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.
China: Gotta see the Great Wall before the damn thing is completely destroyed. And hell, I love Chinese food, too. If I do go to North Korea, I have to fly into Bejiing anyways, so that’s like a two for one deal.
Turkmenistan: The Turkmenbashi may be gone, but I’m sure the bizarreness lives on. Now I just gotta see if Crystal is still up for the trans-Caspian trip via leaking container ship.
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)
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From EJ:
I would go to Nepal, North Korea or Afghanistan with you in a heartbeat! I’m doing Tanzania/South Africa fall of 2008, come hell or high water.
From Lindsay:
Emily, I’m looking into a possible trip to North Korea in August…I’ll let you know what I find out.
From EJ:
The more I look at the North Korea tour website, the more I want to go!
From El Capitan:
Lindsay, I just spent the last hour going through the kiddofspeed site.
Wow… thanks for sharing that. I’d love to head out there some day with a bike and a camera. Yes, with a geiger counter as well. That was an amazing site.
From Cincysundevil:
Wow …
A trip to North Korea. Great … now you can see all of the poverty and lunacism up close! Nothing like all you can eat 3rd world cuisine!
Actually, you should hit Australia. That is your best bet; I’ve heard that they actually like Americans. That would be nice for a change!
From Lindsay:
Actually I have heard the food is not that bad. Granted, the rest of the population doesn’t get to eat it…
I see your point, but I still think the time to hit all the “rougher” (and to me, more interesting) countries is now, when I’m young. Australia, Spain, Germany, etc won’t have changed much 20 years down the road
From Tyler:
You have a good point to hitting the “rougher” countries sooner rather than later.
On the top of my list are Australia/New Zealand, Antarctica, and Cuba.
From Laina:
Hey Lindsay! I stumbled across your blog totally by accident while looking for pics of a recent news story in Austria. Not sure how exactly you came up in google image search, but as soon as I started reading, I haven’t been able to stop for the last 4 hours!
I saw this post specifically and wanted to comment on the fact that I too have always wanted to travel to Australia (I live in Ontario, Canada), and am finally getting to go! My flight to Aus leaves in 6 days, and I’ll be going for 3 months at least, and hopefully will be able to get a work visa while I’m over there.
Sooo… if you ever decide to go to Australia, hit me up and you can crash at my place! LOL
Keep writing, your posts and pics are incredible.