7 Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union: Deserted Cities, Buildings, Bases and More and 7 (More) Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union: From Mining Towns to Oil Rig Cities.
I’d really like to visit Neft Daşları (Oil Rocks), located in the Caspian Sea about 45km offshore of Baku, but apparently getting permission from SOCAR is next to impossible.

“Where are you going next? And DON’T say North Korea.”

“Uh, China, I think, and maybe a weekend in Pyongyang.”

Despite my dad’s wishes otherwise, I’m still determined to get to North Korea by 2010, as I mentioned a few years ago. For a limited time this year, the North Korean government issued visas to American citizens for three day tours of Pyongyang and the DMZ. I’m hoping this continues in 2008, so that I can end a week/week and a half in China with a trip to North Korea. And while this trip is entirely dependent on the whims of North Korean bureaucrats, there is also the matter of finances and where I will be, say, six months from now. And yes, I do realize that the concept of voluntarily visiting North Korea sounds completely insane to a normal person, which I’ve certainly never claimed to be.

Also, my friend Katerina called me a few days ago and declared that she would like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, to which I replied “Dude, I’m totally up for that.” So apparently we will be climbing Kilimanjaro sometime in the next few years…before we’re 30, which is a scary thought in and of itself. In order to climb Mount K, we’ll have to start a training regimen that involves a lot of hiking, or whatever. To accomplish this, I will have to move back to California, because the “mountains” on the (l)east coast are mere hills. Also, I will need to win the lottery or rob several banks à la Point Break to fund this expedition.

I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I started making a mental list of trips I’d like to go on soon (as in…over a 5-10 year period). If you know me well, you’re aware that at any given time I am probably thinking about someplace I’d rather be than where I currently am. Here’s a few trips I came up with that I’m currently mulling over:

Asia

North Korea: I mentioned this back in 2005, but as odd as it sounds, I still want to travel to North Korea. Like, really, really want to. The bizarreness of this country completely fascinates me, as I imagine it’s quite similar to the Soviet Union in the era of Stalin. I was alllll ready to start planning a surf trip to Costa Rica until Diane Sawyer went over to Pyongyang for her incredibly fascinating PrimeTime “special report.” After the show was over, I turned to my roommate Laura, and said, “You wanna go to North Korea?” Like any normal person, she answered no. Still, this was better than the “Are you effin’ crazy?” response that I usually get.

So the question is, can U.S. citizens visit North Korea? According to Koryo Tours, the North Korean government will allow U.S. citizens to visit during the infamous mass games, held in August, September, and the beginning of October.

WARNING: Under no circumstances whatsoever are you to say something that could be perceived as an insult to Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-Il, communism, or the North Korean people or government. You and your guide are likely to face serious trouble, although your guide will bear the worst of it. Assume at all times that you will be under constant surveillance throughout your trip. Your hotel room, bathrooms, telephones, faxes, emails and even modes of transportation will probably be bugged.

Hmmm…must learn to keep smartass-ness under control. I gotta get this trip outta my system. Pyongyang or bust, indeed.

Afghanistan/Tajikistan: The NYTimes had a recent article on the somewhat thriving tourism industry in Kabul, so I checked out some of the tour groups that are operating in the part of the world. Great Game Travel’s 11 day jeep tour from Dushanbe (Tajikistan) to Kabul sounds quite interesting.

Vietnam: You get to crawl through VC tunnels and shoot M-60s and AK-47s. Need I say more?

Annapurna and Everest trek: Building slightly on my Mount Everest obsession, this trek takes you to the base camps of two 8,000m peaks. Maybe someday I’ll actually, you know, get higher than base camp, but in the meantime it’s a good introduction to Nepal.

Japan: I blame this on Lost in Translation, but Tokyo looks AMAZING…like walking around in a giant video game.

Europe:

Ukraine: Yeah, Kiev looks like a great city to visit, but I mainly want to go to Pripyat, the abandoned city located near Chernobyl. I’ve been obsessed with this “ghost town” ever since that Kiddofspeed site hit the internet.

Turkey: Ah, the age old question – is Turkey considered a part of Europe? Whatev, let’s leave the semantics to the Eurocrats and check out Istanbul, followed by a nice climb of Mount Ararat.

Africa

Morocco: Omar tried his best to convince me to choose Morocco over Egypt, but in the end Egypt won out due to those pyramid things. Well, Omar, fly down from London and I’ll meet you in Marrakesh.

Tanzania: Go on a safari and climb Kilimanjaro. Nuff said.

Etc

Cuba: Yeah, the Feds say I can’t go, but you know what? Eff them. I’m not gonna let some goddamn bureaucrat in the Treasury Department tell me I can’t lay on the beach with a mojito and smoke some Cuban cigars.

Antarctica: Having grown up in a desert, the snow and ice of Antarctica has always fascinated me. Penguins are cute, too. Will just got back from here and has posted some of his photos on his site, so check them out.

Australia: Seems to be an overall chill country to visit. And you gotta love the accents and BBQ.

Let me know if you’re up for any of these…or have any suggestions.

(Title is a quote by Kurt Vonnegut)

Forbes has released its list of most dangerous travel destinations for 2006. Potential tourists, take note of the places you might want to avoid:

• Afghanistan
• Burundi
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Georgia
• Haiti
• Iraq
• Liberia
• Pakistan
• Papua New Guinea
• Russia (Chechnya)
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Zimbabwe

Damn, and I was totally going to hop on that Moscow-Grozny train next time I was in Russia.

Actually, one of my next destinations is on that list. When I visit Liz and Taline in Armenia, I’m going to take a quick run into Georgia for some khachapuri and shashlik. I have no idea when I’ll be visiting Armenia, but hopefully it will be in the next year or year and a half. Granted, this is entirely dependent on my future employment status, etc., etc. but I’d really like to go to Armenia and Georgia (and all the “-stans” while I’m at it).

That’s one way to burn off the shashlik

A few years ago, when a group of us were planning a weekend trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg, we went down to the train station to purchase our tickets. Somehow we ended up at Yaroslavsky Vokzal, which was across the street from Leningradsky Vokzal, the station with the Moscow-Petersburg ticket office.

Nevertheless, we took a few minutes to scan the list of trains departing for eastern destinations : Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, Vladivostok, Pyongyang…wait, Pyongyang? There is a train that runs from Moscow to Pyongyang? We cracked a few jokes about ditching Petersburg for a trip to North Korea, and then headed across the street to Leningradsky Vokzal, where we should have gone in the first place.

Since then, I’ve been fascinated with the idea of traveling to North Korea, primarily because no one goes there (it’s not exactly a “hot spot” for travel, eh?) and I think it would be interesting to see what it’s like to visit the closed society that exists in the the world’s last Stalinist regime.

Lately I’ve been looking up how exactly you go about visiting North Korea and reading the websites of people who have been there. It seems like you have to go with a group, or, you could go “independently”, but will be escorted by a guide and driver at all times.

The tours leave from Beijing, which is perfect because I’d love to spend a week in China anyways. The only problem is getting a North Korean visa. I e-mailed Simon over at Koryo Tours regarding the visa issue, and he said that Americans are currently unable to get a visa. Damn! If only I had a second passport…a British passport…hmmm…must find British husband.

So, I have a travel goal: IF North Korea starts issuing visas to American citizens again, then I’m going. Of course, that is also dependent on finances and work, however, I’m going to try and get there by 2010. Everyone thinks I’m crazy for wanting to spend a week in North Korea, but if anyone wants in, let me know.

Also, I still want to visit the Chernobyl ghost town of Pripyat (especially after reading this article), but Taline and Crystal were like “Uhhh…no.” Any takers for that one?

Everyone at LSE received this e-mail today:

Announcing the…
LSE/OXBRIDGE CUBA TRIP – an LSE/OxBridge premier!
(open to all students, alumni, staff, faculty and family)
The Che Guevara Tour
Tour Dates:
13-23 July 2005 (confirmed)
24 August-3 September 2005 (subject to demand)
Celebrate the culture of Cuba – while Fidel is still around!
Marlins, 30 degrees, Che Guevara, Cuban cigars, jazz, rum, Mojitos, Hemingway, Castro, fun in the sun, beaches, sportfishing, Caribbean nightlife, salsa lessons, stunning ecological reserves and eco-tourism activities, cultural immersion lectures at the University of Havana, and more!
11 Unforgettable Days in Havana, Vinales & the surrounding beaches/countryside!

I’ve always wanted to go to Cuba…it’s supposed to be amazingly beautiful and I’ve heard that the people are incredibly friendly. At $2,300, the trip is just a bit too expensive, though! Someday I’ll make it over there.

My spring break is coming up…March 18 – April 25 (yeah, I know, an incredibly long spring break). I’m trying to figure out where I want to travel. For those of you not at the LSE, the running joke is that it actually stands for “Let’s See Europe” and not the London School of Economics.

To give you an idea of where I haven’t been, check out this map:

See all that gray? That’s where I haven’t been…we need to change this. So, I need some suggestions on which countries to visit. I know many of you have done that “backpacking through Europe” thing, so tell me which cities/countries are “must see”, and any places you hated.

I’ve already got one trip planned…I’m going to Budapest, Hungary from March 19-24. That should be awesome.

I’m seriously considering a week in Egypt…or maybe Morocco.

Anyways, give me some suggestions.

I was bored last night, so I made a map of places I have been (thanks to world66.com).

I’ve been to a grand total of three countries: Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Russia. I’m not really sure if Mexico even counts…I only went to Tijuana for a day when I was in the 6th grade.

So where do I want to go next? Would you be surprised if I told you I wanted to go back to Russia? I want to visit the areas of Russia that few tourists venture to…Lake Baikal, Yekaterinburg, Rostov on Don, Omsk, Yakutsk, Vladivostok…I want to ride the Trans-Siberian railway…how cool would that be?

Then I want to go to Georgia…Liz, Luke, and I are going out there together someday…then we’re going to visit Arshad and Amir in Pakistan.

I want to visit Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Turkey, Tibet, Nepal, China, Mongolia, and Egypt.

I’d like to go to Cuba, but my government says that I can’t just go to Cuba whenever I feel like it. We are still fighting the evil Reds, you see…or at least that’s what the Cuban exiles in Miami would have you believe. You know what’s funny? The persecution of Americans that travel to Cuba and are subsequently fined by the U.S. Government could actually be a violation of several international agreements the U.S. has signed, namely the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Helsinki Final Act. But remember that those are international agreements, and we can pick and choose what we would like to abide by.

I want to visit Australia, Greece, Italy, Spain, and of course, “Old Europe” – France, Germany, Benelux…ohhh and Ireland…gotta see where my ancestors came from.

I think I need a career in the Foreign Service…