Take me there: One of the destinations on my 2012 wishlist is the Maldives. Photo courtesy of the Maldives Tourism Board.
The 31st of December is once again upon us. For me, this day always finds me busy taking stock of the year that has been, and making plans for the one that’s just about to begin.
Last year one of my lists stated categorically that I had to have visited six countries I’d never been to by the end of the year. Be very careful, o dear reader, what you wish for, for you might just get it. Or make it happen as it were. As I sit here compiling a new list of distant horizons to conquer, I have been to exactly six new countries this year: Jordan, The UAE, Turkey, The Czech Republic, The Bahamas and Scotland. By this time next year, I want to have been to another 10. These are (*drumroll please*):
1. Austria: I’ve been jonesing for a long-weekend in Austria’s elegant capital Vienna for a few years now, and I believe 2012 is the year to finally make it happen. Hopefully in January or February.
2. Australia: Sydney, kengurus and koalas, what’s there not to like? But my main reason for wanting to brave that long, long flight to the other side of the world, where December means beach weather and July sweater temperatures, is to experience the wonder that is the Great Barrier Reef.
3. Rwanda: About a decade ago I met a girl who was to become one of my closest friends in the world. My first grown-up (meaning not with family) trip was with her. We giddily planned (and I use this word very loosely) our last-minute trip to the Greek island of Karpathos before embarking on a week-long holiday on an island where just the colour of our skin made us stand out like a pair of beautiful peacocks. By the time work and university commitments summoned us back to Oslo, we had both fallen in love with the island and travelling, and at least one of us (not mentioning names) had fallen for a Greek waiter called Menetes.
- In the summer of ’05: Grace and I on the Greek Island of Karpathos.
Like many long-term relationships, our friendship has endured both good and bad weather. We’ve seen each other grow from awkward 20-somethings to sophisticated global citizens. Throughout our moves from Oslo to Copenhagen and Cape Town respectively, then Copenhagen to London and Cape Town to Geneva, she made it a priority to visit me, and for three days each time, we’d pretend we lived in the same city again and try to do all the things we used to do in Oslo in the space of that short time. In 2012, I will endeavour to do the same in Rwanda, where she now lives, all while making sure to take in the country’s lush and verdant landscape and it’s famous gorillas.
4. Slovenia: Marabor, Slovenia is this year’s European Capital of Culture. Someone needs to check out what the country’s second large city is all about, so it might as well be me.
5. Brazil: I have never, ever set foot in South America. In 2012, I want to change this sorry fact. Amen.
6. Argentina: My friend Keka, who is all kinds of smart and funky, hails from Argentina. Despite the fact that she gently but firmly corrected my preconceived notion that all Argentinians are as cool as her, I still want to go. I have another friend, Lionel, who makes annual pilgrimages to the country as if his very existence depends on whether or not he goes to Buenos Aires. He usually comes back gushing embarrasingly about the country, occasionally bursting into song in the process. This is how Don’t Cry for Me Argentina was ruined forever for me, but as usual, I am digressing. I consider the fact that two of the coolest people I know either hail from or love Argentina a sign that I need to go there stat. Will 2012 be the year?
7. The Maldives: My desire to visit the The Maldives waned a tad, after I found out yesterday that the archipelago’s government has just banned spas because they deemed them to be conducive to prostitution. But after giving it a bit of thought - I’m pretty sure myself and a hotel owner or three will be able to work something out- I’ve decided I still want to visit this fantastic paradise on earth in the coming year.
8. South Africa: I was born in Africa but have only ever been to Kenya, my home country. What. A. Shame. My visits to Rwanda and South Africa in 2012 should remedy this.
9. The Virgin Islands: Many years ago, when the imperialists were laying claim to countries as if the world were one big Monopoly game and they the only players, the Virgin Islands, formerly known as the Danish West Indies, were a Danish colony. 5 years ago, one of Denmark’s best sons crossed my paths, a momentous occasion that was to change the course of his life forever. Kim, my other half, would like to see the oxymoron that is old-time Danish culture and architecture in a tropical surroundings. I wouldn’t mind accompanying him there.
10 The Mediterranean: My very first holiday was in the Mediterranean country of Malta. For a while after that, a year just did not feel right if I had not spent a week holidaying somewhere on the shores of the Mediterranean. The past three years, however, have seen me holidaying in every other place but the Med. In 2012, I’m going back to my first love. I don’t know where yet: Dubrovnik? The Amalfi Coast? Time will tell.
What destinations are in your 2012 wishlist? Don’t be shy, share it with us in the comments section!
Cool wishlist! http://wishboards.litvice.com/id385 – I create your wishlist as Wishboard. It is more impressive
PS if it is not suitable for you I will remove this wishboard
You’re speaking my language Zeine! However I can’t see the wishboard yet?
If you have not experienced the great barrier reef then you are missing out on one of the worlds most incredible places and adventures. I visited the reef just off of cairns in queensland and it was like a different world. Make sure you do this, you will regret it otherwise!
Those look like some great places to travel.