NYT's "25 must-have travel experiences"
PerfidiousPorpoise 18 Nov 22 09:39
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Part of me is like "dear god the sense of entitlement and privilege; I can't even ..." but part of me is going "That's what early retirement is for, even if that means dying in penury afterwards".

1. Taste Wood-Smoked Sorcery at Asador Etxebarri in Spain’s Basque Country

2. Search for Muslim Spain in Al-Andalus

3. Venture Into the Norwegian Night in Search of the Northern Lights

4. Journey Across Two Continents and Eight Time Zones on the Trans-Siberian Railway

5. Savor an Unforgettable Lunch at Ntounias in Western Crete

6. Join the Faithful in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a Different Kind of White Christmas

7. Traverse the Blossoming Oases and Ancient Desert Towns of Morocco’s Draa Valley

8. Come Face to Face With a Rare Marine Mammal Off the Coast of Southern Mozambique

9. Discover Paradise on Earth in the Secret Courtyard Gardens of Yazd, Iran

10. Swim in a Desert Oasis in Oman

11. Delve Into 6,000-Plus Years of History at Erbil Citadel in Iraq

12. Marvel at the Threatened Mud-Brick Skyscrapers of Yemen

13. Follow the Silk Road Through the Caravan Cities of Uzbekistan

14. Tour the Lofty Potala Palace in Lhasa, a Sacred Repository of Tibetan Artifacts

15. Explore the Architectural Syncretism in South India’s Deccan Plateau

16. Hike Japan’s Lore-Steeped Kumano Kodo Trail

17. Spend the Day in the Womblike Emptiness of the Teshima Art Museum in Japan

18. Take the Ultimate Road Trip: Drive the Pan-American Highway from Argentina to Alaska

19. Behold the Natural Wonders of Chile’s Atacama Desert

20. Feast on the Cuisines of Oaxaca City, Mexico

21. Dance Until You Drop at Carnival in Cuba

22. Take In the Magnificent Scale and Immutable Geology of the Colorado Plateau

23. Witness a Solar Eclipse in a Sleepy Fishing Village in Newfoundland, Canada

24. Labor on an Organic Farm in New Zealand

25. Float in a Zodiac to the Edge of Human Experience

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/17/t-magazine/travel-destinations-experiences.html

going now further than 1.  Most people I know who have visted the Basque region say San Sebastian aside it is a bit shit so the list does not inspire me with confidence

I've been to Yazd (9), but I would hardly describe it as paradise on earth. I doubt anyone from the NYT has actually been there.

Travelling in Iran was mostly quite dull. Aside from some decent old stuff, the cities are polluted and congested, restaurants are limited and you can't get a drink anywhere (though my companion had a friend at the embassy where we got a G&T). People were friendly enough.

They have a sense of humour though. The British embassy is on Bobby Sands St.

I want to go to the Basque country.

Bilbao looks cool, But does anyone know why the fvck they decided to put the Guggenheim there. Fvcking random place for it. Was graft involved?

The list in borderline parody. As if any New Yorker is going to set foot in Iran, Iraq or Yemen in the next 20 years. Loving the 'rare marine mammal' in Mozambique too.

The Basque Country is cool though. Bilbao is a great city, much more real than San Sebastian. Honadaribbia and all the villages around it are gorgeous. 

the local government there offered a shit ton of money Laz, I understand their investment has been repaid many fold - good example of the value of investing in a cultural inistitution.

the Omani desert oasis is very cool - they grow watermelons and lots of other stuff in the middle of the desert (lots of underground fresh water in the south where they have a monsoon)

I've done:

2

3 (in Iceland)

4 (but only between Pyongyang and Dandong - I've never seen this route in any of the guidebooks)

13

18 (not all of it, obvs, but I have been at the very start - or end - in Tierra del Fuego)

21

23 (not in Newfoundland, but in Missouri)

25 (if edge of human experience = Antarctica)

  • You haven't already done all of these?
  • And you're, what, 50 (you look 70)?
  • What have you been doing with your life?
  • Just sitting in some ghastly law firm office all hours of the day, eating bad takeaway food, becoming increasingly ashen faced and bald?
  • Or are you poor?
  • Do we need to crowdfund you finally starting to live?

Let’s face it, this type of exotic International travel is nice to think about, but once you turn the lock in your home, it becomes generally crap.

Jabs before you go, and then Queues, delays, covid bollix, paperwork, language difficulties, losing luggage. 

When you finally arrive, sweaty and exhausted, you find that the mystical mammal has not been seen for months.
 

 

Southern lights are cooler as they’re harder to see.

You can see rare see mammals without going all the way to Mozambique.

There are much better things to do in NZ than provide cheap farm labour.

8. Come Face to Face With a Rare Marine Mammal Off the Coast of Southern Mozambique

Does meeting the legendary Perfidious Porpoise at a ROF drinks count?

The trouble with 1001 places to see before you die is that it's completely unachievable unless you're a millionaire with time on his hands.

This list seems unbelievably poseur.

They forgot the crowing glory:

26 Fly back in to JFK, enjoy bagels and coffee, Central Park, lunch somewhere sw**ky with some rich mate in finance, get home, plant your arse in a luxury Manhattan Apartment, get out your macbook and go online to lecture Deplorables about  car use and Climate Change.