No, I haven’t been everywhere… and some places I don’t go to because I’m a conscientious objector (Zimbabwe and Uganda, anyone?)… but I can still dream. And plan. Because dictators, xenophobia, and me being broke wont last forever! Besides – what better way to spend a slow, freezing Saturday than to dream about unending travel possibilities? That, and I think there’s something really good about writing down your dreams. It makes them come true faster. I swear. And so, I present to you my dream list of places to go (and why).
1. Mongolia (above): there is just something so poetically lonely in this landscape… It sounds lame to say, but it calls to me. And I’ve always wanted to see the famous wild horse races…
2. The Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo: Ok, fine – Tokyo too. And Kyoto. But, as I’ve mentioned before, I cant scuba dive… and I have a thing for fish markets. And this one is supposed to be the best in the world. Besides, who doesn’t love Toro right out of the ocean at 3 am?
yummy
3. The Northern Lights: Despite my fear of the (extreme) cold, I am willing to travel to Iceland, Alaska, or Norway to see this phenomenon. Because, LOOK AT THIS!
4. Sudan: Not just because I’m obsessed with the Dinka corset (one day, I will own one, I swear!). The Nubian pyramids and the ancient Kingdom of Kush have always been fascinating to me.
Dinka corset! Photo courtesy of the ENOUGH project
5. Ethiopia: I mean, come on – the Ark of the Covenant is supposed to be buried here!!! The King of Solomon supposedly gave it to the Queen of Sheba and it’s buried in one of these churches:
Cut into the ground! Photo courtesy of hesterr
6. The Pygmy Tribes of Cameroon: Because THERE ARE PYGMY TRIBES IN CAMEROON!!
7. Burma (Myanmar): Ever since Sallie Ann Glassman told me in a past life I was a Buddhist nun in Burma I’ve been fascinated. That, and now that Than Swe and the military junta are no longer in charge, I feel like I should go support. Because what sounds more enticing than “the country has just opened up”…?
Sunset over Bagan. Photo courtesy of jmhullot
8. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: It’s like an extreme version of the Atacama Desert in Chile, which was like walking around on Mars and the moon. I will have to score some more coca leaves before I attempt that trek.
The Salt Lake. Photo courtesy of Ronan Crowley
9. The Dwarf Village, Kunming, China: The little people of China got sick of being bullied so they built their own village. It looks like a weird Disney/Epcot version of what tall people think little people should live in. Bonus: there are two shows a day – and everyone knows, I love a show.
The Dwarf Park. Photo courtesy of Remko Tanis
10. Chernobyl: Im fascinated… What happens when people leave and nature (in this case three headed squirrels) take over.
Abandoned amusement park. Photo courtesy of Giles Thomas.
and two more for good measure –
11. Libya:
The Roman ruins of Leptis Magna. Photo courtesy of Bob Rayner.
12. And Afghanistan: I’ve always wanted to travel the Silk Road and became even more obsessed after reading Rory Stewart’s book, “The Places In Between” – which follows “Stewart’s trek through Afghanistan in the footsteps of the 15th-century emperor Babur… grounded by his knowledge of local history, politics and dialects. His prose is lean and unsentimental: whether pushing through chest-high snow in the mountains of Hazarajat or through villages still under de facto Taliban control, his descriptions offer a cool assessment of a landscape and a people eviscerated by war, forgotten by time and isolated by geography.”
Ghor Province in NW Afghanistan. Photo: James Gordon..
So – what’s on your list?
Been to Chernobyl…..it’s next level disturbing. Years later the effects are fully evident in mutant everything…..plants, animals, humans. It’s fascinating but beyond depressing.
i think i would feel the same way… but i also feel like seeing something like that is necessary…. becasue we often forget what we do to the planet – cause and effect..
I want to go to the desert monastery in Syria called Mar Musa (read about it in Stephanie Saldana’s Bread of Angels and it really captured my imagination!) … And really want to go to Istanbul. And to Saint Petersburg. And to Alaska.
oh yes – i agree. Have been to istanbul and it is… amazing. I could have spent a week at Top Kapi. I think I had a religious experience! Ditto fro Syria, St. Petersburg (Russia, not Fla)… and alaska.
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If you end up at Tsukiji, you should research the restaurant you plan to go to. I’ve lived in Tokyo for about 6 months, and the worst sushi I have had here was actually at a place there. It was also my most expensive sushi meal in Tokyo. I definitely just went to the wrong place there though. I know others who have been extremely impressed there, so I recommend doing a little research before jumping the gun and assuming they’re all good, like I did.
thank you! any one i should try that you reccomend?
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