is the robot overlord of our nightmares: its job is to relentlessly quest for vulnerabilities and exploit them. Drivers divide themselves into “ants” (drivers who take every job) and “pickers” (drivers who cherry-pick high-paying jobs). The algorithm’s job is ensuring that pickers get the plum assignments, not the ants, in the hopes of converting those pickers to app-dependent ants.

In my work on enshittification, I call this the “giant teddy bear” gambit. At every county fair, you’ll always spot some poor jerk carrying around a giant teddy-bear they “won” on the midway. But they didn’t win it — not by getting three balls in the peach-basket. Rather, the carny running the rigged game either chose not to operate the “scissor” that kicks balls out of the basket. Or, if the game is “honest” (that is, merely impossible to win, rather than gimmicked), the operator will make a too-good-to-refuse offer: “Get one ball in and I’ll give you this keychain. Win two keychains and I’ll let you trade them for this giant teddy bear.”

Carnies aren’t in the business of giving away giant teddy bears — rather, the gambit is an investment. Giving a mark a giant teddy bear to carry around the midway all day acts as a convincer, luring other marks to try to land three balls in the basket and win their own teddy bear.

In the same way, platforms like Uber distribute giant teddy bears to pickers, as a way of keeping the ants scurrying from job to job, and as a way of convincing the pickers to give up whatever work allows them to discriminate among Uber’s offers and hold out for the plum deals, whereupon then can be transmogrified into ants themselves.

Dubal describes the experience of Adil, a Syrian refugee who drives for Uber in the Bay Area. His colleagues are pickers, and showed him screenshots of how much they earned. Determined to get a share of that money, Adil became a model ant, driving two hours to San Francisco, driving three days straight, napping in his car, spending only one day per week with his family. The algorithm noticed that Adil needed the work, so it paid him less.

Adil responded the way the system predicted he would, by driving even more: “My friends they make it, so I keep going, maybe I can figure it out. It’s unsecure, and I don’t know how people they do it. I don’t know how I am doing it, but I have to. I mean, I don’t find another option. In a minute, if I find something else, oh man, I will be out immediately. I am a very patient person, that’s why I can continue.”

Another driver, Diego, told Dubal about how the winners of the giant teddy bears fell into the trap of thinking that they were “good at the app”: “Any time there’s some big shot getting high pay outs, they always shame everyone else and say you don’t know how to use the app. I think there’s secret PR campaigns going on that gives targeted payouts to select workers, and they just think it’s all them.”

That’s the power of twiddling: by hoarding all the flexibility offered by digital tools, the management at platforms can become centaurs, able to string along thousands of workers, while the workers are reverse-centaurs, puppeteered by the apps.

As the example of Adil shows, the algorithm doesn’t need to be very sophisticated in order to figure out which workers it can underpay. The system automates the kind of racial and gender discrimination that is formally illegal, but which is masked by the smokescreen of digitization. An employer who systematically paid women less than men, or Black people less than white people, would be liable to criminal and civil sanctions. But if an algorithm simply notices that people who have fewer job prospects drive more and will thus accept lower wages, that’s just “optimization,” not racism or sexism.

This is the key to understanding the AI hype bubble: when ghouls from multinational banks predict 13 trillion dollar markets for “AI,” what they mean is that digital tools will speed up the twiddling and other wage-suppression techniques to transfer $13T in value from workers and consumers to shareholders.

The American business lobby is relentlessly focused on the goal of reducing wages. That’s the force behind “free trade,” “right to work,” and other codewords for “paying workers less,” including “gig work.” Tech workers long saw themselves as above this fray, immune to labor exploitation because they worked for a noble profession that took care of its own.

But the epidemic of mass tech-worker layoffs, following on the heels of massive stock buybacks, has demonstrated that tech bosses are just like any other boss: willing to pay as little as they can get away with, and no more. Tech bosses are so comfortable with their market dominance and the lock-in of their customers that they are happy to turn out hundreds of thousands of skilled workers, convinced that the twiddling systems they’ve built are the kinds of self-licking ice-cream cones that are so simple even a manager can use them — no morlocks required.

The tech worker layoffs are best understood as an all-out war on tech worker morale, because that morale is the source of tech workers’ confidence and thus their demands for a larger share of the value generated by their labor. The current tech layoff template is very different from previous tech layoffs: today’s layoffs are taking place over a period of months, long after they are announced, and laid off tech worker is likely to be offered a months of paid post-layoff work, rather than severance. This means that tech workplaces are now haunted by the walking dead, workers who have been laid off but need to come into the office for months, even as the threat of layoffs looms over the heads of the workers who remain. As an old friend, recently laid off from Microsoft after decades of service, wrote to me, this is “a new arrow in the quiver of bringing tech workers to heel and ensuring that we’re properly thankful for the jobs we have (had?).”

Dubal is interested in more than analysis, she’s interested in action. She looks at the tactics already deployed by gig workers, who have not taken all this abuse lying down. Workers in the UK and EU organized through Worker Info Exchange and the App Drivers and Couriers Union have used the GDPR (the EU’s privacy law) to demand “algorithmic transparency,” as well as access to their data. In California, drivers hope to use similar provisions in the CCPA (a state privacy law) to do the same.

These efforts have borne fruit. When Cornell economists, led by Louis Hyman, published research (paid for by Uber) claiming that Uber drivers earned an average of $23/hour, it was data from these efforts that revealed the true average Uber driver’s wage was $9.74. Subsequent research in California found that Uber drivers’ wage fell to $6.22/hour after the passage of Prop 22, a worker misclassification law that gig companies spent $225m to pass, only to have the law struck down because of a careless drafting error:

https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2021-08-23/proposition-22-lyft-uber-decision-essential-california

But Dubal is skeptical that data-coops and transparency will achieve transformative change and build real worker power. Knowing how the algorithm works is useful, but it doesn’t mean you can do anything about it, not least because the platform owners can keep touching their knobs, twiddling the payout schedule on their rigged slot-machines.

Data co-ops start from the proposition that “data extraction is an inevitable form of labor for which workers should be remunerated.” It makes on-the-job surveillance acceptable, provided that workers are compensated for the spying. But co-ops aren’t unions, and they don’t have the power to bargain for a fair price for that data, and coops themselves lack the vast resources — “to store, clean, and understand” — data.

Co-ops are also badly situated to understand the true value of the data that is extracted from their members: “Workers cannot know whether the data collected will, at the population level, violate the civil rights of others or amplifies their own social oppression.”

Instead, Dubal wants an outright, nonwaivable prohibition on algorithmic wage discrimination. Just make it illegal. If firms cannot use gambling mechanisms to control worker behavior through variable pay systems, they will have to find ways to maintain flexible workforces while paying their workforce predictable wages under an employment model. If a firm cannot manage wages through digitally-determined variable pay systems, then the firm is less likely to employ algorithmic management.”

In other words, rather than using market mechanisms too constrain platform twiddling, Dubal just wants to make certain kinds of twiddling illegal. This is a growing trend in legal scholarship. For example, the economist Ramsi Woodcock has proposed a ban on surge pricing as a per se violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act:

https://ilr.law.uiowa.edu/print/volume-105-issue-4/the-efficient-queue-and-the-case-against-dynamic-pricing

Similarly, Dubal proposes that algorithmic wage discrimination violates another antitrust law: the Robinson-Patman Act, which “bans sellers from charging competing buyers different prices for the same commodity. Robinson-Patman enforcement was effectively halted under Reagan, kicking off a host of pathologies, like the rise of Walmart:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/27/walmarts-jackals/#cheater-sizes

I really liked Dubal’s legal reasoning and argument, and to it I would add a call to reinvigorate countertwiddling: reforming laws that get in the way of workers who want to reverse-engineer, spoof, and control the apps that currently control them. Adversarial interoperability (AKA competitive compatibility or comcom) is key tool for building worker power in an era of digital Taylorism:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability

To see how that works, look to other jursidictions where workers have leapfrogged their European and American cousins, such as Indonesia, where gig workers and toolsmiths collaborate to make a whole suite of “tuyul apps,” which let them override the apps that gig companies expect them to use.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/08/tuyul-apps/#gojek

For example, ride-hailing companies won’t assign a train-station pickup to a driver unless they’re circling the station — which is incredibly dangerous during the congested moments after a train arrives. A tuyul app lets a driver park nearby and then spoof their phone’s GPS fix to the ridehailing company so that they appear to be right out front of the station.

In an ideal world, those workers would have a union, and be able to dictate the app’s functionality to their bosses. But workers shouldn’t have to wait for an ideal world: they don’t just need jam tomorrow — they need jam today. Tuyul apps, and apps like Para, which allow workers to extract more money under better working conditions, are a prelude to unionization and employer regulation, not a substitute for it.

Employers will not give workers one iota more power than they have to. Just look at the asymmetry between the regulation of union employees versus union busters. Under US law, employees of a union need to account for every single hour they work, every mile they drive, every location they visit, in public filings. Meanwhile, the union-busting industry — far larger and richer than unions — operate under a cloak of total secrecy, Workers aren’t even told which union busters their employers have hired — let alone get an accounting of how those union busters spend money, or how many of them are working undercover, pretending to be workers in order to sabotage the union.

Twiddling will only get an employer so far. Twiddling — like all “AI” — is based on analyzing the past to predict the future. The heuristics an algorithm creates to lure workers into their cars can’t account for rapid changes in the wider world, which is why companies who relied on “AI” scheduling apps (for example, to prevent their employees from logging enough hours to be entitled to benefits) were caught flatfooted by the Great Resignation.

Workers suddenly found themselves with bargaining power thanks to the departure of millions of workers — a mix of early retirees and workers who were killed or permanently disabled by covid — and they used that shortage to demand a larger share of the fruits of their labor. The outraged howls of the capital class at this development were telling: these companies are operated by the kinds of “capitalists” that MLK once identified, who want “socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor.”

https://twitter.com/KaseyKlimes/status/821836823022354432/

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engeorged · 7 months

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Please Feed the Bears

Words and concept by @fillthattank and @engeorged

Artwork by @badoobers

Having spent four years in teacher training college and 8 years working in shitty schools, Dan was done being a teacher. Like most of his colleagues, he loved the kids and teaching, but the red tape was killing him. He was still spending hours and hours every evening lesson planning, marking and setting goals. Even just engaging with parents through the new app the school had imposed took an hour a night now. He was done.

The job had taken his whole life. He didn’t have a social life any more, he didn’t have time for friends, let alone dating. He used to be hot! Six pack abs and thick biceps left over from his rugby days, but late night pizza orders and rushed meals whilst sat in his sofa marking had put an end to that. He wasn’t unfit as such, (he still cycled to work!) but he had a definite little pot belly now with a jiggle when he walked and his ass was forcing him to buy jeans two sizes too big.

He’d begun to put aside a little money each month to go travelling and it was now time to cash in. He gleefully handed in his resignation and booked his tickets. He was going to fulfil a life long dream and tour America. His money wouldn’t last long but he’d be able to get a little cash in hand job every few months and settle down for a bit and that should last him. All his mates did it when he was training and he was beginning to feel like he had missed out, so now was his chance. The morning of the flight came and he felt so free and so excited! He’d sold everything he had accumulated in his shitty flat, gotten rid of his bike and the keys to the flat. All he had in the world was shoved into his backpack. The world was his oyster.

Three months later

The bubble burst two weeks into the adventure when he was robbed on a metro in New York. All his cash and bank cards were gone. When he had phoned his insurance company, they had gone bust overnight and so there was no payout. He refused to phone his parents. He was 30, that would be so humiliating. And they wouldn’t be gracious about it, they had already told him this was a childish idea to go travelling on a whim like a teenager. They’d probably give him money to come home, where he’d end up living in their house for a few years whilst he did supply teaching jobs in horrific schools. No thank you, he’d sort this out himself. He got a job for a few months, cash in hand with no questions asked, doing deliveries for a pizza place in New York which gave him enough money to travel west and a constant supply of free pizza. Sure it was on the bus, and sure he’d put on a few more pounds but at least he’d done it himself. He arrived in what the bus driver called ‘Butt Fuck Nowhere’ ready to work.

He booked himself into a cheap and sleazy hotel. He had enough money for one night which meant he needed to find himself a job fast. After making a few enquiries he found the only real place to work for foreigners was in a massive theme park just on the edges of the town. He hiked his way there and found the employment office and made his case. In lieu of a formal interview, the guy looked him up and down and made his assessment. Dan was 6’5 and so being tall, tall, he would be the park's main mascot, Buster. Buster was a big bear and the costume was huge, with loads of room inside. The only upside was that his face wouldn’t be entirely covered by the costume. Instead there was a little hat with bear ears he would have to wear.

He would have to do a trial before he was offered the job for real, and the eventual pay would be $15 an hour, which didn't seem like a lot. Whilst Dan signed the contract, the boss called for his helper who was a short burly guy in his late twenties called Mitch, with a gravely voice that made it sound like he smoked 40 a day. Mitch’s eyes perked up when he saw Dan.

‘He’ll do!’ Said Mitch, his eyes hungrily taking in Dan’s face and height.

‘Hey!’ Said Dan, holding out his hand. Mitch shook it enthusiastically.

‘Hope you’re hungry!’ Said Mitch

‘What?’ Said Dan, a little confused but he began taking off his clothes ready to get into the costume. He was about to pull it on when Mitch stopped him and pushed him over to a pair of scales. ‘Step on’ Mitch encouraged him.

‘I’m a little husky at the moment!’ Dan replied nervously

‘That’s not a bad thing.’ Mitch replied as he took the reading from the digital scales.

‘Hang on? Why did you need that?’ Dan asked, realising that that was weird.

Instead of replying, Mitch just held out the costume. Dan slid it on, pulling his arms through the holes. It wasn’t as heavy as it looked and was a little baggy round his middle but it seemed to fit ok.

‘Why did you need my weight?’ He tried again as he did the zip up, but he was bundled out of the office and into the park without an answer

It was early, but already, Dan could see people walking around. He wasn't entirely sure if they were fellow employees or visitors. They weren't wearing any uniform, but they looked like adult men. Way more adult men than he'd expect at a theme park.

Years of teaching had killed most inhibitions and fear of embarrassment within Dan, so he jumped up and down, danced a bit, acted like he thought a man in a bear-suit was expected to act.

"Hey, it's Buster Bear!" he heard someone say.

Dan turned round, and waved. It was a group of guys, six he counted, looking around 30. A big variety of heights and builds, though they all looked pretty hairy.

One of the guys came running towards him.

"C'mon guys, let's bust the bear!' he said, to the others.

When the guy arrived, Dan didn't even have time to talk. The guy shoved a hot dog right into his mouth. Dan was a bit shocked, but started chewing. It wasn't a bad hot dog.

No sooner had Dan swallowed that another guy shoved a hot dog into his mouth. Dan was even more surprised, but hey, the customer is king, and he was kinda hungry anyway, so he chewed and swallowed.

The six guys proceeded to shove a hot dog each into his mouth. He wasn’t expecting that at all but as he was on probation he didn’t want to challenge it. His minder stood to the side happily watching and not saying a word. Was this a thing here? It didn’t take long but he ended up eating six hot dogs in a short space of time.

This first guy moved to feed a second one but Mitch stepped in. ‘You know the rules, big guy. Let someone else have a go. Move along now!’

Admitting defeat the six guys moved on laughing and patting each other on the back. When they were at a safe distance he turned to Mitch ‘What the hell was that?’

‘Did no one tell you?’ He laughed. ‘It’s just a cute thing we have here. When you see Buster bear you have to feed him something. It’s just for fun! You’ll get used to it!’

Dan was so confused. It was one thing giving the bear a small thing but he’d just eaten six whole hot dogs and he’d been on the job for 15 minutes! Also why were they grown ass men? Theme parks are for kids right? He wasn’t even sure what question to ask first. He opened his mouth to ask something and found a churro in it. Two young bearded guys had snuck up behind him. They happily began feeding him a big churro each. Dan was starting to feel pretty full already but he really needed this job. He’d have time to ask questions in a moment. So he played along. Rubbing his furry tummy and chewing he ate a churro from each of them.

As they walked away, clearly happy he heard one of them comment about how hot he was which gave him a little rush of pleasure, followed by a touch of embarrassment.

Turning to Mitch he formulated his question ‘Where are the kids?’

Mitch looked at him like he’d said something crazy inappropriate and just shook his head. ‘Dude this place is for adults only! Now look lively. Here comes another group of customers.

Totally confused, Dan turned and saw four guys coming towards him with huge bellies and carrying buckets of loaded fries. Before he could say anything, a chubby hand stuffed a fist full of fries into his mouth. They were hot and salty and covered in bacon and cheese and so good. He could ignore the full feeling with fries as tasty as this. A few fistfuls in, and the dudes started fighting over who got to feed him the next lot.

‘Bro wait your turn?’ The lead guy said in a thick southern accent.

‘This is my turn dick face?’ Replied a guy who looked like he could be his brother, shoving him out of the way with his fat ass.

Dan found himself amidst four angry fat guys who’d clearly had a few too many beers and his teaching skills suddenly kicked in.

‘Boys, there’s plenty of room in my tank, now just keep the fries coming!’

It calmed the situation a bit but still was a little tense. A few of the guys were squaring up to each other and getting riled up. Guided by Dan the fries were soon put away turn by turn into his filling tank. Pacified and pleased with themselves the men staggered away punching one another on the arms as they went.

The four buckets of fries on top of the hotdogs and churros suddenly weighed heavy on Dan's stomach. He belched loudly and gave his belly a rub. ‘How come you didn’t intervene man?’ He asked Mitch

‘You seemed to be handling those dumb asses pretty well yourself?’ Mitch laughed back

‘I thought it was one thing per person? You said that was the rule?’

‘Yeah but they had the golden buckets. They paid extra. They can feed you the whole lot if they want!’ Mitch explained. ‘Let’s keep going, bud!’

Dan uncomfortably followed on behind Mitch, feeling the heavy food settling as his stomach set about the task of digesting. Over the next hour or so they encountered several more guys, all keen to feed something to Buster. Dan played the part, eating up the burgers, candy apples and handfuls of popcorn. All the food they seemed to serve at this place was full-on junk food. It didn’t hurt that it all tasted so good. The pace was fast but not too bad. He felt like he was keeping up. He’d always had a big appetite and would often find himself eating his feelings when he was back in school. And he needed this job. He couldn’t bring himself to contact his parents. There were just two more hours of the trial left, he could do this. He was beginning to notice that the costume was feeling a little claustrophobic. It felt super roomy when he put it on but he was feeling the material clinging to his skin a bit now. It was super hot inside too. He could really do with something to drink. He would look for some dudes with beers or something if that was allowed.

The next encounter he had was two good looking college bros with backwards caps and muscle tees. Unfortunately they didn’t have beers but they fed Dan a funnel cake each. He’d never seen one of these before but the sweet dough tasted amazing. Afterwards though he began to feel a little uncomfortably full. The last few bites were a little hard work. He could feel grease and the pressure of food in his packed stomach reaching a slightly more painful place. When they had gone he asked Mitch if he could take a ten minute break. Mitch reluctantly agreed but said he couldn’t take the suit off. He took him behind one of the rides where they found a little bench. Dan eased himself down and instantly regretted sitting. The pressure reached a peak which made him wince and stand back up. Tentatively, he sat back down and leant back on his arms. Under the suit, he arched his back to give his belly space to expand. Mitch grinned. ‘Ready to give up yet?’

‘No man, I’m good’ Dan lied.

‘There’s pockets!’ Mitch offered smiling still

‘What?’ Dan was feeling a little light headed with how full he was feeling and he didn’t really know what Mitch was talking about.

Mitch leant over and pulled a small zip down on the side by Dan's hip. ‘If you need to give your belly a rub, there’s a small pocket. Trust me on this. You need all the help you can get before the lunch rush!’

The prospect of a lunch rush was something Dan would need to deal with in a few minutes but for now he eased his hand into the side of his costume and felt the warm flesh of his distended furry belly. He couldn’t trust himself to think back over how much food was in him, it would just make him queasy. For now he just closed his eyes and gave his tight belly a good rub.

‘Come on buster!’ Mitch said after a too short amount of time. ‘You need to be back on the tarmac!’

Begrudgingly Dan stood, admittedly feeling a little better after the rub. He could almost feel the food redistributing itself as he moved.

‘Hang on, What did you mean lunch rush?’ He asked his guide as they walked.

Mitch just smiled. ‘Happy hour!’ He repeated cryptically.

Leading the way, Mitch took Dan back into the park where they made their way to an area set up next to a steep roller coaster. A little food hut decorated to look like a large picnic basket was serving food to a long queue of guys, all who started cheering as they saw Buster Bear approaching. This made Dan's stomach lurch a little. That was a lot of guys buying food. ‘Should we keep moving?’ He asked Mitch nervously.

‘Why would we do that? This is your chance to prove you deserve the job.’ He pointed at a large wooden throne just next to the clearing. ‘Take a seat’

Reluctantly Dan shuffled towards the chair and sat down. It was surprisingly comfy and the position of the seat meant that he was nearly stood up which put no extra pressure on his already packed belly. He gulped as he realised that the design was probably on purpose.

One by one the men left the queue and joined a new one in front of Dan. They all had their fast food clutched in their hands ready to feed Buster. Mitch leant in and whispered into Dan's ear. ‘If you can survive this, the job's yours. And did you read the small print?’

Dan shook his head nervously. ‘No?’ He admitted, looking to find a way out of this. There was no way this was worth $15 an hour.

‘At the end of the day we weigh you and you get $50 per pound you put on. You get a bonus for the more food you eat!’

That changed things for Dan. He really needed that cash. He’d nearly used up the last of his money staying at the motel in town and without this job, he’d not have enough for the next few days. A few hundred dollars could really come in handy right now. He could eat a lot? What’s 10 lbs of food look like? That’s $500 dollars. Surely that could be doable? He set his jaw and nodded to Mitch ‘let’s go’

The stream of food that followed was unreal. Each guy shoved one thing into Dan's open mouth and he chewed and swallowed like his life depended on it. Corn dogs, tacos, hamburgers, onion rings and fries all disappeared down under the fur of the costume into his hidden but rapidly expanding belly. He didn’t allow himself time to consider how much food there was or how he was going to feel afterwards, he just kept the thought of the dollars ringing in his ears. Ice cream and donuts, beers and sodas all sucked down into his filling tank. The guys queuing were loving it and Dan was fully playing the part of a greedy bear. Growling and snarling as their sweaty palms pushed the calorific food into his mouth. Mitch’s face slowly turned from a smiling sneer, laughing at Dan's fate, to one of admiration. He’d been with a lot of Busters and Dan was eating like one of the best. He’d spent many an afternoon with a sorry dude in a bear costume throwing up into a bin after a shift but this guy seemed to be an absolute eating unit. Towards the end of the happy hour though he started being a little worried. This guy had eaten a lot. Like, too much. Even with the bear costume on he could see that his gut was beginning to push against the fabric.

As Dan was being fed a large chicken tender the bell went to signal the end of happy hour. Dan looked a little confused as he snapped out of his feeding frenzy. The rest of the guys in the queue all shared a collective groan as Mitch told them that the bear needed to head back to his cave for his nap whilst Dan looked on, totally dazed. As Mitch shooed away the queue, the volume of food inside Dan’s belly suddenly made itself very known. He felt the skin over his belly stretched and tight and the pressure that had built up inside him became very apparent. He had never in his whole life felt as full as he did right now. In the distance he heard Mitch talking to him. He wasn’t sure what he was saying but he nodded and allowed Mitch to help him to his feet. The new weight in front of him made him stagger a little at first as he felt the food lurch inside his belly balloon. A large belch escaped and he found himself laughing. Mitch led him through the park round the back, fortunately not encountering any more punters eager to offload some more food into his aching gut.

Coming round a little bit he found himself back in the offices, just him and Mitch, who was looking at him in a concerned way. ‘I said are you ok bud?’

Dan belched again in response. ‘I think I’m ok? I ate a lot.’

‘Yeah. You did.’ Mitch nodded in agreement. ‘You wanna take off the costume?’

Dan nodded. He went to undo the zip but found the fabric was restricting his movement. Mitch fished around under his neck and pulled the zip down to the bottom of his ribs. The rush of cool air was like heaven as he peeled his arms out of the costume. He went to pull the zipper down but his bloated midsection was now an obstacle. Pulling it out, he managed to get the zip to slide down to the underneath of his belly which pushed itself through. Dan looked up into the mirror on the wall opposite. Shocked, he saw the full extent of his four hours of being stuffed by random strangers. His belly was enormous. The furry skin stretched tight over the mass of food contained inside. Round and expansive, his belly looked like it had been photoshopped. His gut had completely filled the baggy costume.

‘Holy fucking Mac and cheese balls’ Mitch exclaimed reaching over to give his belly a poke. Even his heavy handed push hardly made a dent in it.

‘It feels like I’ve swallowed quick drying cement!’ Dan complained. ‘Help me out of this fucking thing!’

Mitch pulled the costume down round his ankles, headbutting his engorged stomach by accident. ‘Shit man, sorry!’ He said rubbing his head

Standing there in just his pants Dan couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. He was enormous. His furry belly and body made him look like he was still wearing the fat bear costume.

Mitch nodded at the scales. ‘Wanna see how much we owe you?’ He asked

‘I’m gonna bankrupt you!’ Dan managed to joke as he stepped on.

Mitch whistled, clearly impressed. ‘Fuck me man. You’ve done well there today! I’d have to check but I’m pretty sure that’s a company record!’

‘Tell me man!’ Dan pleaded.

"We owe you $850 man! You’ve eaten 17 lbs of food!!’

Dan nearly passed out with shock. Taking another look in the mirror his distended belly looked like he was pregnant. Sticking out from under his ribs it rolled down in a wide curve till it tapered in where the ghost of his Adonis belt framed the underside.. All he wanted to do right now was sleep this off

‘You’ve definitely got the job!’ Mitch reassured him. ‘See you again tomorrow?’

————————————————————

If you want to continue Dans story yourself you can head here where you will find a chat bot programmed to be Dan at the end of this story!

#belly expansion #gainer fiction #gay gainer #stuffing #belly fiction #gainer stories #male gaining #stuffing art #gainer story #gainer artwork #big bear

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i-like-anything-water · 10 months

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Chlonette Angkas AU:

Chloe is still attention deprived from her parents despite doing everything she can think of to gain their approval (especially her mother's). One day Adrien takes her to a motorcycle road racing event and she fell in love.

Her parents didn't notice the sudden purchase since they were used to their daughters sudden shopping sprees.

She becomes a pro at age 20 and has been competing since she was 18 (idk shit about motorcycle racing lmao) with Adrien and Kagami accompanying her.

She almost gets into an accident, a month before her 21st birthday. Her parents finally notice.

She's scolded and grounded.

She tries to get her way, explaining how it was her passion and she hasn't felt alive in such a long time. She's even threatened to leave and disown herself (can she do that though??? Lol xD)

Her father hesitates. He loves her daughter and he feels guilty that he's taken up too much time with their business and upcoming campaign to spend time with her. Her mother still hasn't budged.

It was when Andre realized he was losing to the public's votes did he realize that he and Chloe could strike a...deal.

"Honey, I agree on you going back to your...erm, game. But you must accomplish an errand first." "Oh, yes! Anything, Daddy. I am your daughter after all. What errand is it?"

Chloe is grumbling and complaining on the first day of being an Angkas driver. As per her father's request, it would look good for him and their family if they helped out in the community especially the laborers.

"I don't wanna get near those commoners! What if they attack me?!" "Darling, they're nice people. Er, I didn't think you would have opted to be in the cleaning department...and you do love racing..." A sigh.

She's not accustomed to driving for other people so she gets complaints on her first day. "Are you crazy?! I almost died!" "God I thought I saw you for a second." "I'm gonna tell my family I love them every day if you're my driver." "Your hair looks ugly in that helmet." The last one she may have purposely suddenly stopped the bike and well...

It was on her second week did she get a customer that was her age, maybe younger. She didn't say anything. Chloe wasn't surprised, she looked like shit. Ew, seriously were all people not taking an effort in their looks?

"How fast do you want me to be?" If there was sarcasm, the customer didn't notice. She merely shrugged and said, "Depends on you."

Well, okay then.

It's only when they got to their destination did her customer looked both shocked, thrilled, and fear.

"holy shit I'm not late! Holy shit, I'm not late! How fast did you go?"

Chloe shrugs, "Not fast enough to break the law."

She learns her customer's name is Marinette. How? Because she was a customer and they used an app, obviously.

She was actually...happy. it's been a long time (it's been a week) since she ran that fast (there was numerous tickets already) and she kinda wished she'd book her again (Marinette doesn't look too concerned for herself which was both worrying and 'it's not my business but still').

She gets Chloe again and this time she recognizes the familiar helmet and jacket. Marinette offers her a smile to which Chloe rolled her eyes at. Affectionately. Not! God damn it she was not that gay.

It's only when she wasn't cursing at the world or busy thinking how ugly her customers are did she notice Marinette's arms around her and oh.

Oh they almost ran a red light. Oops.

"I thought you were supposed to be good at this?" "Good at what?! Driving?!" "Making sure your customers don't die or end up in jail!"

They bicker along the way which earns them curious looks.

It becomes a routine and Chloe definitely did not harass inform the other drivers that Marinette was hers. To drive!

They once stopped at McDonald's because Marinette forgot to eat. "Don't you have your maid to prepare your meals?" The drive thru cashier and Marinette could only stare at each other, silently exchanging the money and food.

During their journey to Marinette's apartment (she mentioned it during the third ride) to her school, they talked. Well, screamed because traffic is shitty. But it's fine, it keeps Chloe entertained for the time being. Only one more month and Daddy's campaign is over.

Marinette's is...okay. Fine, maybe she was fun to talk to. And maybe she did give Chloe a cupcake or whatever new recipe she had on before they went to school. And maybe she was sometimes, on the rarity, like very rare times! She looked...nice.

She thinks the pollution has finally gotten to her. Being exposed to this much pollution and people is making her sick because.... because Marinette keeps getting prettier everytime she picks her up and this is not fucking fair.

"I think I like her." Her coworker, a father of two kids only looked at her, mid chew on his bread. Chloe realized what she said and panicked, but before she could scream and curse, he smiled and swallowed. "I think you do, Miss."

It was during the first week of the next month did Adrien visit her. He was also busy with class and modeling. Once the day of them hanging out was over, he gave her a hug and said, "It's okay. She seems like a nice girl. Try to ask her out, yeah?"

Asking out girls without your fancy pictures or perfectly (elaborate) planned speech was harder. Marinette walked out the door with her hair in a bun, some strays of hair making it look like bean sprouts and she looked halfway to passing out. Chloe thought she looked beautiful.

"Shit."

It ends with them pinning for almost two months and then the confession and their cute dates. If I have time I'll continue this but viola, them...just, them.

#chloenette #chlonette #chloe bourgeois #marinette dupen chang #angkas au #chlonette fic idea #i wanna flesh this out some more but idk anything about motorcycles or angkas except for the basics #i walk to my destinations so...#anyways them #more characters should be appearing

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hil-sayit · 6 months

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“Me in the Land of the Rising Sun”

Japan, with its mesmerizing beauty and enchanting atmosphere, truly made a lasting impression on my travel adventures. Having explored various countries in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, I can confidently say that Japan surpasses them all. This sojourn was never part of my original plan, nor did it feature in my bucket list, but fate intervened when a friend invited me to join their travel group, which included a visit to this unforgettable country.

November 16, 2023, my travel began with a domestic flight from Davao to Manila, accompanied by my travel companion, though we found ourselves on different flights and airlines. Understandably exhausted by the time I arrived in Manila, I contemplated whether to wait at the airport for my friend's flight or seek respite in one of the capsule sleeping areas. Eventually opting for a hotel in Makati to rest, I informed my friend of my plans, hoping he would reach out if necessary. Unbeknownst to me, I slept through my alarms, waking up in a panic as I realized I had missed several calls from my friend, who was urging me to hurry. In a rush, I booked a Grab taxi, undoubtedly burdening my friend with my tardiness and repeatedly apologizing for my oversight. Holding my breath, I urged the driver to hasten our ride, anxious about missing our flight.

Little did I know that the challenges had only just begun. Even before leaving my hometown, I received a brief notice from the airline stating that our flight had been rescheduled to an earlier time. Desperate, I contacted my friend, seeking any means to expedite our trip. We resorted to costly transportation arrangements, arriving just in time for our boarding. The relief of having overcome this hurdle washed over me.

Upon arriving at Narita International Airport on November 17, 2023, I was struck by a mixture of awe and bewilderment. Despite having visited numerous destinations before, Japan felt like uncharted territory, evoking emotions I had not experienced previously. Overwhelmed by the bustling stations of Narita, my friend and I sought assistance from information desks to pinpoint the right station for our next destination, Osaka. Once we had acquired our tickets for the Shinkansen, the renowned high-speed train, I marveled at the opportunity to ride on this unforgettable travel. Unfortunately, my anticipation for enjoying the scenic views was dampened as I found myself engrossed in paperwork during the train ride.

Initially uncertain of our seat, we approached a Japanese gentleman seated near the window, who greeted us with a warm smile. Struggling to communicate verbally due to his limited English proficiency, we turned to translation apps on our phones. Eventually, the kind Japanese man pointed us in the direction of our designated seats, alleviating our weariness from hauling heavy luggage that accompanied our linguistic trepidation. Despite the fatigue, the presence of the bullet train and the thrill of its speed permeated the atmosphere, leaving an indelible impression on my memory, even if I couldn't fully appreciate the scenery outside.

The fatigue from our exhaustive travel culminated as we arrived in Osaka, eagerly navigating the multiple train transfers necessary to reach our destination. Hours passed before we finally emerged from the subway, greeted by the biting cold of the 8-degree Celsius weather—a sign to the beauty and chilliness of Osaka, particularly in the lively district of Dotonbori. Fashion-forward locals dressed in coats and sweaters paraded before me, akin to a fashion show runway. It didn't take long for me to immerse myself in the photogenic corners of Dotonbori and indulge in delectable Japanese street food like Takoyaki and Ramen. The language barrier seemed like a minor hurdle as I sought assistance during my purchases, adapting to the uniqueness of it all. On day two, I purchased a puffy jacket and winter outfits from Zara and Uniqlo, unprepared for the intense cold that greeted me. Little did I know that my suitcase full of warm clothing would go unused.

In the following days, we explored the distinct beauty of Osaka and Kyoto, aided by a friend who acted as our tour guide. Amidst the routine of hopping on and off different trains, we found ourselves traversing Kyoto, making stops at sites such as the Fushimi Inari Shrine. As we walked the streets of the village surrounding the shrine, I couldn't help but marvel at the traditional Japanese houses that mirrored the animated images from my childhood. Impeccable cleanliness and an commitment to hygiene were evident in every corner, reinforcing the discipline of the Japanese people in maintaining the pristine state of their surroundings. Captivated by the scenery, I insisted on capturing every street through photographs, creating a memorable keepsake. Although we couldn't complete the entire walking through the mesmerizing red torii gates of the shrine due to time constraints, we redirected our focus to exploring more of Kyoto and maximizing our limited time.

On another day, we dedicated our time to the Universal Studios Japan. The euphoric sounds and energy of the park greeted us, even in the midst of cold weather. Embracing the childlike joy that washed over me, I eagerly embarked on each ride, soaking in the enchantment that the park had to offer. This visit to Universal Studios felt notably different from my previous experience in Singapore, as the lengthy queues necessitated my friend's retreat back to our hotel in Dotonbori due to exhaustion. Left to explore the park alone, I reveled in a sense of freedom and happiness, momentarily detaching from any worries or concerns.

During our last day in Osaka, we made an early departure from the nearest station, heading to Kansai International Airport with Hokkaido as our destination. The excitement was building, especially after our friend filmed the snowfall and shared it with our group chat. Witnessing the snowfall became an immediate desire for me. As we approached the airport, I was awestruck by its unique location - constructed in the middle of the sea, it resembled a captivating island, offering a breathtaking view from the airplane.

The travel to Chitose International Airport in Hokkaido was nothing short of magical. Snow-covered mountains painted a picturesque scene that truly mesmerized me. The sunlight danced differently across Hokkaido, creating a stunning ambiance. I was fortunate to capture this beautiful sunset, as it played upon the clouds, etching an unforgettable memory in my heart. Grateful, I thanked Allah (S.W.T) and took a moment to reflect on this incredible experience, appreciating the path that led me there.

Upon arrival in Chitose, we boarded another train destined for Sapporo, the central city of Hokkaido, where we had booked our hotel. Despite the exhaustion from carrying our heavy luggage, we pushed through, fueled by the anticipation of exploring the enchanting city. After checking in, while my friend took a well-deserved rest, I wasted no time and ventured out to discover the beauty of Sapporo. My exploration led me to the Sapporo TV Tower, granting me a bird's-eye view of the entire city. Standing there in solitude, I embraced the moment, soaking in its splendor. It was during this time that I contemplated the blessings bestowed upon me, realizing that none of it would be possible without the guidance of Allah (S.W.T).

The following day, we purchased tickets to visit the Asahiyama Zoo, stopping at various beautiful places along the way. Each stop left me in awe, as I braved the intense cold, capturing the essence of every location through the lens of my camera. This trip became an unforgettable chapter in my life, cherished and kept close to my heart. Even though I didn't experience the snowfall, I am grateful for the opportunity that unfolded before me. I also ventured alone to Mt. Moiwa, where I unleashed my imagination, envisioning future endeavors and mapping out my next five years. From the viewpoint atop the mountain, I settled down with a cup of coffee, gazing out of the window, capturing both the physical and metaphysical beauty of Sapporo. I penned my thoughts, allowing myself to dream of beautiful things. It is during moments like these that I truly comprehend that nothing is unattainable when I wholeheartedly pursue my desires and take action. The lessons and realizations I experienced on the peak of Sapporo remain invaluable.

Through traveling alone, I confronted some of my fears. The unfamiliarity and uncertainty of being in unknown places consumed me initially, but I soon discovered that such apprehensions were baseless. Instead, I found myself welcomed by friendly strangers and embraced by a place I had initially feared. I learned that there is nothing wrong with embracing the unknown and braving the things that scare us, for in doing so, we tap into our limitless potential. Although I foresee a future where I long for companionship, marriage, and starting a family, I understand that these desires are not my current priority. Instead, I leave it to the divine will of Allah (S.W.T), embracing whatever path is laid out before me without regret or blame. For now, I continue to chase my dreams, as they remain unfulfilled and a collection of experiences yet to be gathered.

Leaving Sapporo, I made a promise to myself: to return to this captivating city that has stolen my heart. Thankfully, there will always be a reason to come back. While I had hoped to experience the winter season, the journey fast-forwarded, and it became my final day in Sapporo. I caught my flight to Narita International Airport, marking the last leg of my Japanese adventure. Tokyo, the last prefecture on my itinerary, awaited me. Without wasting a single moment, the night before my arrival, I started on a travel to Shibuya, eager to witness and traverse its bustling streets. The sheer volume of people amazed me, and I couldn't help but wonder their origins. Shibuya quickly became my favorite spot in Tokyo, despite having only a day to freely explore before returning home before my friend. I wandered, indulging in all that caught my shopping, tasting various culinary delights, and immersing myself in the vibrant ambiance. To add to the enchantment, I visited TeamLab at night, an otherworldly experience, where lights and visual marvels captivated my senses.

My love for Japan and its people is anchored in the strong sense of discipline and politeness that permeates every aspect of life. I observed firsthand how everything operates seamlessly - governed by systems and propelled by efficient processes. Whether witnessing children, adults, or seniors, everyone walked at an astonishing pace, a true proof to their respect for rules and order. Japan, in a single word, can be described as "FAST." It is no wonder why this country ranks highly in development and stands as a beacon of first-world infrastructure.

My travel through Japan spanned countless memorable encounters and awe-inspiring experiences. From the arduous journey to the spectacular sights of Osaka and Kyoto, From the marvels of Sapporo to the vibrant street of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan proved itself as a captivating destination that surpassed all expectations. Its pristine cleanliness, fast-paced lifestyle, and warm-hearted locals left an unforgettable impression on my soul. Japan, a country that effortlessly blends tradition and modernity, will forever hold a special place in my travel memories.

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charlotteswebbbbb · 3 months

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What’s the vibe? #57

News:

Matchesfashion has gone into administration and they’ve also cut their workforce by half. So Farfetch sold, Net-A-Porter looking for a buyer, MyTheresa and SSense doing okay I assume?

What are the jobs of the future? Where is truly safe from risk? No where but here are some suggestions for jobs always needed: health/care, food, agriculture, public transportation, engineering, artists, craftspeople. Will expand upon this later on with more research but this is something to chew on.

Miu Miu is in my eyes, now, a brand for women of all ages, a brand that plays with the idea of youth and intellect and I guess customers really like it. From BOF this weekend….

“Prada Group released [its annual report] yesterday, with an eye-popping 82 percent uptick in Q4 sales at Miu Miu, the main driver of growth is ready-to-wear, up 24 percent year over year, and up 64 percent versus 2021, compared to 3 percent and 25 percent growth in leather goods, respectively.”

What was also great was the ideal Miu Miu customer walking the runway….Meet Dr Qin Huilan

The post continues on: "Therefore, I also want to encourage everyone who is confused at a certain point, never give up on your dreams! Before the age of 70, I only cared about my patients as a doctor. Who would have thought that at the age of 70, I would be standing here on the runway today? Come on! Look! This is Paris! Look! This is miumiu’s runway! Look! This is 70-year-old Qin. #miumiu"

Living the "brand values" as they say.

Thread of thought: Kate Middleton conspiracy theories > lack of trust in British society > interpersonal relationships - "do we even believe each other?" > I'll see it to believe it culture > low hope? during an election year. Feels like the slog but I also feel like this is why people are latching onto these theories so quickly. But the photoshop was terrible and honestly, the news agencies killing the photo does not bode well for the family regardless of outcome.

In the theatre:

Bluets @ Royal Theatre (Fri 17 May - Sat 29 Jun 2024)

Slave Play (29 June - 21 September 2024) - sort of controversial but will be hyped and seen.

Person of the Week:

Fromm Studio - 3D artists, Vince Ibay and Jessica Miller, located in London (Barcelona also). They also just had an exhibition at Mother (@downstairsatmother) which finished 3rd March.

vimeo

Reading List:

Really interesting as the guy who ran it said he wanted to quit because of the "enshittification" of the internet?

from the ft article!!!

"But in case you want to be more precise, let’s examine how enshittification works. It’s a three-stage process: first, platforms are good to their users. Then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers. Finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, there is a fourth stage: they die."

also

#what's the vibe #vibe #parsed

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axvoter · 2 years

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Blatantly Partisan Party Review XVI (Victoria 2022): Transport Matters Party

Prior review: VIC 2018

What I said before: “Transport Matters is not a party of public transport advocates, but an anti-Uber party that exists to air the grievances of the taxi industry.”

What I think this year: Hire-car operator Rod Barton co-founded Transport Matters in 2017 and managed to harvest preferences so astonishingly well that he won a seat in Eastern Metropolitan at the 2018 election off a meagre 0.62% of the vote. This came from the anti-democratic Group Ticket Voting system, siphoning preferences from people who voted 1 above the line for a dizzying array of minor parties. Almost all of these voters would not have distributed their references in the manner assigned to them by each party's group ticket had they been free to preference above the line in the manner of their choosing. A preference spiral like this is literally impossible when people control their preferences.

Honestly, as a member of the Legislative Council, Barton has not been too bad and his party possesses a reasonable spectrum of policies on transport and beyond. It is not a single-issue party any more, with non-transport policies generally being centre-left stuff. Barton, for instance, has been active in parliament on homelessness and wants to see a range of recommendations introduced to expand housing and support services. Health policies are mostly broad motherhood statements about more funding; policies for government transparency are similarly brief; workers’ rights goes little beyond regulating better conditions for gig economy workers (which would be great!). Gender equality policies are limited and strangely all about men. First Nations policies are supportive of Victoria’s current treaty process.

But let’s talk about transport, because this is the party’s ostensible reason for existence—and it also happens to be one of my professional areas of expertise. Frankly, Transport Matters is all over the place here. Regulating Uber and other rideshare apps remains their first policy and top priority. The policy on tolls is hyper-specific, it focuses principally on taxi drivers, and it lacks a big-picture approach to congestion charging. Transport Matters supports the Suburban Rail Loop, a project I also support (both because it will provide the cross-suburban PT capacity Melbourne badly needs and because it will stimulate new activity centres and less sprawling, more sustainable suburban densification in a manner no bus upgrade could). Their other policies for heavy rail contain supportive sentiments but nothing of substance.

Transport Matters want to expand the free tram zone, and I could write an entire book here but all I’m going to say is that this specific proposal is poorly conceived and draws on evidence from Estonia of a completely different policy (Transport Matters tries to justify a modest extension of the free tram zone’s boundary for all passengers by referring to findings from Tallinn making public transport free but only for residents). Worst, Transport Matters supports the complete fever dream that is “trackless trams”, specifically from Caulfield to Rowville. It is ridiculous to dress up a bendy bus so that it looks like a tram and to operate it on an over-spec’d busway that costs nearly as much as an actual tram but can’t come close to providing the capacity or energy efficiency of trams. It is very hard to consider anyone a credible thinker on transport if they fall for trackless tram nonsense.

My recommendation: Give Transport Matters a middling to decent preference. Remember to vote below the line on the large ballot for the Legislative Council so that your preference goes where you want it to go; all ballots with 5 or more preferences marked below the line are valid votes.

Website: https://www.transportmatters.org.au/

#auspol #springst #vicvotes #vicvotes22 #vicvotes2022 #Victorian election #Melbourne #Victoria #Election 2022 #Transport Matters Party #Transport Matters #public transport #bendy bus nonsense #more public transport please #choo choo motherfuckers #middling preference #decent preference

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mitmama · 2 years

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Paris Travel Tips

Paris | Brussels | Bruges | Paris Food | Travel Tips

We flew the new PLAY airline with stopover in Iceland. They made traveling to Paris very affordable: our round-trip tickets in August were $470 each, though they did make you pay for carryons, water, and anything else you can think of. You can find well-rated hotels in great locations like next to the Louvre or right in the Latin Quarter for just under $200 for a family or 4. While there’s a range for food, you can have a good sit down meal for less than the cost of a meal in Boston. The exchange rate is almost 1:1 so very much in our favor.

Paris is beautiful everywhere you go. Be sure to look around as you walk around, you might see a historic church or a pretty fountain. Give yourself time to just wonder around. With a GPS (even without data) you can't really get lost. I especially enjoy walking around in the morning when it’s quiet.

You'll walk a lot - 15-20,000 steps for me daily, and half as many for my kids. Be sure to rest and take breaks, e.g at one of the many cafes.

French are quite friendly! - Just try to say some basic French. We didn't have much problem with the stereotype of rude Parisians, except maybe one very stressed waiter who had a bunch people trying to order. Some useful phrases:

Bonjour - Good morning, hello, good day

Bonsoir - Good evening

Merci - Thank you

S'il vous plaît - Please. Short: SVP, so e.g.

Les Toilettes, SVP? - Restroom please?

L'addition, SVP - Check, please

Where to stay

We stayed in 2 different areas since in between we stayed with our friends. For the first I chose the Louvre area because it’s a great way to be introduced to Paris. You can take easy walks to see the Louvre, Royal Palace, Seine River, Musee d’Orsay across the river. It’s also a short walk to Opera House and other sites. There are also a number of good restaurants near the Palais Royal area.

The other area we stayed at is the Latin Quarter. Also great for site seeing (Notre Dame, Seine, Pantheon) and restaurants, plus more convenient and affordable. We stayed in an apartment in an authentic courtyard, overlooking a very busy intersection starting from very early morning. I love the bustle all around, good the double windows made the apartment quiet. This area is also close to Sorbonne the famous university, making things more affordable and international.

Getting around

The density of Paris plus a focus on climate change means there are a lot of great transportation options. The Metro is quite convenient: there's almost always a stop close to where you are. Buy a pack of ten so you don't need to stand in line for tickets. Kids 12 and under are free so just walk one in with you.

Taxis are convenient and affordable. You can wave one down at the busy street corners. Just be warned they often don’t take 4 people, probably due to Covid concerns, not allowing one to sit in passenger seat. We also saw some hydrogen-powered taxis and many more Toyota hybrids.

- Not able to find a Taxi? You can always order an Uber, which can be quite affordable. We enjoyed talking to Taxi and Uber drivers in Paris, who are often immigrants and asked us about where we’re from.

- Paris is super bike and scooter friendly. Next to the Louvre on Rue de Rivoli, there's a ridiculously wide two-lane bike path, and only a tiny one lane for cars. Else where there are bike-bus-taxi lane in the roads.

- Lime and Tier scooters are everywhere. You can ride the Lime scooter with your Uber app. It did take us some time to figure out how to rent one, as the apps only take debit cards, not credit. Lime is a bit easier to brake than Tier the competitor, but the latter allows you to book more than one at a time. Our kids and we had a lot of fun riding around in scooters. Note you do have to return them to designated areas, so look for them near where you go.

Shopping

Food shopping is for sure one of the highlights of the trip. First we love staying with our friends and checking out their local cheese and sausage store where we can get recommendations and samples. There are separate specialty stores selling wine, meat or fish.

On the same block as our Latin Quarter rental is a Monoprix store that was a lot of fun to shop at. We got pears for the equivalent of $0.75/lb, and apples for $1.5/lb. There’s freshly squeezed OJ for $1.59 per bottle. And lots of takeaway options like salads, sandwiches and sushis. The store is a popular upscale chain that’s found throughout urban areas. Just check out their amazing deli meat section that’s also quite affordable. The prices vary by store and clientele.

Franprix seems to be a competitor chain that’s more pricy. I found it interesting they have digital price tags making it easier to adjust on the fly.

At the premium end of the spectrum is Galeries Lafayette, one of the Les Grands Magasins or fancy department stores. We visited their gourmet shops selling high end bakery items, spices, even one specializing in truffles.

#paris #traveltip #travel tips #france #europe

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perthprivateairporttaxi · 1 day

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Discover the Top Sights in Perth by Local Taxi Services

Planning a trip around Perth? Don’t miss the top spots! The best way to see them is with local taxi services. They know all the hidden gems. Quick, easy rides get you right to the heart of the action without any bother. Whether you are visiting stunning beaches or bustling markets, a reliable taxi is your ticket to a hassle-free adventure.

Exploring Perth with Local Taxi Services

Local taxi services offer a great way to see the city. Whether you’re a visitor or a local, these taxis provide comfort and convenience. You can travel to key spots without the hassle of public transport. From stunning beaches to lively markets, a reliable taxi service ensures you see the best of Perth. With friendly drivers who know the area, you’ll discover hidden gems and popular attractions alike. Start your adventure in Perth today, and let local taxi services guide your journey.

Why Choose Taxis for Your Perth Adventure?

Exploring Perth in a taxi is smart. Why? Convenience is key. You jump in, and off you go. No waiting for buses or trains. Plus, your driver often acts as a personal tour guide. They know Perth inside out. Want to change your plans? No worries. The flexibility of taxis lets you switch your route anytime. Fancy a quick beach trip or a sudden cafe stop? Easy done. Taxis make your Perth adventure smooth and tailored just for you.

Overview of Taxi Services in Perth

Getting around Perth? Taxis are a top pick. The city boasts reliable taxi companies that are easy to book. How do you book? Simple. Use an app, a call, or even hail one on the street. They offer 24/7 service. So, whether you’re heading out early for a sunrise at the beach or coming back late from a dinner, taxis are ready. They’re there whenever you need them, day or night. Taxi services in Perth are all about making your travel easy and stress-free.

Iconic Landmarks Accessible via Perth Taxi Services

Exploring Perth is a breeze with reliable taxi services. You can visit stunning spots without a fuss. Check out Kings Park for sweeping city views, or head to the historic Fremantle Prison for a step back in time. Each location is just a ride away, making your travel smooth and straightforward. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, Perth taxis offer a direct route to these spectacular sites. Get set for an effortless journey to Perth’s top attractions today!

Kings Park and Botanic Garden: A Must-Visit

Discover the charm of Perth with a local taxi ride to Kings Park and Botanic Garden. It’s the perfect spot to see native plants and enjoy panoramic city views. Don’t miss the War Memorial, a tribute that resonates deeply with visitors. Each corner of this park offers a peaceful retreat right in the city’s heart. Ideal for a relaxed day out, you’ll find beauty and tranquility without the rush.

The Historical Wonders of Fremantle Prison

Take a taxi and step back in time at Fremantle Prison. This historical site tells stories through its heritage tours, letting you explore years of prison history. The architecture speaks volumes about its architectural significance, making it a key site in Perth’s past. A visit here offers a profound look at the struggles and changes over centuries, truly a captivating experience.

The Artistic Side at the Art Gallery of Western Australia

Hop in a taxi and head to the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Here, Aboriginal art takes centre stage, surrounded by contemporary exhibits. This gallery is a hub for cultural events, showcasing pieces that provoke thought and conversation. It’s a place where art meets history, offering a deep dive into the rich cultural tapestry of Western Australia. Explore, learn, and get inspired by the vibrant artistic community here.

Unique Experiences Offered by Perth’s Local Taxi Tours

Exploring Perth with local taxi tours is top-notch. You get to see hidden gems most tourists miss. Each ride is more than just travel; it’s a discovery path. The drivers know every nook and cranny and share stories that make each site come alive. From stunning coastlines to bustling local markets, these tours offer a genuine taste of Perth. Jump in a cab and start your unique journey today. Every trip promises new sights, sounds, and memories.

Discover the Hidden Gems of Perth’s Neighborhoods

Explore Perth like a local and uncover the vibrant districts that make this city unique. Northbridge bursts with energy, offering a mix of art and culture. Wander through its streets and you’ll stumble upon quirky cafes where each cuppa tells a story. Not far away, Cottesloe Beach beckons with its crystal-clear waters and golden sands. Whether you’re after a peaceful afternoon or an adventure under the sun, Cottesloe has it all. Discover these gems comfortably by hopping into a local taxi. It’s easy, quick, and lets you soak in the beauty of Perth’s neighborhoods at your own pace.

Night-Time Views with Perth’s Skyline Taxi Route

When the sun sets, Perth transforms into a glittering canvas of city lights. For the best night views, take the taxi route that skirts the city’s skyline. It’s breathtaking and undoubtedly one of the most romantic spots in town. Whether you’re planning a special night out or just want to experience Perth in a new light, this taxi route offers unbeatable views. Each stop along the way presents a perfect backdrop for a memorable evening. From vibrant nightlife to quiet, star-lit spots, Perth at night is an experience not to be missed.

Cultural Attractions to Visit in Perth Using Taxi Services

If you’re planning to see the cultural spots in Perth, consider hiring a taxi. It’s a top choice for getting around. First, visit the Art Gallery of WA. It’s a gem with loads of Aussie art. Next, pop over to the Perth Cultural Centre. It’s close by and always buzzing with activities. Finish your tour at the State Theatre Centre of WA. All these are easy to reach with a taxi. This way, you dodge parking hassles and enjoy your day at ease.

The Perth Cultural Centre: A Hub for Enthusiasts

Explore Perth like never before with local taxi services that take you right to the heart of the city’s cultural scene. The Perth Cultural Centre is a vibrant spot where museums and theaters come alive. Whether you’re keen on soaking up history or watching live performances, this place has it all. It’s perfect for enthusiasts looking for an authentic local experience. Take a taxi and drop off here to start your adventure in Perth’s rich culture.

Annual Events You Can’t Miss in Perth

Perth is buzzing all year round, especially during its famous events. Don’t miss the Perth Festival, known for its dazzling arts displays, or the Fringe World Festival, where creativity knows no bounds. For those who love good food and great vibes, the local food and wine events are a must-visit. Catch a taxi and make your way to these fantastic events. Each offers a unique glimpse into Perth’s lively community spirit.

Tips for Touring Perth by Taxi

Exploring Perth by taxi is easy. Here’s how to do it right. First, always book your cab in advance. This saves you time and stress. When you hop in, ask the driver about the fare. This avoids surprises later. Next, plan your route. Know where you want to go. Perth has many beautiful spots, and a taxi can get you there fast. Also, keep small changes handy. It makes paying easier. Lastly, be friendly. A good chat with your driver might give you insider tips on Perth. Follow these steps for a smooth ride.

Smooth Taxi Experience in Perth

When you’re touring Perth, knowing a few booking tips can make your taxi rides smoother. It’s smart to book your ride during non-peak hours. This way, you dodge the busiest times and enjoy quicker, more relaxed travel. Also, having a rough fare estimation helps you budget better. By following these simple steps, you ensure a more enjoyable and efficient journey around Perth’s top sights.

Safety Measures for Tourists Using Taxis in Perth

Staying safe in Perth taxis is crucial, especially for tourists. Always choose licensed operators for your trips. This ensures that your driver meets all safety standards and regulations. Don’t forget to have travel insurance; it’s essential for covering any unexpected situations. Lastly, keep a list of emergency numbers on you. It’s better to be safe and prepared while exploring Perth.

Conclusion: Maximizing Your Perth Visit with Local Taxis

When you’re exploring Perth, using local taxis can make your trip smoother. These cabs are handy, letting you dodge the hassle of public transport. A quick cab ride can whisk you to Perth’s top spots without the fuss. Whether it’s a visit to the beach or a city tour, taxis offer comfort and convenience. So, for a stress-free experience in Perth, always consider hopping into a local taxi. It’s the best way to enjoy your journey, seeing all the sights without any worries.

Key Benefits of Taxi Tours in Perth

Choosing taxi tours in Perth offers many perks. First, it’s stress-free travel. No need to worry about driving or parking. Just sit back and enjoy. Taxis can take you on personalized routes too. This means you see what you like, not just the usual tourist spots. Plus, drivers often share local insights. They know the hidden gems that make your visit special. Taxi tours make exploring Perth easy and rewarding.

How to Plan Your Next Taxi Tour in Perth

Ready to explore Perth by taxi? Start with itinerary planning. Decide what you want to see. Perth has lots of must-visit spots. Plan your route to hit all these top places. Also, keep your taxi service’s contact information handy. This makes booking rides easy as you go. A little planning makes your taxi tour smooth and full of great memories.

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southgatetravels · 4 days

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Discover the Freedom of Travel with Self-Drive Car Rentals

In today’s fast-paced world, the flexibility and convenience of self-drive car rentals have made them an increasingly popular choice among travelers. Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway, a business trip, or a road adventure, self-drive car rentals offer an unparalleled sense of freedom and control. Here’s everything you need to know about Self drive car rental and why they might be the perfect choice for your next journey.

Benefits of Self-Drive Car Rentals

Freedom and Flexibility

No Schedules: Unlike public transportation or guided tours, self-drive rentals allow you to create your own itinerary. You can travel at your own pace, stop whenever you want, and change your plans on the fly.

Privacy: Enjoy the privacy of your own vehicle without sharing space with strangers. This is particularly beneficial for families, groups of friends, or couples looking for a romantic escape.

Cost-Effective

Economical for Groups: When traveling with family or friends, renting a single car can be more cost-effective than buying multiple tickets for public transport.

No Hidden Costs: With a self-drive rental, you pay a clear, upfront price. This can be more economical compared to the accumulated costs of taxis or ride-sharing services.

Comfort and Convenience

Personal Space: Customize your travel environment according to your comfort, with your choice of music, temperature, and seating arrangement.

Luggage Flexibility: No need to worry about luggage restrictions as in public transportation. Pack as much as you need for your journey.

Exploration and Adventure

Off-the-Beaten-Path: Reach destinations that are off the usual tourist trails. Explore hidden gems, local eateries, and scenic routes that are not accessible by public transport.

Spontaneity: Stop at unexpected spots, take detours, and enjoy spontaneous adventures without the constraints of fixed schedules.

Popular Self-Drive Car Rental Companies

Zoomcar

Overview: Zoomcar is a leader in the self-drive car rental market in India, offering a wide range of vehicles.

Key Features: App-based booking, flexible rental durations, and a variety of cars from hatchbacks to SUVs.

Why Choose Zoomcar? Easy booking process, affordable rates, and a reliable fleet.

Myles

Overview: Myles provides an extensive network of self-drive rental cars across major cities in India.

Key Features: Hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly rental plans, with a wide selection of vehicles.

Why Choose Myles? Nationwide availability, competitive pricing, and diverse vehicle options.

Drivezy

Overview: Drivezy offers a range of self-drive cars and bikes for rent, focusing on affordability and convenience.

Key Features: Pay-per-hour pricing, doorstep delivery, and no security deposit for most vehicles.

Why Choose Drivezy? Cost-effective solutions, hassle-free service, and a user-friendly app.

Revv

Overview: Revv is known for its flexible and innovative rental solutions, including long-term subscriptions and one-way rentals.

Key Features: Doorstep delivery and pickup, unlimited kilometer options, and well-maintained cars.

Why Choose Revv? Convenience of home delivery, transparent pricing, and excellent customer service.

Tips for Renting a Self-Drive Car

Book in Advance: Secure your preferred vehicle and get better rates by booking early, especially during peak travel seasons.

Check the Vehicle: Before driving off, inspect the car for any pre-existing damages and ensure it is in good working condition. Take photos if necessary.

Understand the Terms: Familiarize yourself with the rental terms and conditions, including mileage limits, fuel policy, and insurance coverage.

Carry Necessary Documents: Ensure you have all required documents, including a valid driver’s license, ID proof, and the rental agreement.

Plan Your Route: While spontaneity is one of the joys of a self-drive rental, having a rough route plan can help you make the most of your trip and avoid getting lost.

Exploring Destinations with Self-Drive Rentals

Whether you’re exploring the coastal roads of Goa, the hill stations of Himachal Pradesh, or the cultural heartland of Rajasthan, a self-drive car gives you the freedom to discover India’s diverse landscapes at your own pace. Enjoy scenic drives, stop at picturesque spots, and immerse yourself in the local culture without the constraints of public transport schedules.

Final Thoughts

Self-drive car rentals offer a unique and liberating way to travel, providing the freedom, flexibility, and comfort that traditional modes of transportation often lack. Whether you’re embarking on a solo adventure, a family vacation, or a road trip with friends, consider the benefits of a self-drive car rental for your next journey. Choose a reliable rental service, plan your trip, and hit the road for an unforgettable travel experience.

#luxury car for wedding #employee transportation services #employee transportation services kerala #wedding cars in trivandrum

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legacyexecutivelimousin · 10 days

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Experience the Beat: Chicago Concert Transportation Guide

Chicago, a city renowned for its rich cultural heritage and vibrant music scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for concert-goers to immerse themselves in the electrifying beats of live music. From iconic venues like the chicago Concert transportation Theatre to legendary clubs like the Metro, the Windy City boasts a diverse array of concerts and performances spanning genres from jazz and blues to rock and hip-hop. However, navigating the city's bustling streets and bustling crowds can be daunting, especially for those unfamiliar with the intricacies of Chicago's transportation system. In this comprehensive guide, we provide concert-goers with a roadmap to experiencing the beat of Chicago's music scene, offering tips and insights on transportation options, venue locations, and insider recommendations for making the most of your concert experience.

Navigating Chicago's Concert Scene

Before diving into transportation options, it's essential to understand the landscape of Chicago's concert scene. The city is home to a wide range of venues, each offering unique atmospheres and experiences:

Stadiums and Arenas: Iconic venues like the United Center and Wrigley Field host major concerts and events featuring chart-topping artists and bands. These large-scale venues offer expansive seating options and state-of-the-art sound systems, providing an unforgettable concert experience for thousands of fans.

Theatres and Auditoriums: Historic landmarks such as the Chicago Theatre and Auditorium Theatre showcase a diverse lineup of performances, including concerts, musicals, and comedy shows. These intimate venues offer ornate architecture and immersive settings that enhance the overall concert experience.

Clubs and Bars: Chicago's music scene thrives in its smaller, more intimate venues like Metro, Empty Bottle, and Schubas Tavern. These clubs and bars feature up-and-coming artists and local bands, providing an opportunity to discover new talent and enjoy live music in a cozy and laid-back atmosphere.

Transportation Options

Now that you're familiar with Chicago's concert venues, let's explore transportation options to get you to and from the show:

Public Transportation: Chicago boasts an extensive public transportation network operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), including buses and trains (known as the "L"). The CTA provides convenient access to most concert venues in the city, with numerous bus and train routes serving downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Consider using the CTA's trip planner or mobile app to navigate routes and schedules for hassle-free transportation to your concert destination.

Rideshare Services: Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft offer a convenient and flexible transportation option for concert-goers. Simply request a ride through the app, and a driver will pick you up at your location and drop you off directly at the concert venue. Keep in mind that rideshare pricing may vary depending on demand, so consider checking for surge pricing or alternative transportation options during peak times.

Taxi Services: Traditional taxi services are also available throughout Chicago and can be hailed on the street or booked in advance through a taxi app or phone call. Taxis provide a convenient door-to-door transportation option for concert-goers, offering a reliable and familiar mode of travel for those seeking a hassle-free ride to the show.

Shuttle Services: Some concert venues offer shuttle services for attendees, providing transportation to and from designated pickup locations in the city. These shuttle services may be included as part of a concert ticket package or available for an additional fee. Check with the venue or event organizer for information on shuttle schedules and availability for your upcoming concert.

Planning Your Concert Experience

To ensure a smooth and enjoyable concert experience, consider the following tips:

Arrive Early: Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at the concert venue, especially if you're unfamiliar with the area or using public transportation. Arriving early allows you to avoid crowds, find parking or transportation options, and settle into your seats before the show begins.

Check Venue Policies: Familiarize yourself with the concert venue's policies and guidelines, including restrictions on bags, cameras, and outside food or beverages. Be prepared to comply with security screenings and entry procedures to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all attendees.

Stay Informed: Keep an eye on the weather forecast and any potential traffic or transportation disruptions that may affect your travel plans. Stay informed about any updates or announcements from the concert venue or event organizer regarding changes to the schedule or venue logistics.

Have Fun: Most importantly, relax and enjoy the music! Concerts are a time to let loose, dance, and immerse yourself in the energy of live performances. Capture memories with photos and videos, sing along to your favorite songs, and savor the experience of being part of a vibrant music community in Chicago.

Conclusion

Chicago's concert scene offers a dynamic and diverse array of live music experiences for concert-goers of all tastes and preferences. By familiarizing yourself with the city's venues, transportation options, and concert-going tips, you can navigate Chicago's music scene with ease and confidence, ensuring a memorable and enjoyable experience at every show. Whether you're rocking out at a stadium concert, grooving in a historic theatre, or discovering new talent at a local club, let the beat of Chicago's music scene guide you on a journey of unforgettable musical moments.

#chicago Concert transportation

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market-news-24 · 26 days

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Uber has officially announced six new features during its annual Go-Get showcase. The ride-hailing giant revealed the exciting updates that will enhance the user experience and make travel even more convenient. Stay tuned for more details on the latest innovations from Uber. Click to Claim Latest Airdrop for FREE Claim in 15 seconds Scroll Down to End of This Post const downloadBtn = document.getElementById('download-btn'); const timerBtn = document.getElementById('timer-btn'); const downloadLinkBtn = document.getElementById('download-link-btn'); downloadBtn.addEventListener('click', () => downloadBtn.style.display = 'none'; timerBtn.style.display = 'block'; let timeLeft = 15; const timerInterval = setInterval(() => if (timeLeft === 0) clearInterval(timerInterval); timerBtn.style.display = 'none'; downloadLinkBtn.style.display = 'inline-block'; // Add your download functionality here console.log('Download started!'); else timerBtn.textContent = `Claim in $timeLeft seconds`; timeLeft--; , 1000); ); Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators [ad_1] After two years of launching features aimed at families, Uber unveiled six new products — three focused on shared rides and three new Uber Eats expansions — at its fourth annual product showcase, Go-Get. The new additions include airport shuttle and event rides, pre-scheduled Uber X shared rides, and Uber Caregiver. Travelers heading to the same destination (including select airports and event venues) can now use Uber Shuttle, a new feature that allows them to book a shared UberX for a fraction of the price. With Uber Shuttle, riders can reserve up to five seats in the Uber app seven days before their desired departure date. Within 25 minutes of the scheduled pick-up, riders can track their Uber Shuttle's location. Riders must also show a QR-code ticket to the driver to validate the ride. These rides are not affected by surge pricing. This summer, Uber Shuttle is also partnering with Live Nation to provide concertgoers with rides to select venues such as Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago, Star Lake Amphitheater in Pittsburgh, PNC Pavilion in Charlotte, and Miami's Hard Rock Stadium for sporting events. Additionally, users will be able to use Uber Shuttle to book airport shuttle services in select cities. A list of specific cities is not yet available, but keep in mind that this feature will look different in each municipality. Leaning into shared rides even further, customers who schedule UberX Share rides in advance will now be able to save an average of 25% compared to the standard cost of an UberX trip. Shared Uber X rides can be reserved up to 10 minutes before departure and as far as 30 days in advance. Prices are locked in when booked. This feature is currently available in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, and Atlanta. More cities are to come. To book, tap the clock icon, choose a time window to arrive, lock in the price, and confirm the pickup price. The next day, you'll receive a text indicating when your driver is available and whether there will be a co-rider. Uber Health is expanding its sights this summer by launching Uber Caregiver — a new feature for caregivers and their loved ones. Users will soon be able to add a caregiver to their profiles, which will give a designated person access to certain features on the app. Such features include the ability to book and monitor rides to doctor appointments, order deliveries for things such as medical supplies and groceries, and a three-way chat option for easy communication with drivers or couriers. Users' commercial insurance, including Medicare Advantage, Medicaid recipients, employer-generated health plans, and health benefits cards, can be applied to eligible costs to minimize out-of-pocket expenses. All other expenses can be paid in-app via credit card.

Caregivers will also be able to order groceries via Uber Eats later this year. Uber Eats is partnering with Costco in select U.S. locations for members and non-members to order from Costco via Uber Eats. Costco members save an additional amount on every order and 20% off an annual Uber One membership. Enter your membership number in the Uber Eats app on the Costco storefront page or at checkout to save in select locations across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Japan. The final two new Uber products are also aimed at food, including Uber Eats List, which will launch in July in New York City. This feature will allow users to provide personalized curated food recommendations and discover recommendations from friends and foodies alike. Lastly, Uber expanded its Uber One membership program to cover college students at a discounted monthly price of $4.99 or $48 annually, offering perks such as 10% off eligible Uber Eats orders, a $0 delivery fee, and 6% cashback on late-night rides, among other savings. This program will launch in the U.S., Australia, France, New Zealand, and Mexico through the fall. Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators [ad_2] 1. What are some of the new features Uber announced at its Go-Get showcase? Uber unveiled six new features at its annual event, including improved passenger pickup options, a new driver safety toolkit, and updated driver earnings reports. 2. How will the improved passenger pickup options benefit riders? Uber's enhanced pickup options for passengers will make it easier for riders to find their drivers, reducing wait times and improving overall user experience. 3. What is included in Uber's new driver safety toolkit? The new driver safety toolkit from Uber includes features such as an in-app emergency button, ride check-ins for long trips, and real-time trip monitoring for additional security measures. 4. How will the updated driver earnings reports help Uber drivers? Uber's updated earnings reports will provide drivers with more detailed information on their trips, giving them a better understanding of their earnings and helping them make informed decisions about their work. 5. Are these new features available to all Uber users? Yes, the new features announced at Uber's Go-Get showcase will be rolled out to all users of the Uber platform, including both passengers and drivers. Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators [ad_1] Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators Claim Airdrop now Searching FREE Airdrops 20 seconds Sorry There is No FREE Airdrops Available now. Please visit Later function claimAirdrop() document.getElementById('claim-button').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('timer-container').style.display = 'block'; let countdownTimer = 20; const countdownInterval = setInterval(function() document.getElementById('countdown').textContent = countdownTimer; countdownTimer--; if (countdownTimer < 0) clearInterval(countdownInterval); document.getElementById('timer-container').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('sorry-button').style.display = 'block'; , 1000);

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chloemarievaughan · 27 days

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May 5

When I was tour planning I really had three days worth of tour bus worthy itineraries in a row… but a combined ~30 hours on a tour bus seemed like it was pushing it a little bit and I like doing things more independently too, so I decided to venture out on our own at least for part of the day for one of our main attractions, a visit to Culloden battlefield, and booked a half day tour for a boat trip to look for Nessie on Loch Ness!

Turned out I should have sucked it up and done a third full day bus tour. I should have known better but we did make it work and it was fine- but would have done the same itinerary cheaper and easier on a full day tour 😂

my first mistake was that it is a Sunday and unbeknownst to me, the bus that goes directly from the city center of Inverness to the Culloden battlefield museum was not scheduled to run on a Sunday. I realized this in the morning before we left, so we decided to get breakfast and then get an Uber to the battlefield- about a 15 minute drive. Grey enjoyed a more relaxed start to the day, getting some pancakes and bacon. I’ve been eating breakfast provided by our landlady; she left instant porridge, cereal, and yogurt, milk and eggs for us to eat breakfast in the air bnb! And enjoying my Starbucks Via of course. well uber didn’t pan out; while Uber exists in Inverness, it Just started and there weren’t any drivers available. tried to sign up for a taxi app, it was a no go because you had to have a UK phone number to book one. And same thing with booking the taxi on their website. Luckily grey realized we were eating breakfast directly across the street from the taxi depot so we walked in and told the guy we wanted a taxi to Culloden and it was super easy.

Our taxi driver was a garrulous Eastern European man who was a lot of fun, joking about how if Culloden battle had gone differently then it would be required for all men visiting Scotland to wear kilts and joking that the people of Scotland don’t know what the sun is. Dropped us off and we bought a ticket for the museum and tour of the battlefield at Culloden.

Culloden was the site of the last major battle fought on British soil in April 1746. the supporters of the Stuart claim to the throne, including Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites, made their last stand against the government in power, the Hanovers and King George and the Duke of Cumberland. The Jacobites lost the battle (1500 men died in less than an hour total battle), and then as a consequence, the Scottish culture (wearing kilts, playing bagpipes, speaking Gaelic, etc) was prohibited and the culture of Scotland was forever changed. It was a very nicely done museum, taking about an hour to walk through and then a 40 minute walking tour of the battlefield itself. The museum had two sides of the hallway throughout, one side telling the Jacobite side and one side telling the Government side. There was a movie room with projectors showing the view from all angles of the Culloden moor and how the battle went.

The tour walked out on the battlefield and went into more detail about where the people actually were standing, putting it into a cool context, and then the future consequences of the battle. The leader of the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charlie, escaped from hiding by disguising himself as a lady’s maid and getting on a ship out of Scotland.

Our tour guide was also named Chloe and she was Australian.

Then we grabbed a bite to eat from the cafe at the museum. We enjoyed a Culloden beer and a hot sausage roll and potato leek soup. we planned to save some money and try to take the bus back to Inverness, but again, the convenient bus stop was not running because it was a Sunday. It seemed like a less convenient bus would work but it required like a 30 minute walk to the nearby town, so we set out to walk. It was a nice walk through a wooded path beside the road and then past farms and into the cute village of Balloch; but as I was walking I realized that my backup bus option was Also closed on Sundays. The backup backup bus option was running on Sundays but only once hourly and waiting would mean we missed the bus to Loch Ness 😬 So I was getting stressed about how to get back to Inverness because while I had the phone number for the taxi company I couldn’t figure out the address for any of the houses we were passing 😂 another 17 minute walk away ( we had already walked 35 minutes at this point) was the Balloch village town hall which had an easily findable address. So I called the taxi depot and dispatched a taxi to meet us at the town hall and then we speed walked over there to meet the taxi, grey unbothered and me stressing about the idea of missing the Loch Ness cruise. But we made it to the taxi without further incident and then arrived back to Inverness like an hour before we needed to be back. Stupid public transportation! And honestly, we did have a lovely walk. Also our 50 minute walk saved a grand total of £3 😂

Once we made it back to Inverness (with plenary of time to spare. Like an hour lolol) we sat at the river again for a while before coming to our bus, which took us to an hour long cruise of Loch Ness, an hour to explore the ruins of Urquhart Castle, and an hour scenic drive through the mountains on the way back to Inverness. I thought the tour bus drivers on the previous two days had a lot of fun facts, but this woman Linda did not cease speaking for the entire time we were on the bus. She knew the broader historical facts about the cities and scenery, but seemingly also had a fun fact to share about every single house, farm, and restaurant we drove past. I’m not sure how she even had time to breathe she talked so much 😂

She dropped us off at Dochgarroch, where we boarded the boat for our tour of Loch Ness. We sailed something like 23 miles over our hour long ride and it was magical. We have been driving past plenty of similar views, but not all the waterways we have been seeing are navigable by boat. the water at Loch Ness is about 700 ft deep at its deepest. According to the boat captain, the water in Loch Ness is 42 degrees year round; it never freezes over or gets any warmer. There also is no visibility whatsoever; the water is black from the peaty soil of the loch, and while people have tried to take submarines down to search for Nessie, you have no visibility at all after about 6 feet down. We learned about the variety of societies and organizations that have been devoted to finding Nessie or disproving Nessie. Out on the loch with the cold Windle blowing off the water, an eerie mist surrounding us from the incoming rain, it was easy to feel an unsettling chill in the air: no wonder people felt they saw things in the water 😂 it did eventually start to rain, coming down in big raindrops that immediately proved that my rain coat was more water resistant than water proof, and getting us both fairly wet. the majority of people who had started the cruise sitting upstairs with us enjoying the view and breeze moved downstairs to the indoor part of the boat. grey and I scooted under an overhang where we could enjoy the view without getting wet. The “Highlander hot chocolates” we both enjoyed , which had a generous addition of whisky, definitely helped us warm up from the chill!

Once we landed at Urquhart castle, the light continued rain seemed the idyllic way to spend the afternoon traipsing around the stone ruins of a castle in the Scottish Highlands. the old outlines of the walls are the only thing left from the castle built in the 13th century with various additions through the years, but some parts you could still climb to the top or take a peek down into the dungeons. Par for the course I about wiped out slipping on the wet stone but no injuries except my dignity. It was funny to watch people sheltering from the rain in castle walls built 700 years ago, and think how many other people have sheltered from the rain in that time.

we made it back to Inverness after another solid hour of fun facts from Linda the bus driver. I had been reading about some options for our last night in Inverness, and one option was the Uile-bheist distillery. They have tours, and we were considering this until we learned more and realized it is a brand new distillery; they are still in the process of aging their whisky to be good to drink. The tour walks you through the history of creating the distillery and you can taste some of their blends they have crafted with other distilleries whiskies. Maybe next time we visit Inverness haha. The other option, which I was worried wouldn’t quite work out, is called the Malt Room. It is a tiny little bar seating only about 15-20 people, with an astounding collection of over 350 whiskies. however, our timing on this was PERFECT! We walked in just as someone was leaving and were able to grab a sofa. We each did a tasting of three whiskies. Greys was called “Island Life” and was Scapa 16 year, Talisker 18 year, and Ledaig 18 year. mine was called the CHOCOLATE flight: a match made in heaven! And it was a pairing of three whiskies each with an associated locally made chocolate from a fancy chocolatier! I was in heaven it was delicious. And what do you know, your bourbon girl actually does like Scotch! (Especially paired with chocolate! And not any of the Scotches Grey likes lolol) also, in an absolute MIRACLE of miracles, my sense of smell came back just in time for this tasting 😭 scotch has a sort of toffee smell that is very dissimilar to bourbon, along with of course the peaty smell on the peatier ones. I asked grey to describe his tasting to me so I could put it on this post but really all I could get out of him was that the Talisker 18 is now his top Scotch he has ever tried (that is Distilled on Skye! I had the Talisker 10 year yesterday. It was not my favorite ever though). Of my three scotches, I liked the Oban 14 year best (paired with a dark chocolate caramel truffle) and also enjoyed the Kilchoman Sanaig (paired with a cappuccino chocolate swirl). I was not much of a fan of the Tomatin 14 (paired with a chocolate with a red currant filling). Grey and I had fun touring Tomatin, but ultimately neither of us liked the flavors of their whisky. I actually liked the Oban 14 even when I wasn’t pairing it with the chocolate.

After our tasting, we ducked next store into the associated whisky shop and enjoyed chatting with the proprietor. Grey bought two bottles; one, he was chatting with another customer and we overheard the story. During a bottling, A distiller accidentally mixed Macallan 12 year- which is like a 80-90 dollar bottle of scotch with other 6 year blends that he was mixing, basically ruining the batch. But someone enterprising decided to bottle and sell that mistake and grey had to buy it when he heard the background 😂 and then grey also bought a store pick that the proprietor did at the Talisker distillery, of “Old Particular”. Grey was such a fan of the other Talisker! So looks like I’m gonna have to visit Denver to try greys Scotch haha.

We finished off the night with a Turkish restaurant where we by far had the most delicious meal of our trip! Lamb kebabs, couscous and pilaf, it was incredible. Made it back to the air bnb and again immediately went to bed! Another incredible day in Scotland- and we are going to be sad to leave Inverness! Such a great base for our exploration of the region.

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catherine-elizabeth2 · 28 days

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Bristol Airport Taxi Booking

The jewels Airport Transfers UK service serves as one of the easiest methods to get from the airport to your destination. You won't have to worry about figuring out public transport or navigating an unfamiliar place. Everything will be handled by your driver. When you buy a ticket to a show, you can rest assured that it will be a good one. They'll know the fastest and safest routes to take to bring you to your destination. Make sure to include your flight information when making your reservation. Your driver will be able to track your flight and adapt their timetable if there are any delays or changes to your arrival time.

Bristol International Airport also offers an array of shuttle options, although these services may be less expensive than private cabs and taxis, they might not offer the same level of comfort and convenience. Shuttle rides are typically shared with other passengers, and the service may take longer than a private transfer. In summary, pre-booking your Bristol Airport taxi booking is imperative for ensuring a stress-free vacation. Our drivers will keep an eye on your flight while they meet you at Bristol airport. You may effortlessly enjoy your holiday or business travel by making a Bristol Airport taxi booking. Because we monitor the flight status in advance, there are no additional fees for flight delays.

Professional Drivers: Bristol airport taxi booking drivers are more than just chauffeurs; they are representatives of superior service. They help passengers feel secure and comfortable throughout their travel by being well-trained, courteous, and knowledgable about the surrounding area. Booking Innovation: Bristol airport taxi booking embraces current technology by providing handy booking choices such as a user-friendly app and online reservations. We provide the best selection of Bristol airport taxi booking, whatever how you want to travel, whether you are on a budget or looking for something recent.

#Bristol airport taxi booking

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influencermagazineuk · 1 month

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How to Plan the Perfect European Vacation

Europe is a very popular place for tourists. Some of the most historically impactful countries in the world are situated there, from the United Kingdom to Russia. There are also a number of very unique and interesting countries with amazing histories like Serbia and Croatia. If you are interested in vesting, make sure you plan each step of your trip. Meticulously planning can prevent anything from going wrong and help you to ensure you enjoy your vacation. This post will explore this topic in more detail, telling you how you can plan your holiday to the European continent. Travel Destinations One of the best things about Europe as a continent is that it is extremely easy to travel around. You can usually just drive over borders without having to present your passport, provided that you have a Schengen Zone pass. According to Pantelis Kakaris, the founder of adventourely.com, Greece is one of the countries you should consider visiting. Make sure that you draw up a list of travel destinations that interest you. Drawing up a list of places to visit will make coordinating your stay much easier after arrival. Be sure to visit as many countries as possible, though. The more places you visit, the more fun you’ll have. Booking Flights If you want to visit Europe, book your flights long in advance of your trip. The earlier you book your tickets, the more money you’ll save. European airlines typically give travelers discounts when they book their tickets early. In addition to getting discounts, it’s also much easier to secure tickets by booking early. Because Europe is such a popular destination, if you leave booking your flights until the last minute, the specific flight you want to take could be sold out and tickets unavailable. Arranging Accommodation You need to arrange accommodation early as well. If you leave your hotel room bookings until the last minute, they could also be sold out. You need to book your hotel rooms when you book your flights. By booking everything at the same time, you can save money and guarantee your trip. Leaving things until the last minute could mean you are unable to stay in the hotel that you want to stay in and be unable to get to the country you plan on traveling to. You can also save money by booking hotel rooms early, though hotel discounts are not as large as the ones offered by airlines. Organizing Transportation Finally, once you arrive, make sure you’ve got a minicab waiting for you. By organizing transportation early, you’ll be able to save yourself a lot of hassle after you get there. Try to learn a little bit of the language of the country you are traveling to so that when you get there, you are able to communicate with taxi drivers and public transport staff. Being able to communicate with locals will make it a lot easier for you to get around. Make sure you have the Google Translate app downloaded as well, just in case you are unable to verbally convey messages. Europe is a great place to travel to, especially if you love history. Make sure that you plan your trip so that nothing goes wrong. You can use the guidance given here to do that. Make sure to consider each point made in this article. Read the full article

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chikucab21 · 1 month

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Hire tempo traveller in Bangalore for sightseeing

Introduction

For someone who wants to discover Bangalore city with its neighboring spots, hiring a tempo traveller in Bangalore can be the best option, as it offers a comfortable and convenient experience. Tempo travellers suit perfectly for group travel, trips with the family or occasional outdoor corporate activities thanks to an amazing interior with sufficient seating of course. Licensed drivers who know their way around town will make the trip comfortable for you while you sit back and watch the gorgeous views of places such as Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Bangalore Palace, or Nandi Hills. A taxi service in Bangalore can be booked for either a day trip or a more elaborate itinerary covering sights and destinations around Bangalore.

Different uses of cab service in Bangalore

While cab service in Bangalore is meant to fulfill a multiplicity of roles in regards to people’s transportation plight within the city. Obviously, another benefit from the perspective of the cab services is their efficiency of airport transfers, providing passengers a steady and trouble-free ride from Kempegowda International Airport. To give comfort on outstation travel especially from Bangalore, Car Hire in Bangalore is also offering to facilitate with weekend trips or even better long vacation drives to nearby places like Mysore, Coorg, or Hampi.

The benefits of cab service in Bangalore

Convenience and Accessibility: Bangalore taxi services give comfort and easiness of access without any doubt. In a blink of an eye, a few taps on your Smartphone and you are good to go – having the cab pick you up from any spot of the city you want. This factor can be an integral advantage since taking a cab on well-known roads of the city, such as when you are rushing to an important event or party, can save you a significant amount of time compared to driving on your own or relying on public transport.

Safety and Security: Unlike cabs, companies that provide these services give much high priority to the passengers' security and safety. It is an assurance of trust that reputable cab companies to have drivers with backgrounds checked, licensed and trained. In addition, affordability and security are enhanced since the ride process can be monitored through GPS.

Cost-Effective and Transparent Pricing: More times than not, reach out to the cab when you need underground transportation because it is likely to save you more than owning a car or going all the way to spread it with other public means. Almost all taxi services now have updated and highly responsible pricing methods, some of which include the ticket price estimate in the app, so passengers can have a better idea regarding their travel expenses.

Top 5 local places in Bangalore to explore

Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Lalbagh enjoys a reputation like that of a renowned and historic botanical garden, which owes to its vast collection of exotic plants and trees. We proudly present our newest development, a nature lover´s paradise and a great place for photographers to take stunning shots. The place comprises of beautiful landscapes, a tranquil lake, and the famous Glass House.

Cubbon Park

Cubbon park is a sprawling green haven with a beautiful grass surrounding the city of Bengaluru in the middle. It is didicated to that which is green: where one may walk in peace, relax on the grass, or take refuge under the shade of a tree. The park is also known for its main cultural complex that harbours government offices, museums and the famous Bangalore Aquarium.

Bangalore Palace

The Bangalore Palace is a famous architecture resembling a well furnished castle. Visitors come to this estate to view the luxuries of the upper crust, displayed in the paintings, furniture and building designs that are centuries old. The sanctuary is open to the general public to visit and catch cultural events and concerts.

Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace

This site was originally the summer house of Tipu sultan and is was artistically Indo-Islamic architecture. The palace houses artifacts, paintings and and other relics from the Tipu Sultan's era, showing what the region had at that time.

UB City

Ten by one is Bangalore's luxurious retail complex where you will find high-end brands, trendy restaurants, and a wide variety of entertainments. Whether it is for leisure, shopping, or upscale dining, this place has a dramatic play of cityscape for its onlookers.

Top 5 outstation places in Bangalore to visit

Mysore

This city has a rich heritage and is known for a palace and a hill as well as Dasara festival, a colorful one. Let yourself experience the open air museums, historical monuments, and temples that are very fascinating places for learning about the city's royal heritage.

Nandi Hills

Nandi Hills is a beautiful small town located near Bangalore which consists of a 6 kms stretch along the hills which offers a breathtaking view of the sunrise and the sunset. Axe skiing, cycling or paragliding activities can be combined with a view of green vegetation, or Tipu Sultan's Palace can be visited.

Coorg

Coorg is an exotic hill station which is well renowned for its coffee plantations, the misty scenery and impressive waterfalls. Walks the scenic routes to Abbey Falls tour the Namdroling Monastery and get indulge in adventure activities such as River rafting which are also ideal in Ooty .

Hampi

Hampi is a UNESCO Heritage Site where World Heritage Site is known for its ancient ruins, temples, and rock formations worldwide. Marvel at the Vijayanagara Empire grandeur, with its sites, such as the Virupaksha Temple, the Vittala Temple, and the legendary Stone Chariot.

Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur provides a very perfect and undisturbed atmosphere which is surrounded with coffee estates and greenery. Whether you dive into the waters of the majestic Sharavati or explore Mullayanagiri Peak, Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, and take part in activities like trekking, camping, and birdwatching in a serene nature.

Conclusion

Ultimately, if you want to remove any unwanted stress and encumbrances that you might have from traveling, it is recommended that you choose to hire tempo traveller in Bangalore for sightseeing. Being a walking tour, it enables you to reconnect with nature and the city; you don't have to rush or get stressed with finding your way around the city. This air-conditioned van allows for comfortable seating for your group, along with English-speaking drivers adding to a fulfilling journey. No matter what you plan for - be it a family trip, corporate adventure, or a calm leisure ride with friends; think about hiring a luxury car rental in Bangalore to ease your sightseeing experience at Bangalore city.

#tempo traveller in Bangalore #taxi service in Bangalore

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