ubiq's VirtualTourist Home Page

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Bangkok in the morning at winter 2001 - 400..

The starting image - Bangkok at winter 2001

This is one of the most stunning scene I have ever experienced. Over 300 building projects were abandoned after economical recession 1997 and they are still standing.

I do not know what is the actual point of this capture or why if I have put it to my starting image. Maybe there are mixed feelings with the future metropolis landscape, in my point of view some aesthetic dimensions, the colour palette of the image and practical approach or philosophy of Bangkok that if something fails, do not try to keep it. Naturally in this case, the abandobed building projects are also severe health risk nowadays because mosquitos are breeding in the wet concrete cellars. Anyway, the wakeup at 06 clock in the morning to this scene, it somehow really captured to my mind. Most of the old shcool cyberpunk writers were americans, but Asia is the real continent where the cp inspirations come from.

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Sample from Vittala temple area of Hampi - 400.

For my friends and relatives-my next dest's in VT

Next to add: some notifications and images from Goa, South Goa and Hampi from March 2003.

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nokipannu' coffee cooking in Finland - 400.

Me and myself - shortly

Me myself; I am Kari A. Hintikka, 41-year old usability and conceptual designer and reseacher, living in Helsinki, Finland. I've used the Net since 1989, starting with MUDs and minor hacking and made my living for designing more usable Net since 1990. I have two Siamese cat and Finnish wife.

When traveling, I have three main focus: island hopping, jungle trekking and futuristic cities, but anything other goes also.

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Luxurious kitchen equipment at Sotajoki - 400.

About my accommodation and eating comments in VT

Beach shack and matress or luxury resorts; the basic question is always the same: is this worth of money and *time*?

I am sometimes perhaps too critic with my comments, but on the road, there is no way to compensate wasted time for miserable price/quality ratio. My opinions are based at least two visits, but sometimes only once, and this may have happened just when the staff may has a bad day, like we all have. Just give feedback to me, if it accidentally occurs, that I was not happy on your favourite dining or sleeping place, or the opposite.

I use common 1 - 5 asterisks (1 not so good; 5 excellent). But I pay attention more to ratio of price/quality in local overall offerings than the absolute experience. This means simply, that if there is scarce supply in the area, the rated places will get better grades. And if the supply is plentiful, like in tourist destinations, I am more selective in my VT listings. So, for example hotel Provencale and its tiny restaurant gets splendid recommendation at Sao Tome.

I think that one of the most usable features of the Net id sharing things. VT is almost an ideal domain for travel stuff. I try to take as aesthetic and informative photos as possible, specially for other VTians. However, I had no adequate sense of visual aesthetic and no proper education for capturing images, so sometimes my photos might be poor, sorry. :-)

I use VT travelogues mostly for quick visual overall for destinations. So if you like to get quick highights (in my POV) for the destination I have described, please click the travelogue.

At the moment I have visual travelogue only three destinations - Sao Tome island / state, Changwat Krabi area with limestones and mangrove and Ivalo gold mining att Finland - but I add more of them in the spring / June 2003 in brisk pace, I hope.

Normally I use 150x200 pxl images in my tips and do not bother to click the tip image to popup window. The enlargement will be nearly same.

If there is a selection of images composed into one image - like my accommodation images - please click the enlargement.

However, in entry pages and travelogue image galleries I use 400x300 pxl images, which are better when clicked.

My image policy is just because I am web usability designer and I do not want to load unnecessarily the VT database.

If you like to see more or bigger images from any location, please feel free to email me.