Continues from part I.

The middle of the 3 Gorges of the Yangtze River, Qutang Gorge.

Shennong Stream off Yangtze River. Before the construction of the 3 Gorges Dam, the river was so difficult to sail that to go upstream you needed to be pulled along by trackers. Clothing optional.

Behold the 3 Gorges Dam.

Another view of the 3 Gorges Dam

The hotel in Yichang was nice. The city itself was not that interesting. They seemed to have ads for a local corn-based liquor everywhere.

Pudong panorama from the Bund.

Pudong at dusk.

Skyscrapers in the Shanghainese night

Trying to get out of the vantage point of the previous picture at the Oriental Pearl TV tower. This is why we were surprised by the lack of courteousness in Chinese crowds: people would run, push and shove as much as possible in a situation that was potentially very dangerous.

Tea House at the Yuyuan gardens. The bridge is built in zigzag as bad spirits can't turn corners.

The area around the Yuyuan gardens is full of shops and built in traditional Chinese style.

Chinese painting at Shanghai museum. Probably the best museum in China, the ceramic, jade, copper and painting collections are worth the visit.

Mexican pavillion at the World Expo: Replica of the Bell of Independence from the church of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.

The Mexican pavillion had an introduction to Mexican art & history, but my favourites where these masks where you could see different parts of Mexico through the eyes of someone living there.

The Finnish pavillion had an overview of Finnish design, and while there was not a lot of food on offer there was a big space for Nokia

The Belgian pavillion focused more than anything on science and technology (and beer and chocolate, sure). They had a video that Frank de Winne, Belgian ESA astronaut, recorded from space for the Expo.

Many pavillions remained unseen, even if we spent there the whole day.

The former French concession at Xintiandi was a nice stop. After two weeks, we were starting to miss certain European comforts like street cafés, sandwiches or good beer.

Even during the night it was very hot, up to 30°C.

Ready to fly back from Beijing. One of the decisive factors that convinced us to go to China was that it is only a 8 hour direct flight with Finnair.

We spent 2 weeks in July in China.  Our route took us to Beijing where we stayed a few days, then we took an overnight train to Chongqing from where we boarded a ferry through the Yangtze River and the 3 Gorges to Yichang.  After sleeping there the night we took another train to Shanghai, where we stayed 4 days before returning back to Finland via Beijing.  It was quite a route as you can appreciate in the map below (we spent 60 hours in trains).

View Larger Map

It was very interesting as an experience, the sights are amazing, generally very safe, the people are usually kind and I thoroughly enjoyed the food.  However, we were more than once assaulted by culture shock.  China is not renowned for being one of the cleanest places on earth and the crowds, while expected, are not nearly as polite as in Japan or even Mexico.  However, as usual, the story is better told in pictures and videos (the rest are found in my Flickr stream as before).

Tiananmen square in the rain

Who comes up with these names?

Temple of Heaven

This little Emperor was ready to take off his picture-perfect disguise.

Inside the Forbidden City

It was extremely foggy when we visited the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu. Somehow doesn't surprise me as I had the same luck at the Cristo de Corcovado.

Another view of the foggy Great Wall of China

Imagine my surprise when we went to a restaurant specialising in Peking duck and found out it's eaten almost like a taco.

In East Asia their maps are different. Deal with it

The standard "soft sleeper" cabins in Chinese trains are quite good. Pity the toilets are an absolute disaster, even in the newest trains. In fact, not only in trains, but pretty much everywhere. Maybe the government should start a nationwide "Be dignified, learn to use a loo" campaign?

Chongqing panorama at night

The Lord of Hell in Fengdu, the ghost city.

Continues in part II

Spent some time in Turkey for work. It was quite a quick visit, but was still able to see more than just Istanbul this time. The rest of the pictures are here.

Turkish flag in Taksim square, Istanbul.

Monument to the war dead in Taksim square, Istanbul.

Visited Ankara for the first time. While I couldn't see much of the city, the approach from the airport really showed the rolling plains of Anatolia.

Mosque at dusk in Istanbul.

Night at the Golden Horn.

After being asked a couple of times what is there to see in Helsinki, I decided to write this guide using a previous post about Brussels for guidance.

Helsinki, at the northeastern corner of the continent, can be easily missed when touring Europe.  While it is not the largest, nor the most cosmopolitan city of the Nordic countries, it definitely holds its own with a very interesting position and history between Western Europe and Russia.  It is a medium-sized city between the forests and the seas with very marked seasonal changes. The majority language is Finnish, Swedish is spoken by a minority and almost everybody has a working knowledge of English.  Other languages such as French, German, Spanish or Russian might not be as widely understood, but you might get lucky.

When to arrive?
Plan well according to the weather.  Helsinki is 60 °N (as far north as Alaska) even if the climate is milder, so if you want to see snow you might get lucky in January-February, whereas June-July will be the highest part of summer.

How to arrive?

• By plane to Helsinki-Vantaa airport, one of the best in the world and an important hub between Europe and Asia.
• By train to the Central Railway station from other parts of Finland and Russia.
• By bus (e.g. Matkahuolto)
• By ferry or cruise to the Port of Helsinki from Germany, Sweden, Russia or the Baltic States (e.g. Tallink, Silja Line, Viking Line).

From the airport to the city
Quite easy. Local route 615 takes you from the airport to downtown (4 EUR), while Finnair also runs a bus service (5.90 EUR).  A taxi ride to downtown will be approximately 30 EUR.

Transport within the city
Helsinki has one and a half  metro lines, buses, trains & trams. I would recommend buying a 1-7 day travel card or if you plan to visit a lot of museums and sights, a Helsinki card which has those included.

• Don’t try to take the public transport without a ticket. Even though It is possible, the fines are quite steep.
• There are only night buses during weekends, so I recommend staying at a hotel within walking distance of downtown.

Accomodation
If you’re on a budget, check the hostels from the Finnish Hostel Organization. Otherwise, budget hotels like Omenahotelli are a safe bet.  If you’ve got more leeway, international chains like Radisson, Holiday Inn and Finland’s very own Sokos Hotels have some very good locations in town.

Basic tourist information
Preparing yourself

• Printable Map of central Helsinki.
• Map of the tram line system (useful for downtown)

What to see?
Basics

• The Lutheran Cathedral and Senate Square (Tuomiokirkko & Senaatintori)
• Market Square (Kauppatori)
• Esplanadi park
• Suomenlinna, The Gibraltar of the North.  An island 20 minutes away from the Market square with an imposing fortress.
• The Church in the Rock (Temppeliaukion kirkko). How do you carve a church out of solid granite?

Further away

• Seurasaari open air museum, see how Finns used to live in centuries past.
• Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Russian Orthodox church in Western Europe.
• Kiasma Museum of Contemporary art.  Location is centric, but it’s not for everybody.
• National History Museum.  From Fenni to Vikings, to Swedes to Russians to Independence.
• Sibelius Monument. An interesting piece of art that doubles as a wind organ.
• Finlandia Hall: One of the most famous buildings by designer and architect Alvar Aalto.

Within 3 hours of the city centre

• Nuuksio national park in Espoo, 45 minutes from downtown.
• The wooden town of Porvoo, 1 hour from downtown.
• The old town of Turku with its castle and cathedral.

Where to eat, drink & shop in Helsinki?
Eat

• Finnish food haunts like Konstan Möljä (Hietalahdenkatu 14), Manala (Dagmarinkatu 2), Kosmos (Kalevankatu 3) or Zetor (Mannerheimintie 3-5) are usually a good idea for an introduction to the salmon, herring, reindeer, potatoes and dill that make the basis of traditional Finnish cuisine (around 20 EUR for a meal).
• Saaga (Bulevardi 35) seems to be the best Lappish restaurant in town, even if it’s a little bit kitsch and prices are somewhat steep (50 EUR for a full meal).
• Before the fall of the Soviet Union, Helsinki was renowned for having better Russian restaurants than Moscow or St. Petersburg.  Favourites are Saslik (Neitsytpolku 12), Kasakka (Meritullinkatu 13) or Bellevue (Rahapajankatu 3) (meals between 30-70 EUR).
• If what you want is good international cuisine and budget is not an issue, places like Postres (Eteläesplanadi 8), Luomo (Vironkatu and Olo (Kasarmikatu 44)are quite nice.

Drink

• If you’re a teetotaller, you’ll be happy to discover that Finns drink plenty of berry juices.
• In case you’re not, you’ll be happy to discover that Finns drink. A lot.   Especially recommended are Finlandia and Koskenkorva vodkas (or at least, that’s what my friends who drink vodka say).  Finnish beers (especially the famous Lapin Kulta) are not particularly great but drinkable.  My personal favourite is Sandels.  There is also berry-based liquors and interesting concoctions (and national institutions) such as salmiakkikossu or fissu for the more adventurous.
• As for the bars themselves, I like Belge for its assortment of Belgian beers and relaxed atmosphere, Praha for its music selection and Nolla for the company.  Some people I know prefer Teatteri for its yuppie atmosphere, though . There is also plenty of bars along Iso Roobertinkatu (Iso Roba) for those with interest in a long night out.

Shop

• Stockmann department store is the largest in Finland, and its souvenir selection is usually both good and with taste.  Sokos is another department store in town.
• Souvenirs are also available at the Market Square for those so inclined.
• While not cheap, fans of Nordic design should definitely check the shops in Design District Helsinki in the area bordered by Uudenmaankatu, Iso Roobertinkatu and Erottajankatu.
• Kämp Galleria, one of the fanciest shopping malls in Finland, is right in the middle of the city and has Marimekko, Iittala and Moomin shops.
• Other malls in central Helsinki include Forum and Kamppi.

Important to know

• Tipping is not needed.
• Kaisaniemi park is best avoided at night, even if during the day is pretty OK.
• Summer is high season for pickpockets.  We seem to import them from neighbouring countries.
• During winter the sidewalks can be very icy.  Sounds like a joke until you break an arm or ankle.

References

• Wikitravel
• Wikipedia
• Helsinki Expert

You can also check my pictures about Helsinki in Flickr.

As many have experienced this past week, I don’t think that it would be as rosy as Mr. Alain de Botton remarks. Our world is humongously interconnected as you can see in the TED talk below (from TEDx Volcano, an impromptu event created by speakers stranded in London due to the recent contingency).

Severing links, however temporarily, is extremely painful in both personal and economic terms. You can ask the 7 million stranded passengers for their opinions if you think otherwise.  Many of them have been using social media tools to somehow cope with the situation, as Teemu Arina explains.

The past few days have looked quite a bit like a teaser of what a world without oil would be.  Hopefully it serves as a wake-up call to us all.

We were lucky enough to have spent a couple of days of the Easter weekend in Riga, capital of Latvia.  The city has a great collection of Jugendstil (German Art Noveau) buildings from the 1930′s and it was very nice to walk in its cobbled streets, even if the weather was not much better than Finland.  It was very interesting to see how much investment has come from the Nordic countries, with a large amount of Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian companies present in the country and a partly-renovated airport that looks decidedly similar to those of Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm & Helsinki with its use of wood, glass and iron.

The country has a long history of foreign occupations from Germany, Sweden and Russia, so a visit to its museums is definitely recommended to get some background information on the way the country came to be what it is.  Furthermore, it currently tries to recover from the after-effects of the global financial crisis, when it’s economy pretty much collapsed.  Not surprisingly, travelling here is relatively cheap, but due to inflation consumer prices are almost at Scandinavian levels.

The break was very welcome indeed and I’m happy to have crossed out the last of the Baltic countries I was missing.

The House of Blackheads with the statue of Roland, one of the main hallmarks of the city.

St. George, a detail of the House of Blackheads

The Monument to Freedom. Latvians renew the flower offerings every day.

The country has a sizable Russian-speaking minority, so foreign TV programmes are dubbed in Latvian and subtitled in Russian.

Soldiers at Riga Castle

Panorama of Riga and the Daugava river

Small channel in the old city.

Promises of eternal love.

Riga skyline.

Spent a few days in Turkey for work so didn’t have that much time to visit the city.  I was able to take a couple of good shots, though.

The basketball World Championships will take place there in the summer

The Bosphorus and Ortaköy by day

Same spot by night

It's steamy in the kitchen when they prepare köfte

Was in a lightning business trip to Geneva.  Nice little city with quite a big airport (obvious if you think of the amount of international organisations there.  The few pictures I was able to take are here.

Even if it is geographically and culturally quite close to Helsinki, visiting Stockholm is always an interesting experience.  The city is much more cosmopolitan, people are generally more fashionable, and the riksvensk accent sounds quite peculiar to somebody used to the way Swedish is spoken across the Baltic.  Always a pleasure to visit, especially now that there is a good Mexican taquería very close to downtown (they even sell corn tortillas!).

2000 km southeast and 30°C warmer than the previous location: Main square of Mérida, Yucatán.

Sunset over the pool in Celestún, Yucatán.

The only not so nice detail was when on meeting some people I hadn’t seen in a long time I realised that the crab mentality seems to be alive and well in certain sectors of society. Shame, but hey, what can you do. Overall it was great and I cannot wait to be back again, if only for holidays.