In my daily travels over the last decade, I’ve come to know some destinations very well. Through research, through virtual exploration, through communication with countless guesthouse or resort or hotel owners and through the feedback from my clients, some have grown as familiar to me as if I’d spent my youth exploring them. Mauritius is a good example of this, simply by virtue of the fact that it is still THE island paradise favoured by the South African market. Thailand, too, and Dubai. And while nothing can really replace actually visiting a place yourself, I think I can safely call myself a specialist in a growing list of similar destinations. There’s great comfort to be derived from sending someone somewhere that you’re well-acquainted with (no need to dread that 6am ‘we’re here but we hate everything please change it’ phone call that even the most Savvy travel pro takes at least once in their career), and every consultant has a list of destinations they feel happily at ease selling.
There is, however, another list at the heart of every travel expert who loves what they do, and that is the List Of Places They Would Love to See Themselves. A travel bucket-list, as it were. Lovingly crafted over time with information gleaned from 1000’s of itineraries for other people. Places that just leapt out at you as you trawled brochures or websites for ‘something different’, usually in response to an enquiry that began with: “Where’s nice in December that isn’t Mauritius or Zanzibar?” Countries or cities or little towns or untamed wildernesses that demanded your attention in a way completely disproportionate to the effort required for Mr Jones’s ‘family trip somewhere warm in July’, simply because they called to something deep within. Places that necessitate personal exploration, and inspire nothing but contempt for the hapless client who, when presented with The Perfect Itinerary, refuses to share your excitement and asks to see the Phuket brochure again.
And, as frustrated wanderlust is at the heart of every travel professional I’ve ever met, you can be sure that their lists contain some spectacular things. I know mine does.
Jen’s Travel Bucket List:
Vietnam
Don’t ask me why – I can’t tell you. Perhaps I watched too many of my Dad’s Vietnam War movies when I was younger, or read Danielle Steele’s Message from Nam too many times (I was 13, imprisoned by torrential rain and/or scorching heat on the family’s annual pilgrimage to Olive Beadle Fishing Camp on the Zambezi and there was nothing else to read besides a battered 6-month old YOU magazine – don’t judge me). Anyway, I have no rational explanation for my over-riding desire to see South East Asia, but I can tell you that I have ALWAYS wanted to. Rice paddies, overgrown jungles, secret tunnels, beautiful women in colourful Ao Dai, crumbling French architecture, Buddhists temples, the Mekong Delta and clear soups flavoured with ginger and mint and lemongrass – it’s all absolutely fascinating to me. In particular, GAP adventures has a 14-day Vietnam Adventure tour which begins in Hanoi and takes you (by boat, minivan, train, planes and donkeys) through Halong Bay, Hue, Danang and ends in Saigon. There are many such tours, and they have been the subject of my travelling dreams for as long as I’ve loved travelling.
Recommended reading: Anthony Grey’s SAIGON – set over generations, it’s a beautiful and poignant story of Indochina from the arrival of the French in the 1920’s to the chaos of the American retreat in 1975. I’ve read and reread it so many times, I find myself growing nostalgic for places I’ve never been and a time long before mine.
Madagascar
It’s the trees. I have a thing for trees, and Madagascar is home to seven types of Baobab, among others. Split from India about 88 million years ago, and left undiscovered and uninhabited until 350BC, the flora and fauna of this incredible island were allowed to evolve separately from their Asian and African counterparts, so that today 90% of the Madagascan wildlife is found nowhere else on earth. There are also pirates. Or there were pirates. A pirate graveyard, sunken ships filled with treasure – it’s all there! The island of Isle St Marie of Nosy Boraha was once a pirate haven for buccaneers fleeing the Dutch East India Company and several pirate ships litter the bottom of the Bay des Forbans. Some of the best wreck-diving and snorkeling in the world can be done in the shark-free lagoon and the beaches are magnificent.
Unfortunately, like a lot of other Indian Ocean Paradises, Madagascar’s stability is constantly threatened by political unrest and violence, and lack of proper controls means that this once-pristine wilderness is falling victim to human greed more and more each day. If I’m to see it, it has to be soon.
Turkey
When I think of Istanbul, I’m immediately swept up in a romantic fantasy of dark-eyed women, exotic spices, incense and ancient mysteries. A 3000 year-old civilisation is bound to have a secret or two worth exploring. Istanbul’s architecture alone would make it worth the effort (the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cisern etc etc), but combine with this the markets, the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman museums, the food (OMG the food!), the pristine beaches of the Turkish Riviera, the fairytale-like wonderland of Goreme and the rest of Cappadocia… I get completely swept up in how beautiful it all is. And unique! I know of no other place on earth this accessible to South Africans that offers such a wealth of history, culture and natural beauty. And did I mention the food? Lamb kofte seasoned with mint and served with cacik, dolmades and stuffed peppers, borek pastries, kebabs of every size and description and more mezze options than you can dream of in your wildest gastronomic fantasies. Even if this wasn’t an old-fashioned romantic’s version of paradise, I’d go just for the food. And the oiled wrestling tournaments, of course.
Politically stable for many years, Turkey has been rocked recently by violence in the wake of the Arab Spring. It’s proximity to Syria doesn’t help either. Strategically significant to the East and West because of its position on the Black Sea as well as its shared border with war-torn Syria, Turkey’s freedom and stability is increasingly under threat. Another one that must been seen soon, methinks. While we still can.
New Zealand
The land of the long white cloud is a recent addition to my list. I haven’t come across it much professionally, except for the occasional one-way immigration ticket to Auckland (usually coinciding with election time here) and all that I knew of the place before that was based on an abiding dislike for the All Blacks and a vague idea that it was Australia’s poorer cousin. Thankfully, Peter Jackson decided to forge his Middle Earth amid the stunning splendour of his homeland, and the world has had to forever change how it sees these unassuming Pacific islands. I confess, I want to see Hobbiton, and the Shire. I want to walk where Frodo and Gandalf walked and imagine myself on a ring quest. New Zealand is also an adrenalin-junkie paradise and there doesn’t seem to be a form of outdoor or extreme sport that didn’t either originate or see itself perfected here. Incredible winelands, a culturally rich and diverse heritage and a thriving performing arts scene make New Zealand the best-kept travelling secret in the Antipodes. The more I read and watch and explore, the higher up on the list it goes, and I begin to see the attraction for those who choose to make a permanent move.
The Czech Republic
I read somewhere recently that most movies set in 19th century England are actually filmed in Prague. One of the most beautiful cities in the world, Prague fulfils the expectations one has of picture-perfect Europe in a way that modern Paris and Venice don’t. At once romantic, ancient, modern and successful, it is a vibrant metropolis that manages the balance between old and new Europe better than most of the other big European cities. Prague’s Old Town is the oldest part of this 1200 year old city, and it’s entirely possible to wander aimlessly along streets and avenues that are largely unchanged since the 14th century. I cannot begin to explain how excited that makes me.
And then there’s the rest of the Czech Republic. Medieval castle cities (Cesky Krumlov), monasteries, secret underground societies (Moravia) and the white deer of Bohemia… this is a world begging to be explored. Avalon Waterways do a river cruise down the Danube from Prague to Budapest, and I can think of no better way to spend a week than sitting, wine in hand, on a riverboat balcony watching the hidden gems of Eastern Europe slip idly by.
There are more. Cities and places like Dubrovnic, Krabi , Lima and Minsk. Festivals like Sundance in Utah, Holi in Mumbai and Mardis Gras in New Orleans. There’s the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Blarney Stone in Cork, the cherry trees of Japan…
If I start now, and live to be 128, I might get through it all…