I have just paid my first visit to Finland (my 68th country) and to its compact but option packed capital. Definitely felt at home, after a very short time. Verdict Regular readers will know, I rate every airline and every city I encounter.Helsinki was easy to rate! My Overall Rating: 85.6% Ranking out of my top 200 Cities: 8th place- Narrowly behind Wellington (New Zealand) which has a very similar look and feel to Helsinki The Economist Ranking: 9th Most livable city Why it should be visited: Stunning architecture, easy to get around, brilliant museums, great art, food…
Place Reviews (Thursday)
Category Archives for Place Reviews (Thursday).
What to see in Confronting Kanchanaburi- Home of the Thai-Burma Death Railway
Kanchanaburi juxtaposes two things. On the surface, it is a lovely relaxed riverside town in the west of Thailand which attracts tourists from all over Thailand and the world drawn to the natural beauty of the surrounding area. But the other drawcard is that the town is also the haunting centre of one of the most horrific projects of World War Two, the infamous Death Railway built from the River Kwai across Thailand and into Burma. 160,00o Asian forced labourers and Allied POWs worked on the bridge. Between 90,000 and 120,000 died during its construction in…
My Maldives Moments
I had a great time in the Maldives, a place of stunning waters and beautiful sands. Have you been? Aesthetics: 8/10 The Maldives are made up of 19 atolls which sit on a long underwater North -south ridge that rises up from the bottom of the Indian ocean. Covering an area roughly the state of Maine or the country of Portugal, the country’s 90,000 square kilometre area is home to 300,000 people. Each atoll consists of a ring-shaped coral reef. The largest of these atolls are approximately 30 miles North to south (50km) and 20…
The Many sides of Malé, tiny capital of the Maldives -with Top recommended sights
When people ask me to describe Malé, the capital city of the Maldives I say “it is like no other place on earth“. Maldives, in fact, means “the islands of Malé’”. It was the King’s Island, the seat of the Maldivian Royal family from (at least) 1117 until 1968 with a couple of interruptions for republics and regencies. The Maldives are made up of 1192 tiny islands with a total land area of 298 sq km sitting in 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi) of Indian Ocean. Almost 400,000 people live in the country with about one-third (about 130,000) living in…
Exploring Thailand’s Koh Samui – Review and Tips
I have been wanting to visit Koh Samui, Thailand’s second-largest island (after the famous Phuket) for ages. A spare weekend and a crazy desire to get to an airport that has a code starting with “U“ gave me the opportunity! Seriously! Like the other places I have visited, I have rated key aspects of the place. We chose to stay in the Bo Phut area which is a quieter part of the island and includes one of the most popular tourist attractions: The Fishermans’ Village. The other popular tourist areas on the island: Chaweng with the…
Exploring the Red Centre of Australia
Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) has a deeply special significance for me and thousands of others. Along with The Sydney Opera house and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it would have to be the three instantly recognisable symbols, of Australia: If coming to visit, I recommend at least three days in the Centre. Many of the 300,00 annual visitors come in and out for one single day as part of a “whistle stop” Australian tour. One day at Uluru is not enough time to experience this magical place. This last visit was my fifth and I could come back another fifty.…
Beautiful Blue Mountains: Review and Top Things to do
West of Sydney are one of the most beautiful and most visited parts of Australia: The Blue Mountains. This week must have been close to my 100th since I first visited The Mountains a baby! (half a century ago). As always, my review attempts to go beyond the superficial glimpse that many visitors have of this amazing place from their bus window! Aesthetics: 87% The Greater Blue Mountains are not just beautiful. They are stunning. Grand sandstone cliffs, twisting forest tracks, gorgeous waterfalls, peaceful glens, cute creeks all fill the 11,400 km² area of “The Mountains”. If the Blue Mountains…
My Top 40 cities.
I am fast closing in my 200th city that I have visited with over 100,000 inhabitants. With each city, I rate their: Natural and Built aesthetics Their liveability Their Culture Crime rates and safety Transportation Their “Vibe 12 of my favourite cities are in Europe, nine in the USA, five in Asia,four in the UK, two in Canada, four in Australia, one in New Zealand, one in South America and two in the Middle East. My top 40 cities ranked are: 1 Paris 2 Berlin 3 Barcelona 4 San Francisco 5 Melbourne 6 Adelaide 7 Stockholm…
Second Run for 2016 in Melbourne, Australia
My second 10km run for 2016 was along the coast of the beautiful Mornington Peninsula, outside of the city of Melbourne. The Australia Day Fun Run starts at Safety Beach and hugs the coast before going through a semi forested campsite and ending at a Village Green. I knocked off three minutes from my last time to come in at 1 hour 2 minutes 15 seconds. Related Posts First Run for 2016 in Hobart, Australia
First Run for 2016 in Hobart, Australia
I am attempting to do a fun run in a different city each month for 2016. The first run was a 10km (six mile) run in Hobart, Tasmania which is part of the Cadbury Marathon. The Cadbury Chocolate Company are a key part of the city’s economy with a presence there since 1922. They have sponsored this race for about a decade, I think. The 10km run starts and finishes at the Cadbury factory and runs past the famous Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). The last section of the race includes a steep climb back…
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