Saw this list over places one ought to have seen before one dies. Of course I am a little upset that I have just seen 10 out of 50 on the list. But on the other hand, I am not planning to die just yet.
There are no real surprises on the list, it is rather predictable, but I am sure there are a lot of other places that ought to be on it, or we could make alternative lists. For example I don’t understand why Bangkok is on it but not Beijing! And not one single place in Eastern Europe! I think this is a result of the list being compiled by British BBC-viewers and governed by their preferences.
Hey, can’t we try to find other places one really ought to see!?!!? Looking forward to your comments and suggestions!!
1. Grand Canyon
2. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
3. Disney World, Florida
4. South Island, New Zealand
5. Cape Town, South Africa
6. Golden Temple, Armritsar, India
7. Las Vegas, US
8. Sydney, Australia
9. New York, US
10. Taj Mahal, India
11. Lake Louise, The Rockies, Canada
12. Uluru (Ayres Rock), Australia
13. Chichén Itz·, Mexico
14. Machu Picchu, Peru
15. Niagara Falls, US/Canada
16. Petra, Jordan
17. Pyramids, Egypt
18. Venice, Italy
19. Maldives
20. Great Wall, China
21. Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe border
22. Hong Kong
23. Yosemite National Park, US
24. Hawaii
25. North Island, New Zealand
26. The Iguaçu Falls, Argentina/Brazil border
27. Paris, France
28. Alaska, US
29. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
30. Mount Everest, Himalayas
31. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
32. Masai Mara, Kenya
33. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
34. Luxor, Egypt
35. Rome, Italy
36. San Francisco, US
37. Barcelona
38. Dubai
39. Singapore
40. La Digue, Seychelles
41. Sri Lanka
42. Bangkok, Thailand
43. Barbados, West Indies
44. Iceland
45. The Terracotta Army, China
46. Matterhorn, Switzerland
47. Angel Falls, Venezuela
48. Abu Simbel, Egypt
49. Bali, Indonesia
50. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The mad traveller
I think I now have had the confirmation I needed to realise I am really seriously crazy. During this time I have been working and travelling professionally abroad I have found myself to be very open about the destinations. I have felt I could really go anywhere. I am not so governed about what might be the safest, most profitable, most prestigious or most pleasant place to go, I am just curious about new places to see. There has really only been one place where I always said I would not go (among the countries where Sweden has embassies) and that was Abuja, Nigeria. I know people who have worked there and from their stories I always said; no way, I am not going there!
However, yesterday I was asked if I could take an embassy posting over the whole summer; guess where! Of course in Abuja! Then I noticed my immediate reaction was not; “No way, I am not going there”. But rather; “Hmmm, maybe that would be interesting, maybe I should go there.” And then I realised I would not have been me if I had thought otherwise. That is simply me!
Fortunately I will most probably not be able to accept the offer because I think I will have other things to do, and sometimes I can be sensible, but it would be interesting…
However, yesterday I was asked if I could take an embassy posting over the whole summer; guess where! Of course in Abuja! Then I noticed my immediate reaction was not; “No way, I am not going there”. But rather; “Hmmm, maybe that would be interesting, maybe I should go there.” And then I realised I would not have been me if I had thought otherwise. That is simply me!
Fortunately I will most probably not be able to accept the offer because I think I will have other things to do, and sometimes I can be sensible, but it would be interesting…
Friday, April 06, 2007
Riksgränsen
Back from a very nice trip to the north! I must admit this trip has somewhat changed my perception of the northern part of Sweden, I had to re-evaluate some of the prejudices I had about that part of the country and of the people living there, all for the better. I still have the same perception about winter though; I don’t mind snow and winter as long as I can go to it and it does not come to me! And this far north the snow is so very white and clean and the slopes have only natural snow. This part is really so exotic. For me it feels much more exotic to go here than to the Alps, although still in my native country. It is so far away, so open, so empty!
And still we had really bad luck with the weather. When we arrived it was raining. That night and next day it was snowing heavy and there was a very strong wind, which meant the whole mountain was closed off. Therefore I and Victoria went for some snow shoe walking, which was also very nice. In the afternoon we caught the train to Narvik mostly because the train ride is supposed to be very beautiful along one of the fjords, and it was! Of course the visibility could have been better, but it was still very nice.
All wrapped up for snow shoe walking in the hard wind.
The border between Sweden and Norway. We crossed the border several times that day.
It is really so far away from everything! Narvik.
We could actually only ski one day, because of the wind and the poor visibility, there was storm and even hurricane warning, so all slopes were closed. That day it was still rather cold and windy and the skiing was difficult because of all the snow that had fallen and the slopes were not well prepared, but it was still nice to ski again. The storm and snowing continued and for a while we were really snowed in as the road was closed and you could only leave in a convoy. As this is a small place with basically only one hotel, one restaurant and one bar being snowed in means you can not avoid getting to know some of the other guests and the staff; it makes a very friendly and familiar atmosphere. Very nice!
In the end it cleared up and they could open the road again (until 1984 train was the only way to get here at all, and if it hadn’t been for the transport of iron ore from the mines in Kiruna and Gällivare to the ice free port of Narvik, there would not have been a railroad either) and we could leave. By then the weather was sooo nice we did not really want to leave, but we had to. But who knows, maybe we will come back soon, they stay open till midsummer!
It is a paradise for off pist skiing!
Enjoying the sun when it finally showed. Someone called Riksgränsen "Heaven or Hell" and I can understand that, when the weather is nice up there it is unbelievable, but when not, it can get really nasty!
As we did not sleep too much during these days I was rather tired on my way back home. So tired fell asleep on the train from Stockholm! I slept so heavy I did not wake up when I should have got off. I did not wake up until my mother, waiting at the station, called me asking where I was. I was so gone! I hade to go with the train all the way to Göteborg, wait another hour for the last train back and did not get home until two o clock last night. Strange ending to a nice trip! Would be nice to calculate how many kilometres I travelled yesterday.
And still we had really bad luck with the weather. When we arrived it was raining. That night and next day it was snowing heavy and there was a very strong wind, which meant the whole mountain was closed off. Therefore I and Victoria went for some snow shoe walking, which was also very nice. In the afternoon we caught the train to Narvik mostly because the train ride is supposed to be very beautiful along one of the fjords, and it was! Of course the visibility could have been better, but it was still very nice.
All wrapped up for snow shoe walking in the hard wind.
The border between Sweden and Norway. We crossed the border several times that day.
It is really so far away from everything! Narvik.
We could actually only ski one day, because of the wind and the poor visibility, there was storm and even hurricane warning, so all slopes were closed. That day it was still rather cold and windy and the skiing was difficult because of all the snow that had fallen and the slopes were not well prepared, but it was still nice to ski again. The storm and snowing continued and for a while we were really snowed in as the road was closed and you could only leave in a convoy. As this is a small place with basically only one hotel, one restaurant and one bar being snowed in means you can not avoid getting to know some of the other guests and the staff; it makes a very friendly and familiar atmosphere. Very nice!
In the end it cleared up and they could open the road again (until 1984 train was the only way to get here at all, and if it hadn’t been for the transport of iron ore from the mines in Kiruna and Gällivare to the ice free port of Narvik, there would not have been a railroad either) and we could leave. By then the weather was sooo nice we did not really want to leave, but we had to. But who knows, maybe we will come back soon, they stay open till midsummer!
It is a paradise for off pist skiing!
Enjoying the sun when it finally showed. Someone called Riksgränsen "Heaven or Hell" and I can understand that, when the weather is nice up there it is unbelievable, but when not, it can get really nasty!
As we did not sleep too much during these days I was rather tired on my way back home. So tired fell asleep on the train from Stockholm! I slept so heavy I did not wake up when I should have got off. I did not wake up until my mother, waiting at the station, called me asking where I was. I was so gone! I hade to go with the train all the way to Göteborg, wait another hour for the last train back and did not get home until two o clock last night. Strange ending to a nice trip! Would be nice to calculate how many kilometres I travelled yesterday.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Going north!
This afternoon I will travel north voluntarily for the first time in 17 years! And really far north! I will go to Riksgränsen (www.riksgransen.se) in the very far north of Sweden for skiing. That means approx two hours flying from Stockholm to Kiruna and then another two hours bus transfer. It’s a big country! And it is really exotic! Unfortunately the weather forecast does not look too great, but last time I was there (17 years ago!!) the forecast was never correct so I hope they are still as wrong!!
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