With beautiful pictures and succinct summaries, it is an enjoyable read.
While fantasising about how great it would be to have a smoke in all those places, it hits me... that I have only seen ONE out of the 50 mentioned in the book and that too when I was 10!
And I am 26 now. My existence was initially questioned and then concluded to be a waste. Sigh.
Some of the places mentioned in the book are not easily accessible.
But the harder it is to get there, the more I will make sure I somehow get there.
And I will. Its a promise I am not intending to break.
Out of the 50, the following three had always interested me. So I am glad they made it to the top 50.
Machu Picchu or "The Lost City of the Incans"
This is what's left of the great Inca empire, which rose in Peru in the 13th century.
When I was 20, I was fascinated with the Incans. I liked their Gods, their myths, their architecture and their warrior lifestyles. It was all so cool you know...
Now, my passion continues (though minimally) with the Disney Channel cartoon Kuzco, which I believe is based on an Incan prince awaiting coronation. (CUSCO was the historic capital of the Inca Empire, how smart is Disney?)
Taktshang (Tiger's Nest) Monastery
It clings precariously on a cliff at 3,120 metres , some 700 meters above the bottom of Paro valley.
The temple was completed in 1692 (renovated many times over) and is said to have been visited by many powerful men; some seeking redemption, some satisfying their curiosity and others simply seeking inner peace.
The myth behind it: Taktshang, the Tiger's Den, is where the great Guru Rimpoche, who first brought Buddhism to Bhutan, is said to have arrived on a flying tiger in the 8th century. Wahhh...
Its an iconic image of Bhutan. However, its not recommeded for those with limited mobility. The ascent is said to be ligament un-friendly. One blogger said he couldn't walk properly for two days after trekking up to the monastery. Good things are hard to come by, I guess.
Pacific Islands of the French Polynesia, Bora Bora or in the Tahitian language, Pora Pora
Pictures say a billion words...
I can't swim but still I want to go here. And who knows, I might just dip my head in the Bora Bora seas :)
As E.E. Cummings said, "For whatever we lose (like a you or me), its always ourselves we find in the sea."
Well, in my case not IN the sea but on the seashore maybe...
There is alot more on Planet Earth that I want to see... some mentioned in the books and others not..
The Pyramids
The Himalayas
Chichen Itza
Acropolis
Petra
The Terracotta Army
Jerusalem
Kashmir
Budapest
Etc. etc... etc..........
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
And here I sit, actively blogging about where I want to go instead of pro-actively planning on how to get there.
Because reality sings a different tune, one that is often out of tune with my true intentions.
If I could leave at a whim, to any place I fancy, this post would be redundant. But I can't.
A man's mind grows narrow in a narrow place.
I know I live in a narrow place.
But I don't intend to keep my mind narrow because the wide world is not beyond my reach.
It is just infront of me, waiting.
