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Toucan: The Free Browser Extension that Helps You Learn a Language Without Even Trying

Posted by on 11:50 am in App Reviews, Blog, Expat Life, Technology, Travel Tips | 2 comments

Toucan: The Free Browser Extension that Helps You Learn a Language Without Even Trying

It’s widely accepted that the best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself. But how do you immerse yourself in Japan when borders are locked down? Or when you don’t have the means to just take off and escape to Italy (a girl can dream!).

There are plenty of ways to immerse yourself in language from home these days; apps, games, and even video chat with foreign strangers (though that’s if you’re paying attention to what they’re saying!). The problem is though, that while companies are constantly trying to make language learning fun, you still need to take time out of your day.

But that just changed! Toucan is a free Chrome extension (download it here) that helps you learn a language as part of your normal, everyday web browsing. Once turned on, it scans the text of whatever website you’re reading and changes a small number of words into the language you want to learn.

It peppers your normal daily web experience (social media, news and everyday reading) with translated words so you can pick up a new language without even trying, without changing your behavior, and without taking any extra time out of your day.

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Tips for Travelling and Playing Online Casino Games

Posted by on 10:04 am in Technology, Travel Tips | 0 comments

Tips for Travelling and Playing Online Casino Games

Pre-pandemic, land based casinos were among the most popular tourist attractions in most countries; case in point, before lock down, Australia’s most popular casinos attracted more visitors than the Sydney Opera House!

But post pandemic, land based casinos are facing a threat from technology, and as the world of online casinos brings us virtual experiences all the way from Egypt to Italy, gambling tourism is evolving to a virtual space.

Now, you can start your casino experience from the minute you depart, and choose to play Casino Australia from an airport on the other side of the world, even before you’ve arrived in the country.

But despite being able to play from home, travelers who typically engaged in casino tourism are playing online games while traveling, whether to pass the time through boring airport delays, or back in their hotel room at the end of the day.

Whether you’re playing from Vegas, Macau, or in-flight because WiFi is now offered on the plane, keep these tips in mind for traveling and playing online casino games.

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Top 10 Most Useful Canada Travel Apps

Posted by on 11:21 am in Blog, Canada, Technology | 0 comments

Top 10 Most Useful Canada Travel Apps

There’s no denying that smartphones and their handy apps have revolutionized travel. Whether it’s booking flights and hotels, navigating new cities and finding parking, or gaining insight on local attractions, phone apps make many aspects of travel much easier.

With Canadians aiming to be fully vaccinated by September, the easing of border restrictions will hopefully allow vaccinated travelers from around the world to enter Canada without having to get tested or go through quarantine.

To get you ready for your future Canadian holiday, I thought I’d introduce you to some of Canada’s top most useful travel apps. Whether you need a campsite in Banff or want to check the winter ski forecasts, here are ten incredible Canadian travel apps you should download before your trip.

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The Best Space Travel and Exploration Games

Posted by on 1:30 pm in Blog, Technology, Travel Tips | 4 comments

The Best Space Travel and Exploration Games

Haven’t got the time nor patience to wait until 2050 for space travel? The good news is that you don’t have to and can do it right now in the world of gaming!

The original space race which ran from the late 1950’s right through until the culmination of the cold war in 1991, laid the foundations for space exploration and hopefully one day soon, space travel.

The thought and ambition of civilians traveling effortlessly through space, venturing to different planets as if they were just a simple Boeing 747 on a City-hopper journey, let alone inhabiting any of them may seem a bit far-fetched.

However, if history has taught us anything it is that anything is possible and with the rate of technology expansion and development it would be naive to completely rule such occurrences out in the future.

There have been many space theme games that have attempted to shed light on what life would be like if space travel were to become reality. Perhaps, for the time being at least, we’ll have to be content with a continuation of this until the correct advancements are made.

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Travel Back to a Clean Home with the Help of this Robot

Posted by on 7:37 am in Blog, Technology | 0 comments

Travel Back to a Clean Home with the Help of this Robot

After your incredible trip, the last thing you want to do is to clean your floors. You probably just want to take a rest, catch up with friends, or browse through your photos to re-live your adventure. The back-breaking chore of using the good old mop and bucket is always the least of my priorities.

Of all the most disliked household chores, mopping is perhaps the most despised. Even vacuuming doesn’t top that list. From the filthy water to the floors of most homes which are a challenge to mop, I’ve found it’s often easier to simply neglect the task!

Fortunately, technology has evolved and introduced robots, yes, robots! … that can perform almost anything, including household chores while we’re out of the country on an adventure.

If you’ve ever fantasized about having your home cleaned while you’re away on vacation, consider investing in a robot mop. The battery-operated mop can get rid of stains, grime, and dirt from all sorts of flooring surfaces such as wood, tile, and stone. There are even models that can even vacuum your floors first.

With so many out there, it’s vital to do your research (when it comes to reviews, read before you go to the store), and to buy with enough time to test it out around the house before you leave. This guide will help you understand what mopping robots are and which necessary functions and features you need to look for.

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The Top 4 Hotels for Digital Nomads

Posted by on 8:34 am in Blog, Expat Life, Technology | 0 comments

The Top 4 Hotels for Digital Nomads

The entire world is your office as a digital nomad as long as you have access to great WiFi and suitable working spaces. And while we used to suffer through power plugs in awkward places, and balancing a laptop on pillows, hotels nowadays have really upped their game.

There are a number of hotels now, who are meeting the trend of digital nomadism, and setting themselves up specifically to offer a fantastic work / travel space. They offer strong, fast WiFi, great cafes, and discounts on long stays. The hotels mentioned below even have their own co-working spaces.

If you’re working from the road, the following are the top hotels in the world for digital nomads. We’ve chosen our favorites across four continents; use them as your newest international base!

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10 Hacks to Make Your Smartphone Camera Photography Look More Professional

Posted by on 11:26 pm in Blog, Photography, Technology | 2 comments

10 Hacks to Make Your Smartphone Camera Photography Look More Professional

In the early days of photography, taking photos was a rather labor intensive process. The first cameras offered for sale to the public came in the late 19th century but it would be decades before amateurs could easily take decent looking images.

Digital photography revolutionized the way people captured memorable moments and made taking photos far less costly than using film.

Quality digital cameras are now a standard feature on smartphones, and while using an expensive, fancy DSLR camera can produce professional looking images, they can prove quite complicated for most novices to use.

Thanks to smartphones, you can now take great images without needing to know or understand a lot of technical photography jargon. However, there are simple ways you can take your smartphone images from being good to looking really professional.

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Guide to Buying Airline Tickets with Bitcoin

Posted by on 11:58 am in Blog, Budget Travel, Technology, Travel Tips | 0 comments

Guide to Buying Airline Tickets with Bitcoin

The future of paying for travel may not be with cash or credit cards, rather with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The tourism industry has embraced this new age way to pay, with travelers already being able to pay for flights, hotel rooms, tours, and more with their secure digital wallets.

There are many advantages to using this decentralized digital currency as a way to pay for travel and as more and more airlines, hotel brands, and other travel-related companies join in on the acceptance, using Bitcoin may quickly become the go-to form of payment for travelers.

The industry is at the forefront when it comes to accepting cryptocurrency and more and more travelers are purchasing Bitcoin to pay for their travel.

Here are just some of the current airlines and travel booking websites where you can use your Bitcoin to get traveling once again.

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Cryptocurrency Trading: How You Can Earn Money While Travelling

Posted by on 9:29 am in Expat Life, Technology | 0 comments

Cryptocurrency Trading: How You Can Earn Money While Travelling

One of the newest trends to impact the travel industry is cryptocurrency. Ever since Bitcoin launched the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency back in 2009, the idea of earning and using virtual money has expanded and now you’ll find a number of other new digital cryptocurrencies to choose from as well.

It’s never easy travelling on a strict budget, and many ways to save involve having to endure a bit of discomfort or foregoing certain luxuries; riding on overnight buses or packing yourself into tight dorm-style accommodation come to mind.

But thankfully, there are a few ways you can save money that don’t involve roughing it. And one of the newest ways you can not only save costs but also make money while travelling is by using cryptocurrency to pay for your travel, and learning how to trade in crypto to become somewhat of a new-age digital nomad (if you know what you’re doing!).

Yes, cryptocurrency now looks to have its sights set on the travel industry. Here’s how you can earn money by trading it while you’re traveling.

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Connect With Other Travelers to Exchange Your Foreign Currency: Download the Money Atlas App and Make Money!

Posted by on 4:09 pm in Blog, Budget Travel, Technology, Travel Tips | 0 comments

Connect With Other Travelers to Exchange Your Foreign Currency: Download the Money Atlas App and Make Money!

How much money have you forgotten about? Money that’s sitting in your drawers, leftover from overseas trips? Euros, Pounds, Canadian Dollars, Japanese Yen? Maybe you’ve got a couple of Australian gold coins with a kangaroo and emu engraved on them.

Almost every traveler I know returns home with a pocket full of foreign coins. And they either get lost in the washing machine, or go in a draw for ‘when I’ll visit again’. But have you ever visited again? Or have you been sitting on hundreds of dollars worth of coins and notes for years on end? (Though it doesn’t need to be hundreds, I’d love to exchange my currency even if it was only worth 10!)

Fortunately now, there’s a cool app where you can sell your coins to others looking to buy them! It’s called MoneyAtlas (here for iPhone / here on Android), and you can connect with other travelers to exchange your foreign currency, at a price you set! Skip the inflated exchange rates at the airport, and make a deal traveler to traveler!

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