I've got an idea to blog about, and I'll shun bian tell everyone that I have the best girlfriend in the whole wide world; good luck on finding the secondbest one!

Anyhow, I wanted to talk about travelling and places that I would love to go to. I have to confess upfront that I'm not an avid traveller; I'm perfectly happy not going overseas once a year in exchange for a laze at some holiday resorty place. But if I had to choose places to go to, and money was not a major issue, where would I go to? In order of rough preference:

1) Newcastle, England. If there was a place I would dream of going, it would be here. I know many people dream of going to Japan, to experience the culture which is so prevalent in the world. I'll say upfront that Japan is not on my list. Newcastle is my Mecca; I simply have to go there one day and watch Newcastle play in St James Park. I don't want to die before ever doing so;

2) China. But China's so big!? That's exactly why I want to go there. It's so big, so steeped in culture and history that is actually relevant to my own heritage. I'll want to see the Great Wall for sure; if I had to travel I'll try to snag one of the Seven Modern Wonders (while there is no authoritative list; the usual candidates are good enough to qualify for me). I'll also want to explore the shan's and hu's, and how different cultures, language and way of life can be united so singly. I'll probably want to pop by Tibet, not for any spiritual enlightenment, but rather to find out what exactly is the fuss about being part of China.

3) Pyongyang, North Korea. The next few places are tied rather closely, but if I had a choice, North Korea would be third. Of course, it'll probably be limited to Pyongyang. Aren't you curious? This is just about the only place on the whole wide world which is effectively cut off from the outside world; which is as secluded as can be, and perhaps one of the very few countries where the head of state is still revered as a god (most of the other such examples have since stepped down and allowed their sons to take over). How is life like having to bow down to a statue everytime you walk past, where execution is not uncommon, where you are so cut off from the outside world? No MacDonalds, Coke, or many of the other globally recognized icons in a developed city. Heck, I don't know if they even have Mastercard or Visa there. Don't you want to find out just exactly how globalized you have been?

4) Mongolia. This loses out slightly to No. 3 because I just don't read about it enough. We see stuff about what North Korea is trying to do regularly in the papers, but nothing about this place. The largest empire was forged out of this place; stretching from China all the way to Europe. Where did all that might go to and how are things now? How is daily life over there, and how is it like living in memories of past glories comparing it to modern day reality? Don't you want to know?

5) One of the Nordic countries. This also loses out to the above two simply because unlike No. 4, you know more about it so it doesn't get you quite that curious. The Nordic countries are largely preserved in their cultures and racial makeup; they don't have as much immigration compared to most other developed countries. So how is it like there, living in a country with one of the highest standards of living in the world yet not being as globalized, racially?

6) Cairo, Egypt. From here on the list is made up more of places which I would like to experience, rather than to find out to satisfy my curiosity. If I were going to collect world wonders, I definitely have to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. For that reason alone, coupled with the fact that Egypt is supposed to be the best touristy location out of the Arab League, sign me up!

7) Tel Aviv & Jerusalem, Israel Although it'll make financial sense to, going straight to/from Israel after Egypt is probably not smart. I wanna see Jerusalem because if you are going to be there, you cannot miss out on a place which is holy to 3 major religions in the world. But I'm probably abit more interested in Tel Aviv. I want to know how life is like in a place where violence and strife is a reality, and how you can balance that out with growth and development. And how much do they really hate the Palestines; how do they cope with hate being an integral part of their life and their culture?

Ok, these are the ones I can think of. There are a couple more which I will place under honourable mentions because while I would think of going there, the inherent risk and danger would put me off. Or it is simply not possible.

Honourable Mention 1) Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is forbbiden to non-Muslims; that would be enough to still up curiosity in anyone.

Honourable Mention 2) Darfur, Sudan. The current poster child for humanitarian aid pleas to ease strife, turmoil and conflict on the African continent (how many people still think that Africa is a country?). I would love to experience for myself how anarchy is really like. But then again, the high chance of being killed puts me off.

Honourable Mention 3) Congo. I was first acquainted with its existence while learning to play Risk way back in Primary 5. Since then I've wondered about a country that is in the heard of Africa. Then again, I don't want to get Ebola, so perhaps not.

Honourable Mention 4) Antarctica. This is actually a possible place to go to; I read an account of working there on an assignment for a few months at end. It's actually really not too bad; just that somehow while I'll wanna have a look; I don't mind not going there either.

So this is it. Well, I hope that it didn't sound too weird or outlandish. I know the usual places are like Japan, Taiwan, New York, Las Vegas, Paris, Rome, etc etc. But while I could find out on the net about these places; the out-of-the-way destinations seem more appealing to me. And they are the places which I have a genuine interest in find out about.

As a closing example: Stonehenge. Many people say that its the worst tourist destination in Great Britain; just a pile of rocks. When I went there, I told my mum that the only place that I have go to is Stonehenge. Having a reason to want to see and experience something makes it worthwhile. All the druidic roots and possible conjectures as to why anyone would build a place like that, with no one theory really universally accepted, makes it very, very interesting. Enough for me to want to see it for myself.