Countries you've been to, countries you'd like to go to

[Duke87 1,070]

I'm bored, so let's make lists discussing travel.

 

To start, here is the list of countries I have been to:

- United States

- Canada

 

Yeah, that's it. Impressive, huh? I know I have to work on this, and I'm... getting there. A few years ago I considered the idea of taking a trip overseas to be way more trouble than it's worth. But since I've now been to Canada repeatedly and survived just fine... now it's something I actually want to do at some point, and it might happen as early as next year. Which brings me to the second half of this exercise, countries I'd like to go to.

 

The UK This will likely be the first place overseas I visit. They speak English and from what I understand their food bears a decent amount of similarity to what you find in the US, so the two biggest challenges of visiting foreign countries are avoided here. As to why I want to go, well, London has some amazing infrastructure and I could easily spend days just riding trains and stuff there. Also seems like it might be a fun country to drive around if I can figure out how to do so on the wrong side of the road. Knowing me I would pick the most remote little village in Northern Scotland that I could drive to and go there, just to say I did.

 

Ireland A lot of the same logic as the UK, except not so much amazing infrastructure, so lower priority. If part of my family weren't from here and they didn't speak English I wouldn't want to go.

 

Italy It's where most of my family is from, so obviously interesting for personal reasons. But it's also got plenty of ancient ruins and interesting cities, and a drive on the Autostrada seems like fun, too

 

France Or specifically Paris, for a lot of the same reason as London. Dunno that I care about the rest of the country although I'd love to see the Millau Viaduct in person

 

Germany Autobahn. No speed limit. What further justification is needed?

 

Iceland It's decently close to home and I'm told it's a rather otherworldly place. Seems interesting.

 

Australia It's almost as big as the continental US but a lot more empty. I want to drive cross country in Australia

 

New Zealand Also possibly falls into the category of "wouldn't do it if they didn't speak English", although a friend of mine went here and took some amazing pictures, so it seems worth doing!

 

Japan I probably would have to stop into a video game store just to say I did, but really... have you seen the trains and highways they have there? My god, so sexy. This would be an "I'm going to do nothing but drive around and ride trains" trip. Screw everything else, it's boring in comparison. Hearing that the speed limit on those roads is only 80 km/h and that that is actually enforced as such makes me a very sad panda, though.

 

 

...aaand I'm done. Your turn!

[Ocram's Razr 964]

Let's see... I have only been to 1/4 the states in the USA and the 3 (south) western Canadian Provinces as well as Jalisco and Cancun.

 

I would like to go to the Mediterranean, (especially Florence and Venice, possibly Rome). I would like to visit Japan as well. I would also like to experience Carneval in Brazil and to experience Dia de los Muertos in Mexico (I have experienced the off-season there and Navidad). I would like to visit NYC, Chicago, and New England and visit Florida and Hawaii again. I would like to visit a couple tropical islands in the Caribbean and Pacific.

 

Possibly the Swiss Alps and maybe Argentinia (and their "alpine ski lodges" in the Andes)

 

 

--Ocram

[jmdude1 20]

Excellent topic, travel is a big part of my life.

Where I've been:

- Canada, USA, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador.

- South Africa, Namibia, Egypt.

- England, Scotland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Vatican City, Spain.

- China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia.

Where I want to go:

Vietnam, Indonesia, Madagascar, Kenya, Jordan, Turkey, Peru, Easter Island.

@Duke87: Don't let language and food stop you. English and western food can be found everywhere, well, wherever tourists go.

[TekindusT 3,809]

I tend to have this kind of things a bit organized in my brain, but most of the times in the shape of cities rather than countries.

 

Priority 0: "In conception/planning phase"

- Vilnius (Lithuania), St. Petersburg and Moscow (Russia).

- Leipzig, Hamburg, Wismar, Stralsund, Dortmund, Köln (Germany). These are fast trips to cities I haven't already been, and can be done in 2-3 days.

- Warsaw (Poland).

 

Priority 1: "I will do it when I feel I have enough money and time"

- Travelling accross the USA. I remember we discussed about it some time ago, here on the Off-Topic, Duke.

- Travelling accross Russia. The language is definately a major issue, and I would do it only if I found a local who would come with me.

- Snowboarding in the Alps. Preferrably, the French Alps.

 

Priority 2: "Perhaps when I'm already married or as a honey moon trip"

- The typical Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto (Japan).

- Xi'an, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao, Chongking ("China").

- Travelling accross Spain. I did that as a child with my parents, and I don't remember almost anything. If I shared my life with a foreign girl, I think it could be a nice experience.

- Buenos Aires (Argentina).

- Mexico City (Mexico).

- Snowboarding in the Rockies, USA.

 

Priority 3: "It would be cool..."

- Visiting southwestern Australia. 

- Iceland.

- Colombia.

[MandelSoft 2,775]

Here's what I've covered so far...

 

 

This summer, I will visit Houston, New Orleans and Panama.

 

However, I'd also like to go to:

- Wengen, Switzerland in the winter. I've already been there in the summer, but I'd like to do some skiing there.

- Norway. That country looks beautiful!

- Toronto, ON, Canada

- New York City, NY, USA

- Sydney or Melbourne, Australia

- Japan would be a cool place to go...

 

For the rest, I think I'll travel to places I'd never think of in the first place, but still would be nice to go

Best,

Maarten

[jmsepe 2,039]

I've never left the Philippines so no other countries visited yet.

 

My wish list of countries I want to visit before I die. LOL. (in order, well not really but I'm sure that number one is top priority. )

 

1. Japan - So many reasons to say that I don't know what to write. 

2. US - I want to visit Las Vegas (I love casinos) and NY (my favorite city since I was born)

3. UK - I want to visit London. 

4. Russia - Try something a bit hard core. Hahaha. Hope that did not sound racist.

5. Germany - Well, cool country I've read.

6. France - Paris is really such a romantic place they say, THEY SAY.

7. Brazil - I love to see the favellas and Rio of course.

8. Netherlands - I want some dutch party music style. Never been here but I feel like this is country is a party place with so much freedom.

9. Thailand - Uhm, really no idea, I just want to visit Bangkok.

10. South Africa - I want to visit Africa and this country is my best bet.

11. Italy - Big fan of Roman Empire and I want to see some of the empire's remains.

12. Monaco -  I just want to visit this little tiny yet luxurious country in Europe.

13. Canada - Wishing to have a vacation house here.

14. Australia - I want to see Sydney and Melbourne.

15. China - I want to visit Shanghai and Hong Kong.

16. South Korea - because Seoul is cool, at least that is what I think of it. 

Last but not the least, UAE, I want to see Burj Khalifa and dubai's growing metropolis. 

 

Whew, that's rather a long list. I better start packing. Hahaha. Packing my bed to sleep.

 

Cheerios! 

 

-jmsepe

[GMT 389]

Germany Autobahn. No speed limit. What further justification is needed?

 

Don't get fooled. Several "Bundesländer" (aka States) in Germany have a speed limit on the Autobahn somewhere between 100 and 130 kph (60-80mph) with loads of exceptions south of 100 kph.

those that don't have a general speed limit put a limit on certain stretches of highway due to whatever reason. That plus the traffic density due to the lack of lanes - the majority is 2 lanes per direction, where possible they remodel it to 3 which gives a lot of construction with speed limits, don't expect to find anything beyond 4 lanes which is very very rare) make it rather impossible to actually enjoy the urban myth of "no speed limit on the german Autobahn"

Still 65% of the entire network has no speed limit, but keep in mind that these are splattered across a little over 25.200km (16k miles) all across the nation so longer stretches are rare and like I said already, often are so packed with traffic that you simply can't go much beyond the "Richtgeschwindigkeit" (recommended speed; german law suggests a recommended speed of 130kph (80mph) on unlimited highways and god you better stick to it cuz insurance acts as if it's a speed limit in case of an accident).

My car can go about 240kph (150mph) and I am happy if I can go about 160kph (100mph) over more than a few miles...

Also, I live near Ramstein AFB, so some 35k US personnel frequent the local roads. Why I say this? Because the step from "No speed limit on the german Autobahn" to "No speed limit in Germany" seems to be very very small... every now and then I read the news of a fatal car crashes on roads other than highways and it turns out it was americans trying out the no speed limit thing on german roads...

 

anyways, that was not the topic here...

 

so.

Been to:

Almost all of Europe from Gibraltar to North Cape (except eastern countries and the UK) aswell as southwestern USA.

 

Want to go to:

Everything else continental USA (there's just sooo much to get from, especially in terms of landscape/geographical variety. non-continental US would be nice to do aswell but not a must-have), Canada, UK, Iceland, Greenland, Australia, Russia, Middle East, Japan...

And yes, in this particular order.

 

edit: oh and tek, there's an app called "russian in a month" (also offering other languages) I can totally recommend as I tried it myself (and still am). costs a few bucks but it's a really easy approach to acquire basic reading/speaking skills w/o the hassle of a "classic" aka school-ish lesson system

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Well, I've been to most states in the U.S. and all the provinces of Canada except P.E.I.  The NWT is on my bucket list.

 

I did most of my travelling in the 1970s and 80s, mostly for work.  One vacation trip stands out with a two week jaunt to the UK (London) for a couple of days, then to France (Bordeaux) for the rest.  Rented a car in Bordeaux and ran about the Aquitaine from Biarriz to Cognac and out to part of the Massif Central.

 

Been to Mexico, but only the border area.

 

Bermuda with a sales reward group.

 

Bucket List:

 

Inuvik, Whitehorse, Dawson, Yellowknife, Iqaluit

 

Alexandria, Istanbul, Aleppo, Jerusalem, Petra

 

Kyoto, Hiroshima, Shanghai, New Delhi, Agra.

[nathanthemayor 1,263]

I've been to 43 US States(Haven't gotten Florida, Alabama, Georgia, S Carolina, Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska) Canada, England, France, Italy, Greece, and (for like 8 seconds) Germany. My travel "Wish List" has like 40 countries on it, although I've scratched off a couple due to political instability and other issues(Like Egypt). Although note that i have been within 1000 meters of Mexico on at least several occasions but never actually gone in(Like where I-8 east of Salton Sea)

[MandelSoft 2,775]

8. Netherlands - I want some dutch party music style. Never been here but I feel like this is country is a party place with so much freedom.

-jmsepe

 

Don't forget the Delta Works. We do have some impressive Hydro-engineering here to protect us from the water, because about half of the Netherlands is below sea level.

 

Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge):

 

Maeslantkering (Maeslant Storm Surge)

 

And of course, there's the typical Polder-landscape: flat and open:

 

 

 

And of course, we have some nice old cities like Amsterdam, the Hague and Utrecht

 

So, the Netherlands is quite an interesting place to visit.

 

Best,

Maarten

[Mr Saturn64 742]

I've never left the US..... *sob*  But my heart and soul..... *cries* are always.... traveling... *Sniff*

 

*Runs out of room crying*

[Terring 6,476]

The only country I've been to was Cyprus.

 

As about the countries I want to visit: France, Great Britain, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Russia, Japan, Canada, U.S.A., the Netherlands, Tunisia...

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

If anyone is up for a Melbourne trip, I'd be more than happy to show you around!

So far I have New Zealand, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Switzerland, Germany, Australia and Denmark.

I'd love to do France, Switzerland again and Russia. Bhutan and North Korea fascinate me with their isolation, but the latter would be difficult for obvious reasons (it's still doable though!)

[Odainsaker 2,137]

I've always wanted visit both Germany and Austria, with Vienna specifically being one of my hopelessly romanticized dream cities.  Sadly, Frankenstein tap-dancing would be more elegant than my attempts at waltzing, and I would need a serious refresher of even just basic German.

 

Despite current events, I want to visit Russia as well, though my laughably novice level of the Russian language from studies long ago has largely faded away.  St. Petersburg is another of my hopelessly romanticized dream cities, and the grand travel plan would involve the rail journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow and surroundings, and then eventually east along the Trans-Siberian railway all the way to Vladivostok.  From there, the ferry can take us to Japan, though perhaps, in the far off day when I can realistically take such a journey, the train can actually take us properly all the way to Seoul, and then we can cross from Busan to Fukuoka.

 

Of course, Japan is just required on the itinerary, with Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura again being among my romanticized dream cities.  The guide books are vague on the best time to visit each city so as to avoid the giant monster attacks, but, I will have to work into the trip timetable attendance at the favorite j-rock concerts.

 

Amusingly, after I watched the program "Johnny's Journey" send Japanese pop idols to travel across remote locations, I now want to do the trip series from Santiago, Chile, to Lima, Peru, complete with side trips to Machu Picchu and Nazca.

 

Iran and romanticized Isfahan are also on my list of places to one day visit, even if current political relations make that inadvisable today for many wary Americans.  There was a brief window when Iran was trying to open itself up more welcomingly to a broader range of travelers and students from the U.S., however, subsequent events under the new presidencies of both the later Bush and Ahmadinejad sidelined those efforts.

[jmsepe 2,039]

If anyone is up for a Melbourne trip, I'd be more than happy to show you around!

So far I have New Zealand, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Switzerland, Germany, Australia and Denmark.

I'd love to do France, Switzerland again and Russia. Bhutan and North Korea fascinate me with their isolation, but the latter would be difficult for obvious reasons (it's still doable though!)

 

Oh that's cool. Wait for five to ten more years then before I visit Melbourne. Hahaha

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

I've always wanted visit both Germany and Austria, with Vienna specifically being one of my hopelessly romanticized dream cities.  Sadly, Frankenstein tap-dancing would be more elegant than my attempts at waltzing, and I would need a serious refresher of even just basic German.

 

Despite current events, I want to visit Russia as well, though my laughably novice level of the Russian language from studies long ago has largely faded away.  St. Petersburg is another of my hopelessly romanticized dream cities, and the grand travel plan would involve the rail journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow and surroundings, and then eventually east along the Trans-Siberian railway all the way to Vladivostok.  From there, the ferry can take us to Japan, though perhaps, in the far off day when I can realistically take such a journey, the train can actually take us properly all the way to Seoul, and then we can cross from Busan to Fukuoka.

 

Of course, Japan is just required on the itinerary, with Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura again being among my romanticized dream cities.  The guide books are vague on the best time to visit each city so as to avoid the giant monster attacks, but, I will have to work into the trip timetable attendance at the favorite j-rock concerts.

 

Amusingly, after I watched the program "Johnny's Journey" send Japanese pop idols to travel across remote locations, I now want to do the trip series from Santiago, Chile, to Lima, Peru, complete with side trips to Machu Picchu and Nazca.

 

Iran and romanticized Isfahan are also on my list of places to one day visit, even if current political relations make that inadvisable today for many wary Americans.  There was a brief window when Iran was trying to open itself up more welcomingly to a broader range of travelers and students from the U.S., however, subsequent events under the new presidencies of both the later Bush and Ahmadinejad sidelined those efforts.

Unless a country is in a current state of war I don't think any country at all is truly "off the cards". It's just staying in better areas and knowing your way and all that.

[Odainsaker 2,137]

Indeed, and many Americans do in fact freely travel to Iran without issue, often to visit relatives, and I personally know several that travel to see family in Isfahan annually. However, there are complications that can arise, with some people more likely to get caught up in them than others. Isfahan and its nearby areas with Shiraz and Persepolis are already popular sites catering to international tourists and are favorites among Westerners, while "hiking" the mountains bordering Iraq with cameras and GPS system in hand might be less smart to do.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Unfortunately, the only Iranian I know was a young man studying mathematics at university who was a refugee from there.  There is a price on his head since he is a member of a collateral branch of the Iranian royal family.  Very nice chap.

[TekindusT 3,809]

... would involve the rail journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow and surroundings, and then eventually east along the Trans-Siberian railway all the way to Vladivostok.  From there, the ferry can take us to Japan, though perhaps, in the far off day when I can realistically take such a journey, the train can actually take us properly all the way to Seoul, and then we can cross from Busan to Fukuoka.

 

Is it still feasible to do that? Is there still actually a scheduled train running "non-stop" from Moscow to Vladivostok? I would like to travel on it on my trip throughout Russia, but I don't know how feasible is that option. 

[Meg 368]

 

... would involve the rail journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow and surroundings, and then eventually east along the Trans-Siberian railway all the way to Vladivostok.  From there, the ferry can take us to Japan, though perhaps, in the far off day when I can realistically take such a journey, the train can actually take us properly all the way to Seoul, and then we can cross from Busan to Fukuoka.

 

Is it still feasible to do that? Is there still actually a scheduled train running "non-stop" from Moscow to Vladivostok? I would like to travel on it on my trip throughout Russia, but I don't know how feasible is that option. 

 

 

It is still running.  During the recent Sochi Olympics, a reporter rode that train.    There is a video on this page.   (Scroll down to "Trans Siberian Railway".)

 

As for countries I've been to . . . Canada, Mexico (only the tourist areas so not really), Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, England, France, Germany, Austria (just passing through), Italy (for 3 hours to see a winery), Switzerland, Liechtenstein (had lunch there).

 

I highly recommend getting out of the cities and into the surrounding areas.   I think London is a crowded madhouse but other parts of England are great.

 

As to where I want to go . . . I find that I'm getting less adventurous as I get older.   or maybe it's more cranky.   I have the radical belief that everyone should have access to education.   I find that I'm reluctant to travel to places that don't share this belief because I feel that they aren't safe.

 

That still leaves many places to go.   Just not sure when I'll get there. 

[Odainsaker 2,137]

The No. 100Э and the No. 002M "Rossiya" leave Moscow's Yaroslavsky Station every other day for 7-day, all-way journeys to Vladivostok.  Basic starting ticket prices seem to range roughly from US$230 to US$1150 depending on train, class, and exchange rates, and may have additional charges for meals, showers, and agent fees.  I think I would want to spend a day or so at the stops just to at least bathe in some comfort and see the local sights, and that seems to entail individual tickets for each individual stretch of the route.  I do wonder, what does one do or see in a stopover at, say, Irkutsk or Krasnoyarsk, as I've admittedly only seen pictures of their grand train stations.  I also wonder if you would be spending time among actual Russian travelers rather than among other foreign tourists.
 
Perhaps more exciting for me is that the trains leave from Yaroslavsky Station, whose architecture style is a blend of Russian Revival and Art Nouveau.  I once came across prints of the watercolor architectural drawings of this station and fell in love with the romanticized Art Nouveau style of the drawings.
 
Amusingly, there is a variant of the "J's Journey" program called "J's Teacher," which sent j-pop teen idol Fujigaya Taisuke partly on the reverse route, Vladivostok to Moscow, as far as Irkutsk, and had him sample and work in the Japanese restaurants available along the way.  Here he is first trying the train from Vladivostok to Khabarovsk, and afterwards a Khabarovsk city tram.  Actually, Khabarovsk looks rather pretty.

[astronelson 339]

Been to:

 

Australia (born and live here),

Timor Leste (twice, contracted malaria the first time),

Papua New Guinea (was cured of malaria here),

Indonesia (few days in Bali after second Timor Leste trip, was sick most of the time),

Argentina (a few times in quick succession - the flight to Tierra del Fuego goes through Chile),

Peru (saw Machu Picchu), Cuba (you can't see Florida, but you can see the pollution above Florida),

USA (I don't think they noticed the Cuba stamp in my passport),

Canada (very nice, didn't get to stay long),

Ireland (stayed near a beach, turns out the beach was made of rocks),

UK (the Dublin-Manchester flight is 45 minutes, I've had longer domestic flights),

France (toured Paris, it rained),

Italy (the train from Paris to Rome split in half, no-one told us this beforehand, we lost half our bags),

Vatican City (they have a gift shop, it is very expensive),

Austria (I saw a performance of a Wagner opera, it was very long and I had to stand through the whole thing),

Switzerland (so very very expensive),

Russia (in winter, too),

China (dear lord there's a lot of people there),

Nepal (rode an elephant),

Vietnam (it was 40 degrees. Celsius. At night.),

New Zealand (we have a deal with them - people with passports from one country can visit the other indefinitely).

 

Been through:

 

Chile (not sure how long I was here, definitely changed flights),

Mexico (changed flights twice, may have stayed overnight once),

Germany (changed trains here),

Denmark (passed through),

Sweden (stayed a very short time between Denmark and Finland),

Finland (ferry then train to Russia).

 

I think that's everything so far.

 

Did you know Canberra Airport is still designated as an international airport even though its last international flight was in 2004?

 

Furthest north I've been on the surface of the Earth: on a train somewhere between Helsinki and St. Petersburg.

Furthest south I've been on the surface of the Earth: on a boat somewhere south of Ushuaia (Argentina) and Punta Arenas (Chile). I may have been further south on the flight between Sydney and Buenos Aires, I don't know.

Circumnavigations done: 1.

 

What I would like to do:

As far as I know the longest possible rail journey: starting in Porto, Portugal, and ending in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

 

 

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Japan I probably would have to stop into a video game store just to say I did, but really... have you seen the trains and highways they have there? My god, so sexy. This would be an "I'm going to do nothing but drive around and ride trains" trip. Screw everything else, it's boring in comparison. Hearing that the speed limit on those roads is only 80 km/h and that that is actually enforced as such makes me a very sad panda, though.

 

I have good news for you, Duke!  In Tokyo on the Shuto, it's very very VERY difficult indeed to go any faster than 60-80kmh, but you probably wouldn't want to, especially if you're driving through Shibuya and Shinjuku at night with everything lit up around you (I've never felt so cool in my entire life).  BUT, once you're out of Tokyo and you're driving through good, clear weather with little or no cross wind, the speed limit signs are actually off, displaying no speed limit.  Now, they SAY the speed limit is 100kmh, but I've been doing 110-120 on the Tohoku with cars passing me as though I were standing still.  Seriously.  Japanese drivers in German and Italian iron are past you even as they appear in your rearview mirror.  I avoid the far right lane because I'm not suicidal.  There are high-end rental car services, as well.  I'm just throwing that out there.

 

OKAY.  I've been to the States (I'm American) and have visited most states east of the Mississippi, and I've been to Toronto twice.  Both in January.  *sigh*  And I've been to Japan.

To those who want to come here, feel free to enjoy Kyoto/Tokyo/Osaka/etc, but there are many different things here to enjoy.  Where I live, the Izu Peninsula, it is stunning, and the onsen are wonderfully relaxing.  The Ise Shrine in Mie is amazing.  Lake Biwa in Shiga is picturesque. and Hikone (one of its biggest cities) sports one of the last few original castles (most are now reconstructed museums with a/c, electricity, etc, like Osaka Castle).  There are 11 others in addition to Hikone-jo, but that's the one I visited.  There are also steam engine sightseeing trains, the beaches of Shonan and Wakayama, and the Japanese Alps for skiers/snowboarders.  Stay in ryokans and minshukus, they're often cheaper and will offer you traditional Japanese meals, which, while occasionally (okay, often) disgusting, are always beautifully prepared and displayed and worth trying at least once (I've actually gotten used to a lot of it, and it can be really tasty, too!).  If you have time/money, do something unique and adventurous, explore the countryside, old people who have traveled the world and speak English really well will surprise you by coming up to you and starting a conversation.  It's happened to me more than once!  EVERYONE does Tokyo.  Don't waste your time on Tokyo.  If you've been to one major city, you've been to them all.  "Oh, but NMUSpidey, they all have a different personality!  They're all unique!"  Yeah, and they all have the same shops and the same bustling, selfish people, and the same staid businesspeople, and the same horrid traffic, and McDonald's and Starbucks everywhere and aside from a few cultural treasures, there are really much better places to visit.  Visiting Tokyo is the same as visiting Chicago/NY/Toronto/Cleveland (hahahahahah I threw Cleveland in there!).  The interesting stuff is out in the country or in Kyoto, seriously.  Unless you're in it for the transport (Duke).

 

I want to visit Greece, Turkey, Italy, and the UK (but especially England, because half of my heritage is English).  I am interested in the ancient empires of the Greeks and Romans, and I would very much enjoy exploring some of historically important places.  The same goes for Iran, which would be nice to visit if the Iranian and American governments didn't hate each other quite so much.  I would like to visit England and then just drive around the English countryside aimlessly, talking to kind English people (so I probably wouldn't visit Cheshire), staying wherever I find myself, dawdling along with no particular goals.  That sounds like one heck of an amazing vacation.  Tahiti, just to lie on the beach in paradise. 

 

I have a passing interest in China, but the air is so hideously polluted.  Korea would be nice, but I don't really know anything about it.  My single Korean friend lives in Bahrain.  Singapore would be interesting to visit, but only if I was unimaginably wealthy.  If I wanted to do more traveling, I'd finish exploring America, though.  Foreign countries are nice and all, but the USA is HUGE on its own, and I've seen so little of it!

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Spidey, next time (if ever) you get to Toronto  try for the summer.  I think you'd like the eastern beaches if they are not closed due to bird droppings contaminating them.

[timmie 988]

If anyone is up for a Melbourne trip, I'd be more than happy to show you around!

 

Okay, that's noted

 

I've done only European destinations so far, this map illustrates the regions I've been to. Light red/pink are the regions I have driven through (train or car). You can follow my journey to Berlin and Prague, for example.

 

 

• In England, I did London, Canterbury, Oxford and Bath.
• In the Netherlands, I have been to Rotterdam, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Gouda, Eindhoven, Texel and Zeeland. Also a camping that I can't remember anymore I went to with a friend.
• In Belgium, well, every province, since that's my country. I've seen most of the Belgian cities with ca. 100.000 inhabitants or more.
• In Germany, I've visited Köln (I was a bit disappointed, but the weather wasn't too good) and Berlin (amazing city). I also went to the Mosel-region and visited family in the Ruhr-area (Herne, Lüdenscheid and Velbert).
• I'm not going to begin with France, because I've seen to much there. It is the traditional holiday destination for many people in Belgium. Beautiful country, very diverse landscapes.
• Greece is obvious, since my father's family lives there. We made a day-trip to Albania once.
• Spain then, Barcelona, the Costa Brava (won't do that again, beach and hotel is not my kind of holiday), Valencia and Sagunt.
• In the Czech Republic, Prague was the destination. In Austria, I went skiing with my primary school. I've been to Stockholm in Sweden twice. Recently, I've also added Italy (Rome and Ostia) to my list.

In May this year, I will visit Edinburgh in Scotland, In August Greece with my family, and probably another destination in the summer months.

 

Countries on my list: I want to see more of Spain, they have some nice cities (Madrid, the south, Bilbao,...). Portugal too (Porto and Lisbon). I want to see the Scottish Highlands and Ireland (but first: my driving licence). I want to see Norway (the fjord, the northern lights), more cities in Sweden, Finland, Copenhagen in Denmark. The Baltic nations are on my list, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, many cities in Eastern Europe (Warsaw, Krakow,...), Vienna in Austria,... I want to see more of Italy, go to Istanbul in Turkey, visit Morocco,... Outside Europe, it's a very long road-trip in the USA (if I marry a rich man). Canada is definitely on the list (Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Québec,...). Australia too. Expensive list, this is.

 

And that's it, really. Mostly things in the 'West'. Asia doesn't seem like something for me (maybe because I don't know a lot about it?), and I don't know a lot about South America, though that might be an interesting region to visit.

[TekindusT 3,809]

The No. 100Э and the No. 002M "Rossiya" leave Moscow's Yaroslavsky Station every other day for 7-day, all-way journeys to Vladivostok.  Basic starting ticket prices seem to range roughly from US$230 to US$1150 depending on train, class, and exchange rates, and may have additional charges for meals, showers, and agent fees.  I think I would want to spend a day or so at the stops just to at least bathe in some comfort and see the local sights, and that seems to entail individual tickets for each individual stretch of the route.  I do wonder, what does one do or see in a stopover at, say, Irkutsk or Krasnoyarsk, as I've admittedly only seen pictures of their grand train stations.  I also wonder if you would be spending time among actual Russian travelers rather than among other foreign tourists.

 

Yeah, I definately would like to do it to visit, even though it is for only one day, the cities on the route and that grand stations, and those rusty railyards!

 

If you have time/money, do something unique and adventurous, explore the countryside, old people who have traveled the world and speak English really well will surprise you by coming up to you and starting a conversation.  It's happened to me more than once!  EVERYONE does Tokyo.  Don't waste your time on Tokyo.  If you've been to one major city, you've been to them all.  "Oh, but NMUSpidey, they all have a different personality!  They're all unique!"  Yeah, and they all have the same shops and the same bustling, selfish people, and the same staid businesspeople, and the same horrid traffic, and McDonald's and Starbucks everywhere and aside from a few cultural treasures, there are really much better places to visit.

I actually like one million times more visiting and walking a city (the larger the better) than visiting nature. I know I may sound like one of those selfish businesspeople you were mentioning, but nature really bores me to death. Instead, I can be for days walking a city, discovering places, sometimes even talking with locals... The cultural treasures really make the difference. If you're a tourist, you go to a city, and you complain that there are only McDonald's and Starbucks, it's definately your fault not popping out of the city center and go to know the real city. Of course, it's not going for you, NMU, just saying the typical example.

I don't know much people who actually enjoy doing that.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Toronto and the boroughs are very good for the urban explorer.  When I was single I did a lot of walking in the city.  Many cultural areas to savour.

 

On the other hand, we have the great Toronto forest.  There are places in the city, like the top of the CN tower, where you can't see the city for the trees, especially the area around Bloor and Yonge Sts. and Rosedale.

 

For rural exploration, I prefer a vehicle.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

I guess Europeans have the advantage of being able to travel across to other countries for day trips or overnight stays. We have to costfully fly everywhere, and distances are great. For example, it's a shorter distance to drive from Moscow to Paris than it is to drive from Melbourne to Perth.

Also, we (along with New Zealand) have the most isolated capitals on earth. Canberra and Wellington are 2,307km apart and yet they are the closest capitals to each other.

[airman15 4,113]

I have never left the US. The only travelling I have done is to several neighboring states (Oregon, Nevada, Utah on a stopover flight, and Arizona). Hopefully soon I can apply for a passport, since I haven't done so yet.

 

If I were to travel to another nation, I have a few places in mind:

 

Canada, because I love tall forests especially when they get snow. I would love to camp there, too.

Mexico, because it's closer. I can't decide whether to stay closer to the border or venture to southern Mexico.

United Kingdom, i'm interested in seeing all of it instead of just limiting myself to England.

France, I have relatives living there.

Germany, especially where they have the Miniature Wonderland.

Japan, hopefully I can ride the bullet train if I get there.

[WeBuiltThisCityOnSimCity 40]

I have been to:

 

Canada

United States of America

Singapore

Malaysia

United Kingdom

France

Germany

Italy

Austria

Netherlands

Belgium

People's Republic of China

India

Japan

United Arab Emirates

Switzerland

Taiwan

 

I would like to visit:
South Korea

Australia

Japan (for more than a stopover)

Mexico