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BBC: 50 Places to See before you Die

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Category : Travel & Adventure

50 places to see before you die, according to 20,000 viewers of the BBC’s “Holiday” programme (2003?). See also interesting article “things to do-before-you-die-ism“, and my travelblog(I never quite finished the text – I blame the chest infection I got on Europe Tour! Decided to make myself feel grateful for all the opportunities I have already had to travel – and you can pretty much assume if I haven’t been somewhere, I want to go there…

  1. The Grand Canyon, USA
  2. Great Barrier Reef, east coast of Queensland, Australia Been here!
  3. Florida and Walt Disney, USA Been here!
  4. South Island, New Zealand Been here!
  5. Cape Town and Table Mountain, South Africa
  6. Golden Temple at Amritsar, Punjab, India
  7. Las Vegas, Nevada
  8. Sydney, Australia Been here!
  9. New York
  10. Taj Mahal
  11. Canadian Rockies
  12. Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia Been here!
  13. Chichen Itza, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
  14. Machu Picchu, Peru Been here!
  15. Niagara Falls
  16. Petra, Jordan
  17. The Pyramids, Cairo
  18. Venice Been here!
  19. Maldives, Indian Ocean, 450 miles SW of Sri Lanka
  20. Great Wall of China
  21. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
  22. Hong Kong
  23. Yosemite National Park
  24. Hawaii
  25. Auckland, New Zealand Been here!
  26. Iguassu Falls, Argentina and Brazil Been here!
  27. Paris Been here!
  28. Alaska
  29. Angkor Wat, Cambodia Been here!
  30. Nepal, Himalayas
  31. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Been here!
  32. Masai Mara, Kenya
  33. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
  34. Luxor, Egypt
  35. Rome Been here!
  36. San Francisco
  37. Barcelona Been here!
  38. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  39. Singapore Been here!
  40. La Digue, Seychelles, 1000 miles E of Kenya.
  41. Sri Lanka, S of India
  42. Bangkok, Thailand Been here!
  43. Barbados, 100 miles E of the Caribbean chain
  44. Iceland
  45. Terracotta Army, Xi’an, China
  46. Zermatt, Switzerland
  47. Angel Falls, Venezuela
  48. Abu Simbel, Egypt
  49. Bali, in the Indonesian archipelago
  50. French Polynesia (Bora Bora), 165 miles NW of Tahiti

List from here, wonder what it would look like in 2010. I am looking at going to Amsterdam with Fiona at Easter. Here is some of the places I have said I want to go, what do you think I’m missing?!

(Slightly belated) Happy Christmas 2009… but on time for Happy New Year 2010!

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Category : Travel & Adventure

After taking 15hours to move about 4 miles along the M20 in Dover, finally made it to Lauterbrunnen where I’ve been cooking for 50 people all week (along with John P, who is in charge!). Christmas Eve was my day for skiing – didn’t quite work, so just enjoyed the train ride/apple fritters in Brandegg on Christmas Day, before we came back and cooked up a storm…


Heading back into the UK 27/28 December, so here’s praying you had a great Christmas, and are looking forward to 2010 - who knows what it will hold. For those of you who have lost track of what I’m up to, and are interested, I am doing the following (I was going to do this on my blog, but the database seems to have a problem, so I can’t get in…), mostly at the University of Winchester:

  1. 1 day per week promoting e-learning (permanent, but not enough to live on)
  2. 2 day per week Modern History Lectureship (til June 2010)
  3. Hourly (but around 2 day per week) teaching Media Studies (til June 2010)
  4. Completing my own studies: PGCLTHE (trying to finish by Febraruy 2010…)
  5. Setting up the socialmedia strategy for Super Fun Days Out (love some blog entries if you have time!), alongside ownsocial media consultancy.
  6. Other bits & bobs…Getting myself in the New York Times was probably a bit of a highlight for last year!

A real Super Fun Day Out!

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Category : Travel & Adventure


Whilst checking out social marketing material for Super Fun Days Out, I came across this YouTube video… this has to be one of the best things I’ve seen in ages! Guess it’s using the Wallace & Gromit stop-motion technique… I hate to think how long it took these guys to set this up, but I am LOVING it!

Cricket: 20-20 at the Hampshire Rose Bowl

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Category : Experimentation, Travel & Adventure

I’ve never been to a cricket match before, although I played once at school (I scored a six, got one run, and was then out!), read the full match report. Hampshire Hawks, 183; Middlesex Panthers 155! Woo… (and we had a very nice picnic!)
Wonder where the ball went?!

Round the World Trip 2007-8

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Category : Travel & Adventure

These are my plans for my travels around the world…

Bangkok (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Friday 28th September: Leave London Heathrow on Flight QF2, 22:15, arrive 15:35
  • Saturday 29th September: 2-day GAP Adventures pre-trip Citybreak, staying at Royal Hotel.
  • Monday 1st October: GAP Adventures: Indochina Encompassed, presumably Royal Hotel.
  • Wednesday 3rd October: Chaing Mai
  • Thursday 4th October: Chiang Kong
  • Friday 5th October: Mekong River [Boat]
Laos (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Saturday 6th October: Luang Prabang [Flight]
  • Tuesday 9th October: Vientiane
  • Thursday 11th October: Hin Boun
Vietnam (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Friday 12th October: Hanoi
  • Sunday 14th October: Halong Bay
  • Tuesday 16th October: Hue
  • Thursday 18th October: Hoi An [Flight]
  • Saturday 20th October: Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)
  • Monday 22nd October: Chau Doc
Cambodia (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Tuesday 23rd October: Phnom Penh [Flight]
  • Thursday 25th October: Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Thailand (Lonely Planet Guide)

Singapore (Lonely Planet Guide)

Perth (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Monday 12th November: Flight QF72, depart 09:00, arrive 15:10
    First 2 nights: The Emperor’s Crown
    Independent sightseeing to include Margaret River, Freemantle and Rottnest Island
Alice Springs/Ayers Rock (Uluru) (Lonely Planet Guide)

Sydney (Lonely Planet Guide)

Melbourne (Lonely Planet Guide)

Sydney (Lonely Planet Guide)

New Zealand (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Thursday 10th January 2008: Flight QF43, depart 11:40, arrive 16:45
    Independent travel (No set itinerary)
    First night, Auckland International Hostel (look out for the Airbus)
  • Purchased: Spirit of New Zealand Magic Buses pass, route:
    • Sector 1 & 2: AUCKLAND-WAITOMO-ROTORUA
    • Sector 3: ROTORUA-TAUPO
    • Sector 4: TAUPO-TURANGI-WELLINGTON
    • Sector 5: WELLINGTON-PICTON-NELSON
    • Sector 6A: ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK
    • Sector 6: NELSON-GREYMOUTH
    • Sector 7: GREYMOUTH-FRANZ JOSEF
    • Sector 8: FRANZ JOSEF – QUEENSTOWN
    • Sector 9A: MAGIC MILFORD DISCOVERY
    • Sector 9: QUEENSTOWN-DUNEDIN
    • Sector 10: DUNEDIN – TEKAPO
    • Sector 11: TEKAPO – CHRISTCHURCH
    • Sector 12: CHRISTCHURCH-KAIKOURA
    • Sector 13: KAIKOURA-PICTON-WELLINGTON
    • Sector 14: WELLINGTON-NAPIER
    • Sector 15: NAPIER-TAUPO-ROTORUA-MT MAUNGANUI
    • Sector 16: MT MAUNGANUI-THAMES-AUCKLAND
    • Sector 41: AUCKLAND – HAHEI – WHITIANGA
    • Sector 42: WHITIANGA – AUCKLAND
    • Sector 17: AUCKLAND-WAIPOUA FOREST-BAY OF ISLANDS
    • Sector 17A: PAIHIA – CAPE REINGA DAY TRIP
    • Sector 18: BAY OF ISLANDS-AUCKLAND

Ended up with an extra 2 weeks in New Zealand, and everything else of course then moved back 2 weeks!

Santiago, Chile (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Monday 18th February: Flight QF321, depart 17:25, arrive 12:45 (bit of time travel involved there!)
    Staying Happy House Hostel
    Independent city sightseeing (think what want to see).
Lima, Peru (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Wednesday 20th February: Independent flight with LAN Airlines, LA634, depart 08:35, arrive 10:20
    Sightseeing; Hostel to book, maybe Barranco’s Backpackers or Inka Hostel, but think I will see if anyone at the Asia end has been to Lima!
  • Friday 22nd February: GAP Adventures: Southern Cross (this trip is not yet guaranteed, so here’s praying!), staying at Hotel La Castellana
  • Saturday 23rd February: Pisco
  • Sunday 24th February: Nazca
  • Tuesday 26th February: Arequipa/Chivay/Colca Canyon [Flight]
  • Friday 29th February: Cuzco (Leap Year)
  • Saturday 1st March: Ollantaytambo
Machu Picchu (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Sunday 2nd March: Inca Trail
  • Thursday 6th March: Cuzco
  • Sunday 9th March: Puno (Birthday)
  • Monday 10th March: Lake Titicaca
Bolivia (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Wednesday 12th March: La Paz
  • Friday 14th March: Uyani/Sular de Uyani Excursion
  • Tuesday 18th March: Potosi
  • Thursday 20th March: Sucre [Flight]
Brazil, Iguassu Falls (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Saturday 22nd March: Santa Cruz/Puerto Suarez
  • Monday 24th March: Corumba/Pantanal
  • Wednesday 26th March: Bonito/Iguassu Falls
Rio de Janeiro (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Tuesday 1st April: Curitiba/Illha Grande/Rio de Janeiro
  • Sunday 6th April: Rio de Janeiro, stay at Hotel Santa Clara. (end of group trip)
  • Sunday 6th-10th April: Visit Gaynor (unspecified)
Sao Paulo (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Friday 10th April: Bus to Sao Paulo (unspecified)
  • Monday 14th April, Flight to UK, BA246, depart 16:20, arrive 07:30 15th April
  • Unless secure some TEFL work in Brazil, in which case could return any point by 27th September 2008.

All images are (c) and paid for from iStockPhoto.com

Follow the travels on : www.mytb.org/drbexl
Sign up to receive emails notifying you when an entry is added. Emails and texts (+447909521952) welcomed, although responses will probably come via the travelblog as internet access is going limited at many points, and phone is reserved for emergencies!

Find out more about countries on: http://wikitravel.org/

Find out the time: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ or http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/

Travel Providers: STA (Chris Mettam @ Manchester Oxford Road branch); GAP Adventures; LAN Airlines; Wayward Bus; Contiki; Magic Bus

Travel Forums: GAP Adventures Watering Hole; Bootsnall Travel Forums; TravBuddy; Contiki Forums

Equipment Stockists: Cotswold Outdoor; Blacks; Millets; Decathlon; The North Face; Tesco; Ebay; World Nomads; Aerotag

Useful accommodation links: Although I’d bought a YHA card, and checked through hihostels, I ended up booking most of my accommodation through hostelbookers.com (kept coming up cheapest), checking trip advisor before booking. I also checked out hostelworld.com; hostels.com; HotelClub (although hotels aren’t featuring much on this trip) .

Rough Currency Conversions: (xe.com: September 2007)

  • Thailand: £1 = 66 Baht/1 Baht = 1.5p
  • Laos: £1 = 20,000 Laos Kips/1 LAK = £0.00005
  • Vietnam: £1=33,000 Vietnamese Dong/1 VND – £0.00003
  • Cambodia: £1 = 8,200 Cambodia Riels/1 KHR = £0.0001
  • Singapore: £1 = 3.09 Singapore Dollars/ 1 SGG = 32p
  • Australia: £1 = 2.45 Australian Dollars/ 1 AUD = 41p
  • New Zealand: £1 = 2.92 New Zealand Dollars/1 NZD = 34p
  • Chile: £1 = 1,050 Chile Pesos/1 CLP = £0.0009
  • Peru: £1 = 6.40 Peru Nuevos Soles/1 PEN = 16p
  • Bolivia: £1 = 15.71 Bolivia Bolivianos/1 BOB = 6p
  • Brazil: £1 = 3.97 Brazil Reais/1 BRL = 25p