Amazing Adventures in Exotic Places
Written: Sep 07 '06 (Updated Sep 09 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: wide range of destinations and activities; balance of high adventure vs more leisurely travel
Cons: price range would have been useful
The Bottom Line: Adventures in exotic places around the world--stunning photographs to stimulate your wanderlust, with 40 trips variously suited to the intrepid and the more leisurely traveller.
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| jc_hall's Full Review: Steve Watkins and Clare Jones - Unforgettable Thin... |
Are you an armchair traveller who watch all the travel shows on TV, yearning to visit a far-flung destination just once in your lifetime? Or are you a hiking/boating/skiing enthusiast who dream of flying off at a moment’s notice to participate in gruelling activities in exotic places? Are you a history or culture buff who will only visit places that would stimulate your mind and intellect? Or are you a wildlife enthusiast whose heart beats faster at the word ‘safari’? Do you travel to a distant location every year, and are now so blasé you can’t even come up with the next destination? After all, your T-shirt reads: ‘Been there. Done that.’
Never fear, help is at hand. No matter your level of travel experience, no matter your physical stamina or lack thereof, no matter your personal interests, there is something for you in Unforgettable Things To Do Before You Die.
A travel guide with a difference, Unforgettable Things To Do Before You Die dispenses with the customary format of focusing on a city to dissect its travel appeal, and instead covers a wide range of unusual activities (e.g. volcano-climbing, heli-hiking, opera-watching, bear-tracking, elephant-riding) in truly exotic locales (e.g. Mongolia, Nepal, Crete, Tunisia, Estonia, Polynesia, the Maldives) around the globe.
For the more intrepid (and fit), there are astonishing activities covered you may not even have thought of. Apart from climbing a volcano in Guatemala or river-running in Zambia, ever thought of dog-sledding in Sweden or sampling a taste of warrior life in Mongolia?
For those who prefer a more leisurely holiday, how about wine-tasting your way around the Chateaux in Bordeaux, France? Or perhaps enjoying both fly-fishing and whisky at Inverlochy Castle, Scotland?
Those interested in history (as well as botany and oceanography) would love to explore the Mayan ruins and deep rainforest and reef of Chaa Creek, Belize. Or perhaps take the time to discover a medieval city in Estonia. And how about this for the ultimate culture buff experience: watch a performance of the opera Aida in Verona, Italy, an experience guaranteed to send chills (of the good variety) down your spine.
Wildlife enthusiasts would appreciate a flying safari along the Skeleton Coast of Namibia or following wildebeest on the Serengeti, Tanzania. Riding elephants in Nepal, tracking spirit bears on Princess Royal Island in Canada, galloping down Pakiri Beach in New Zealand on beautiful white horses—all these are guaranteed to give you memories to last a lifetime.
For the chronically energy-challenged, lay back and soak it up in the thermal spas of Iceland, or just lay back and luxuriate, paradise found, on the island of Dhoni Mighili in the Maldives. Better yet, make-believe you’re a maharajah/maharani as you tour the sights of India on the Palace on Wheels, evocative of the Orient Express of old.
For those souvenir-hunters who must return home with some tangible proof of your experiences, souk-shopping in Morocco might just be your cup of tea, or perhaps you would prefer to purchase, at leisure, the rarest of black pearls at their source—Tahiti in French Polynesia.
All in all, 40 activities in 40 locales are covered, with 6 pages devoted to each, all with a multitude of stunning photographs and helpful, sometimes vivid, text. All trips can be accomplished within two weeks or less. There is a list of information (useful web addresses) for each trip. The only downside is that a price range (at least something along the lines of ‘affordable/exorbitant/empty the bank’) is not included. Other than that, this is a great travel book to whet your wanderlust and stimulate your appetite for that next trip—the one that will live forever in your memories.
Dog Sledding in Klocka, Sweden
Aboriginal Dreaming in Kakadu, Australia
Chateaux and Wine-Tasting in Bordeaux, France
River-Running, Zambesi River, Zambia
Fly-Fishing and Whisky, Inverlochy Castle, Scotland
Hiking Through Arches, Moab, USA
Himalayan Adventure, Nepal
Watching Aida, Verona, Italy
Gambling and Glitz, Las Vegas, USA
Riding Elephants, Chitwan, Nepal
Crossing the Divide, Istanbul, Turkey
Exploring Rainforest and Reef, Chaa Creek, Belize
Flying Safari, Skeleton Coast, Namibia
Tracking Spirit Bears, Princess Royal Island, Canada
Tasting Warrior Life, Khentii, Mongolia
'Lost World' River Journey, Angel Falls, Venezuela
Driving Californian Surf, Big Sur, USA
Swimming in Thermal Spas, Golden Circle, Iceland
Heli-hiking in the Rockies, Golden, Canada
Felucca Down the Nile, Aswan, Egypt
Climbing A Volcano, Pacaya, Guatemala
Trekking The Milford Track, Fiordland, New Zealand
Red Sea Diving, Dahab, Egypt
Riding White Horses, Pakiri Beach, New Zealand
Finding Paradise, Dhoni Mighili, The Maldives
Souk Shopping, Marrakech, Morocco
Trekking Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile
Sea-Kayaking Baja, Espiritu Santo, Mexico
Cycling Among Rice Paddis, Hanoi to Saigon, Vietnam
Festival of the Sahara, Douz, Tunisia
Camel Trekking,Wadi Rum, Jordan
Partying at Mardi Gras, New Orleans, USA
Walking the Wall, Jinshanling to Simatai, China
Discovering Wild Flowers, Paleochora, Crete
Following Wildebeest, The Serengeti, Tanzania
Palace on Wheels, Rajasthan, India
Rice-Boat Cruising, Kerala, India
Skiing the Vallee Blanche, Chamonix, France
Discovering A Medieval City, Tallinn, Estonia
Searching for Pearls, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Steve Watkins is a photographer and writer for publications including Wanderlust, Geographical, Global Adventure and the AA Adventure Travellers guidebooks. Clare Jones is a travel writer, a sponsored athlete for The North Face who has covered adventure activities across the globe for many years.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jc_hall
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Member: JC Hall
Location: Toronto, Canada
Reviews written: 199
Trusted by: 54 members
About Me:
Going back to Vancouver for Christmas! Happy Holidays, everyone!!
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