Marshall Brain's Blog

Have you ever wondered where you should go on your next vacation?

I was trapped on an airplane the other day, and one of the movies they showed was a BBC documentary called "50 places you should visit before you die." The list was compiled, at least in part, by running a poll of BBC viewers, and the order of the places was determined by the audience.

As I watched, I wrote down all the places that were mentioned (another handy reason to carry a laptop with you everywhere you go). One way to look at this list is, "your vacation plans for the next 50 years."

Here are all the places in reverse order -- the place ranked "best place in the world to visit" is at the bottom of the list:

• Bora Bora (South pacific)
  
• Bali (Indonesia) (The show mentioned recent terrorist attacks and warned that now might not be the best time to go)
  
• Abu Simbel (Egypt)
  
• Angel Falls (Venezuela)
  
• Matterhorn (Switzerland)
  
• Terracotta Army (Xian, China)
  
• Iceland
  
• Barbados
  
• Bangkok (Thailand)
  
• Sri Lanka
  
• La Digue (Sechelles Archipelago in the Indian Ocean)
  
• Singapore
  
• Dubai (Middle East)
  
• Barcelona (Spain)
  
• San Francisco
  
• Rome (Italy)
  
• Luxor (Egypt)
  
• Galapagos islands
  
• Masai Mara (Kenya)
  
• Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
  
• Mt. Everest (Nepal) (They advocated not climbing the peak, but hiking in far enough to see the mountain. They also mentioned that Nepal charges a $16,000 fee for the privilege)
  
• Angkor Watt
  
• Alaska (Kind of useless -- Alaska is as big as many countries -- where to go in Alaska? They did mention that if Manhattan had the same population density as Alaska, Manhattan would have only 24 people on it)
  
• Paris (esp. in the spring)
  
• Iguassu Falls (Argentina)
  
• North Island (New Zealand)
  
• Hawaii
  
• Yosemite
  
• Hong Kong
  
• Victoria Falls (Zambia)
  
• Great Wall of China
  
• Maldives (Indian ocean)
  
• Venice
  
• The Great Pyramid (Egypt)
  
• Petra
  
• Niagra Falls
  
• Manchu Picchu (Peru)
  
• Chichen Itza (Mexico)
  
• Uluru (Astralia)
  
• Lake Louise (Rocky Mountains)
  
• Taj Mahal
  
• New York City
  
• Sydney (Australia)
  
• Las Vegas
  
• Golden Temple (India)
  
• Table Mountain and Cape Town (South Africa)
  
• South Island (New Zealand)
  
• Disney World
  
• Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
  
• Grand Canyon

Some personal spots that were not on the list that I want to visit:

• The lava floes in Hawaii
  
• Pompeii
  
• The Yorkshire Dales (I'm a big fan of James Herriott)
  
• The big crater that you see in all the movies (Why? I have no idea)

Have you been to any of these places on the list, or are there places not on the list that you think people should visit?