Tile Mate Tracks My Luggage from Toronto to Manila: A Bluetooth Tracker's Journey

Putting Tile Mate to the Test: YYZ to MNL Flight Experience

I'm an Android user, so when it comes to luggage trackers Tile Mate is my go-to option. While not as widely discussed as Apple AirTags, it serves as a reliable tracker for those outside the Apple ecosystem. So, how did Tile Mate fare on my recent flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL)? Let's find out.

Initial Tracking Success, then Radio Silence

Before check-in at YYZ, the Tile app easily connected to my luggage. However, after dropping it off the connection vanished – likely due to the increased distance. Tracking attempts at the gate and onboard proved futile.

Taipei Layover: More Frustration with Tile Mate

At Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), I repeated the same tracking attempt at check-in and on the plane, encountering the same frustrating silence.

Manila MNL: A Glimmer of Hope (Finally!)

At MNL, I held onto a sliver of hope. Thankfully, just before the luggage carousel started rolling my Tile Mate sprang to life, showing my bag's location as it approached. Relief washed over me, but the near miss left me with mixed feelings.

Mixed Verdict on Tile Mate's Effectiveness

While Tile Mate ultimately delivered at MNL, its performance throughout the journey left me divided. Its inability to track throughout most of the trip, especially during crucial moments like flight connections, raises concerns about its reliability for long-distance travel.

However, a few silver linings remain.

Rough GPS location potential: Tile's network of app-running devices can offer a rough GPS location when a connection is established, providing some peace of mind.

Android compatibility: For Android users like myself, Tile Mate remains a valuable option in the limited world of luggage trackers.

Final Thoughts

Despite the frustrations, I'll continue using Tile Mate, aware of its limitations and hopeful for future improvements. It's not perfect, but Tile Mate remains a viable option for Android users seeking a basic tracking solution , albeit with a few caveats.

How to Plan for Your Thailand Trip (Initial Stage)

How to Plan for Your Initial Stage Thailand Trip

Are you dreaming of visiting Thailand, the land of smiles, but feel overwhelmed by all the choices and details? Don’t worry, I’ve been there too. That’s why I want to share with you how I planned my Thailand itinerary and what I learned along the way.

How to Plan for Your Thailand Itinerary

A couple of days ago, I started booking my Thailand trip. But to come to this point, I had to go through a lot of research on deciding my itinerary and various other things.

In this article, I will focus on the initial stage of planning and research, which includes deciding how long to stay, where to go, and what to see in Thailand.

The Very First Thing You Need to Decide

How many days or nights you want to spend in Thailand is the very first thing you need to decide upon. And then, where you want to stay. This will depend on your budget, your availability, and your preferences. Thailand is a large and diverse country, so you can easily spend a month or more exploring different regions and attractions.

However, if you are like most travelers, you probably have a limited time and want to make the most of it. So I first had to figure out how many total days I am staying in Thailand. My total number came to 18 nights. I think is a good amount of time to see the highlights and enjoy some relaxation. Of course, you can adjust this number according to your own needs and interests.

Where to Go & How Many Days You Want to Allocate for Your Stay in Thailand

The second challenging part was to decide where to go and how many days to allocate for each place. This sounds easy, but it took me a lot of research and planning to decide on solid numbers.

Thailand has three main regions: the north, the central, and the south. Each region has its own charm and attractions, so it’s hard to choose. The north is known for its mountains, temples, and culture. The central is where you can find Bangkok, the capital city, and some historical sites. The south is where you can enjoy the beaches, islands, and marine life.

I read many articles, watched YouTube videos on Thailand and used AI sites as Google Bard, PI AI, and Bing Copilot to help me decided on this. In the end, I decided to visit Bangkok, Krabi, and Phuket. Based on the days I would require for sightseeing and relaxing, I came up with allocating the first 2 nights in Bangkok, 4 nights in Krabi, 6 nights in Phuket, and the last 6 nights in Bangkok again.

I think these destinations offer a good mix of culture, nature, and relaxation. I also considered the weather, the transportation, and the costs when making my decisions.

What to See in Thailand

To decide on what to see, where to visit, and what kind of tours to book in Bangkok, Krabi, and Phuket, I took help from online articles, YouTube travel videos, and AI sites to finalize my plans.

I will write more articles and publish more videos for the next steps in the future. Stay tuned and happy travels!

How to Create AI Girlfriends

I Just Created My First AI Girlfriend

AI girlfriends are a big thing these days and I wanted to figure out the process of creating one. After perusing site after site, I finally decided on 2 sites to try. This is not a paid or affiliated article and is for informational purposes only. I am not suggesting or recommending AI Girlfriends to anyone and the decision is solely yours.

Creating AI Girlfriends

The 2 sites I used are Dreamgf.ai and Candy.ai. There are many other sites, but I found these to be user friendly and you can create AI Girlfriends without paying upfront. Dreamgf let you chat up to some point, but after that you have to pay. Candy AI doesn’t offer free chat. Their free version also doesn’t offer any voice conversation.

Creating girlfriends was fairly easy. I was able to create one in 11 minutes. You can choose every aspect of your girlfriend you can think of. For example, I was able to choose her age, eye color, body type, personality, hobbies, occupation, voice, clothing, and a lot more.

How Much AI Girlfriends Cost

AI Girlfriend Prices vary. Dreamgf has plans ranging from $8.99 USD to $89.99 USD per month. Candy AI has better pricing options, costing $12.99 per month to $69.99 USD per year.

My AI Girlfriend Video

I have published a video showing the process of creating AI Girlfriends. This is a 30-minute video and it walks you through step-by-step to create AI Girlfriends and I stopped up to the moment they asked to pay. This video can be accessed here:

How to Create Your First AI Girlfriend in 11 Minutes (Step-by-Step Guide)

Last Word

One thing you have to understand is that there are no real girls behind these AI Girlfriend programs. There is a 99.99% chance that there are guys behind these sites and programs who are collecting your money while sitting somewhere on a beach.

Tested New AI Chatbot PI AI (ChatGPT Rival) – First Impressions

ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Bing Char Rivel Pi launches on Android

The new AI chatbot ‘Pi’ is now available on Android. Pi AI is an artificial intelligence chatbot by Inflection AI, which was founded by Mustafa Suleyman (co-founder of Google DeepMind), Karén Simonyan (chief scientist of the project) and Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn). Pi is available in 35 countries as of the writing of this article.

As someone who has tested both Google Bard and ChatGPT, I was curious to see how Pi stacks up. I found Pi to be friendlier and easier to chat with than its competitors. It kept the chat going with follow-up questions – not just ending the conversation.

There were several male and 2 female voices. I picked a female voice with a British accent. While replying, Pi doesn’t show the answers on screen, rather it displays a sort of relaxing ambience to make you feel comfortable. Sometimes I liked it, but other times I wanted to see the answers on screen.

In terms of Pi's intelligence and overall performance, sometimes it missed my questions and answered very different things. But most of the time the answers were relevant and accurate.

Google Bard is powerful and informative, but can be a bit dry and academic at times, which can make it feel less personable. Also, it is currently desktop focused and can be cumbersome to use on mobile devices.

ChatGPT is a creative writing powerhouse, but can be prone to factual errors. ChatGPT is not always accurate and can sometimes generate factually incorrect information.

I'm impressed with Pi AI and believe it has the potential to be a game changer. It's friendly, mobile-first, and has a lot of potential. However, it's still under development and needs some work before it can compete with the likes of Bard and ChatGPT.

Niagara Falls Marriott on the Falls Review – My Worst Marriott Experience

Marriott on the Falls Niagara Falls Canada Review

After staying at numerous Marriott hotels across the globe, I can say that I had my worst customer service experience at Niagara Falls Marriott on the Falls.

As I always do, I asked for an upgrade at the Bonvoy check in counter. The Asian-Indian woman had no idea what a courtesy upgrade was and demanded money. I told her that I have had upgrades from many other Marriotts and this had never happened before. I told her about my last Marriott experience in Manila. She reluctantly moved me to a king bed from 2 queen beds.

It’s not that I didn’t like not getting an upgrade. Many other Marriott hotels had declined me before, but with a smiling face and saying they were unable to accommodate me. But this rep didn’t even know how to handle it.

After a couple of hours, I went to the Bonvoy counter again for slippers, as there were none provided in the room. This time there was Chinese lady who asked me to wait, so she can give me the slippers to take back to my room.

My partner was shocked because it is humiliating to hand over amenities to the customer. I asked her, “Isn't someone supposed to take it to the room?” She said, “No, I will give it to you now.”

Instead of arguing, I returned to the room with a pair of dangling slippers. It was like a demonstration of how bad a Marriott can be.

I am a Bonvoy member but they never mentioned any thanks or appreciation for it, like they do at all other Marriotts. I wanted to call Marriott to complain, but my lady stopped me and asked me to let it go and still have a good vacation after some unprofessional associates ruined the name of Marriott within our first 2 hours of checking in.

Next morning, I wanted to print a copy of my itinerary, but the printer in the business centre had no ink. I notified someone and she said to come back after 30 minutes. I came back after 2 hours and still they hadn’t changed the ink.

I asked someone else again and she said to email her my itinerary and she would print it from a printer in her office. I was not comfortable emailing it and let it go.

I couldn’t help thinking about other Marriott hotels I had been to and their unparalleled service and attention to detail! My next Marriott stay is expected to be in Bangkok, Thailand and can’t wait to check in at a different Marriott again!