5 comments about Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan.

1. Whether you are interested in travel, anthropology, religion this a charming read for all. Insiteful and skillfuly written. I've given it to five friends and all enjoyed it equally.



2. After reading some of the other reviews for this book, I was hestant to purchase it. But after traveling to Bhutan, a friend highly recommended this book. Zeppa's story is an extraordinarily well-written account of a westerner's time teaching in Bhutan. Her descriptions of the Bhutanese landscape alone are worth the read. There are few books that I read twice, and this will soon be one of them!



3. This is a travel memoir, but it reads as much more of a personal journey. She goes from the western world into an isolated eastern world that is also very poor. She learns and learns, sometimes is very naive, sometimes very wise. Where she ends up was a surprise to me.



4. In Beyond the Sky and the Earth, Jamie Zeppa presents an overall intriguing and insightful account of her experience as a schoolteacher and college lecturer in the remote kingdom of Bhutan. Published more than ten years after the author originally left for Bhutan, the book succeeds in presenting a fascinating view of the author's early experiences in the country. In the first two-thirds of the book, Zeppa's vivid images and careful attention to detail are possible only as she writes sincerely from her heart. One believes that her only motivation is to share her love of the Bhutanese and her gratitude for the privilege of living there and being loved by the children and villagers of Pema Gatshel. The reader feels a part of Zeppa's lovely world.
   
   The reliability of Zeppa's account is bolstered by her consistent address her own imperialist mind. Most of us White people living in the Western world have inherited a perception clouded by a pervasive sense of superiority to other races and cultures. Zeppa is mindful of this fact, and sincere in her efforts to unlearn racism and imperialism. Zeppa wrestles with her desire to perceive the Bhutanese in romantic sentiments, and to impose her values upon them. Zeppa provides an interesting account of her personal despair over the social and political unrest she witnessed in Bhutan, some of which played out among students at her university.
   
   In the final third of the book, however, Zeppa's sincerity begins to waver as the details give way to rushed summaries of particular events. Suddenly a year and a half has passed, and the reader is no longer invited into Zeppa's world. Although one doesn't doubt the veracity of the events reported, the tone of the events and the words spoken savor of emotional editing. The brief paragraphs of conclusion Zeppa offers to tie up her story indicate a difficult relationship with her Bhutanese husband and a host of regrets. One gets the impression that the story of the love affair, which hurriedly takes over the last part of the book, is presented for the benefit of Zeppa's spouse, meant to send some message about "the way it used to be." In any case, the reader is left behind. In the second edition of this book, it is hoped that Zeppa will rewrite the last 80 pages or so, and even (gasp!) go over the 300-page limit to present more fully, and more honestly, the story of the second half of her tour as a lecturer in Bhutan.



5. this book was absolutely amazing from start to finish. i was so fascinated and excited by what she would write next... i looked forward to every page and slowed down towards the end because i never wanted it to end! anyone who didnt like this book is insane!!!

5 comments about China Survival Guide: How to Avoid Travel Troubles and Mortifying Mishaps.

1. I bought this as a gift. It turned out to be a delightfully helpful little guide for the recipients.



2. I just returned from my first trip to China, so this is not a theoretical review of how helpful the Herzberg's book is. I began using their tips from the moment we set foot in the Guilin airport. (It's empowering to know where to find the toilet paper!) We encountered various situations that should have been strange to me, but weren't. Some of my fellow travelers wondered how I knew what I knew. I don't know what guidebooks they had read, but they clearly didn't contain the same down-to-earth, real life info that the "China Survival Guide" does. (The book gets bonus points for being small and for being written in a truly entertaining manner.)



3. I just moved to Shanghai a month ago and bought several books beforehand to familiarize myself with the culture and etiquette. A friend of mine gave me this one as a going away present. I read it on the plane over (cover to cover - it's a short book) and it was the most candid and informative books on China that I've read so far. Larry writes in a story-like format so it keeps your attention and helps you retain the info better. The encyclopedia-like guide books just don't keep me engaged after the first few chapters. His amusing anecdotes help portray Chinese life and accurately describe the people, customs and culture. I would highly recommend this book to anyone visiting or moving to China. I've convinced my family and friends to buy the book to help prepare them for the culture shock when they visit.



4. Larry and Qin Herzberg have managed to create an inexpensive, easy-to-carry but highly informative--and very humorous--guidebook. It seems to me to stand by itself in terms of genre. Derived from many experiences of taking student groups to China, taking his own private trips including some with his wife Qin, and creating an insightful documentary video on China today (a joint project of the two), this little book is full of sound advice for novice travelers/first time tourists and seasoned businessmen alike. One of the most valuable parts is the short introduction to the Chinese language, incuding an appropriate (i.e. ralistically manageable)number of useful Chinese phrases. So before you go to China get ahold of this book; you will not be sorry--I guarantee it!



5. This book is great! It is an easy and very enjoyable read! I recommend it to anyone traveling to China or for pure amusement. I have read many books about china and this has to be the best one yet!!

5 comments about Time Out Guide to Tokyo, 5th Edition.

1. I did a fair amount of research before deciding to purchase this particular guidebook for my week-long trip to Tokyo. I read much of it on the plane ride over, which is when began to see some of its weaknesses. The book could have stood better editing, for one thing. On p. 11, for instance, a passage reads, "Emperors became largely figureheads, manipulated by a series of powerful regents from the dominant Fujiwara family. The invention of the kana syllabary, " etc., and then immediately following "The emperors were largely figureheads, manipulated..."!
   
   The writing, in general, though, is engaging, even if it very much underplays the intrinsic interest of so many sites in Tokyo. As an example, at the Meiji Shrine, "the treasure house...isn't that interesting." About the Meiji Jingu Gyoen garden at the same shrine, "It's neither large nor especially beautiful...." Now that might be just the frank information that a tourist wants, except that it seems to be the general attitude the book holds towards so many sites that I thought were more interesting than my "guide" suggested. I felt that I was traveling with a cranky aunt.
   
   Also, as another reviewer suggested, directions to attractions from subway stops are not always very helpful. Try, for instance, to find the Godzilla statue on the sole basis of the directions the guidebook gives. At least in that case, its lack of clarity gave me an opportunity for an amusing interaction with a shop clerk.
   
   For my part, I didn't like having to flip back and forth from the sections on sightseeing to the separate sections addressing food and lodging. When I am touring around, I like to be able to relate the locations of the good restaurants to the places I am visiting. This isn't easily done with this guidebook.
   
   My criticisms aside, I took this relatively slim volume everywhere with me. The maps aren't terrific, but they they were helpful. The schematics for the rail and subway system were indispensable. The historical context the book provides is concise and illuminating. The resources section at the back could stand some expansion on topics such as buying international phone cards.
   
   This is a good resource for a short trip. It's just that it could have been a better resource.



2. I was on a business trip for the first time to Tokyo and stayed over the weekend to do some sightseeing. Since I only had limited time I found the "Don't Miss Sights" section very useful, did most of what the guide had recommended and was very satisfy with their recommendations.
   
   I found the guide in general very informative on what to do, but don't rely on it to get you there. The major attractions are fairly easy to find but if you are looking for a specific restaurant, bar, club, etc., the map doesn't provide you with enough street detail and the addresses are only in English. My recommendation is to get a map in both Japanese and English to get you around.
   
   Train and Subway are the best way to get around, but the stations can be quite overwhelming. Again, the guide only provides station maps in English. You can purchase a pre-paid card in 1000yen, 5000yen and 10000yen for travel on the subway lines so you don't have to try to figure out how much to pay for each trip (most are between 160yen to 190yen). For JR lines, you will also need to purchase a separate pre-paid card at the station ticket offices. I heard from locals that there will be a common pay-as-you-go card (like Suica) you can purchase for both JR and subway by summer 2007.
   
   I ignored the sarcastic comments from the author since I did not buy the guide to get insight on Japanese culture. But it does make for some interesting reading on the subway/train.



3. Just got back from a trip to Tokyo and this book was great. I bought the Rough Guide to Japan as well as this book, and I was glad to have this book while in Tokyo. It provided tons of info and lots and lots of pictures...I like to have pictures when I travel, it helps me make quick decisions about what I want to see and when.



4. If you are looking for a very comprehensive guidebook on Tokyo, you won't get anything better than Time Out Tokyo. The Time Out guidebooks are almost always very complete with a wide range of activities, restaurant, and recommendations. There is also cultural information in there to help you get a little more acquainted with the cultural differences of the country you are visiting. No matter wat your purpose is for the trip, Time Out Tokyo is definitely a good buy.



5. Time Out has done it again. This is a great city guide, full of useful information. Easy to follow and
   a joy to look at. We are looking forward to taking it with us to Japan. I must say that everything
   that Time Out does is excellent, and I thoroughly recommend their publications to everyone.

5 comments about Korea (Country Guide).

1. This is a decent guide book, but not a great one. Where is the old LP tongue-in-cheek humor that helped make it the guidebook it... was? And how about a cultural tidbit or anecdotal morsel that hasn't been airbrushed, hermetically sealed, and filed under PC. Oh, well. I suppose those days are over.
   
   But seriously now folks, this Lonely Planet Korea will enable you to steer your way through the country's primary cities and chief tourist attractions, and, as usual, the recommended places to stay are well chosen and exactly as described. I used this book on a recent trip to Seoul and Incheon and found it to be entirely adequate and even exceptional in places. Some people I ran into were using (I believe it's called) the Moon Handbook, which looked to be much more comprehensive, especially in terms of non-travel related information. Indeed, it had more than 800 pages as I remember. It all depends on what you want: Korea Lite or Korea Loaded. Either way, enjoy your travels in what must be the dried squid capital of the world.
   
   Troy Parfitt, author



2. I've used Lonely Planets for years. I like some more than others, and there's a few issues I have with the series, but they've always been a useful general guide to my travels.
   
   However this book is a new low and I can't recommend people away from it enough. Literally every single time I tried to follow the advice the book gave, the information ended up being incorrect or outdated or amazingly vague.
   
   A quick example is the Sa Rang Chae guest house in Gyeongju - it didn't give an address, and the phone number didn't work, but the description and location on the map indicated a general area to look. When I got to this general area, the guesthouse was nowhere to be found. I later learned that the guesthouse had moved locations four years ago, and had been e-mailing and mailing LP for several editions, trying to get them to update their information. Similarly, the restaurants and cafes they recommended for that city were nowhere to be found - it was worse than useless.
   
   Their maps are terrible, particularly in Seoul. They generally don't list street names on the map. They also tend to skip a large number of smaller streets - but without names, it's hard to guess if the street was skipped or not. So trying to use an LP map involves an awful lot of guesswork. Korean people were often very kind helping confused tourists such as myself, but they also couldn't understand the maps, because even if the street had names on it, there was no Hangul, only Roman characters.
   
   Addresses were very rarely given. So finding their recommendations boiled down to trying to use a small map with no street names. If using this book, make sure to confirm every single destination with a google search.
   
   The KNTO releases very excellent free travel books, they can either be ordered, viewed on the web (unfortunately it requires Active-X), or picked up at the information booth in the Seoul/Incheon airport - google tour2korea and go to "e-books." That and wikitravel (which is sparse and often vague, but at least generally accurate) is definitely a better option than Lonely Planet. Don't waste any money on this.



3. This book was a very comprehensive and honest guide to the country. It also included a section on North Korea and the possibility of travelling there. I found the information useful in order to decide where to go and the cost of living in Korea.



4. Lonely Planet produces some of the best guidebooks available, so it should come as no surprise that their book on Korea is complete, concise, and interesting.
   
   Pros: This guide book has it all, from Korean phrases and vocabulary, to fun getaways, trails off the beaten path and of course, lots of information on hotels and restaurants.
   
   Cons: Can't think of many, although Seoul needs its own book. (Which Lonely Planet makes, actually!) Also, my copy was slightly out-dated, (2004). Unfortunately, many fast-growing areas have completely changed since the book's first printing.



5. Typical of the Lonely Planet series, this book is full of interesting and necessary information. From sightseeing, to restaurants and accomodation, I found it to be a good help. It also gives a great insight into the history and culture of Korea, with a food chapter and a language chapter included. It's not the bible but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone going to Korea. You should also supplement it with stuff from the net or your local Korean tourist office etc.

5 comments about Bangkok (City Guide).

1. Compared to LP London and LP Paris I read and have been early this year, I'm a bit disppointed with LP Bangkok. Although it has an amazing section on food/noodles, I'm rather disappointed that the book does not clearly direct and describe to readers how to get to the places/famous spots it suggested!!!! Also the book does not include a map on the Bangkok transit system - making public transit commuting difficult!!!



2. Amazon.com says this book will be published on March 2005. But try to go to Lonely Planet's online shop, then you can see that it has been published on Sep. 2004. Next, bn.com says it's been publised on March 2004. I don't know which is right. But I'm sure that this book came out already.
   
   I gave 5 stars, however, because I knows LP is a great series at least.



3. I was fortunate enough to spend a month in Bangkok and bought both the Lonely Planet and the Moon Guides. I generally read both books before I went anywhere, so I can fairly compare them.
   
   The Lonely Planet guide was always worth reading -- it often added something I didn't find in the Moon guide. The highly detailed map in the back of the book was also quite worthwhile. However, if I had to have just one book, it would have been the Moon guide by Carl Parkes.
   
   Carl's explanations always seemed a little bit richer, and a little bit more in touch. His introduction to the Thai language left me much better equipped to try my hand, and his culture and language sections also stood out. The overall impression, true or not, is that Carl has a deeper understanding and familiarlity with the Thais and Bangkok than Joe. But to be fair, I was happy with both books, and happier still that I had brought both with me.
   
   Its too bad that the Moon guide is harder to find than Lonely Planet's .... but I definitely recommend it.



4. As a frequent visitor to Thailand I recently used this latest guide for Bangkok from Joe Cummings (plus his assistants) and found it to be more than adequate. If anything, I would personally like more hotel recommendations for each area of this city, those one could call "a find". I found some on my own by walking the area I stayed in and moved to one of them as Joe was too kind in the description of hotel I first stayed in.
   
   Be sure to call about open times for restaurants as two I went to were closed earlier than was given in the guide (no fault of Joe's I'm sure).



5. I took this book everywhere I went. It gives you a great perspective on the things you will find, things to look out for, and a great guide on how to get to the places you want to go.
   
   I went on business to Bangkok, and during the 3 days that I had to go around, this book helped me find those things that mattered most.
   
   I think it is a great read for anyone who is planning to go to amazing Bangkok and it is a must when travelling around in the city. Lonely Planet books are seriously great!

5 comments about Thailand (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. There are detailed graphics, maps, and explanations of cultural issues not found in other guide books. However, they exclude major attractions and maps and attractions can be severely inaccurate. It's good for preparing a trip, but it's too heavy and not helpful enough to bring with you.



2. This is a great book with beautiful pictures, maps and nice glossy color pages. The only problem being that it is out of date! Having said that, I would not recommend it for your guide book if travelling to Thailand. Wait for an updated issue.
   I am well travelled in Thailand and some of the descriptions in the book make me feel like I was travelling in Thailand 20 years ago! Hope this helps...



3. I found Eyewitness Travel Guide for Thailand very informative, and easy to read. It had tons of pictures, facts, FYIs, and did I mention pictures? Like Eyewitness I agree that a picture is worth a thousand words. I also bought Lonely Planet's Travel Guide for Thailand, but liked Eyewitness' much better. Lonely Planet's Travel Guide had a more standard layout for the abundant amount of facts, but was limited on the pictures. The phrase at the bottom of Eyewitness' book holds true, "The Guides That Show You What Others Only Tell You."



4. This is a good quality book, something you could open and open again.
   Highly recommended!



5. Love these Eyewitness Guides and received the item in perfect condition, just in time for the weekend, a fire in the fireplace, a warm blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, and away I went to Thailand! Thanks for making an Ohio winter almost bearable!

5 comments about Japanese: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. I bought this on my first flight back from Japan after taking my first semester in Japanese. I thought that it supplied a ton of useful auxillary vocabulary to run with at the level of grammar I was capable of using. The book also has many slight mistakes, even I, a first year student, was able to pick out. It's got a few cute but dumb, potentially racist but we'll say ignorant drawings included. But so few that it cues one in as to how cheaply produced this probably was. I give it three stars though because I learned it forward and backward and broke it out numerous times to meet my needs in bars and train stations (never in restaurants for some reasons). And, to get me comic leverage in many conversations where I was not privy to the Japanese side of the chatter.



2. I found this very easy to understand, as did my husband who had no prior knowledge of the Japanese language. I read it many times before our trip, in order to remember important basic words.
   We referred to it many times during our trip, and it was very usefull. I would suggest everyone purchase it.
   Its small size is also great, easy to put in a pocket, backpack or handbag.



3. I feel this book is not only usefull for comunication with other people during my travel but also very well prepare to be user friendly. It was exellent in my trip to Japan have it with me.



4. Just like I said. The first part of this phrasebook helps you understand grammar, small phrases, and many words, but after that it just tells you a lot of the things like sentences and more questions and answers.
   
   I recommend this if you are travelling, but if you are just trying to learn the language, I would not recommend it because it's hard to remember all of the questions, answers, and phrases it contains from about the 1/4 to the end of the book.
   
   But it was really good in explaining grammar, pronouns, and many other things. So buy it if you want.



5. This book was invaluable to us in Japan. The size made it easy to carry around and it had all of the basic words and phrases that we needed to communicate. (We did supplement with a English-Japanese dictionary for some words, so that's why I've given it 4 stars instead of 5.)
   
   The English was spelled out to make it easier to pronounce the Japanese words. In cases when I butchered the pronounciation and was not understood, I could show the book to someone who would read the Kanji symbols to see what I was trying to say.
   
   The book was organized in a way that made it easy to find the phrase you were looking for. I bookmarked frequently used pages so I could access them even quicker. This was definitely a great reference for traveling to Japan.

3 comments about Vietnam Cambodia Laos & the Greater Mekong (Multi Country Guide).

1. I am not a big fan of Lonely Planet guidebooks as I find they are really lacking in detail but this was the newest guidebook on the region I was visiting so I purchased it. It was decent but definitely lacking. Hopefully one of the other guidebooks will print a new edition for the Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos countries.



2. Lonely Planet has really cornered the guidebooks market but in this case, I feel it's not deserved. I just got back from a trip to Vietnam (a destination I settled on after reading the book and gauging the amount of time I had) and all the information in there was outdated and inaccurate. I also had Rough Guides a friend gave me last minute and I much preferred it. The print says it was last updated a year or 2 ago and I understand that's the nature of the beast but it was still disappointing.



3. Don't purchase this book...if you do, you're essentially throwing fifteen bucks (US) out the window.
   
   I spent six weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam, and deep-sixed this book when, for one city, "OUR PICK" for hotels was a place costing $200 per night.
   
   I can overlook the faggoty carbon-neutral ethos of the LP franchise, which permeates every one of their guide-books--let's face it, that encompasses a healthy percentage of backpackers who buy these books--but TWO-HUNDRED BUCKS PER NIGHT?!
   
   Save that for Fodor's or Frommer's. Why the hell is any LP book even LISTING a place that wants $200 a night...especially in CAMBODIA?
   
   On the island of Koh Rung Samloen off Sihanoukville, Cambodia, I mentioned to the English owner of the Lazy Beach Resort that I had this edition on me. He expressed a desire to see it, and spent an hour laughing at the entries for Sihanoukville.
   
   The LP writer apparently came to Sihanoukville and spent THREE HOURS talking to ONE guy, asking about the hotels, getting recommendations, and so forth.
   
   Some of that information is flat-out erroneous, such as calling the manager of the Oasis bar "professional," when he is, in fact, nothing of the sort. Some of the hotels have been sold, or are under new management, (things are very transitory in Sihanoukville), or are nothing like what they've been described as.
   
   (The Lazy Beach Resort is not listed in this edition, but it is the best place to spend any--ANY--time in the Sihanoukville environs.)
   
   This book was equally useless when it came to Vietnam. I encountered an American fellow at the Bavet border-crossing who told me he'd "jettisoned [this edition] a long time ago."
   
   The Lonely Planet has led me astray before, viz. their Bolivia book, which recommended an unsafe hotel in La Paz, and completely screwed up the map of Sucre, but this book was the inflection point that made me re-evaluate whether they are the best option for independent travelers.
   
   As the owner of the Lazy Beach Resort said, the LP's main utility is the city maps (excepting, of course, Sucre), but their listings are simply one guy's opinion or outright hearsay...and not always accurate when you show up tired and dirty late at night.
   
   I'll still use the LP for future trips, but as one tool among many, not as a Bible.
   
   (The best travel resource for Cambodia--by far--is the Canby website...I used the LP 2005 edition for Vietnam and found it only adequate, relying more on Wikitravel and other travelers' apercus.)

5 comments about India (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. I have waited for over a month for this book and it never arrived! Of course my credit card was charged! Needless to say, I am very disappointed and will think twice before buying again!



2. The book "Eyewitness Travel Guide" to India was much more than I expected.
   Such beautiful colorful pictures and laid out in a very easy way of finding the material that interests you. The only drawback was the weight of it....so packed full of info. Thought I would take it with me on the trip, but my backpack would be quite heavy. However, have enjoyed reading about the country ahead of time and making notations.



3. This is a nice comprehensive travel guide for India with great graphics and suggestions. The only negative would be that it's a little heavy for carrying while on travel. The best use of this guide is probably for reading and note-taking at home prior to travel.



4. I bought this book to start planning a trip to India that should happen in 2009 sometime. I love these books! The pictures are beautiful and the facts and information help in planning places that I need to see when I get there. I purchased my first Eyewitness Travels guides when I went to Poland two years ago, and will only use this series when planning future trips! They are wonderful!



5. This is a nice book for getting an overview of India and picking out things you might want to do there, which is no small task in a country so large. It's more extensively illustrated than any other India guide I've seen. However, having been to India, I wouldn't want to use this book for the actual trip. It doesn't contain nearly enough detailed information about transportation, lodgings, and places to sleep, and its maps are pretty much useless. For actual travel I recommend the Lonely Planet guides, of which there are several for different parts of India.

1 comments about Frommer's Vietnam: Including Angkor Wat (Frommer's Complete).

1. I used this book while in Vietnam in August 2006. It was very helpful in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Cannot comment on it's usefulness in other cities.