Places to visit before I die...

After all the josh that we got from the last weekend's trip, we started hunting out for a place to go for the coming weekend as well...

Started from places nearby to those far off...

I went on Googling for the locations..
(my gosh.. Seriously Google has become an integral part of my life.. guess sometime I'd also want to write a post on this.. may be the various things that I have googled for... sure the list'd be interesting..)

Searched on National Park sites.. but cud not get anything exciting..

So from there I went to our own very desi Kesari Tours.. hoping that there would be some *famous* place that I've missed out.. But then.. I could not find any.. atleast none that'd be fine for us to go this weekend...

But then looking at their website... I saw so many places... that I just loved simply looking at them... So thought.. maybe I'll write about them.. I don't know how many I'd write down.. But the places will come as I think...

Ok so here I go..

1. Rajasthan by Palace on Wheels

• This has been on my list for long... Visiting Rajasthan is not the main thing. But going there by the most luxurious train in India, Palace on Wheels is the main thing that interests me. I am damn sure the experience would be a helluva experience. Just now checked it out some details.. Good thing.. I should be able to afford it.. :-) And Bad thing.. Bookings are filled up very well in advance.. Booking for 2008 are also full!!! :-O

2. Switzerland

• Well for obviously obvious reasons... :-) What can be said about this place.. Paradise on earth. Jungfraujoch. Titlis are the MUST ones... Specially want to go when there's lot of snow.

3. Mauritius/Maldives/Lakshadweep/West Indies/Port Blair

• Either of these is fine.. But preference is in the order from Left to right. So if I visit Mauritius, I am skip the others. But if I visit, lets say, Port Blair, I still might want to go to Mauritius. Ok the reason of attraction being the blue water and white sand beaches. They look sooooo beautiful... All I have seen till now is some dirty beaches all around.. in India and out of India.. But I want something that is veryyy clean. Hence the list.. Just want to confirm if such beaches exist in the real world.. or is it just in Hindi Movies.. ;-)

4. God's own country - Kerala

• Sheerly for the natural beauty of the place.. Those backwaters.. the trees... Appam and Veg Stew.. and A houseboat.. Imagining all these together makes me smile.. I guess being at the place would be even more pleasing.. OnceI reach there, maybe I can think seriously on the plans of starting a business of houseboats.. A concept nurtured by me and Vinod(a friend of mine from office) ;-)

5. Taj Mahal

• Now actually.. This is an irony.. Whenever I go onsite, meet people there and talk about India, they'd say how they had been to India and how did they like India and all sorts.. How they went to Taj Mahal and the place was so beautiful.. Well at such times.. I feel bad that being in India, I haven't seen Taj Mahal.. Actually same holds true about people in other countries.. I came to know of this bus driver in Jersey City (where I am now) who hasn't been to the Statue of Liberty.. while my enthu made me visit the place within days of coming to US. The typical case of 'Ghar ki murgi Daal baraabar'. Anyways, coming to the main point, I want to see the place.. Afterall it ain't a Wonder just for nothing.

6. Great Wall of China

• Man's only creation on Earth to be visible from Moon... Seriously, The concept of the wall itself is too much... So looooooooooooong is it.. around 6.7K kms.. Was this guy crazy who built it? Kya duniya ka saara patthar khatam karna chaahta tha kya? Anyways.. its on my list.. And I have to go there to find out why do I not find a stone when I have shoo off Ramlal (Gali ka kutta,re...)

7. Europe - Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Austria

• I have this wish since long (atleast since I have started working).. I should get a Schenghen Visa and should get posted to some country like Germany or France for an year or so. Then every weekend I would go to some place in any of these countries. Europe is indeed very beautiful. Have been to a few places in Europe like Paris, Venice, Rome. The flexibility that the Schenghen Visa offers is a boon for travellers like me. Otherwise getting a Visa for each country is a problem. Anyways.. My wishlist consists of visits to Frankfurt (heard a lot about it from Makarand), Berlin, Nice, Brussels, Amsterdam (specially during my bachelor life ;-D ), Milan, Madrid, Athens, Vienna.. (Have heard a lot about the beauty of Austria)

8. North India

• Now that is a very generic statement... But yes.. North India.. When I say that , I mean, Delhi, Himachal and Uttaranchal.. Specially watching the Roadies show on MTV, Their journey from Jaisalmer to Leh looked fantastic.. specially towards the end. Being a bike freak I am, I would love to go for a ride on such beautiful routes. Another reason for my fascination with the North is specially due to the fact that the most North in India I have been to is Mount Abu, a place just above the Gujarat Border in Rajasthan.

9. Golden Quadrilateral

• Well my list is not always about going to a certain place. Destination is not always what I am interested in. The journey also matters. Golden Quadrilateral, for sure, is one thing to ensure that it would make even the journey a pleasure.(Of course, the govt. permitting). I would be very much interested in taking a drive on these roads in an SUV, halting at dhabas for meals and adoring the beauty of my home country. Of course, that would also give me a point to boast about my country...

10. Others

• I could now actually go on and on.. But to cut short.. Few more places in the probable list are Pondicherry, Coorg, Darjeeling and others.
• I would like to go to Ahmedabad and Halol again sometime. Specially to the places where I lived, the schools that I went to and relive the old memories
• Well Sinhagad would have been on my list.. But just covered that some time back.. Seriously difficult to believe after being in Pune for almost 8 years, I hadn't been there..

Finally.. I guess I have prepared a very idealistic list.

Something which is very common and where most of the people would share interest in similar type of places..

Anyways, that hardly matters, so long as the list matters to me.

So far I think this is an optimistic list for me to complete.

And at the current rate of travelling that I am doing, I should be well in time to finish visiting these places during my lifetime, provided all goes on well..

Touchwood!!! :-D