Destination Daydreams: Birthday Daydreams

It was my birthday yesterday (happy birthday to me and all that). So I figured I'd make a list of everywhere I would go if a) I could afford it and b) security wasn't an issue.

Top of the list is volunteering with orangutans in Borneo or Sumatra. My parents actually offered to pay for me to go for my 21st but I figured I wanted to do something as a family so we went to Euro Disney instead. Such fun, but I really do want to see the orangs.

I'd also love to see the Amazon and the Pantanal on more than just a flying visit. I'd like to actually trek into the forest, maybe volunteer somewhere.

If I had a driving license I'd road trip across Australia from Adelaide to Darwin, maybe taking in some of the tracks on the way. Y'know, just drive out into the outback.

Hmm... what else? I'd love to do an epic trip to see all the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World (or sites thereof) in one go. So Greece (Statue of Zeus, Colossus of Rhodes), Egypt (Pharos of Alexandria, Pyramids at Giza), Turkey (Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus) and Iraq (Hanging Gardens of Babylon). That'd be an awesome trip.

I also fancy a trip round the Pacific - Japan, Hawaii, some of the islands in the South Pacific, Easter Island and the Galapagos. Actually, Galapagos could be one trip in itself. Oh yeah. Wildlife, culture, history. What more could you ask for?

Antarctica's also on the list - penguins, seals, whales? Definitely my cup of tea. And those landscapes... wow. And there's always the possiblity of the Southern Lights. So gorgeous. On which note...

The Northern Lights. Nowhere specific - I sort of just want to head up north - Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Canada or Iceland, I don't mind where - and just sit around and wait until the Lights show up. Just sit back, relax and sky watch for days.

I want to climb a mountain. I've done Snowdon in Wales, but it's somehow not quite as awesome as the thought of tackling one of the really big peaks. I'm thinking maybe Kilimanjaro? Everest would be cool but... I don't know... Kilimanjaro has more pull. Imagine the views you could get of the savannah.

I want to swim with Whale Sharks. I love sharks and much as the idea of cage diving with Great Whites in South Africa sounds amazing, the thought of swimming with giant (relatively) non-threatening sharks in lovely warm(ish) waters sounds even better. Maybe I'll add it to the Grand Tour - there's Whale Sharks around the Ningaloo Marine Reserve in Australia.

Oooh, historical things - I want to see the Great Wall of China up close, take those cliched pictures at the Taj Mahal and visit a whole array of pre-Columbian sites in Mesoamerica. Things like Chichen Itza, Tikal and Teotihuacan. While I'm there, I also want to visit the cenotes (limestone sinkholes) around the coast of the Yucatan - firstly because they're interesting in their own right and secondly because they're possibly the clearest above-ground indicator of the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs: evolution and geology all in one go!

And then there's all the museums... oh, the museums. Top of the list at this moment in time is the Smithsonian. Huge, varied and considered one of the best museums on the planet. Yep, that's a must. I could probably spend a few days there, even a week given the opportunity.

I'd love to see Lake Maracaibo for the amazing lightning storms it experiences. It's not completely understood why, but it happens regularly and to see it firsthand would be magical.

Uh, magical. What an awful word.

Safari would be cool, too. At least a week, though, maybe two. The three days I had in Kruger National Park were amazing but nowhere near enough to satisfy. I want to see big cats. And more than that, I want to see the migrations. Hey, I grew up watching BBC Natural History Unit documentaries - the image of thousands of wildebeest and zebra (among others) marching across the savannah has stuck with me and damnit, I want to watch it.

So many things... anything else?

Oh, so many things. So. Many. Things. But, y'know, I think this post is long enough for now. I'm sure the others will crop up at some future date or other.