-Explore Halong Bay. This bay in Vietnam is a very popular tourist attraction and cruises last about 2 or 4 days. This bay is home to Sung Sot Cave, also known as Surprise Grotto. The cave is absolutely stunning and is filled with stalagmites and stalactites and carries millions of history within it. Other stops include the Ti Top Beach, which is super small, but super fun, the floating market, which requires a lot of kayaking because it wouldn't be ideal for a junk to be maneuvering through narrow passages of the market, and Cat Ba island which can serve as a great hiking spot for tourists.
-Ride the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. Like many people, I'm absolutely terrified of heights. So what's the big deal about a ride on the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, also known as one of the tallest Ferris wheels in the world? Talk about ripping off a band-aid, am I right? I mean, I'm not completely terrified of heights, I've ridden the Supreme Scream at Knott's Berry Farm, 312 feet, and the High Roller in Vegas, 550 feet, so a mere 369 feet shouldn't scare me. Well as much as I love the previously stated attractions, nothing will stop me breaking out in cold sweats and my heart from beating at 100 mph. I guess you can call me your average daredevil. I think what wins me over about this one is the fact that it's right next to the Kaiyukan, one of the largest public aquariums in the world. Little known fact about me is that I adore the ocean and I think about how insanely huge it is about five (hundred) times a day, so a big aquarium is the way to my heart.
-Tour the Zhangjiajie National Forest. The enormous columns of stone that inhabit this national park in China were what inspired the mountains of Pandora in the James Cameron film, "Avatar". If you've ever seen the movie, you can imagine how awestruck one would be when looking at these natural beauties. You're even able to ride an elevator up some mountains so you can admire the beauty from up high! More places to ease my slight acrophobia!
-Go jungle trekking in Chiang Mai. The most fun ones are the multi-day trips so you can truly absorb the jungle atmosphere. These treks could involve bathing and swimming in waterfalls and many interactions with wild animals. Since these kinds of treks are in Thailand, there is a high possibility that I would encounter elephants. This sort of trek would allow me to release my inner camper, but this would be more hardcore (jungles beat forests in my opinion).
Oceania:
-Visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Four words. Cuddle with a koala.
-Scuba dive in the Great Barrier and Ningaloo Reef. Like I said earlier, I'm absolutely fascinated by the ocean and the fact that we haven't even been able to explore the whole thing is beyond me. The Great Barrier Reef gets so much hype, and I completely understand why. It's beauty is ever-growing, and the wildlife never ceases to amaze tourists and locals alike. Now you're probably wondering what the Ningaloo Reef is, and it's basically the Great Barrier Reef's under-appreciated cousin with the funny name. People don't make a big deal out of the Ningaloo, but they should. Although it's less developed, there's more opportunity for travelers to explore the abundance of wildlife. There's even a chance to swim with whale sharks! Okay, I'm not really sure about how everyone feels about whale sharks, and although I know they're totally harmless, I still get uneasy about the idea of swimming with them but I wanted to incorporate them on the list because they're still pretty cool.
-Explore the Daintree Rainforest. This rainforest offers beautiful sights such as waterfalls, mountains, jungles, and the Daintree River. I don't know, there's just something about exploring jungles that really fascinate me, regardless of the extremely dangerous wildlife(!!) and possibly hazardous paths. I guess you can say I have "jungle fever".... Bad joke. Moving on.
-Hike the Tongariro Crossing. I was really hesitant about writing this one down because it gives a sense of commitment when I write stuff down and this rigorous nine hour hike doesn't seem like something I would usually commit to, but since I'm a huge fan of Lord of the Rings, I would deem it appropriate to visit Mount Doom (technically it's called Mount Ngauruhoe). Yes, this crossing is home to where Frodo destroyed the One Ring and also Mount Tongariro and Mount Ruapehu. So this trek will not only allow me to
No comments:
Post a Comment