SHARING IS CARING # 3

 It is a brand new day and my exploration through my computer is on.
After a busy morning, I found some time in the afternoon to hop a little in youtube and the travel websites. I am reading a lot.

I see most of them on my Facebook wall, then one leads to another, I always have a bunch of posts to read and after screening them I share the ones which is really striking. Also I try to share the posts which are most appealing  for its honesty.

The pick of the day is from Lee Abbamonte. A traveller who is the youngest to travel all the countries in the world. I do not know how that is calculated but it is true as I google. His website is www.leeabbamonte.com.

His post is about 30 best man made sites around the world. The list is below and it goes from 30 - 1 as per the importance of the place. http://www.leeabbamonte.com/30-best/30-best-man-made-sites-in-the-world.html

30 Borobudur in Java, Indonesia
29 Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
28 Old City Sanaa in Sanaa, Yemen
27 Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England
26 Registan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
25 Schwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar
24 Polonnaruwa in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
23 Red Square in Moscow, Russia
22 Acropolis in Athens, Greece
21 Teotihuacan near Mexico City, Mexico
20 Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, Singapore
19 Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia
18 Prague Main Square in Prague, Czech Republic
17 Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, USA
16 Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
15 Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland
14 Colosseum in Rome, Italy
13 Machu Picchu in Aguas Calientes, Peru
12 Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia
11 Tikal in Petin Basin, Guatemala
10 Djenne Mud Mosque in Djenne, Mali
9 Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE
8 Great Wall of China in Eastern China
7 The Vatican in Vatican City
6 Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet
5 Taj Mahal in Agra, India
4 Pyramids at Giza in Cairo, Egypt
3 Petra in Petra, Jordan
2 Moai on Easter Island, Chile
1 Tigers Nest Monastery in Paro Valley, Bhutan

I really like the classification because it very true. A big vote of appreciation to this great traveller as I like that he has considered both the new and old structures, the way he explains that he considers Tibet and China two different countries and his logic to include only one site per country. All this acclaims his honesty as a traveller.


Besides all the above I have an itching to mention that even before I read about this post today, I knew about him from Instagram. It happened one day when he had liked one of my pictures. I have been to 10 of the sites out of 30 which is 30% percent and 13 countries in the list.

Today I feel proud and it is very motivating. 

SHARING IS CARING # 1

Really sharing is caring.

I mean it more as I would be sharing someone's else column, writing, words, posts etc in my blog.  More meaning to it as it would be about traveling. It is because for a very simple reason as this is a travel blog.

No its not because I am out stories, that I do not have more experiences, or because am not traveling for last 8 months. It is because of my mood these days. My mood to read more and more on traveling. I come across these great articles that talk about 1000 things to do before you die, festivals of december, 20 incredible destinations from India etc

It is really nice to read about the ideas of traveling from other travellers. It is motivating to travel more, to travel like them, to do things which is missed, to check on things already done and sometimes to re do things done before.

This one in particular is about 30 things to do before you turn 30. This is from Tripoto.com.

Here are the highlights from the post :

1. Before you turn 30, take a long solo-trip to somewhere you’ve never been. How about Nepal?
2.  Before you turn 30, go to the The Burning Man in Nevada, USA
3. Why not jump-off an Aeroplane in New Zealand before you turn 30

4. Before you turn 30, volunteer your time and spirit to help animals and create a better world for them.

5. Before you turn 30, spend at least one day of reflection and honesty on the mesmerising ghats of Varanasi, watching life along the holy Ganga.

6. Before you turn 30, take a week to live a life of abundant sunshine and scarce internet in a simple hut on a faraway beach.
7. Before you turn 30, experience waking up to the sounds of the gibbons and the horn-bills of the splendid Bornean rainforest
8. Before you turn 30, spend a freezing night chasing the best of the Northern Lights in Iceland
9. Before you turn 30, crash at a stranger’s home during your travels. Chose a homestay or couchsurfing over hotels to add another dimension to your journey.
10. Before you turn 30, make sure you visit a place that has emerged from recent violence and tragedy. Visit Rwanda, Cambodia or Bosnia & Herzegovina to let yourself face the limits of inhumanity and appreciate the spirit of defiance and optimism.
11. Before you turn 30, try going silent and ascetic for 10 days at a Vipassana Meditation Center.
12. Before you turn 30, take a night to camp-out under a moonless sky in the wilderness
13. Before you turn 30, visit the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala
14. Before you turn 30, rent a convertible and take a road trip in the USA
15. Before you turn 30, walk on the otherworldly landscape of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
16. And witness the magnificence of the Argentinian Patagonia
17. Before you turn 30, travel alone, make friends and be moved to a teary goodbye for someone you’ve known only for a few days.
18. Before you turn 30,  go skinny-dipping somewhere pristine and untamed, like Madagascar.

19. Before you turn 30, make sure a witness a truly spectacular sunset and take a truly spectacular picture of it.

20. Before you turn 30, experience infinity in the deserts of Namibia
 21. And at the gargantuan Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
22.  Before you turn 30, hike up an active volcano in Indonesia
23. And trek up the Inca trail to Machu Pichu in Peru along with friendly llamas.
24. Before you turn 30, take part in London’s annual World Naked Bike Ride for a chance to let the sun freely shine down on your paling pudenda.
25. Before you turn 30, do something you will probably be a tad too wise for in a few years, like the full-moon party in Koh Phagnan, Thailand
26. Before you turn 30, visit our friends down under on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia
27. Before you turn 30, enjoy a homecooked meal in a foreign land with friendly locals who don’t speak much English. Remember to take gifts.
28. Before you turn 30, travel to a place that challenges your beliefs and popular misconceptions. Visit Myanmar,Iran or Eritrea for a dose of reality vs. fiction.
29. Before you turn 30, spend at least a week with those who have less than you to understand and experience true gratitude.
30. Before everything, above all, discover what you truly care about. Before you turn 30, spend your years and your youth to seek adventure and inspiration. That’s what your 20s are for.

It is interesting that I did 14 out the 30 do's before turning my 30. For example I have done a day trip to Volcano of Mt Bromo, been to one of the seven wonders called Machu Pichu, think about traveling all the time, had meals with non english speaking foreigners in my friend Xay's house in Laos, been to Myanmar, Cambodia, done a 3 day tour in Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia and trekked in the Patagonia in both Argentina and Chile, I have seen some beautiful sunsets in Jordan, Chile, Sri lanka, Portugal etc.  As 14 out of 30 is nearly 50%, I think about other points. I want to do them all. Being 30 does not stop us, we can still move ahead by making inspirations from this post in Tripoto. 

Let's travel. . . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Lets start this year with a smile and lots of travel.
I am already traveling. lets have our passport stamped more than before. If not then stamp on more lands of our own land.

 Here is a "Smiling Buddha" for a happy and smiling new year.

The is picture is from Bagan, Myanmar.