I discovered a book online titled Timeless Journeys published by National Geographic. The subtitle is Travels to the World’s Legendary Places. I could not find the book listed on NatGeo’s website, so I had to use a picture from Amazon. I have an EPUB file of the book.
The book lists many locations grouped by continent. Each location has a brief description, gorgeous photos, a few travel tips, and a random historical anecdote. For example, here is the passage for Carthage (Tunis). I did see many Roman ruins when I visited in 2014.
Recovering a Lost Civilization
The powerful Phoenicians sailed the Mediterranean and traded with the Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Egyptians for a thousand years. In the 1970s, the National Geographic Society funded grants to explore their ancient world.
Researchers uncovered and lifted a complete Phoenician warship near Sicily, likely sunk during the First Punic War in 250 B.C. Archaeologists speculated that it was likely almost new and went down on its maiden voyage, in a storm or in battle. The shipwright’s Punic characters were still visible on the wood.
In Lebanon, Dr. James B. Pritchard’s excavations of the lost city of Sarepta unveiled a matchless record of the Phoenicians’ daily life, from the stone basins where they crushed olives for oil to the small temple where they worshipped Baal. “We have uncovered at least nine different cities, representing more than a thousand years of Phoenician history,” Pritchard said. “Every inch, every bit—600,000 fragments of pottery—has been measured and charted and recorded.
Compared to Travel Bucket List #1 from Forbes, locations in this book feel more exotic. I have also visited a lot less places in this book compared to the Forbes list. Here is my score by continent, and where I have been:
Asia: 2/12
Great Wall of China, China
Kyoto, Japan
Europe: 3/13
Île de la Cité, Paris, France
Rome and the Colosseum, Italy
Pompeii, Italy
Africa: 1/9
Carthage, Tunesia
North America: 3/13 (I am embarrassed)
Route 66, Western U.S.A.
Niagara Falls, Ontario/New York
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
South America: 0/10
Australia and the South Pacific: 0/7
Total score: 9/64 🙁
That is pretty dismal. In my defense, a lot of my Asian destinations did not make the list, nor did the places I visited in North America. I have been to New York City, but never visited the harbor. This analysis also says that I must visit South America and the South Pacific.
Life with chronic diseases 