AI as Travel Companion
This month, I used AI so much while traveling that my friends affectionately called it “my girlfriend.”
The two questions I kept asking:
What do I do?
How do I do this?
AI became the ultimate travel buddy—a decision-fatigue slayer, a vibe interpreter, a shortcut to flow.
Why do people go on vacation? To relax.
And how do we relax? By not having to think.
That’s why travel agents exist. That’s why people book group tours. Me? I don’t want to fuss over every detail (though, let’s be honest, I often do—I’m an optimizer). I want to press a few buttons, make a few calls, and—boom—vacation. I still like to customize. I’m mood-based. I optimize. I want value and vibe. There’s a delicate balance between planning and improvising.
As a shopkeeper in Freetown said, just as he shut his door in our faces:
“That’s life—sometimes, you just lose.”
There’s a paradox here.
Planning gives you exactly what you expect—great!—but also leaves no room for surprise.
Spontaneity is a gamble. Even if you’ve packed your gold detector, most beaches are nuggetless.
But when you stumble upon one? Oh man. It feels earned.
⸻
Oslo + The Sauna Quest
I bought a 1-day Oslo Pass and tried to optimize it—but what stood out most was my Sauna Quest.
Right off the train at Oslo Central, I wandered to the Opera House to sit and vibe. While walking the waterfront, I saw them: floating saunas.
Options:
• BD Sauna: tempting, but post-scuba trauma kept me from fjord dips.
• KOK: better with a crew.
• SALT: perfect. No fjord swim. Just cold plunges, wood, and wonder.
With GPT’s help, I packed:
• Two towels
• Flip-flops
• Swim trunks
• Padlock
The Social Sauna at SALT
A giant wooden pyramid with tiered seating—holds 80+ people. The higher you sit, the hotter it gets. Chill electronic beats play. People vibe out in silence, sweat, and light conversation. It’s part trance, part group therapy.
I missed Sauna Karaoke by a few days. My two loves—heat and performance—in one room. A fever dream.
And Then: The Ceremony
For ten transcendent minutes, a host splashes fragrant salt-mineral bombs onto the heat rocks—twice—as they whip a towel in hypnotic circles, spreading citrus, flora, and what I can only describe as the scent of your realized potential.
You sit, breathless, euphoric, pushed to your limit. You don’t want it to end.
And then—plunge. Ice barrels. Shock to the system. Your whole body screams and wakes up.
I didn’t know sauna could be like this.
---
**The Oslo to Bergen train ride**
This was the true reason, the driving force, the main purpose, the focal point of this Scandinavia trip. My bud, Stephen, recommended, demanded me even, that I work on a creative project, while riding this train ride. I worked on my first full-length feature screenplay.
⸻
Bergen Vibes
• Nordnes Sjøbad: heaven. Sauna + fjord. A thunderstorm rolled in and shut down the swim, so I just sat in the sauna and watched lightning split the sky. GPT didn’t recommend this—I found it through pure wanderlust.
• GPT did recommend No Stress bar, which lived up to its name.
• Home Hotel Havnekontoret included breakfast and dinner. First time that’s happened.
• Ride the funicular one way, and walk the other—up or down depending on your mood.
• You must buy a Norwegian sweater. I got a zip-up (the itchier ones were too much). Pricey, but #BIFL (buy it for life).
___
Stockholm Snapshots
• Two “gout-friendly” fancy dinners—burrata, almonds, arctic char, creamy pasta. I’m going to recreate them at home.
• Tanto Strandbad—should’ve gone every day.
• I optimized my Stockholm Pass to the bone: museums, boat rides, all of it. Also grabbed a 3-day SL transit pass.
• Tried stand-up paddleboarding for the first time.
(Okay, more like kneel-down paddleboarding.)
• When in doubt: live music.
• Nordic Light Hotel had one of the most uniquely designed rooms I’ve stayed in.
• My last night at the bar there was unexpectedly lovely—bartender chatted me up. So fun.
• Fotografiska Stockholm. I'll say it again: Fotografiska Stockholm (it was a bitch to get to though given all the construction going on)
⸻
Copenhagen: First Day Energy
My (less-than-immediate) family jokingly calls me a “wild dog.”
When the door opens, I bolt: zigzagging across a new city, licking the world, sniffing everything. I had dessert ice cream twice on this trip. On Day 1.
The sun was out, so I rented a Donkey Republic bike (it actually worked). I biked the main arteries—where the locals ride—through Copenhagen’s postcard-perfect avenues, past shimmering bodies sunbathing on the canal’s edge. Of course I stopped. I laid out, listened to a podcast on the history of Superman films, and just baked. I could’ve stayed there all day. All trip, really.
Then I checked the forecast: rain, for the rest of the week. Classic Copenhagen.
⸻
Copenhagen Highlights
• Best Day: That first sun-soaked afternoon—canal sunbathing → Gaza Grill → ice cream → Duck and Cover cocktail. Perfect.
• I was museumed out from Sweden/Norway, but the Design Museum in CPH? Top 3.
• Copenhagen is a bike city. The infrastructure loves cyclists. Curbs cut for you. Lanes painted for you. Everyone bikes—punk kids, businesspeople, elderly.
• Freetown Christiania tour with Nina was fascinating. It’s what people imagine Berkeley to be—but Berkeley is not. A living social experiment, blurring the lines between freedom and structure, autonomy and responsibility, idealism and safety.
⸻
More AI Travel: Observations
The Pros:
GPT gave me tailored, contextual, me-specific recs.
Avoid heavy meat at night? Got you.
Want a cold plunge + sauna combo? Done.
Open now? Nearby? Within walking distance? Sure.
The Cons (Hallucinations):
1. Recommending places from other cities. (e.g., Stockholm bars in Copenhagen)
2. Suggesting closed venues. (Lesson: prompt it to only suggest open places)
But still:
AI beat sifting through Google Maps and TripAdvisor reviews 10 out of 10 times.
Best Prompts I Used:
• “Where can I end the night on a chill note nearby?” → Duck and Cover
• “Where’s live music tonight?” → Mojo Blues Bar
• “I want to eat like Marcus from ‘The Bear’.” → Hart, Poulette, NOMA (I just walked around the grounds)
• “Where can I sauna + cold plunge on a Monday afternoon?” → La Banchina
• “I want to sing karaoke nearby.” → Sam’s Bar
⸻
Micro-Lessons from the Road
• Every place has non-alcoholic options. I drank zero-alcohol beer to blend in. I felt normal. Just none of the hangover.
• Ask the front desk for: umbrella, bike rentals, charger adapters.
• Early bird breakfast bags do exist. Ask the night before a crack-of-dawn flight.
• Let yourself be weightless.
• Lockers at museums? Use ‘em.
• Rolling carts at airports? Take one.
• Hotels storing your luggage pre-check-in? Yes please.
• Give your cart to someone who needs it. But also—treat yourself.
Tech Tips That Saved Me:
• Donkey Republic not unlocking? Restart the app. If that fails, restart your phone. Worked for my AirPods too.
• Don’t bike with your iPhone exposed in the rain. If you do:
• Cover the ports
• Or use a MagSafe charger (not USB-C) if it gets wet
⸻
Closing Thoughts
Aisle seats rule.
I’m at my most efficient when I travel—time-blocking, optimizing, making every minute count.
I spent all this money (errr credit card points), why waste it sitting in a hotel?
The question is:
How do I bring that energy home with me?
This month, I used AI so much while traveling that my friends affectionately called it “my girlfriend.”
The two questions I kept asking:
What do I do?
How do I do this?
AI became the ultimate travel buddy—a decision-fatigue slayer, a vibe interpreter, a shortcut to flow.
Why do people go on vacation? To relax.
And how do we relax? By not having to think.
That’s why travel agents exist. That’s why people book group tours. Me? I don’t want to fuss over every detail (though, let’s be honest, I often do—I’m an optimizer). I want to press a few buttons, make a few calls, and—boom—vacation. I still like to customize. I’m mood-based. I optimize. I want value and vibe. There’s a delicate balance between planning and improvising.
As a shopkeeper in Freetown said, just as he shut his door in our faces:
“That’s life—sometimes, you just lose.”
There’s a paradox here.
Planning gives you exactly what you expect—great!—but also leaves no room for surprise.
Spontaneity is a gamble. Even if you’ve packed your gold detector, most beaches are nuggetless.
But when you stumble upon one? Oh man. It feels earned.
⸻
Oslo + The Sauna Quest
I bought a 1-day Oslo Pass and tried to optimize it—but what stood out most was my Sauna Quest.
Right off the train at Oslo Central, I wandered to the Opera House to sit and vibe. While walking the waterfront, I saw them: floating saunas.
Options:
• BD Sauna: tempting, but post-scuba trauma kept me from fjord dips.
• KOK: better with a crew.
• SALT: perfect. No fjord swim. Just cold plunges, wood, and wonder.
With GPT’s help, I packed:
• Two towels
• Flip-flops
• Swim trunks
• Padlock
The Social Sauna at SALT
A giant wooden pyramid with tiered seating—holds 80+ people. The higher you sit, the hotter it gets. Chill electronic beats play. People vibe out in silence, sweat, and light conversation. It’s part trance, part group therapy.
I missed Sauna Karaoke by a few days. My two loves—heat and performance—in one room. A fever dream.
And Then: The Ceremony
For ten transcendent minutes, a host splashes fragrant salt-mineral bombs onto the heat rocks—twice—as they whip a towel in hypnotic circles, spreading citrus, flora, and what I can only describe as the scent of your realized potential.
You sit, breathless, euphoric, pushed to your limit. You don’t want it to end.
And then—plunge. Ice barrels. Shock to the system. Your whole body screams and wakes up.
I didn’t know sauna could be like this.
---
**The Oslo to Bergen train ride**
This was the true reason, the driving force, the main purpose, the focal point of this Scandinavia trip. My bud, Stephen, recommended, demanded me even, that I work on a creative project, while riding this train ride. I worked on my first full-length feature screenplay.
⸻
Bergen Vibes
• Nordnes Sjøbad: heaven. Sauna + fjord. A thunderstorm rolled in and shut down the swim, so I just sat in the sauna and watched lightning split the sky. GPT didn’t recommend this—I found it through pure wanderlust.
• GPT did recommend No Stress bar, which lived up to its name.
• Home Hotel Havnekontoret included breakfast and dinner. First time that’s happened.
• Ride the funicular one way, and walk the other—up or down depending on your mood.
• You must buy a Norwegian sweater. I got a zip-up (the itchier ones were too much). Pricey, but #BIFL (buy it for life).
___
Stockholm Snapshots
• Two “gout-friendly” fancy dinners—burrata, almonds, arctic char, creamy pasta. I’m going to recreate them at home.
• Tanto Strandbad—should’ve gone every day.
• I optimized my Stockholm Pass to the bone: museums, boat rides, all of it. Also grabbed a 3-day SL transit pass.
• Tried stand-up paddleboarding for the first time.
(Okay, more like kneel-down paddleboarding.)
• When in doubt: live music.
• Nordic Light Hotel had one of the most uniquely designed rooms I’ve stayed in.
• My last night at the bar there was unexpectedly lovely—bartender chatted me up. So fun.
• Fotografiska Stockholm. I'll say it again: Fotografiska Stockholm (it was a bitch to get to though given all the construction going on)
⸻
Copenhagen: First Day Energy
My (less-than-immediate) family jokingly calls me a “wild dog.”
When the door opens, I bolt: zigzagging across a new city, licking the world, sniffing everything. I had dessert ice cream twice on this trip. On Day 1.
The sun was out, so I rented a Donkey Republic bike (it actually worked). I biked the main arteries—where the locals ride—through Copenhagen’s postcard-perfect avenues, past shimmering bodies sunbathing on the canal’s edge. Of course I stopped. I laid out, listened to a podcast on the history of Superman films, and just baked. I could’ve stayed there all day. All trip, really.
Then I checked the forecast: rain, for the rest of the week. Classic Copenhagen.
⸻
Copenhagen Highlights
• Best Day: That first sun-soaked afternoon—canal sunbathing → Gaza Grill → ice cream → Duck and Cover cocktail. Perfect.
• I was museumed out from Sweden/Norway, but the Design Museum in CPH? Top 3.
• Copenhagen is a bike city. The infrastructure loves cyclists. Curbs cut for you. Lanes painted for you. Everyone bikes—punk kids, businesspeople, elderly.
• Freetown Christiania tour with Nina was fascinating. It’s what people imagine Berkeley to be—but Berkeley is not. A living social experiment, blurring the lines between freedom and structure, autonomy and responsibility, idealism and safety.
⸻
More AI Travel: Observations
The Pros:
GPT gave me tailored, contextual, me-specific recs.
Avoid heavy meat at night? Got you.
Want a cold plunge + sauna combo? Done.
Open now? Nearby? Within walking distance? Sure.
The Cons (Hallucinations):
1. Recommending places from other cities. (e.g., Stockholm bars in Copenhagen)
2. Suggesting closed venues. (Lesson: prompt it to only suggest open places)
But still:
AI beat sifting through Google Maps and TripAdvisor reviews 10 out of 10 times.
Best Prompts I Used:
• “Where can I end the night on a chill note nearby?” → Duck and Cover
• “Where’s live music tonight?” → Mojo Blues Bar
• “I want to eat like Marcus from ‘The Bear’.” → Hart, Poulette, NOMA (I just walked around the grounds)
• “Where can I sauna + cold plunge on a Monday afternoon?” → La Banchina
• “I want to sing karaoke nearby.” → Sam’s Bar
⸻
Micro-Lessons from the Road
• Every place has non-alcoholic options. I drank zero-alcohol beer to blend in. I felt normal. Just none of the hangover.
• Ask the front desk for: umbrella, bike rentals, charger adapters.
• Early bird breakfast bags do exist. Ask the night before a crack-of-dawn flight.
• Let yourself be weightless.
• Lockers at museums? Use ‘em.
• Rolling carts at airports? Take one.
• Hotels storing your luggage pre-check-in? Yes please.
• Give your cart to someone who needs it. But also—treat yourself.
Tech Tips That Saved Me:
• Donkey Republic not unlocking? Restart the app. If that fails, restart your phone. Worked for my AirPods too.
• Don’t bike with your iPhone exposed in the rain. If you do:
• Cover the ports
• Or use a MagSafe charger (not USB-C) if it gets wet
⸻
Closing Thoughts
Aisle seats rule.
I’m at my most efficient when I travel—time-blocking, optimizing, making every minute count.
I spent all this money (errr credit card points), why waste it sitting in a hotel?
The question is:
How do I bring that energy home with me?