10 Places that you want to see before you die!

Rob_The_Pom

Hi all!

I've been away for a few weeks - strolling around China (Boy, I feel a lucky old Pom). It was truly fantastic.
Now, here's the point - the earlier post about the 10 places in the world to see before you 'go the way of the dinosaurs', made me think. I think we should all make our own lists. I suspect that many Indiamikers have already seen a fabulous array of places, but the world is endless.
So, here are the ten places I would like to see before I 'shuffle off this mortal coil'.

1. K2 and the Karakoram Highway
2. Machu Pichu
3. Yoseimite National Park
4. Wonder Lake, Mt McKinley and the Aurora Borealis, Alaska
5. The Potala Palace & Tibet
6. The Torres Del Pine, Chile
7. Esfehan, Iran
8. St Petersburg
9. Bhutan
10. The Pyramids
(And I could go on and on!)

Also, how about a list of the 10 places you'd recommend to others to see before they 'buy the farm'. (That you have already seen). (Time for us all to be travel show-offs).
Here's mine...

1. Ulhuru, Kata Tjuka NP, Australia
2. The Great Wall of China
3. Mughal India (Taj Mahal, Humayoun's tomb, etc).
4. Nanda Devi
5. Prague
6. London
7. The A Bomb Dome, Hiroshima
8. The view from Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
9. Sydney Harbour
10. Mt Fuji in winter

So, I'd love to hear everybody else's ideas!!!

Cheers all

RTP

__________________
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skell

I just got back from China too! It was fantastic and the weather was great - very comfortable. And, I was able to eliminate The Great Wall from my list of things to see (and climb). And for anyone who hasn't been, don't miss Xian's Terra Cotta Warriors or the beauty of Guilin, Yangshuo and the Li River.

So now my list is:
1. India (going in Nov.)
2. Egypt
3. Tibet
5. Africa (but I don't know where to start)
6. Peru
7. Mongolia
8. Morroco
9. The Amazon and Manaus (I lived in Brazil for 3 years, but never got to the Amazon)
10. Cambodia and Vietnam

Recommended:
1. Brazil
2. Thailand
3. Mexico (I love Mexico and it's close - favorites include Oaxaca. the Yucatan Peninsula, Copper Canyon, and any beach)
4. Iran, especially Persepolis and Isfahan (I lived there as a child)
5. Yosemite (I go several time a year)
6. Yellowstone
7. Grand Canyon
8. Zion and Bryce National Parks in Utah
9. Death Valley
10. Hawaii - especially Kauai and the Big Island.

indiadreamn

Alright, my list would have to go something like this:

1. India (obvious)
2. Japan - specifically Kyoto
3. China
4. Machu Pichu
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Petra, Jordan
7. Great Barrier Reef
8. St. Petersberg
9. Florence once more
and finally.....
10. Antartica

Its hard to pick just 10!

maree

OK... I'll bite... (this could take a while)

Where I want to go: (in no particular order)
1. Kashgar/Samarkand/Isfahan... what beautiful names! And I've always felt drawn to the whole 'Silk Road' thing.
2. Morocco... although I've heard the touts are worse than anywhere else, something draws me there too. The madina in Marrakech sounds like a great place to people watch. Plus the 'blue' people and the High Atlas. Also Marrakech, Casablanca and Fez are great sounding names.
3. Ireland... looks green and lovely and the people are nice and I could probably learn to like Guiness if I really tried.
4. New York... yeaaah!
5. Alaska... for the scenery and I'd like to see some bears in the wild (as opposed to lining the Agra-Fatehpur Sikri road) + some of the national parks in the U.S. look awesome.
6. Rio de Janiero... for the carnival, of course (and I'd have a good look around the rest of Brazil while I was there)
7. Victoria Falls, Okavango Delta and one of the many game parks in Africa... a continent I haven't visited (unless I count Egypt which I don't)
8. China... lots of stuff
9. Sipadan... best diving in the world
10. Torres del Paine, Chile and Moreno Glacier, Argentina... more natural WOW factor
So many other places but I'll restrict myself to ten...
11. Just thought of another (wasting time at work again, ho hum)... any beautiful white beach with a nice man to share it with!!

And my favourite suggestions for everyone else (once again in no particular order and I've left out places in India... no need to preach to the converted):
*Shandur Polo Festival, Pakistan (and other places... see my posts)
*Turkey - Istanbul, Cappadocia, Olympus
*Syria - Palmyra, Crac de Chevaliers, and friendly people
*Jordan - Petra, Wadi Rum
*Jerusalem
*The trip from San Pedro Atacama, Chile to Uyuni, Bolivia... bloody hell... you'd think you were on the moon at times... absolutely brilliant
*Inca Trail/Machu Picchu
*Amazon... the biggest 'place' you'll ever be in (out of the ocean!)- and it's alive
*Diving the Similan/Surin Islands in Thailand
*Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Damn... that's ten and I forgot the pyramids (Egyptian and Mayan)
and a whole host of other faves... but I have to slip this one in... NEW ZEALAND... areas of stunning natural beauty and nice people too

julieellen

i can't list 10 because i want to see everything and i've seen very little.
mt. everest, all of europe, red square, great barrier reef, brazil, japan, vietnam, the arctic, alaska, israel, the world.

some things i have seen that i would recommend:
new york city, grand canyon, india (any place), santa barbara california, caribbean (any place), the air and space museum in d.c.

julie

SitaParityaga

1. Calcutta
2. Varanasi (again)
3. rural Karnataka
4. Anywhere of the four places the Kumba Mela is held.
5. Ganeshpuri (again)
6. Rameshwaram
7. The Yucatan peninsula, every inch of it.
8. The Big Island.
9. London
10. Istanbul

albaruni

The silk route (through central asia- persia/ Kazaksthan/Tajikstan /tibet/ gobi desert/china.)

Northern Japan - vladivostok.

eastern europe - prague/georgia/ poland/ ukraine.

Places I want to lose myself in for a few days - Japan cities . Seoul. Thailand/ cambodia/ lower burma/laos. .....
india

guerik

I had a list of these places pinned up on my desk a few years ago, and now I'm struggling to remember them (because they've all been put on hold until I've had my fill of India..) It's not strictly a list of 10 places, but more a few trips I would take.
China -> Russia by rail
Southwest USA + Mexico
Cuba
Tanzania and Madagascar (for Mt Kilimanjaro(sp.) and the lemurs, respectively)
Egypt, Turkey and Morocco
Vietnam by bicycle
Croatia (especially the Dalmatian coast) and Poland
Japan as a living experience type thing - will probably start applying for those jobs once I'm back from my next India trips

Places I've been to and would recommend:
The Taj Mahal. No matter how much everyone hates Agra, the Taj Mahal itself isn't overrated. It's absolutely incredible to see.
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Ocean Road - beautiful rock formations, with a penguin colony at one end of the trip and wineries at the other

bijapuri

still to do list:
spain
Trans siberian RR
polynesia
New Zealand
Yucatan
Darjeeling
Caucuses region
Syria
Paris-Dakar rally
Cambodia
Nam

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ddutta

Hallo

Interesting thread indeed. There are so many palces to see that it become impossible to list only 10. anyways my list will be:-
1)Kailash & Manas Sarobar
2)The Pyramid & The Sphinx
3)The Grand Cannion
4)The Great Barrier Reaf
5)Kenya / Massaimara Forest
6)Niagra Falls
7)Siberia
8)Dead Sea
9)Mid night sun in Norway
10)Antartica

Thanx

old india hand

Can edsita tell us something about Ganeshpuri

cyberhippie

1. Assam
2. Arunchal Pradesh
3. Mizoram
4. Jharkhand
5. Maharashtra
6. Kashmir
7. Andhra Pradesh
8. Andaman islands
9. Chhatisgarh
10. Meghalaya

I'm a man of small ambition!!!

volga_volga

i don't have a list of places to see before i go. i don't feel that i need to tick something off... however, i have a few places that i am curious about:

Rio de Janeiro, for the New Year's Eve
Colombia
Patagonia & Antarctica (love penguines)
The Great Wall of China
Afganistan
Pakistan
Jordan
Morocco & Sahara desert

hopefully a couple of these will realise this year.

and then places that i love coming back to: Rome, Paris, Kashmir, Delhi, Sicily

recommend places? this is so personal. but i agree with maree, Atacama desert is surreal, and is not very well known outside Chile...

v-v

darthmilmo

Ah, a question I have an answer to ... i've been reading this site for months, but rarely have stuff to post as i'm just planning my trip to India...

To do list:
1. India (landing there on the 22nd of June!!!)
2. Silk Road
3. Tibet
4. Sri Lanka
5. Northern African coast (from Morrocco to Egypt)
6. Middle East
7. Western African Jungle
8. Antartica
9. Indonesia
10.Ireland and Scottland (does a tie count?)

Places i'd recommend (tough to norrow down to 10; in no particular order):
-Altai Mountains (Russian side is beautiful)
-BAM RR in Russia (forget the trans-siberian, this is the 'real' Siberian RR)
-Czech Republic (fairytale land in Europe, try Prague, Czesky Krumlov, or Olomouc)
-Colombia (for its friendly people...plus the Lost City trek, where everyone gets a chance on being Indiana Jones)
-Mayan ruins (specially Yaxchilan, Tikal, Palenque, Uxmal, and Tulum)
-Mexican Riviera (Carribean coast of Yucatan Peninsula)
-Finca Magdalena in Isla Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua
-Hinchinbrook Island and Thornsborne Trail (best jungle-like trek in Australia)
-Tasmania
-Red Center (Outback)

Already Mentioned worth to be in above list:
-China (anywhere)
-Salar Uyuni and Lagunas tour between Uyuni, Boliva and San Pedro de Atacama (Agree, lunad/martian landscape is sureal)
-Diving Great Barrier Reef & Holmes Reef (off continental shelf in northern Australia)

BTW, am I the only one who's list changes constancly? Every time i'm asked this question I seem to answer differently... depends on the day I guess .

saludos,
Fernando

skell

Just a comment about New Year's Eve in Rio. Yes, it's wonderful, crazy, spectacular, etc. But in Brazil, the "in" place for New Year's is Salvador, Bahia.