paavo from Jakarta, Indonesia

Chinese food on Temple Street is great. Try "steam boat buffet", a big bowl of spicy broth where you cook your choice of meat and veggies. Great:)

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Pelabuhanratu has a nice beach, great surf but local atmosphere. Make sure to visit the hotsprings. The drive takes no less than 5hrs from Jakarta, no matter what they tell you.

We did not know what to expect when we booked our Cultural hike online at http://africanheart.com/ If there ever was a life changing travel experience, this was it. The hike itself took 3 days and some 60km through rural Tanzania. We had an excellent local Masai guide, who took us to his home and told many fascinating stories about their way of living and culture. We visited many sacred sites, villages and nature sights. This time it was for just the two of us (with guide, interpreter, cook and donkies to carry the supplies), which took some getting used to, but after a while it all felt ok. I would heartly recommend to anyone interested in the traditional ways of living and the people, not just the wildlife and Tanzanian nature parks (which, obviously, are absolutely breath taking)

Rocky inhabited islands where they organize diving trips from towns in Isla Margarita, Venezuela. Cool drift diving spots with potential to see sharks. A lot of soft corals, barracuda and big schools of other fish. Lobsters lurk under every large rock.
Best place to dive near Isla Margarita.

The bikes they rent are in ok condition 'cruisers'. The bike tours start daily at 11am and 4pm in the nearby Plaza Sant Jaume (just show up). Renting a bike costs 15€/day + 10€/extra day (they also rent by the hr).

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Go here to start your night with some nice sandwiches and a bottle - or two - of Cava (3€/bottle...).

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Easily the most stylish restaurant in Helsinki. This elegant place is favored by artists, politicians and the intelligentsia in Helsinki.
The restaurant was founded in 1924. Its interior was designed by world renowned Alvar Aalto.
My personal favorite dish there is Wienershnitzel, which is just about perfect.

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Private marina with visitor places as well. All imaginable facilities for sailors, nice people and a good restaurant (Blue Peter) with hearty food and cold beer.
Can you ask for more?

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Not to be missed. The largest department store in Northern Europe and was listed to the top-ten in the world by NY Times in terms of quality.
Everything from fashion to food & souvenirs. A couple of times a year they organize a sale called 'hullut päivät' (Finnish for 'Crazy Days') with very good offers. You can't really miss it, since they decorate the entire place with tacky yellow plastic ghosts and other crap (www.hullutpaivat.com).

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This is what makes Helsinki so cool:
Lammassaari (Finnish for Lamb Island) is in the city but at the same time 1000 miles away. It's an island, nature preservation area and a popular bird watching spot. You'll need your hiking- or rubber - boots as the only way to get there is by dock boards.
Essential thing to do in Helsinki - in my opinion. Helps you to appreciate our great city much more.

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Excellent recort shop for folk, ethnic and jazz music. Good selection of vinyls and CD's. The owner is a known figure in the collector/music scene in Helsinki and a very nice guy.
Digelius has been in operation since 1971 and going stronger than ever. I heartly recommend, even if you have no intention to buy anything - the atmosphere is one of a kind!

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Camden Jazz cafe is the coolest venue in London. The best of the best in Jazz, R'nB, Soul etc. Went to see Angie Stone there (fantastic).

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North African restaurant. Not cheap but ok value as the food is good and portions generous. The main reason to visit is the atmosphere; it really feels like dining in Marrakech;-)

There's a coctail-bar also and a club in the cellar (hard to get in). Book in advance, as the place is popular.

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Nice no-frills bar with Japanese Kirin Beer on tap (3.40GBP). Also light snacks served. Artsy crowd. Two Floors has been around for quite a while - an achievement for any bar in soho + i heard the place is _really_ packed on weekends.

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Very nice summer restaurant close to Helsinki with lovely atmosphere. They have a good private peer for boats, or you can get there with a public ferry.
Open only on summers.
In the same island (south side) there's also a public grilling site etc.
RECOMMEND!

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Dolphin house serviced appartments are good value. 350eur/night (or much less if you stay long) gets you two bedrooms (w/kings. beds) with separate bathrooms, sitting room and a kitchen. Nice location too near to central London. Might be just the right pick for eg. two couples traveling together.
Dolphin house also has a gym, pool, swimmin center, shampagne bar and a grill.

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Private club for media types, AD people, Internet dude/dudettes, artists and alike. Requires invite, membership or - like in our case - just walking in. Cool bars (club in 1st fl) and restaurant in the 2nd. Recommended if you're working in the business - good place for networking, meal and a coctail.

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There is also a restaurant on top. The views are fantastic, the place - eh - interesting display of Soviet architecture. The place has interesting history related to 1991 Soviet coup attempt, with bullet holes still as evidence.

Nice and rather big park for jogging or for a walk. Lined by nice houses. There are several large ponds on the park.

A Belgian version of a beach resort. The old part is quite nice, with pictoresque old houses. However, most of the beach-front is built during the past fifty years.
The beach itself is rather nice and very big. Gets very, very crowded on a nice weather.

Fascinating church built by the knights templar in 12th century. Was featured in the Da Vinci Code, which makes it a popular attraction nowadays. Nevertheless, a very interesting place to visit.

The so called Stalin's tooth is what you'd expect: brutal display of invading power, the soviets in this case. Totally out of place in central Warsaw.

Arusha houses UN war tribunal on Rwanda ´94 genocide. You can't get in, though, but is of course interesting to see if you are in the city.

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A good alternative to climbing nearby Kilimanjaro. With lower height and similar views its a good option if you only a few days to spare or eg. medical condition prevents you from climbing the Kili.
The trips from Arusha cost around 600€/person and take 2-4 days.

Cool, not so developed beach, on an otherwise boring island of Thassos. Its clean and there is a small bar there as well.

Kerava is a bit of a joke in Finland. "Keravan kundi" or "Keravan kolli" means literally "a guy from Kerava" but refers to a lower educational level individual, usually violent, drunken and with a loud mouth.
Actually its a sleepy little residential town with very few reasons to visit for a tourist. Probably a much nicer town to live in what its reputation might suggest.

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The W-hotels are, in my opinion, overrated. I haven't stayed in this particular one but I've heard that the rooms there are tiny yet expensive.
The lobby-bar is nice - though. In a W-ish cool way.

Not good value for money at all. The rooms I've stayed (3 separate rooms) all had bad air. The more inexpensive ones were actually nicer; junior-suite I stayed in was absolutely of horrible value. The hotel was decorated sometimes in the nineties.
The breakfast sets you back for about USD35 but may be worth it. Includes a fantastic omelette. Other quite positive thing is the fitness-center on the top-floor.

This is The beach for wind-/kite surfing community because of the steady wind around the year.
International crowd, mostly European and Australian/New Zealandian, is very welcoming. Book your hotel in advance since it may get crowded.

Coney Island is a white-trash hangout. Its much more interesting in the nearby Brighton Beach (or: Little Odessa) where the NYC's Russian community resides. There's tons of authentic Russian restaurants etc. in the area.

Funky hotel in the heart of SoHO. Rooftop bar with 360-views to Manhattan.
Restaurant (Kittichai) serves very nice Asian cuisine.
Doesn't come cheap, though. Rates vary from USD 300-600 per night.

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Absolutely the best thai-restaurant in Helsinki. Very good value for money!
Address is: Kolmas Linja 12.

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This rough place houses seamen and offers basic facilities. If you look for cheap yet central accommodation, this might be for you. Don't expect anything fancy though. Nice people run the place:)

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This traditional establishment serves Finnish & French cuisine. Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere cozy (not too fancy). Many people from the nearby Ministry of Foreign Affairs have lunch here.

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This in-expensive hotel in a nice mid-town location offers accommodation for less than 100USD, which is rare. The address is: 300 West 30th Street.
Again, not for your honeymoon, but has nice yet basic rooms and facilities.

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Masai Steppe is the large area where Masai people live in their rural settlings. Guided tours (hiking with a local guide) can be found in Arusha and Moshi; we bought the four-day hike from Arusha (africanheart.com) under name "Cultural Trekking".
I warmly recommend that trip since it gives you a totally different perspective on how the local Masai people live. We hiked the Masai Steppe with donkeys our guide and an interpreter (+ some hang-around folks;)

Otherwise not so interesting place, but we happened to stumble across local night club called The White House. The owner of the place (large lady) was nearly extatic to see a white couple come to her place. Beer was very cheap, as you could guess, and local music was loud. BTW: The name of the town, Mto Wa Mbu, translates Mosquito River, probably because of the Yellow fever trees that are abundant?

Serengeti is the only big enough savanna nature park in the world for migration of the large mammals. The sight of a million wildebeests, hundreds of thousands of zebras and occasional well-fed lions as you drive to the park is absolutely breath-taking. You can rent a hot air balloon for about 500€ for birds eye view. I stayed in a tent under "Do not leave campsite, animal may attack human being" -sign, and was woken up by hyenas fighting outside the tent - only to be silenced by a curious lion wondering by.
Should be interesting to see the migration crossing Grumeti river packed with crocodiles.

There are many shops and boat builders along Veneentekijäntie (engl. boat-builders road) in Lauttasaari. You can find anything from boats of all sizes to crew gear and rigging specialists. Restaurant Blue Peter in HSK marina serves good meals.

Some shops:
http://www.maritim.fi/
http://www.prosailor.fi/
http://www.captainsshop.fi/
http://www.leevene.fi
http://www.nauticarlsson.fi/
Baltic Rigging Oy: +358 9 509 9554

Lighthouse with fascinating history in the WWII and before that.
In the summer, there's a 'hotel' with basic services and sauna with the best view. You can get there with a ferry from Hanko or by boat taxi from eg. Kasnäs; often cannot be conquered with a small boat in absence of decent peer.
This is the southernmost piece of land in Finland. http://www.bengtskar.fi/

Beautiful old fisherman village. On summer they sell smoked fish and local bread. The sauna by the water can be rented. The white chapel is the landmark of the island. Rates for services (electricity, harbour fare) are reasonable.

This is where the everyman goes to have his beer - or two - or make it ten.
The name of the bar comes from the times of economic depression in early nineties when government formed a holding company to buy off commercial banks' then worthless assets in order to save them from bankruptcy.
Quick Finnish: Roska=Garbage, Pankki=Bank.
The name says it all;-)

Design Museum hosts interesting design exhibitions mostly on Finnish design / designers.

This new and big mall right in the center can be worth a visit for mainstream shops. Don't expect anything too special though. The underground bus terminal is pretty cool, as far as bus terminals go;)

Bali Hai is a cosy 50's style restaurant and a bar. Their Finnish menu is nothing too special but can be recommended for decent value. Can get crowded in lunch time and weekends.

Farouge is a decent Libyan restaurant - but as with most place - sadly in here they have risen the prices and cut down on the service after their big success. The original Farouge in Töölö was rocking.

This hetero friendly gay bar / night club is an institution in Helsinki's nightlife. There's a sweaty dance floor in the basement, where they play mostly mainstream dance hits, and a very drunken bar on the street level. Don't go if you can't handle very drunk finns.
Lost & Found stays open until 4am every day. Ques can be quite long after midnight.

Postres lunch menu is reasonably prices (around EUR25) which matches their á la carte list in portion size and quality. The location on Etelä-Esplanadi is excellent. Oh, and they have a Michelin star and they were chosen as the Restaurant of the Year in Finland in 2007.

Average bar but they have an interesting summer terrace on the side-walk with sun beds.

Luotsikatu is the longest strip of Jugend (German for Art Nouveau) style houses in the world. Among its architects are world renowned Eliel Saarinen, Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren, who together designed Luotsikatu 1 (Tallberg house) and 5 (Eol), and Selim A. Lindqvist, who designed Luotsikatu 2 (Aeolus).

Really nice and affordable place. The restaurant is tiny, so make sure to reserve a table in advance.

Annoyingly friendly staff... it's really weird, but they are;-)
However, they do take their Belgian beers seriously, so if you're in need of some quality beers, this might be for you.

Fantastic selection of asian food. Dozens of Different types of crab and shrimps; exotic spices etc. Strongly recommend if you need something different for your dinner guests. The address is: Hämeentie 3

This beautiful 19th Century building houses the best Cafe in Helsinki. Cakes are delicious and the atmosphere is fantastic.
There are lots to do around Tamminiemiemi besides sipping coffee: there's the city art museum next door, former president Kekkonen's museum just around the corner and the beautiful outdoor museum island of Seurasaari nearby.

If you drive to Vegas, try to arrive at night. Breath-taking

Very cool building with beautiful study. Admission is free. There's a very nice cafe (in the summer) up stairs/above the main building.
Virtually no tourists. Even the locals don't no the place exists, let alone that you actually can go there to visit.
Check: http://www.narc.fi/

Lost and Found website

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Karriere Bar website

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Biggest marina in the Mediterrenian sea. Drool the biggest & Most Expensive yachts in the world and booze away the jealous feelings in many nice bars just next to the marina.

This is where many to start the evening in many bars around the square. Antoine's in the center serves arguably the best frits in Belgium (at least the most famous).

Excellent "rough-around-the-edges" type of a place with Finnish cuisine and authentic atmosphere. Crowd is a mixture of locals, artists and academic alcoholists. Baltic herring, meatballs and wieneshnitzel are all sure choices.

Very interesting place if you work in the web industry. I guess it's not trivial to get in if you're not invited, but it still might be worth trying. Just kidding ;-P

The Brighton Beach is very interesting as you can feel the old-times (or: the glory-days of the place). The boardwalk is really cool place for a walk; it takes about an hour in a train from Manhattan to get there.

Really cool small village where it feels like time had stopped some centuries ago. The village is situated on a very steep hill-top. The cable-car ride from Taormina is spectacular; b4 travelling, I suggest you check that it is still there: my trip there was in the mid-80's ;-)

a very interesting, yet quite small nature park on the way from Arusha to Ngorongoro and Serengeti. The great rift wall as a backdrop provides breath-taking views and interesting varying climate: from rain forest to savannah and salt-lake in just few hours on a jeep.
Very versatile fauna with many ehttp://www.tripsay.com/destination/32668#lephants and famous Lions which live on trees. Also interesting bird-life and spectacular views from top of the wall (where Hotel Serena is located).

Fun & relatively large club in two floors. They have good bands playing in the lower floor and a relaxed, yet quite drunken bar-thing on the top. When I visited the place for the first time they had a couple girls who would cut your hair(!) for free(!) on the dance floor. Weird experience having a beer (with hair) & your hair cut while being surrounded by a big dancing crowd.
It usually costs to get in and the lines can get pretty long.
veganaktclub.dk

It's a bit worn out but on the other hand one of those places with "staying power" having managed virtually un-changed for it's 15-or-so yrs of existance. Take the Tom Yam soup which comes with toasted dark bread and butter - not very Thai but esxcellent!

Artists Jeppe Hein and his sister Lærke Hein have created an ultra-cool bar/restaurant which turns into a club on weekends nights. I totally 100% recommend for cool-hunters, artsy types and lovers of French cuisine.
Check the website and make sure to reserve a table, since the place is very popular: http://karrierebar.com/

Crappy but inexpensive hotel. Small rooms resemble C-class cabins on a passenger ferry but can house 4 in their three-storey layout.
Recommend if you're more into sleeping than atmosphere; not a choice for honeymoon;)

Absolutely fantastic bagels, good coffee and organic juice in a part of town where it's nearly impossible to find anything non-sweet for breakfast. Recommend!

Wild nightclub with a very, very dodgy entrance. House music, usually.

Totally silencing monument. Very subtle initially but striking after closer examination.

An interesting island to visit. Locals sell freshly smoked fish in the mornings. Spectacular walk to the southern tip through the rocky lunar-surface. Interesting history is displayed in a small museum on the island.

Very cool island with a perfect nature harbor. The lake has a clear fresh-water lake, you just need to anchor on the west side of the bay. Might get crowded in July, though.

Incredibly beautiful nature surrounded by lakes. Not to be missed.

...update: not the _only_ reason.
Savonlinna also hosts annual opera festivals, in the castle, though. The surrounding lake country is also breath-takingly beautiful. Take a daytrip to punkaharju as well.

Fantastic hike, if you can spare 5-10 days and are physically fit. Most safari operators organize treks from Arusha and Moshi for around 1200USD / person

You can get to Los Roques only by plane from Caracas, Bacelona or Porlamar on Isla Margarita. The ticket should set you back around 80-100USD for a round trip from Caracas.
Flights may be hard to find if there's a national holiday in Venezuela (which are many!)

Los Roques archipelago is like heaven on earth. White pristine beaches, sealife like nowhere else, reasonable prices and very, very relaxed atmosphere. Hardly any European or US tourists.
Go before this place gets spoiled!!

Perhaps the word "party" does not exactly discribe this restaurant. Anyway, it's a restaurant which opened it's doors very recently. It's a sort of Finnish interpretation of German beer-house with authentically clad waitresses and live Finnish/German music to pick up your drinking spirit!

Very responsibly managed diving (*** PADI) outfit with courses and diving trips. Super nice people (tell them I said hi, if you visit:) and ok equipment. The hotel next door (Kendwa Rocks) is cheap and not so bad either.

If you happen to work in telcom/internet/media/advertising/design or in any other industry for that matter, stop by on any friday night after 6pm for a (free) beer and some good company;-)

Club Elf (oosterdokskade 3-5) is difficult to find but definately worth it! Probably the coolest and busiest house-club in town. Check out their schedule @ www.ilove11.nl

Hotel Illboru lodge was located outside the city centre (few km's up-hill towards mt.
Meru). The rooms (in small cottages behind the main building) were very clean and the service very polite and nice. They even had a good sized pool in the back.
The best part, though, is that it is owned and managed by a local family which makes it a good choice if you want to make a contribution to the local community.

Area full of cool bars and night-clubs. If you're visiting Caras for the first time and unsure where to go for drinks, head here as it is easier and safer than most areas. The prices, however, are higher than in most other places in Caracas (not really, really high comparing to EUR/US standards)