Waxy_Dan

Just to update the info here. I moved into Streatham just over two years ago and the area gets better every day. The high street (while overwhelmingly ugly) offers a fantastic range of food; tapas, sushi, Italian, modern, etc. In the last year we’ve seen new deli’s open up, small little cafes and some great bars.

It’s got a long way to go but I really enjoy living here.

We simply can’t give the Canada Hotel (http://www.canadahotel.net/) and Carrie, the propietor, enough praise. We went to Turkey for two weeks at the end of August and from the first moment of arriving very late, well after the kitchens had closed, but still being served wonderful fresh food to leaving some days later with our route carefully planned out for us; we felt cared for and genuinely welcome.

It’s a wonderful ‘town’ (more an area really) with a great deal to do and enjoy. The beach, while a bit pebbly and salty, is stunning. The chimera flames are magical and the ruins around Olympos are well worth a day’s exploration. The food along the beachfront is generally very good (Oleander and the Orange Cafe especially).

The hotel is quite simple and the rooms are comfortable but none too fancy. Which is fine. The pool is relatively small for excercise but more than large enough to cool down and gently swim in. The food at the hotel is also very good and with very generous portions. Where the Canada Hotel really excels is in the warmth, generosity and efficiency of the family who run it.

Hi,
Shots of our trip are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waxydan/sets/72157594291256107/

Just a short note to recommend Middle Earth Travel (http://www.middleearthtravel.com/) to anyone who plans to go to Turkey or Cappodocia anytime soon.

We did a oneday trip through the Ilhara Valley with them and found them very friendly, amiable, well informed and happy to tailor the trip for anything we wanted to do.

Our guide had fantastic local knowledge about the area including a wondeful small mosque carved out of a mountain face that went unmentioned in guidebooks.

Well worth the few extra euro to have a personal guide with experience and enthusiasm.

If you’re staying in Bangkok, you’ll most likely be staying in Khao San Road. This is a great centre of tourism and can supply pretty much anything you need. If you’re not in the mood for its inherent madness though, head just one block across into Ram Bhuttri. It’s a fraction more expense that Khao San, but so much more chilled out and relaxed.

There’s also a great day tour one can do of the main attractions around Ratanakosin. Head straight down by bus or tuk tuk (though you could walk from Khao San) to the Grand Palace. Ignore all the guys outside offering you tours and telling you all the sights are closed. If you don’t have long trousers or a shirt; you can rent them here. The Grand Palace is akin to some “lavishly detailed set” (as the Rough Guide describes it). It’s quite wonderful; take it slow and get one of the audio tours.

Wat Phra Kaeo is also part of the same complex which, while utterly stunning, I found to be somewhat ‘stale’. It’s a beautiful museum, but it doesn’t feel like a place of worship. Although the Emerald Buddha is there (get there early).

Just down the road slightly, you’ll find Wat Po; which was probably my favourite of this ‘three Wat tour’. It’s wonderfully serene mess of lively basketball courts, wondeful structures, and classrooms. Two things that are definitely worth a look here are the Reclining Buddha (which is just magnificent) and the university of massage (for obvious reasons). If the heat’s getting a bit much by this stage; take a break for a massage. They charge more than most, but they’re better than most.

If you’re still feeling up to it; there’s one more wat to visit. Wat Arun. It looks like a difficult journey on most maps but, pop of Wat Po and walk straight toward the river and into the little market (where you can pick up some lunch). There’s a ferry there that will take you across for about 5 Baht.

Wat Arun is quite exposed to the sun, so take it slow and bring a hat. It’s a very beautiful and relatively small series of towers. What I loved about them is their covering of broken plates, cups, and bowls. Apparently these were used as ballast inside the merchant boths who unloaded the ballast in Bangkok.

Anyway, that leaves you by the river, which is a good means of transport to elsewhere in the city (notably to Chinatown for dinner!).

See also:
Grand PalaceWat Phra Kaeo

Take your time here. The off-the-boat-hour-in-the-park-back-on-the-boat thing just doesn’t work. Come down to the quay, spend some time in the Maritime Museum, have some lunch in the Gypsy Moth (if you can find a table), spend the afternoon in the Observatory, go back up the river after a full day.

I was entranced by the urban beauty of the area. It’s a very built up series of narrow streets. With tall over-arching buildings and walkways criss-crossing between the towers; the same architecture in many other places is hellish. Here, it’s beautiful. Proof that urban environments can work, they just take some thought.

... Click down further and look for entries on Sapa (such an incredible place). We found Vietnam far more difficult to travel through than Thailand or Cambodia; in that you have to keep your wits about at all times to keep from being fleeced or taken for a ride (taxis taking you to the far side of the city..).

But, having said that, it’s an amazing place. Vibrant and so overflowing with life.

We spent a lot of time around the Piazza Navona by night, and found mostly Romans in the bars and restaurants. Especially in Bar del Fico. We also had one of the best meals of our lives in Antica which is also in that little maze of alleys and laneways.

If you’re by the Colliseum (which is probably a safe bet); have a look across the road at Nero’s Palace (the Domus Aurea) and take a tour. It’s a fascinating building; a beautiful palace completely buried under a hill.

... I guess not… Went to a mediocre conference centre (no coffee or informal areas???).

Did get to witness the marvels of the Dynamic Earth show (it has a large block of ice in a room! No really, a large block of ice! Astounding), and drove past the castle in a taxi a couple of times.

.. Doesn’t really count as actually having gone to Edinburgh does it?

... I’ll mark it as “go back”

Well, it was a few years ago… I don’t think I’ll ever go back, as I’ve been told it’s being sold off to foreign investors to be turned into a city. Which makes me rather sad.