Reviews written by calvincrane

Another great blog post from the inside track of the ski industry in France :) Thanks misplaced for being a great guest blogger I'm following you own blog that I found on your profile here

http://landed.at/my-profile/688-misplacedperson

It is exasperating seeing the footage. Now the crews are on the ground the scale of the destruction is widespread. We can see it. Last year I was in Ko Phi Phi and it was strange to think of the tsunami being right there. Buildings still kind of went up haphazardly IMO. Still in Japan now they will be rebuilding and need all the aid they can get. The bodies are being removed with the rubble and there follows the same risks we had with The last Tsunami and Haiti disasters that of contaminated water.

I even saw in some video a house being swept into a house and you kind of think that will stop the first house but now we see the waves power as the second house just gets put on the pile of flotsam.

If this were not enough is the reality now of the nuclear fallout. They downplayed the damage and like my friend says they should have dumped concrete onto it to douse the thing and soak up at least stop it penetrating the atmosphere. This was what they did in Chernobyl. As close as this is to Tokyo they all must be pretty frightened and under siege.

Its funny that I can understand european spanish less easily than the latins in central america.
I liked my time in Buenos Aires and the backpackers simply cant get enough of the european feeling party scene down there while the rest of the world is away :)

The city has some amazingly wide boulevards and the longest street in the world.
But for me the highlight of Buenos Aires is the food. Gorgeous massive red steak is not the only luxury you can afford here but the wines are great too. Down with the malbec (disfuta) and another bottle por favor.

I particularly liked my stay in San Telmo district. The hostels are very good all over and if your coming from Brazil it can feel a little safer and for some this is a big reason they prefer this South American Country than anywhere else.
Not to mention the plethora of places to visit and things to do you could spend a year here.

I wouldn't agree that you need to take an organised tour of guatemala. Just brush up on the old spanish and get a good guide book and you will soon find out what is worth checking out.
Here are some posts about guatemala

http://landed.at/best-travel-blogs/282-tikal-lost-civilisation

and here is an excerpt from the top places to go backpacking in the world

http://landed.at/best-travel-blogs/24911-10-of-worlds-top-places-to-go-backpacking-part-2

8) Guatemala. Forget the capital of the same name get to Quetzaltenango Huehuetenango Cobán Antigua Guatemala Panajachel Flores and Tikal. It’s a colourful country full of culture just visit the local markets the locals walk miles to bring hamakas (hammocks) too and woollen handbags. Make sure to visit some ruins Tikal the most famous of all. Its buzzing with backpackers because life here for the backpacker is perhaps as cheap as anywhere. Then there is the old colonial city of Antigua my mate Billy runs one of the best bars in the world there so go say hello ! It’s Monolocos – awesome food and party in this pristine colonial city. Many come here to study Spanish in the numerous schools and it works !

There was minimal damage to US interests by the Tsunami. No loss of life and time to prepare. Well the tsunami has now cleared and we can examine the aftermath in Japan and the closest point to the eppicentre Sendai. Trucks and cars just deposited among the bits and pieces of well buildings and signs and trees.

The big worry as if this were not enough is the explosion seen and recorded at Fukushima and now the reality emerges that a radiation leek has occurred.

You can do the twitter search here http://twitter.com/#!/search/Fukushima

But thank goodness the tsunami didn't destroy other areas so badly.

Doing things for yourself I think you can do it in this part of the world for sub 100 k ;) make sure to get professional legal representation for your investment you may not get back your investment and there are no guarantees.

If your in transit or are one of those people that love Phuket then this is a great place to stay with good service but the pool closes early. I'm not one of those so can't really rate the place. Its not such a fair review as we stayed only one night but the room was good apart from the view from the rear of the hotel which was a dumping ground slash car park !

Really glad to get this place after a night in Pittarom resort which was more expensive and walking up a lot of steps. Phi Phi is certainly a place that you should shop around for the best place. But why is the pool closed so early and so small. Seriously phi phi don't do pools.
This place has a great restaurant and the Gym next door is perfection. I wish I could have stayed longer and the weather had been a bit better. You are on the front of ton sai and presumably could walk down for a clear beach otherwise the boats have taken all the space but anyway I would be wary of how the waste is let out in such a developed spot.

I really enjoyed returning to the Meridien. I was interested in visiting the Dusit Thani close by but it was another 25% more expensive. We felt very relaxed while enjoying the high tech rooms with their electronic blinds skyscraper views and flat screens while letting Bangkok wash off from the ceiling shower or large bathtubs.
Most striking was the comfort of the bedding and mattress and king size bed.
The lobby always placed me in a great frame of mind with its smell and design. The pool while a little small is a nice space we didn't get to try the Spa unfortunately. We did enjoy the bamboo lounge a fantastic cocktail bar and restaurant.

Zen - As a designer I know they have gone into great detail while designing this hotel from the space they have, they have made a very luxuriating experience. It is contemporary and should be firmly on the flashpackers list of places to stay.

Outside you are almost opposite the Patpong area, and walking through this brings you to MRT but take a cool taxi instead the boys will order you one outside. You are well located for business and tourism here. Eat in Ruen Urai while you stay here http://landed.at/restaurant-reviews/718-ruen-urai-rose-hotel-

We didn't know if it was just that he does it regularly or we had gotten lucky but Tom the owner showed us upstairs in the building so we got this free and fascinating guided tour. From the wooden Garuda (Mythical Bird) to the chairs you will feel you are somewhere different.
We were late to arrive but got seated fine outside as per our choice without reservations. I think upstairs is available when its busy.
The food is excellent and with a good selection of wines you will enjoy your meal here. It is good value and I will return when I return to Bangkok.