So many places, so little time: the traveller’s eternal dilemma.
In our time-pressed digital era, it’s no wonder the concept of asking a set number of specific ‘getting to know you’ questions has been all the rage in pop psychology lately. I thought it’d be fun (if self-indulgent!) to do a traveller’s version, to get the introductions out of the way for those who want to know more than the basics about me.
Without any further ado, here is my travelling life so far — magical memories and mishaps alike — summed up in answers to 12 questions. Featuring creepy catacombs, Tasmanian devils, and unredeemed Premier League tickets.
Smelling the proverbial roses in beautiful Chang Mai, shortly after a floral festival.
Favourite places (so far):
Rome — hands, shoulders, knees and toes down. I also particularly love Berlin, London, Chiang Mai, Taipei’s Ximending district, Norfolk Island, Sicily, Tasmania, and Seydisfjordur in Iceland.
Favourite travel memory:
Tough! (As though I didn’t write the question.) A cop-out tie between:
- a midnight-to-dawn hike up a sacred mountain in Sri Lanka, Sri Pada, alongside tens of thousands of pilgrims;
- a 10-day road trip around Iceland featuring glaciers, geysers, geothermal pools and all-round WTF-level amazing scenery;
- exploring a succession of southern Italian islands with my mamma for her birthday; and
- the Tarkine in Tasmania. A less glamorous contender, sure, but long walks around this incredibly verdant rainforest with my partner shortly before he underwent brain surgery remain etched on my memory.
On the descent: the long (and busy) way down Sri Pada, a sacred mountain in Sri Lanka.
Least favourite places (so far):
I hope to be proven wrong some day but so far the Gold Coast and Adelaide.
Least favourite travel memory:
Thankfully I’ve never felt particularly unsafe when travelling, so my worst is a thoroughly first world problem of flight cancellations, delays and mishaps, the most frustrating being when said delay cost me Premier League tickets to a Chelsea vs Arsenal match. They were great, centre-field seats, and my dad’s birthday present. I know it’s minor, but it still hurts.
#1 underrated place:
Norfolk Island — oozing with history, gorgeous beaches and scenery, and locals so warm, down-to-earth and occasionally endearingly quirky that to obey the cliché of ‘ssh, keep this hidden gem to yourself’ would be downright selfish.
I realise I’m cheating here, but can’t not also add: Taiwan!
Forever an awkward poser, on the Zhuliu Trail in Taiwan.
#1 overrated place:
Might cop some flak here but Paris disappointed me personally. I blame the hype. But the French I found polite and helpful, contrary to the stereotypes.
#1 travel mishap:
Spending several hours accidentally locked in the musty-smelling catacombs of a sixteenth-century abbey in Italy, shortly after hearing about the creepy goings-on there. It was funny at first, then scary… now funny again.
Inside the catacombs beneath a 16th-century abbey where I found myself trapped for several hours.
#1 travel find:
*Toots own horn* I like to think I have a knack for finding quirky, ‘off-the-beaten-track’ lodgings, and my favourite so far has been a private nature reserve where wild Tasmanian devils and other native critters come and feed at your doorstep at night.
That or the time I stayed in a surprisingly affordable palazzo in central Palermo, a short walk from the Duomo, run by an actual count.
Posing idiotically, somewhere in Western Australia.
#1 source of traveller’s frustration:
When people don’t think through the consequences of where their tourist dollars are going, or the cultural or political sensitivities of where they’re travelling. Ignorance, in short.
Biggest travel regret:
Not getting to see the most colourful sections of the Great Barrier Reef pre-bleaching.
Top wishlist destination:
Easy: Madagascar. And the entire Kimberley region, top to bottom and inside out.
Also Utah, Ethiopia, Slovenia, Georgia, Japan, Albania, Iran, Poland, Venezuela, Iceland again in summer and/or winter, and Rome again and again, any damn time.
Because Iceland in autumn wasn’t impressive enough (*sarcasm*).
Upcoming trips:
Eurocco 2017! Can’t wait. Mainland Greece, Morocco, central Italy and a teensy bit of Belgium are on the cards. (Drop a line if you’ve got any tips on hidden gems to look out for.)
Domestically, I finally made it to Cradle Mountain a few months back but I’m hoping to go back to Tassie for the fourth time this December — love the place.
Your turn! What are your favourite and least favourite places (so far)? Any dream destinations you’re particularly desperate to see? And your worst travel mishaps?
2 comments
I’d love to hit Turkey and the middle east. I heard it was amazing from everyone that has been there!
Co-sign on that, I’ve only ever heard great things about Turkey too! One of these days, I hope — for both of us 🙂