[Gnaw]

I've decided that Abyss has the right idea. I'm going to do the travel thing. Either:

• get a nice luxury car and see the US or
• a "see the world" tour:
  • Costa Rica
  • New Zealand (extended?)
  • Oz (extended?)
  • Hong Kong and/or Shanghai
  • Singapore??
  • I'd love to go to Angkor Wat but a single middle-aged white guy going to Phnom Penh raises all sorts of the the wrong flags
  • Ireland?
  • Poland for the Holocaust camps. (yeah, depressing but I was a history major with a polisci minor. *shrug*
  • Enlgland?
  • Scotland??
  • Amsterdam!!!! ??
  • The Trans-Siberian.

Suggestions....?

[Binder of Demons]

If you've any interest in it, then South America would be a great travel destination. I travelled through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia on my own (well, I arrived there on my own and moved around with lots of different people), and I met lots of other solo travellers from all kinds of different backgrounds. Also, there is a huge variety of things to see and do in those countries, and there is a pretty well worn tourist trail which just makes things easier if you want to play it a bit safe initially, or go completely off the beaten track. I had a mad detailed itinerary which i chucked out the window after a few days, and it was the best decision i made. Aside from The Inca Trail, nearly everything in my top 10 from that trip were spur of the moment decisions as I had the flexibility.

I also had the good fortune of living in NZ for several years, and briefly visiting Oz, so I would also recommend extended visits there too. Again, there seems to be a pretty good tourist trail established in both countries, which just makes things easier, especially when you're not obligated to stick to them if you have a flexible schedule.

But, speaking as someone who has battled serious long term depression (and is still recovering from it to be honest), travelling is definitely something worth doing. I can safely say that those times were the happiest of my life.

your list is pretty cool too.

My top two destinations would be Iceland, and Japan, but I need a lot of money to make those happen.

[Silencer]

Needs more Japan, Europe, South America (maybe), as Scotland/England is pretty much one place doesn't really cover the European continent.

Extended Aus and NZ is always a good idea though.


Edit: Cross with Binder.

[Itwæs Nom]

what about Iceland?
aah, didnt notice binder already mentioned that

This post has been edited by Charlie Nom: 07 October 2015 - 01:23 PM

[Gnaw]

Iceland. Definitely should be added to the shortlist.


I guess I should point out that "nature" doesn't interest me as much as "the accomplishments of humans". Three Gorges damn impresses me more than the Three Gorges themselves.

This post has been edited by Gnaw: 07 October 2015 - 10:30 PM

[worry]

Humans' greatest accomplishments are roller coasters.

[Gnaw]

Roller coasters and clowns. Auto-negrep.

[worry]

You'll reap the whirlwind.

[Binder of Demons]

Gnaw, on 07 October 2015 - 10:28 PM, said:

Iceland. Definitely should be added to the shortlist.


I guess I should point out that "nature" doesn't interest me as much as "the accomplishments of humans". Three Gorges damn impresses me more than the Three Gorges themselves.

If it is human accomplishment that interests you, then you can definitely push South America up the list. The succession of empires that ruled through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are impressive to see. For all of it's touristy side, the Inca Trail, Cuzco and the Sacred Valley really is amazing, and you can make it a full on adventure trip (mountain biking, river rafting and hiking for days), or get luxury buses and trains and roll right up to the entrance of the site.

And then, if you want to do an under the radar version of that, you can head to the northern highlands of Peru and check out Chachapoyas and the surrounding areas. Which apparently has more ruins than the Sacred Valley, but is still mostly covered by the cloud forest. I met one other tourist in my 3 days there many years ago.

I found the balance of doing activity stuff, with natural history stuff (i am a trained zoologist/marine biologist), and the history stuff to be fantastic.

Now to stop sounding like i'm part of the Peruvian tourist board, I will throw another triumvirate of countries into the mix. Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Jordan and Israel in particular are a nice easy circuit, again with a huge variety of places to see, and a pretty well worn trail. I am not a religious person, but even for me Jerusalem was an amazing place, and you can literally feel the weight of it's history there. In such a small area too. And relatively close by, over the border in Jordan you can see an old places like Ajlun (crusader era castle), Jerash (a roman trading city) and of course Petra (a city carved out of the mountains). you can go scuba diving/snorkelling in the Red sea (either from Jordan or Israel), go on a desert safari in the Wadi Rum and sleep out under the stars, splash about in the Dead Sea (again, either in Jordan or Israel), or chill in a modern city like Tel Aviv which is actually a Mediterranean beachfront. Those are all safe as houses, with plenty of other spots of interest.
And obviously adding in Egypt introduces a ridiculous amount of amazing places to see, but i'm not familiar with them myself..yet.

[Keysi]

Gnaw, on 07 October 2015 - 12:57 AM, said:

I've decided that Abyss has the right idea. I'm going to do the travel thing. Either:

• get a nice luxury car and see the US or
• a "see the world" tour:
  • Costa Rica
  • New Zealand (extended?)
  • Oz (extended?)
  • Hong Kong and/or Shanghai
  • Singapore??
  • I'd love to go to Angkor Wat but a single middle-aged white guy going to Phnom Penh raises all sorts of the the wrong flags
  • Ireland?
  • Poland for the Holocaust camps. (yeah, depressing but I was a history major with a polisci minor. *shrug*
  • Enlgland?
  • Scotland??
  • Amsterdam!!!! ??
  • The Trans-Siberian.

Suggestions....?

Just out of curiosity, how are you going to fund all this?

[Imperial Historian]

In terms of human achievement Japan, China and India blew everything else I saw on my world tour out of the water. Though Europe and the middle east obviously has a huge density of historical sites.

South america, australia and nz were better for the natural wonders but the . South east Asia has a good mix of both and is certainly the easiest and cheapest option for solo travel.

In general I found I met more mature travellers in north south America (ecuador and Colombia), Japan and india if that effects your thinking. And Japan is no more expensive to travel than the US Europe or Australia. If anything I'd say it was cheaper.

[Gnaw]

Imperial Historian, on 10 October 2015 - 06:31 PM, said:

In terms of human achievement Japan, China and India blew everything else I saw on my world tour out of the water. Though Europe and the middle east obviously has a huge density of historical sites.

South america, australia and nz were better for the natural wonders but the . South east Asia has a good mix of both and is certainly the easiest and cheapest option for solo travel.

In general I found I met more mature travellers in north south America (ecuador and Colombia), Japan and india if that effects your thinking. And Japan is no more expensive to travel than the US Europe or Australia. If anything I'd say it was cheaper.

Don't suppose you'd care to share your itinerary via PM with the highlights (and low).

[Imperial Historian]

Sure I'll do it later. Remind me if I forget