Traveling and vacation came up at work a few weeks ago and I ended up asking pretty much everyone on my shift the following quqestion.
Of all the places in the world you haven’t been, where would you like to go the most?
I kept track of the results and put them up on a FreeVote booth. Since I have ran out of co-workers, I thought I would stick it up here and see what happens.
The most interesting part was the different ways people reacted to the question. Some didn’t hesitate, they immediately knew where they wanted to go, others had to think about it for a few seconds. One woman came up to me 2 days later and changed her vote, and one man thought about it and said noplace. The strangest answer I got was from a woman who said she wanted to go to a store in a town about 30 miles from here.
Well, after some thought, I said Thailand (where I thought of stopping on my way from NZ to England this summer, until I found out how murderously expensive it would be). But now I feel bad about slighting Turkey, Italy, Australia, Costa Rica, Greece, Argentina, Cuba, the Netherlands, most of Eastern Europe, Morocco, and the Serengeti…
I would choose America. I’ve heard the shopping is fantastic and the food is served in huge portions over there. I’ve also heard that you guys like the Aussie accent.
Oh, and Fretful Porcupine, Thailand is just beautiful. The beaches are gorgeous - we went jetboating, snorkelling and swimming, and the water was so amazingly blue and the sand so white that it made your eyes hurt.
I voted for Italy. I want to ride under the bridge of lovers in a gondola, with my hubby. I want to see the Vatican too. I hope I can get there some day.
I want to go to Hawaii. It’s exotic, it’s warm, and it’s part of the United States. Being a lifelong east coaster, that’s exactly what I need right now, lemme tellya.
Either Ulaanbaatar in Outer Mongolia, or the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. I’ve visited web pages devoted to both, and the look equally facinating. Since they are within the same geographic region, it wouldn’t be hard to squeeze both on one trip.
However, if I had to pick one, I’d go Kamchatka Peninsula, if only because it looks incredibly wild, and they have tigers and active volcanoes. Hard to beat that combination. More importantly, Elkwoman has agreed that once Elkkid has left home, we can actually do it!
Someplace I’ve never been? My vote goes to Ireland, weather I can deal with, accents to make me swoon for months and drinking is a national pastime…errrrrr…cancel the last one, must only be in my dreams that it is…People of Irish decent are an intelligent and sober bunch who have such damned wonderful folkmusic it makes me slam my drink onto to the bar! (Better?) Actaully Ireland is where I would visit, if I had the chance. Place I have visited, however breifly, I’d return to…NEW ORLEANS! History, culinary experimentation, drunken lewdness…what’s NOT to like???
Among all other places I want to go, I’ll say Iceland. I’d like to go for three weeks or so, riding around the country and bathing in the hot springs every now and then. Or Alaska. Or Thailand. Or…
[sup]What’s that? I only get one choice? Sheesh…[/sup]
I’d have to go with Amsterdam, since I lived in Holland I always feel at home there. I even voted for it in the poll
Definately my favorite spot in the world.
My vote was for Bogota, Columbia. I work with someone who grew up there, and I am just fascinated by his descriptions of the beauty.
If it wasn’t such a dangereous place for gringas like myself, I’d be there in a second. As it is, I doubt that I’ll be able to go unless I can convince someone who grew up there to play tour guide/body guard/whatever.
The next time I leave this country I would love to travel to Scotland, Ireland, and Sweden. I could then see where my ancestors came from and meet relatives who are still living there. My Grandmother said that the Mull of Kintyre (Scotland) was one of the most beautiful places on earth and had it not been for health problems I would have surely taken her back to visit the place of her birth before she passed away. She so wanted to visit and walk through the heather just one more time.
Much of the land she grew up on is now owned by Paul McCartney, I wonder if he’d mind me strolling about his backyard for a little while?
First choice: Argentina. No question. Partying in Buenos Aires and relaxing in Patagonia. Then if I had time, I’d like to travel around South America a bit, especially to Chile, Peru and Venezuela, in that order.
Central America and the Caribbean don’t hold that much appeal for me, though I would like to see Costa Rica and Cuba.
In Europe, my first choice for places I haven’t been is Croatia - I keep hearing how beautiful it is. I’d also like to see Estonia, Russia, and Poland. I can’t really think of many places in Western Europe that I’m dying to see, apart from a couple places in Scotland and Ireland I haven’t been to.
Africa and Asia have really never held much interest for me. I would like to see the historic cities of the Middle East, though.
Oh, and you didn’t ask this question, but absolutely the last place I ever want to go to would be a Mediterranean holiday resort full of English-speaking twentysomethings. You couldn’t get me to Ibiza if you paid me, if I won a trip there I’d give it away.
Central Asia. I want to see Samarkand, Bokhara and Dushanbe. I’ve felt a sort of affinity for that part of the world for a long time, ever since I first saw pictures of Samarkand and maps of the area in an atlas.
I’d also love to travel across Canada by train. I think I might start saving up for that soon.
My partner wants to go to South Georgia and Antarctica. One day, we’ll go there.
