Despite a lot of travels, there is still more that I did NOT see, then that I DID visit. The world is a big place with lots to discover!
3. Myanmar
5. Seoul, South Korea
9. Kiev, Ukraine, and Krakow, Poland.
The 10 highest places on my travel wish list are, in random order:
1. Perito Moreno glacier, Argentina
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| Picture by Hector Garcia. |
I really intended to go to Patagonia to see this glacier then. But Buenos Aires and the tango were holding me back. (Nothing wrong with that, by the way, since I love, love, love both the city and the tango.)
The only trip outside of Buenos Aires that I made, was to Iguazu in the north. A wonderful trip, since the Iguazu Falls turned out to be the most beautiful nature I have ever seen in my life.
As a result, Perito Moreno in the south remained on my wish list. With the melting of the icecaps, I hope I will not be too late, when I finally go there.
2. Hang Nga Crazy House, Thailand
Being a lover of everything quirky, arty and kitsch, the Hang Nga Crazy House appeals to me very much.
I expect it to be in the category of Haw Par Villa in Singapore, Nek Chand’s Rock Garden in Chandigarh, India, and Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers in Los Angeles, USA. I have been lucky enough to visit these three sites and enjoyed them so much!!!
I am sure the Hang Nga Crazy House will do too.
3. Myanmar
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| Picture by Jean-Marie Hullot. |
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is on my list since a long time. The nature, the culture and the people; it all seems interesting and beautiful.
With the recent changes in the regime, the country is changing rapidly. I think it’s best not to wait too much longer before going there.
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| Picture by Taro Taylor. |
For those of you who are curious how life in Burma was before the recent changes, I recommend highly the graphic novel “Burma Chronicles”.
It is quite a thick book, drawn by the husband of a woman who works for a ngo. Beautifully drawn, lots of humor and giving an amazing insight in the daily life there.
4. New Orleans, Philadelphia, Detroit and Portland, USA
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| The famous Carnival from New Orleans. |
These cities speak to me for various reasons.
New Orleans always fascinated me, because of the unique culture, music, cuisine and the carnival.
Obviously Katrina has dramatically changed the city.
The fantastic TV series Treme however, shows an unbroken spirit and still a fascinating city.
Philadelphia appeals to me because it is known for it’s many, many murals, (street) art, musea, the famous Magical Gardens and a good dose of Urban Decay.
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| Curious places in Philadephia. Picture by Curious Expeditions. |
Detroit is one of those abandoned cities in the USA. Where houses can be bought for about nothing. Some smart early adopters have discovered this and are buying up real estate in specific streets and neighborhoods, trying to revive and revamp such area’s.
Maybe there’s nothing much to see in Detroit for a tourist, but I am curious what a city in decline looks like. And it would be cool to photograph Urban Decay!
As one of my favorite Instagrammers does so well: Tony Detroit. Be sure to check him out; his pictures are awesome!
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| Urban Decay in Detroit. Picture by Rick Harris. |
People always say that Portland is like a laidback city full of artists. A city with an alternative, cultural, arty vibe. I tend to fall for places like that. Berlin, in Germany, e.g., is a cool city like that. And Montreal, Canada.
Places I would visit in Portland are: The Grotto, Pearl District and the Portland Art Museum.
5. Seoul, South Korea
I hear a lot of good stuff about Seoul. There is art, old and new culture, and…the tango is supposed to be at a very good level there.
Having done an (online) interview with one of Korea’s most famous tanguera’s, named Peninsula, I only want to go there more! I would love to meet her in person!
6. Japan
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| Mt. Fiji, picture by Hiyougushi. |
Japan…..what’s not to like about Japan….?
It seems completely mysterious to me.
Mount Fiji, pink blossoms, geisha’s, sashimi, Harajuku, computer-steared toilets;-), Tokyo…..I would love to get to see and maybe ‘know’ Japan!
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| Traditional Geisha, picture by George Hackett. |
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| Manga, anime, Kawai, Harajuku… Picture by Brian Jeffery Beggerly. |
7. St Petersburg and Moscow, Russia
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| St Petersburg, picture by Flickrolf. |
Do these two cities need any explanation as to why they are in my top ten? It’s art and culture galore; a must-see, I believe.
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| Moscow, picture by Katie Brady. |
8. Ibiza
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| Picture by F. Prieto. |
Maybe I am overestimating this island. And for sure I am some 30 years too late;-). Back then Ibiza was totally cool and relatively exclusive. Nowadays everybody goes to or has been to Ibiza. Not me though.
And even though I am not a party-animal, I expect the island to be beautiful enough to pay it a visit without going to all the night raves and without using drugs.
And….. I have totally fallen in love with the World Family Ibiza products and with the style and personality of Merel, the dutch founder. A real inspiration! Would love to visit their shop there.
9. Kiev, Ukraine, and Krakow, Poland.
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| Kiev, Ukraine |
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Kiev and Krakow both seem to have a lot of beautiful culture: architecture, churches and so on. Having seen the more known cultural cities like for example Prague, Vienna and Budapest, these two cities are upcoming travel destinations that I would love to discover.
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| Kiev, Ukraine |
10. Taiwan
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| Picture by Rene aka Tiger 808. |
Taiwan is known for it’s nature, it’s food and in particular it’s dumplings, dumplings and dumplings;-).
But there is also a site with some deserted UFO houses. Very intriguing.
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| I would love to see these abandoned UFO houses! Picture by Cypherone. |
Did you visit any of the places from this wish list? Do they deserve their spot there? Which places would you further suggest to me?
Happy traveling!
(Usually I use only my own pictures on my blog. The pictures in this post are not from my hand. I found them through Creative Commons, Free Commons, etcetera. Many thanks to the photographers for allowing others, like myself, to use their pictures for non-commercial purposes!)
Happy traveling!
(Usually I use only my own pictures on my blog. The pictures in this post are not from my hand. I found them through Creative Commons, Free Commons, etcetera. Many thanks to the photographers for allowing others, like myself, to use their pictures for non-commercial purposes!)
Anja, so many places that I would also love to go. Some that I have already visited (those in The USA) and some very quirky, interesting and unusual architecture, like the abandon UFO houses!
Cool that we share the same love for the quirky, Ofelia! What is the quirkiest place you visited?
Good choice, I will definitely have to check out Tony Detroit’s photos too!
Yes, DO! They are often so strong, dark and atmospheric.
I like your list. I’ve only been to three of the places myself and I completely agree with two of them: Japan was my favorite of all the countries where I’ve lived and Myanmar was on of the most interesting I’ve traveled through. That said, now is probably a pretty bad time to visit, since so many people are going and there are nowhere near enough hotel rooms to accommodate them, driving prices way up.
As for the third, Seoul, I lived there for a year and liked the city a lot, but it can be missed. It’s like Tokyo with less character and atmosphere, worse food and more racism.
Aw, that’s too bad then, about Myanmar. Good t know about Seoul, although for me the good and vibrant tango-scene may be enough reason to pay a visit anyways:-).
Anja, thank you for sharing these travel sites. They all look worth the effort of going. I can recommend Ferdinand Cheval’s Palais idéal in France. It is small but very special. Maybe you know it. A good book is Fantasy Worlds, written by Deidi von Schaewen, John Maizels and published by Taschen.
I visited Nek Chand’s Rock Garden this spring and it was wonderfull. Glad to know you did it too.
I hope we all can enjoy your blog for a long time.
Greetings from Belgium.
Alain
Hi Alain, thanks for stopping by on my blog and for your comment. Palais Ideal is definitely on my wishlist since a long time.
And I have the wonderful book Fantasy Worlds! Love it.
Nek Chand’s Rock Garden was the highlight of 6 months in India for me;-).