... or to put it less horribly, I have been to some other places beyond the recent quest to Australia, New Zealand, and Various Places Invaded by the French. I think calling yourself "well travelled" is a colossal deference to pig-headedness and I'm also acutely aware that I've been to substantially fewer countries than a lot of trust-fund teens named "Allegra" or "Euripides": whose entire lives are a string of Instagram poses and post-champagne and cocaine blackouts. But whatever. Here's three places (in no particular order) that I've been to that might be worth your time—for very different reasons—if you're really stuck for ideas and can't go back to Thailand because of that one incident with a condom full of heroin. Turkey: TurunçFamous for being very small and not much else, Turunç is one of those destinations where you can laze around and do almost nothing, but feel juuuuust cultured enough about it that you can still look down your nose at the commoners who went to Benidorm for the 19th holiday in a row. It's reasonably quiet, although there are some good restaurants and bars, and the evening atmosphere is pretty great as you're surrounded on all sides by offers of "genuine" Rolex watches that all fell off the back of a truck where loads are secured with toilet paper. There's Turkish Delight and kebabs and lamb and cheap booze and a few decent out of town activities (eg. quad biking), and if you're feeling especially adventurous you can even walk to some ruins or go on a boat ride. There's only about three times in living memory I was ever completely relaxed, and cruising from bay to bay on crystal blue water and snorkelling for an entire day was by far my favourite. USA: Las VegasAnd now for something quite different. First most pressing question: Yes, Viva Las Vegas WILL be stuck in your head for your entire stay. Las Vegas is an interesting place because people seem to have quite strong opinions about it before ever going. I know plenty of perennial tourists who seem to think it's a cesspit of tackiness and sadness; and while there is a degree of that, truth be told even if you don't gamble a dollar there's something incredible about this city. Imagine if somebody gave a group of architects (I believe the collective noun is a 'buttress') infinity money and an impossible city built in a desert and said "go nuts". And nuts they did go. There are giant hollow glass pyramids and canals running through malls and gigantic romanesque palaces and it's just glorious. I doubt you'd get more than three days or so from the place—most of the action is limited to The Strip and it's certainly worth getting a hotel very close by—but if you can immerse yourself a bit, see a show, go to Planet Hollywood, eat some crabs, and maybe have a go on a roulette wheel you'll be surprised how much fun it is. The Canary Islands (Spain): La GomeraI'm betting there's a good chance you might not even have heard of this one. Most Brits know Tenerife and Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and some people may even realise there are more than just these three Canary Islands, but La Gomera is pretty unknown. This is excellent news if you fancy a little slice of paradise away from your sweaty sunburnt countryfolk. It's got the usual trappings of a Canary Island; mountainous interior, valleys with gorgeous towns nestled within, volcanic beaches, and copious quantities of sangria. But one of the absolute jewels of this little ocean speck is the stunning cloud-forest in the very centre. It doesn't even really rain: the clouds just sit in amongst the trees and condense straight onto the foliage, and then run down and provide rivers for the whole island. How cool is that? Very cool, is how cool.
1 Comment
Ina
8/6/2018 03:20:21 pm
Well described. Another good point for turunc- nobody hassled you to buy anything
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Author28 year old computer scientist/physicist with major depressive disorder, a need to write, and a deep-rooted mistrust of beetroot. Categories
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