Ashwin Rao has his own testimonial of using the Leica M9 as a great travel camera vs a DSLR and many lenses. His main arugment seems to be travelling light. Otherwise though, he does make good arguments for Leica glass/image quality, build quality, etc. You can check it out at Steve Huff Photo. Steve is a great photographer himself and I really like the field reviews he does.
I’ve tested the Leica M9 myself and published a hands-on over at Photography Bay. Shooting with a Leica M9 was quite the experience as it was my first time really using a rangefinder. The build quality is amazing. I hope and aspire to buy one one day. I’ve almost bought the Leica CL many times but I simply can’t justify using film for professional work as everyone these days demands digital. And at around $600 with a nice lens, sure it’s a steal but I can’t afford a toy like that. One day maybe.