To be honest, the short response to this post’s title is: nowhere. My modest goal in life is to visit every continent in the world, and hopefully every country. However, since I know this is pretty impossible, I’ve made a hierarchy of of destinations, and some fall lower on the list than others. For instance, I don’t have much desire to go:
1. Anywhere along the equator, aka rainforesty places. This includes northern South America, mid-Africa, and East Asia. I just…ugh. Hot humid places with massive bugs? It doesn’t immediately appeal to me. Granted, I have learned that I can fall in love with places I didn’t expect. And I mean, look at that picture. Clearly I’m an idiot. It’s gorgeous. But I just keep imagining sweat continuously dripping into my eyes as I swat away hand-sized mosquitoes.
2. Australia. Again, this mostly comes down to bugs. I heard somewhere (very reliable, I know) that everything dangerous lives in Australia and nothing dangerous lives in New Zealand. This is why the friendlier island country is at the top of my list of dream vacations. I am realizing, halfway through the post, that this list is entirely based upon my stereotypes. When I think of Australia, I think of poisonous bugs and beaches, neither of which greatly appeal to me. HOWEVER, I did read in Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country that there is a treehouse village in western Australia, and I am SO DOWN with going there.
3. Mexico. Dumb reason for this one too: it’s too close to my home country. The thing is, if I’m going to spend time and money to travel, I want to go somewhere that feels at least slightly exotic. Crossing a single border doesn’t seem all that special. But I used to think the same thing about Canada, and Vancouver is one of my favorite cities in the world. This entire list is mostly just proving I have extremely poor judgment.
4. Greenland. As a child, I fell for our English language trickery and assumed Greenland was amazing and beautiful while Iceland was a desolate wasteland. I’ve since learned that the opposite is true, so….Greenland, I feel like you betrayed me. I’m dumping you for Iceland.
I HAVE TO STOP. This is ridiculous. Although everything I said is true, every time I google search images for these places, I am blown away by the beauty I didn’t know they had. I’m an idiot! The whole world is worth visiting! And although these places would still be lower on my list of preferred destinations, I WOULD DROP EVERYTHING TO GO if the opportunity presented itself.
Is there a particular place you don’t want to go? Have you searched pictures of it and made absolutely sure? Leave a comment and let me know!
It Is Trish 