Scots Taffer on 5/3/2010 at 06:33
Lately I've been thinking about places I've been, places I want to go, places I couldn't give two shits about, and places where I really want to go but it's infeasible to consider.
The places that I've been which I'd recommend to anyone without hesitation for an experience of one kind or another:
- Italy: anywhere to be honest, but in particular the South and Neapolitan Riviera/Amalfi Coast, for me it obviously holds a lot of dear personal memories but more than that, it's a country rich in history, beauty, culture, treasures and architecture. AND FOOD.
- Remote Mediterranean Islands, again any of them, but I adored the isolation and raw beauty of Kefalonia off Greece which connected with a part of me I didn't know existed.
- Prague (in winter), the bohemian heart of Europe in winter evokes so much medieval majesty in its architecture and culture (books, fireplaces, crafts, simple pleasures such as hot wine and DRIPPING FATTY MEATS by the TRENCHER) that you feel like you're in a George R R Martin novel.
- Paris, the inimitable city, stuffed to the brim with character, trash, cliché, history and charm, you have to be there once to experience it.
- NYC, similar to Paris in being an almost prerequisite cultural experience, but there's more character, trash and cliché while there's less history and charm (on the whole).
- Havana, Cuba: a destitute hole of a country in the grip of a misguided ideology but the cultural heights can be dizzying, their love of rhythm and dance and how they express their religion through it as well as the romanticism that soaks that passions and excesses (it's hard to sit in a cigar-smoke filled room sipping aged Cuban rum as afro-cuban-jazz percussion plays and people dance and touch and mingle without feeling affected).
- Australia: obviously I liked it enough to move here, the sheer variety available continues to impress me on a daily basis: from the lush hinterlands of NSW to the arid flatlands of the bush in Western QLD, to the pristine coastlines and tropical island paradises of the Barrier Reef, from the burgeoning cities (big country towns) of Brisbane to the multicultural metropolis of Melbourne and Sydney, there are mountains, rainforests, deserts, rivers, everything you could ever want and need.
Places that left me cold:
- San Francisco: despite having an amazing time there with some great people, there was little beyond the hills and trams that left an impression - even the bridge, while structurally impressive, left me underwhelmed. The only part that inspired me was a brief taste of Northern California.
- Much of the UK: too much cultural baggage, Oxford was beautiful though and parts of the Highlands.
Places I'm desperate to see:
- Africa: the fucking SAVANNAH, jungle, the wild plains, beasts roaming freely, the primal land of man, I really want to be there and see it and experience it.
- Louisiana, Maine, Alaska, Texas, Vegas, New Mexico, Northern California, Colorado - one day, I shall do an epic road trip of months in scale and find some way to compress all that I want to see into a trip that still allows room to absorb the culture and landscapes of these places in America that fascinate me.
- South America: in particular the locales of ancient culture around the Mayans and Incans which probably half straddles this category and the one below due to the precarious stability of governments in those countries.
Places I probably can't go:
- Antartica: the frozen wilds of the southernest part of the planet, full of nature's beauty, its fickle temperament and its wrath, probably one of the most desolate but achingly beautiful places in the world.
- Egypt and Israel: partly due to where I am now and likely to be for the rest of my life, plus the instability of the region in general means that I'm probably never going to consider this a probable tourist spot.
Places I couldn't give two shits about:
- Much of Middle America: rednecks.
- Most of the Middle East: sand.
- Most of Asia: that may sound incredibly racist but from what I've seen it seems to offer a monotone of natural beauty in the countryside juxtaposed by the simultaneous squalor and sleekness of slum-congested skyscraper cities
- Scandinavia: home of horrible poker players and pagan folk metal and glaciers (okay, I'd like to see the glaciers).
- Far eastern Europe and Russia: repressive cultures, bitter cold, old ladies and vodka.
- The rest of Africa: AIDS/Sooth Effrikans.
What about you, where have you been that you'd like to discuss, where do you dream of going and where will you never go in a million years, and why!
PigLick on 5/3/2010 at 06:42
jesus you are a well travelled bastard. Interestingly enough, one of my top travel choices would be the UK, particularly Scotland, as I have ancestry from there, and pictures of the Scottish lands strike a chord deep within my ancestral memory(or something). I have also heard reports it is a bleak, dreary, wet hole.
PigLick on 5/3/2010 at 06:45
also, definitely a coast to coast road trip of the US. (sorry cant seem to edit my original post)
matt4001 on 5/3/2010 at 07:11
You should try Egypt, Scots. I was there last October, (for my honeymoon no less) and there is no place on earth I have yet seen that gives you a more profound sense of history. We didn't touch Sharm el Sheik, the usual tourist spot; (although if you like scuba diving, apparently there is no better place to do this) we did a week long cruise along the Nile, from Luxor to the Aswan Dam. In the second week we stayed at a (
http://www.longwoodholidays.co.uk/Egypt/Luxor/MaritimJolieVilleLuxorIslandResort.aspx) hotel in Luxor.
Craning your neck to see the top of an Obelisk that was erected over 3500 years ago gives you an innate sense of your place in the grand scheme of things :-)
Fragony on 5/3/2010 at 07:25
Can't mention NYC and Paris without mentioning Amsterdam, there are only a few cities that are sitting on that. NYC has it, Paris has it, Amsterdam has it. NYC has this raw energy, everything is always on the move. Paris is the cultural centre of the world. And Amsterdam has this unmatched peaceful tranquility. These 3 city's are my favorites and you have to visit them at least once.
Tonamel on 5/3/2010 at 07:26
I'm decently well traveled, but it was mostly with a college-organized tour group that didn't leave nearly enough time to actually experience the places we went, which was a bit of a shame. Still, the time I ditched the tour group and ran around Paris was excellent, even if it didn't last long enough.
I've been to New York three times and have still never really seen it. Same for San Francisco, except I've been there four times ((
http://www.gdconf.com/) #5 starts this Sunday)
I've never been to Prague, but I got a similar feeling of living in history when I stayed at a bed & breakfast in Brugge. Old buildings and cobbled streets. Hard to beat the atmosphere.
In terms of natural wonders, I've never been impressed by any of the most famous ones. Niagara Falls was neat for about five minutes. Same for the Grand Canyon. Despite the massive scale of Mount Rushmore, it looks tiny when you're actually there. Waiting around for Old Faithful was more interesting than actually seeing it.
But that's not to say I haven't been impressed by nature. Devil's Tower is stark and amazing. You can see it for miles as you're driving toward it, as there's absolutely nothing else around.
As unimpressed as I was with Rushmore, I absolutely loved the rest of the Black Hills. A lot of that same isolated beauty that Scots found off the coast of Greece.
And if you want to see a canyon that's worth something, go see (
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA_10654_Bryce_Canyon_Luca_Galuzzi_2007.jpg) Bryce Canyon. A thousand times more interesting than the Grand one.
Tokyo was interesting, but I actually enjoyed Kyoto and Ise more. Maybe I'm just not a city person. The ground zero park in Hiroshima is stunningly profound, as they left all the blown-out buildings as the bomb left them, and built a Shinto shrine at the epicenter. The memory of it still leaves me mostly speechless.
I've also been to Walt Disney World fourteen or so times (every other summer for my
entire life). It is shamelessly commercial. Go there and revel in it.
[edit] I went to Amsterdam on one of those aforementioned college-organized trips, and we spent so little time there that I honestly don't remember doing anything other than touring a ceramics manufacturer :(
rachel on 5/3/2010 at 08:28
OK I'm so posting here after work. This space is reserved.
Fragony on 5/3/2010 at 09:32
Quote Posted by Tonamel
[edit] I went to Amsterdam on one of those aforementioned college-organized trips, and we spent so little time there that I honestly don't remember doing anything other than touring a ceramics manufacturer :(
Beats what the only thing is some tourists remember, nothing at all. But to me Amsterdam is one of the few city's (well more like a big village compared to most) that really has a feel of it's own. There is the nightlife of course but it's nothing special, it's a 'day' city, taking a stroll, relaxing in the park, nice and quiet.
Ulukai on 5/3/2010 at 09:53
Recommendations(http://www.zen80200.zen.co.uk/Iceland/3.jpg) Iceland: A spectacular place, but don't make the mistake of thinking you'll hang out in Reykjavik if you want to do anything other than eat or drink well (or visit CCP Games). I was slightly loathe to visit the blue lagoon (a geothermal spa) and dismissed it as the other half's girly fancy, but it was maybe the highlight of my trip. Go and see waterfalls and geysers and glaciers and scenery and ride a monster truck across the tundra. It feels like the moon in places because it's so barren but it's a good trip.
Prague: In winter. Good call Scots. I've no idea who George Martin is but I know that I love this place, the architecture and the atmosphere. Walk to where the largest monument to Stalin used to sit and ponder the juxtaposition of communist high-rises and some of the most beautiful buildings you're ever likely to see. Highlight: A massive shared platter of meat in a vaulted cellar with a Czech folk band and a whole pig crackling in the corner.
Amsterdam: Similar to Prague, in many ways. It has a nice feel to it and there's loads of beer and culture and acrhcitecture to soak up. Not actually full of drunken people on Stag Parties (although I saw one or two). Only got offered drugs twice, but never felt threatened, even down the backstreets at night. The Red Light district has to be seen to be believed. (go at night, but don't go by yourself if you can help it.) Maybe not such a problem for some people, but you can smell weed all over the place and I hate the smell.
New York: I can't sum up my NYC adventure in two sentences. Sunset on Top of the Rock, Fucking breakfast of champions somewhere in a greasy spoon on 2nd Street. Having my muffin applied to the war on terror and subsequently confiscated by an over-zealous security guard on Liberty island. Taking the express train to Harlem. The hustle, the bustle, the good, the bad. Central park in the fog. Loads to see and do, there's a certain buzz about the place I haven't found anywhere else.
New Orleans: I went very briefly pre-Katrina and was amazed by the contrast of old Frenchness and high-rise 20th Century. Jazz bands in the street (good and bad) I guess the vibe of the city I visited no longer exists in anything but name.
Runners up: Lisbon, Crete, Bath, Texas, Scottish Highlands, Austria, Bavaria, much of Switzerland
Places that left me cold:San Francisco: Quite literally, it was fucking freezing. I got attacked by a seagull and it seemed devoid of people. Haight Street was one step away from a two-bit flee market full of beggars and/or hippies. Get a job. My idea of crossing the road was everyone else's idea of jaywalking. Alcatraz was great, though.
Paris: Sorry raph, but last time I went it had an above-average quota of rude people who thought I didn't understand when they spoke about me in French. If you are a pedestrian, you're a target. Hugely unwelcoming.
Dublin: Some nice experiences but left feeling underwhelmed. The Guinness factory was a highlight as was the hotel we stayed in and the Gaol. But other than that, there's not much to do. whilst there's some nice architecture it isn't all that. Met some very entertaining Irish charcaters, mind you.
Places I'm Desperate to SeeCanada: The major cities (west and east coast) and the landscapes just because.
YellowStone: See above.
Boston, New England & Washington: I'd quite like to see the 'old' America. Heard Washington is a bit of a dive, but would like to go if only for the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.
Vietnam and Cambodia: Jungles and Angkor Wat and something completely different that's not India.
Somewhere I can do a Safari: I don't care which African country, as long as it's relatively stable and I don't get involved in small arms fire. Is Kenya ok at the moment?
Japan: Would love to go but I hear it's very hard work if you leave Tokyo without a translator.
Italy: I've been for about an hour after emerging from a swiss tunnel en-route to somwhere else. I've always loved the whole Roman thing and I've love to hire a car and drive around for a week or two.
Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro: I love the look of some of the eastern european cities and countryside, and now they've stopped killing themselves, Dubrovnik is definitely up there.
Australia & New Zealand: Just because I've never been there and I fancy it. And if we like it that much, we've got enough points, too!
Trans-Siberian Railway: Maybe when I retire...
The Moon, Mars & Titan: Definitely after I retire.
Places I couldn't give a shit aboutL.A. & Hollywood - A town that wouldn't know architecture or culture if it hit them in their plastic faces with a spade. Or even see it coming due to the pollution, I imagine.
Also have no desire to visit India, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey. Anywhere where Nascar is popular. Saudi Arabia - I have no desire to be arrested for holding my loved one's hand out of wedlock.
Places I'm going to this yearJamaica and Stockholm \o/
Fragony on 5/3/2010 at 10:08
'Paris: Sorry raph, but last time I went it had an above-average quota of rude people who thought I didn't understand when they spoke about me in French. If you are a pedestrian, you're a target. Hugely unwelcoming.'
Not sure how you do it, I love the Parisians, really feel at home there. Not rude at all, very friendly and helpful, always chatty as well. Just learn a few phrases of French and be in Paris with the Parisians.
edit: I also need to recommend the hidden gem that is Warsaw. Yay for Poland, nice people, beautiful nature, beautiful women that completely ignored me.
The Red Light district has to be seen to be believed. (go at night, but don't go by yourself if you can help it.)
It's perfectly safe, but I would advice against going there anyway, it's depressing when you learn some more about the reality of the place, it shouldn't be supported it's a hell.
