20 April 2011

Day 3: The place I want to travel to

There are so many places that I want to travel to. I love to travel. LOVE TO TRAVEL! I keep making all sorts of plans to go to all sorts of places. There are so many things to do and places to go, that I have no idea how or when I'll ever be able to see them all.

That must be why I collect travel books - not just hundreds of travel guides, but atlas' and travel writing and books about cities, countries, festivals, traditions, anything and everything about other countries, culture and travel! I would love to find a job that required me to travel around the world as a tourist. Perhaps I should reinvent myself as a travel photographer. . .

I'd love to go back to the Middle East and explore more of Oman, see more of UAE and go to Bahrain and Qatar. I'd love to go to Egypt and Jordan and soak up the history. I went to the Middle East in June 2009. I spent a week in UAE, travelling around the country, but mostly in Dubai. Then I spent three weeks in Oman. I stayed in Muscat and travelled to surrounding cities and areas to see as much as I could. I also went to Kuwait City for a weekend as well. I was lucky enough to have a fabulous man that played tour guide and he really made sure I saw as much as possible in my time there. Because of that experience I fell in love with the place and I'm dying to go back again one day soon.

I've always dreamed about going to tropical islands like Tahiti, New Caledonia and Hawaii. I've been to Vanuatu and that was amazing - definetly worth going to for the relaxation factor.

Of course Europe is also on the list of most visit places. I've been to England and had a short trip to Spain, which I loved. I would really like to do a big tour of Europe. I especially want to see much more of Spain, Italy, Vienna, Portugal and Greece. I definetly want to see the other European nations, but for some reason these countries hold particular interest.

I'm also a fan of South America. I've always wanted to go to Brazil and experience the colour and festivities. Chile, Peru and Argentina would be amazing cultural experiences too. I'd want to hop over to the Caribbiean Islands while there and if luck was on my side I'd love to visit Cuba too. Not the safest country in the world to visit granted, but the culture I find interesting.

This leads me to the USA. For as long as I can remember I've wanted to go to the USA and to be honest if I had to pick just one place that I traveled to it would be the USA. I'm not ashamed to say that my fascination for the USA has stemed from TV and movies, and it's just grown from books and stories heard over the years. I once planned out a whole trip. It was a 60 day camping trip (yes you read right, I said camping) that went across the top states and back down the bottom states. Now days I dream of one day having the time (and the money) to go and spend three months (because that's how long a holiday visa is for a NZer) travelling around the USA.

I want to go to San Francisco for the art and hippie vibe, New York for the hustle and bustle, New Orleans for the soul, Miami for the sun, Los Angeles for Disneyland, Las Vegas for the extravagance, Boston for the history and all those different states and towns in between. It amazes me that a country has such different types of people and places from one state to the next.

While I dream of all these holidays and places to go I read travel books and look at photos and listen to stories, just to experience whatever I can. And while I think about saving for these big trips and adventures, I take mini, right-now kinda trips to Australia to visit family. It's enough of a break away to be a break away and somewhere different, but not to much of a change.

This all being said I do also dream of one day doing a road trip of the South Island. I've been as far as Christchurch and that's it. One day I'll jump in my car and head over the Cook Strait and down the island until I get to the bottom and then I'll drive back up the other side. I do think it's a little sad that I've lived here my whole life and there is still so much of my own country that I've yet to see.

I forsee a lot more travel in my life. Now, if I could only get the lotto numbers correct. . . .

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