ilikeanswers

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

How is the online services on this Mic - can you do online banking with this account while overseas? Looking ahead, that looks like the biggest limitation for my current visa debit due to rather stringent multi-factor authorisation options. Going to be away for 3 months next year, and it would be nice to pay our bills easily from the balcony.

One thing you can do is set up direct debit for bills during your travel period if you want to try and avoid MFA. 

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

A lot of small businesses took a financial hit when most people stopped paying in cash during Covid so I can understand why they have added the charge. I don't like it though. 

I would understand if this business was mainly cash but from my observations going there for many years card was the predominant form of payment already so I was surprised that now they started charging a fee. 

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I agree, it may only be 1 or 1.25% for most credit cards or 3% for Amex, but it is an annoyance. It is a merchant fee just like company tax and such,it should be built in.

Originally started in businesses where cash was king and credit cards were not. Now nearly every business does it, even when cash was never really used and actually discouraged.

Yes, I have noticed this too with many of the places I frequent use to be fee free now have little signs saying they have fees. One bakery I have been going to for years always paid card and my last visit they put up a little sign saying 1.5% fee for CC and Debits. 

3 hours ago, JJK2008 said:

I'm not an expert on the subject by any means and there are a number of "explanations" and "theories" on how tipping began in America. Some claim it was brought to the states from England as a part of Aristocratic society. The "well to do" giving a "tip" to low-end employees as a small gesture of gratitude. Is this accurate??? 

While it is true tipping was invented in the Tudor era as way for Nobles to show favouritism amongst their servants, American style tipping really started in the Reconstruction Era as a way for Southern restaurant owners and hoteliers to continue not paying their black staff after the abolishment of slavery. Over time restauranters realised the practice could be applied to all people and as white people got affected the southern states did try to ban tipping but by then it was so entrenched restaurant lobby groups managed to quash any legislation. In the North it was Prohibition Era that accelerated the spread of tipping as speakeasies didn't pay their servers so they only earned tips. The end of the Prohibition era those now legal bar and restaurant owners didn't want to go back to paying servers and since the New Deal excluded restaurants and eateries from the minimum wage tipping just became normalised across the country. 

1 hour ago, Galesa said:

But, the difference here is restaurant and bar prices are extremely cheap. Steak for $20. Beers less than 4.50 for a pint. A really good meal with excellent service and copious amounts of alcohol with a view to die for, cost less than $50! I tipped almost $20 as a consequence. Zero resentment.

I think it is important to keep in mind in cases like this that it is probably cheap for you. For locals it could be a just within their budget eating out treat and when tourists start tipping generously it can lead to price hikes that price locals out of those venues entirely or have them turned away in favour of what business owners hope will be higher tipping tourists. Sometimes being too generous can lead to other problems🙄. 

8 hours ago, Galesa said:

Got into a FB spat with someone (HAL forum so assuming North American) about tipping bar tenders for every drink stating it makes her cruise better. Aaargh!

 

Anyway, I have nothing against tipping and leave tips for cabin staff. But the practice of rubbing the hands of a bartender in the expectation of favourable service I find patronising at best, crude at worst. This may be common practice in North American bars etc but on an international cruise ship with guests from all over the world, who pay a significant amount in crew appreciation plus 18% service charge for each drink, it has no place in my view.

Love how bribes have been rebranded as tips😂. 

Naxos? 

Is it in Tanzania? 

5 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I think they are an acquired taste, bordering on almost weird. Much like fairytales from Europe or Persia.

Box office wise they do really well even Miyazaki's last film which was perhaps his weirdest. I remember one of the founders of Pixar said that they were modelling their studio on Ghibli which clearly was a winning strategy for them at least pre Disney😂. 

6 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I have seen at least part of Howl's Moving Castle when there’s been nothing else on TV. 

Well if you get a chance to finish it, its well worth the watch. Though if there is one Miyazaki film if you're only going to watch one I feel everyone should see it would be Spirited Away. 

3 hours ago, bazzaw said:

I am old and I don't know what a Ghibli is!! 

1 hour ago, Sparky74 said:

I’m old too. I’m guessing it’s nothing to do with a desert wind. Was there a car, a Maserati Ghibli?

It refers to Studio Ghibli whom one of the founders Hayao Miyazaki is considered one of the greatest film animators of all time. The clock itself was designed by Miyazaki and is stylistically similar one of his films Howl's Moving Castle. 

And yes the name does have something to do with hot desert wind as Miyazaki chose the name because he wanted to blow a wind of change in the anime industry😂. 

6 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Is that light show always on in the evenings of whatever Botanical Gardens it is in Sydney? We would be interested in seeing it.

It is part of the Vivid Light festival. It is enchanting, there was one installation that depicted whales frolicking in the sea but only using lights and sound, it was mesmerising and my videos just don't do it justice. Some experiences only work in real life. Unfortunately though it only runs around end of May to beginning/middle of June. 

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

The Royal gardens wth lightscape show.

Nailed it. That was the answer I was looking for. Really great event during Vivid, this pics were from 2023.

12 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Botanical gardens

There are a few Botanical Gardens in Sydney so I will need a more specific answer😉. 

35 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I like the last one 😎 I don't know where it is, maybe Sydney?

You're in the right city, now just need the place. The theme should be the clue🪴

OK that was unexpected😂. Don't have a lot of pics right now so, here is a well known place but seen in a different light:

Okavango Delta Botswana? 

11 minutes ago, Pushka said:

I really dislike whisky, love gin. Is Sake anything like whisky? 

There are smoky sakes so they can be reminiscent of whiskey and there are some non traditional brewers who do age sake in whiskey barrels like wine producers but overall it doesn't really taste like whiskey. It doesn't have malt or hops so it is much lighter. If you have a sake that is higher on the floral notes it can be herbaceous like gin but it won't have the bitter notes you get from gin. It is a bit sweetish but in a savoury way if that makes sense? Should also add the alcohol content is much lower than spirits. 

5 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

The ghibli museum is good acc9rding to my son

Unfortunately my visit coincided with it being closed, but it is definitely on the list if I ever return to Tokyo. 

On 4/30/2024 at 6:11 PM, LittleFish1976 said:

We were all offered a glass of sake which to be honest I’d always avoided trying in the past. It’s unusual but not unpleasant. 

Personally I love sake, I would even pick it over wine😂. If you get an opportunity for tasting you will find they come in quite a few flavours like wine. Usually I go for the lighter sakes that are floral and fruity. 

Costa Rica Tortuguero? 

On 4/26/2024 at 5:28 PM, bazzaw said:

 Did you see this clock in that general area?

 

As a fan of Miyazaki films I made an effort to see the Ghibli clock😄. Did you get in time to see it play it's show? 

The Pantanal Brazil? 

Everglades, Florida? 

23 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Somewhere on the Nile?