blogs about rtw2007

Soi Lang Suan -- Bangkok's Little Italy

jani — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:18:51 -0700

In the heart of Bangkok, just off the Chid Lom Skytrain station, lies a district of Bangkok well known by locals and expats, but that few tourists ever venture to. Between the leafy streets of Lang Suan Rd and Soi Tonson, strategically located between the busy business and shopping areas of Sukhumvit and Silom, is a cluster of serviced apartments, diplomatic residences, local boutiques ?

Soi Ari -- A Visit to Millionaire's Lane

jani — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:14:28 -0700

Most Bangkok visitors heading north on the Skytrain make a beeline for the Weekend Market at the end of the line, but next time, stop two stations before at Ari. Also known by the Thais as "Millionaire's Lane", the sois of this quiet residential district hide some of the most opulent mansions in the capital -- and some of the quirkiest hotels, restaurants and boutiques in town.

RTW2007: Bangkok, part 2

jani — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:17:38 -0700

I was supposed to arrive at Bangkok about an hour before my friend Z, but due to the take-off delay got there only 15 minutes before, and as the plane parked waaaaaaaaay at the other end (why does TG discriminate against itself like this? they did the same in Don Muang too!) I ended up catching her -- literally -- just before Immigration.

RTW2007: Barcelona

jani — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:25:43 -0700

I'll start with a confession: before this trip, I had never visited Barcelona before, and in fact the entirety of my Spanish experience was limited to a visit to Madrid almost 20 years ago. Plan A was Dubai, cancelled on account of intolerably hot weather this time of year, but despite everybody I talked to urging me to visit Barcelona my impression prior to visiting had, somehow, been largely negative: dirty, crumbling, expensive, full of scams and ripoffs, and above all filled with ravenous pickpockets.

RTW2007: Helsinki

jani — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:40:15 -0700

A week full of bear meatballs, smoked elk, blood sausage, juniper schnapps and a solitary surprisingly decent veggie tortilla later it was time to escape the Eurovision 2007 hype building to a fever pitch -- the semifinals would be held the day after I left, and you couldn't swing a sequined tutu in central Helsinki without hitting three people, at least one of whom would be a Ukrainian crossdresser, showing off their Eurovision tags.

RTW2007: Saint-Malo, Mont Saint Michel, Lille

jani — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 07:37:10 -0700

If there's one thing the French do well, it's trains. I boarded my TGV straight at CDG Terminal 2, met up with my friend N (of previous trip fame) onboard and, without even stopping in Paris, chugged directly to Rennes, the springboard into Brittany.

RTW2007: Ottawa to Montreal

jani — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:41:50 -0700

My week in Ottawa and Montreal passed in the usual hurly-burly of business meetings and family reunions, but one excursion is worth a mention: a trip to the village of Carp, pronounced ''Kearp'', home to the Central Emergency Government Headquarters, better known as the Diefenbunker. Built during the height of Cold War paranoia, this super-reinforced four-story underground bunker is where Canada's government would have huddled had Armageddon arrived.

RTW2007: Toronto

jani — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:21:50 -0700

As downtown Toronto seemed to have no sensibly priced/available with points Marriotts, I spent the night at the Fairfield Inn Toronto Airport, which has drawn rave reviews (for an FI) on Flyertalk. I was bumped up into a thoroughly unnecessary if not unwelcome suite, had my Platinum water & pretzels waiting, and had an edible and not unreasonably priced meal at the cafe downstairs.

RTW2007: Bahamas

jani — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 02:53:38 -0700

Nassau's Lynden Pindling International Airport is surprisingly run-down and ramshackle, but unlike coldly formal San Juan, at least they welcome you into the immigration hall with a live ''goombay'' band tooting out tropical numbers.

RTW2007: Charlotte (in transit)

jani — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:57:28 -0700

This was the second stop in the US where I cursed my limited time -- I earlier passed through San Francisco for the first time in 25 years without seeing much more than tarmac and a terminal, and now my return to Charlotte after the better part of 15 would be equally stunted.