Me and my backpack's 100 favourite places
Replies: 42 - Last Post: Jun 10, 2012 12:27 PM Last Post By: torotaxi
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30
So they are...............probably because they are the places I go to over and over again. Even Ol Pejeta falls in that category.Some of the others are once in a lifetime. I'll probably never do the Inca Trail again. We did it 8 years ago and I was by far the eldest woman then - it was embarrassing getting a round of applause every time I made it to the camp site each evening. The Mongol rally we did last year and we may never get chance to do that again..............although never say never,
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amazing list. 100 places that's hard, managed to get it to 501 South Luangwa NP, Zambia
2 Nagyr Valley, Pakistan
3 Wadi Rum, Jordan
4 Amsterdam, Netherlands
5 Hunza Valley, Pakistan
6 Koh Tonsay, Cambodia
7 Dharamsala, India
8 Budapest, Hungary
10 Bangkok, Thailand
11 Khiva, Uzbekistan
12 Lake Bled Slovenia
13 Bale mountains NP Ethiopia
14 Astore Valley, Pakistan
15 Lucknow, India
16 Banteay Chmaar, Cambodia
17 Victoria Falls, Zambia
18 Amboseli NP, Kenya
19 Zanzibar, Tanzania
20 Bodhgaya, India
21 Kratie, Cambodia
22 Sahara Desert, Tunisia
23 Lahore, Pakistan
24 Qeshm Island, Iran
25 Yazd, Iran
26 Edinburgh, Uk
27 Pushkar, India
28 Lalibella, Ethiopia
29 Samarkand, Uzbekistan
30 Johannesburg, South Africa
31 Usumbara mountains, Tanzania
32 Uch Shariff, Pakistan
33 Kampot Cambodia
34 Lopburi, Thailand
35 Kasane, Botswana
36 Zurich, Switzerland
37 London, UK
38 Muscat, Oman
39 Taj Mahal, India
40 Amritsar, India
41 Wagah, Pakistan
42 El Jem, Tunisia
43 Istanbul, Turkey
44 Yorkshire Dales, UK
45 Nairobi, Kenya
46 Sanaa, Yemen
47 Hama, Syria
48 Kolkata, India
49 Bishoftu, Ethiopia
50 Zomba Plateau, Malawi.
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What is with this obsession with lists? You have been to some places you enjoyed visiting, that's nice but why a need to list them or put them in order?I have to say this kind of thead always strikes me as coming from 1 of/or 2 motivations. 1. Look at me! 2. Mine is bigger than yours.
Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, I guess it could be just an attempt to share a list of places for others to consider going to. But doesn't that defeat the joy of finding places for yourself?
An aside: sandpitmanrob, what do you mean by the 'inner rim' of the Grand Canyon? There is a south rim and a north rim but no 'inner rim'. Having backpacked fairly extensively in the Canyon over the years I am familiar with most of the Canyon but have never heard anyone refer to an 'inner rim'. Do you mean you day hiked down to the Esplanade and back?
If you really want to experience the Canyon you need to spend a week or more backpacking down to and along the river. But the average visitor spends from five to seven hours, according to park surveys, and the average time spent looking at the canyon is 17 minutes. So even a day hike is better than most do but really not nearly enough.
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I really liked this post - partly because it made me think about places that other people have enjoyed but mostly because it got me thinking about places I've loved and visited. I've become a bit obsessive about it now. I've started looking through old photos and I find places and events that I'd completely forgotten about. My list has changed beyond recognition. There are more "local" places on it than previously. High up there is "my house at Christmas". This new list isn't for sharing though.It might seem sad but the older you get the more you forget. Now I'm just trying to capture memories before they've gone for good!
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Memories are never gone for good. They just get more numerous over time wigstan. That of course means you re-visit any specific memory less often. Let someone mention a name of a place you have been and you are immediately taken back there in your mind.You don't forget as you get older at all. You just have a heck of a lot more memories to pick from. A hundred is really an awfully short list if you think about it. A mere novice of travel.
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Getting it down to 100 is the tricky part!But sadly I'm at the stage where I can't remember what i did last week let alone 30 years ago..........or am I worrying unnecessarily? Doesn't short term memory get really bad but you can remember vividly what you did when you were a child.
I have to say though this post did inspire me and I'm having great fun digging through old photos to get my 100. Don't knock it too much please travelinstyle46.
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They say Bora Bora is the most beautiful island in the world wigstan. I don't know if it is, although I can say it is the most beautiful island I have ever visited yet and yes I've probably visited more than a 100 (tie in to the thread).A friend of mine used to always refer to things as 'the second best'. As in, this is the second best dinner I'll probably ever have. Why did he say second best? Because he always wanted to leave room for something better. Otherwise, why ever try anything (or go anywhere new) again?
So you see wigstan, I'm not knocking it I just don't agree with it. A list of my 100 favourite places today in order of priority? Impossible, it could only ever be an out of date list tomorrow. Hence a waste of time. ;) Bora Bora might well be the second most beautiful island in the world, who knows unless you have been to every island in the world.
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I enjoyed making my list and thinking back to the places I've been and which ones I liked most or got the most out of, if I enjoyed doing something thats a good enough reason for me to do it. Could be something to do with being a Virgo I like to order things.@ sandpitmanrob, the reason Sanaa isn't so high is probably because I spent only two days there, I was flying with Yemania and arranged a couple of days stopover. I was very impressed with the architecture and the people I met were lovely, they also make great cheee for breakfast, like a cross between Feta and quark . although I enjoyed it since I spent such a short amount of time there I couldn't justify putting it any higher.
I spent a month in Iran and had a great time people are fantastic and the architectures phenomenal. I felt that I learnt a lot there in particular it dispelled some of the preconceived ideas I had about the country in particular the repression of women, I actually left feeling that Iranian women have many more freedoms than most in the Islamic world despite the dress code. Iranians are amongst the most astute and open people I've met.
Syria I didn't enjoy so much (although most people who visit do) it was probably just bad timing. I was there in a February and it rained and was cold everyday, which was compounded by the fact that none of the hotels were heated. Every time I moved around the country I felt that the police (in bus stations, train stations, on the roads) were constantly singling out foreigners for document checks and being incredibly rude about it one even threw my passport back it me, it landed on the ground. I was desperately disappointed with aleppo citadel parts of which seemed to be used as a public toilet other parts had grafitti alll over the walls, when I asked one of the guides about this he said 'if we did not piss on our ancient monuments we would not be Syrian' an absolute disgrace for a world heritage site. Upon leaving I was made to pay double the exit tax, I was on the weekly train to Tehran and they knew I had no choice if I wanted to get back on the train. It wasn't all bad I met a lovely family on the train to Hama and met them for dinner the next day and the architecture in Damascus Bazar and the crac de chevaliers was lovely.
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I was desperately disappointed with aleppo citadel parts of which seemed to be used as a public toilet other parts had grafitti alll over the walls, when I asked one of the guides about this he said 'if we did not piss on our ancient monuments we would not be Syrian' an absolute disgrace for a world heritage site.===============
wow ! that is interesting !
btw - there's a great thread somewhere (with hundreds of comments) about places which did not meet expectation. 'the world's biggest dissapointments' or something. it's a good read if you can find it.
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Interesting how you interpret my comments sandpitmanrob. Also interesting how you did not answer my question re the 'inner rim'. I'm going to speculate that you spent a day at the Canyon and think you have 'been there, done that'. No doubt you got the t-shirt too.There is a club you might want to consider joining. It fits right in with your 100 list. It is called the TravelersCentury Club. To join you must have visited 100 countries. Of course it will only appeal to those who agree wit them that even a stop to refuel a plane you are on counts as a visit to a country. You don't even have to have got off the plane! Talk about a meaningless list. http://travelerscenturyclub.org/countries
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HiI've done my fair share of travelling and would add the following:
Lalibela in Ethiopia - the Petra of Africa and thankfully and not overrun with tourists.
My favourite desert is Erg Warrane in Mauritania - literally sand dunes as far as the eye can see and have the place to yourself. It pisses on the deserts in Morocco.
Djenne in Mali - mud brick grand mosque.
I'm really into mountains and so i would have to recommend the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan, especially Concordia which is surrounded by the 4 x 8000m peaks (K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum 1 & 2) plus loads of 6-7000m peaks. I'd add Hunza valley as well which is so beautiful and peaceful and very few tourists.
The Silk Road Cities in Uzbekistan - Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Beautifully restored ancient cities on the silk road trading route.

