I have just finished reading a recent Time Magazine article about the World’s Greatest Places. It has brief cameos of cities and countries that have updated or added new attractions or upscale hotels during the pandemic to be ready to attract tourists when we start traveling again. I counted that I have been to 49 of them, from Lake Khovsgol, Mongolia to Talkeetna, Alaska. To be sure, I have not (and probably will not) stayed at most of the glitzy hotels they highlight, but I have experienced the culture, beauty and famous attractions of most of them. I have been to the Antarctic Peninsula, but will miss the December 4, 2021 solar eclipse. I have not been to Wadi Dana in Jordan, but I have been to Wadi Rum, where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. I have eaten the famous Phô in Hanoi. I was on a safari to Krueger National Park in South Africa, hiked in Patagonia, sailed in Granada, and skied at Big Sky, Montana. I stayed at a Riad (traditional inn) in Marrakech and explored the winding alleyways in the souk and had cocktails at La Mamounia, the glitzy palace hotel where Winston Churchill often stayed.
There are several places on Time’s list that are in my plans for trips to come, like Reykjavik, Iceland, Greenland and Talinn, Estonia, and back to Siam Reap, Cambodia to study the largest bas relief sculptures in the world. Stay tuned!
I wrote about all of these and more in Wandering the World, with experiences and impressions detailed. Here are a few photos that I couldn’t put in the book.
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