I bought the book "1000 Places to See Before You Die" a few months ago. After flipping through it, I was disappointed that some cool places were omitted, while some not-so-cool places where included. A lot of the entries in the book were about fancy hotels, which don't really interest me. There is only one hotel that I would want to see before I die, and that's the famous Ice Hotel in Sweden. There is one in Quebec now, but I want to stay at the one in Sweden.The book does create a wanderlust, and I've decided to pencil down a list of places I do want to see before I die. When you travel, you start to realize that the world is a big place and you don't have enough time to see everything. Aside from the Ice Hotel, I would also like to visit the following places:
- The Great Pyramids of Egypt: The pyramids are easily on my list. It's one of the last great wonders of the ancient world. There is an element of danger, as the pyramids are in the middle of nowhere, and I hear stories of bandits and robbers holding up tourists as they wander around the area unprotected. Despite that, I still want to see it.
- The Catacombs of Paris: I missed this during my first visit to Paris. It's a little morbid and mysterious, but I would like to explore the catacombs. I'd probably not want to do hardcore exploring, as people that go really deep into the catacombs sometimes get lost down there... forever!
- Easter Island: This one makes my list with a little hesitation. I've always wanted to see Stonehenge, and was greatly disappointed when I finally saw it. I'm guessing that Easter Island will be the same thing. A bunch of rocks that don't see to look as majestic as they do in the postcards. The problem with Easter Island is that it's in the middle of nowhere, so you have to make a whole trip to see just that.
- Hawaii: Ever since Cancun, I've been putting a lot more tropical destinations on my list. Hawaii is one of those places. Sounds like a nice relaxing place to go and forget your worries. I also hear that there are beaches there with black sand from the lava flows. It would be a perfect addition to my sand collection. Apparently the island gods do not like it when you remove things from the island, so I plan to offer them fair trade in Canadian sand for Hawaiian sand.
- Battle Creek, Michigan: It's called "Cereal City", since Kelloggs and a lot of other cereal companies started up there. It's sort of a pilgrimage that any self-professed cereal junkie should take at some point in their life.
- CDC in Atlanta: When I was in Geneva, I was a big nerd and decided to visit the World Health Organization. It was a long trek as it's not in a touristy area. When I did see it, I could only walk around the front lobby as it's not really a building for the general public. Despite this, I was still very happy I went. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will likely be the same thing. I'm guessing that I probably won't even be able to get into the lobby without a security pass, but I'd still like to see the place even if it's just from the outside.
That's all I can think of for now. I'll add in more when they pop into mind. In the meantime, is there someplace that you really want to see before you die? Let me know what it is. I'll guessing that it's probably not a fancy hotel...
6 comments:
Some might argue that a visit to the Middle East and a violent death go hand in hand.
So, I would like to see parts of the Middle East before I die.
Everyone always says, "I want to see the pyramids" or "I want to go to Hawaii," or "I want to club baby seals and incorporate them into my wardrobe" - or is that last one just me? - but I ask you, in this day and age, why travel?
You have to sell a kidney to afford a plane ticket to Egypt, and when you get there, the locals just might take the other one! "Where am I? And what's with this bathtub full of ice?"
And then there's the constant risk of infection with some strange parasite from some strange animal that you've never even heard of, but that seems to be lurking everywhere! "No, no. Don't go outside at night. You'll get Leischmania." Okay, WHAT?! Yes. Leischmania. Any disease that ends with the word "mania" can't be good, can it? Ever heard of sand flies? They're smaller than mosquitos, and don't make a buzzing noise when they fly, so you'll never see or hear them coming, but if they bite you, you develop giant weeping wounds that pretty much never go away. This disease courtesy of the Middle East.
Malaria, typhoid, leischmania, giardia, you name it; they're everywhere outside of our sterile North American world. "Persistent infectious organisms to be had, five for a dollar! Come one, come all!"
And then there's the locals who have developed an indescribeable hatred of tourists (a somewhat understandable one). Been to Hawaii? Been outside the tourist areas? Been beaten up? Give it time... I remember being offered a ride "to the bank" on a motorcycle by a local. He was missing many teeth. I took this as a bad sign.
There are also those who make their livelihood robbing tourists. Spain, Italy, Greece... Gypsies with small hands and quick fingers everywhere! Want to accept an invitation to "play a little ball"? Take that offer of a "free drink" in a bar? Speak with a woman holding a baby in her arms in a poorly lit room? Good luck! Beating. Mugging. Pickpocketing. That is how these situations have ended for other travellers.
All I can say is, "Thank God I'm not Danish or American!" Forget getting robbed or beaten up, you might just get shot!
The world has become a perilous place for the tourist. Those who travel tend to seclude themselves in the foreign embassies also known as "vacation resorts". Who sees the real country anymore, anyway? It's like travelling 3000 miles to see Michael Eisner's take on the Dominican Republic. "Yes, yes. The locals wear giant mouse costumes and do the luau every night. It's tradition."
So I say, really, what's the point? Especially when there's Google Earth! Have you seen this? Satellite photos of anywhere you might want to see. And you can rotate the view to look from the side! It's crazy! Perhaps one day we'll get the resolution to see that tourist "that could have been you" being gored by a bull or mugged by a local, all in REAL TIME! It's important to dream...
P.S. I still actually do like to travel. Who doesn't enjoy a good bout of projectile vomitting? It reminds me of home... damn you, Mediterranean-2-Go!
P.P.S. Holy crap, this is long. What can I say? It's Friday!
Your missing the Great Barrier Reef. Oh wait, that's where I want to go.
Battle Creek Michigan: You just want to visit RVD.
So travelling abroad and dying a terrible death sound like they go hand in hand. I never believed in that philosophy, because otherwise I'd never go outside. I mean, I went to China when people were warning me about Bird Flu.
In the end, nothing happened and the Peking Duck was delicious. If I had the choice, I'd much rather risk dying in an exotic place than getting hit by a cab driver in my own neighbourhood.
i laughed when i saw that you had included battle creek, michigan up there with the great pyramids, since i'm from right by battle creek. But if you go at the right time..aka..the cereal festival (2nd week in june?) featuring the worlds longest breakfast table & all the free cereal/poptarts/oj you can eat, battle creek can be pretty cool. there was a neat kelloggs cereal city USA museum but it shut down last year due to lack of visitors. sad.
i dream of travelling around the world someday...but i'm not quite sure if can visit the whole place before i die...nevertheless, i hope i can get to see the great and famous ones...
about the book...i came across with it while wandering in one of the bookstores...maybe its because of the fascination of travelling around the world that i got my luck of seeing and handling it...but i never got a copy of it yet...but since you've said that some places are just but fancy places, i might as well have a second thought before buying it as a travel guide...
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