What is Digg?70 Comments
- MetalLizard, on 01/14/2008, -5/+27Title should read, "Smithsonian: 28 Places To See Before You Die If You Have Loads Of Cash"
- iPoul, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1425, and ive just seen them all due to the posted pictures, thanks :D
- daithiocoinnigh, on 01/14/2008, -0/+13No hurry, I'm gonna live forever, Also I'm gonna learn how to fly
- SydneyHopper, on 01/14/2008, -0/+13These 'try before you die' lists have an implicit notion of manipulation, as they are structured in a way to make anyone reading them feel guilty about the lack of progress in their life, or they advocate a life that is only interested in the collection of 'done thats' rather than emotional fulfillment based on self actualization.
Also, these places usually attract that particular dinner party bore that collects jewels only to brandish them in front of friends in an exercise of belittlement.
More so, such lists have a devastating impact on the beauty spots, as people come tramping along the tourist tracks and leave devastation in their wake. It would be far better to operate a word of mouth invitational, than have millions subjected to this pied piper's call
There is something intrinsically ugly about nature's beauty, in that it was merely constructed out of chance, where man made objects have the beauty of contrived math, which is a far better soul than one build by haphazard movements and cellular eruptions - lacolonel, on 01/14/2008, -0/+11they left off chichen itza and nazca.... just in case you were wondering. oh and cydonia. :)
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. - rot13ubercrypto, on 01/14/2008, -0/+8Not true. Most of these have budget ways of getting there and poking around; I and many friends of mine have seen a bunch of these on all kinds of budgets ranging from shoestring to pretty-damn-comfortable.
That said, they've (like you'd expect with any list) left off a lot of places that have left me in awe -- such as Parque Nacional Lauca and Torres del Payne in Chile, the Mekong, flying over Paris by night, that sort of thing. The world is full of wonders... - chadu, on 01/14/2008, -0/+5hmm. I'm 31 years old and only been to 4 of them. I better get going!
- Rotzooi, on 01/14/2008, -1/+5Stonehenge is apparently out. It used to be right up there with the pyramids and the Taj Mahal!
- brufleth, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4In my limited experience it is still the plane tickets that cost the most. Sure you can get a ticket domestically for cheap but as soon as you want to go to Japan or South America the tickets can pretty easily cost more than the rest of the trip.
So I guess my advice is try to score some discount international tickets. Once you get there stuff doesn't actually have to cost as much as people might try to make you think. Even Japan was surprisingly cheap to get around. - blatantninja, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4You don't it for permission to leave. You need it to get into other places and to get back!
- Petestreet, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4If you don't have a passport, get one. This seems like the biggest stumbling block to travel. Once the passport is in your hands, all you have to do is be brave and buy the ticket.
US passports cost $97 total.
State department page on how to apply for a passport is here: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_8 ... - LogicBomB, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4Want an awesome, awesome experience? Go to Maui, Hawaii and take a visit to Haliakala National Park. It's 10,000 feet above sea level, you drive through clouds to get to the summit of the mountain and the sunset and star seeing is the best I'll ever see in my lifetime.
Also, it's worth noting that the stargazing is the 3rd or 4th best on the plant according to the observatories that are stationed there. - MetalLizard, on 01/14/2008, -0/+4That's better than most. I live in the USA, and I know people in their 70s that haven't even been to Canada, much less overseas.
- h3lx, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3Mount Kilimanjaro tops my list with a trip starting in Botswana and ending in Egypt. When (and if) the dollar recovers to her former glory, I'll do it. But for now, the exchange rate = less bang for the buck, not to mention, an American traveling abroad carries a little (perhaps psychosomatic) risk. All the places I went to back in the early 90's, the locals treated us like celebrities. Even in Japan.
-Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Wake Isle, Seoul.. all have some breathtaking views that burn into your memory and leave you changed forever.
-All that, but the Grand Canyon, Los Alamos, Dinosaur Valley, the Badlands, and Lake Greeson in Arkansas are impressive as well. You needn't travel around the world to get some serious eye candy. Hell, the sunrise from Dog Beach is impressive if you take pause to look.
-Happiness is being where you are, when you are. - colinnwn, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3My cousin's kid is 7 years old; and he is in Kilimanjaro right now about to start his summit attempt. He's trying to be the youngest to ever do it.
http://climbavolcano.org/ - trollick, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3I think it is important to let you know that I'm 38 and I've seen 1
- appletoapple, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Agreed. I also wondered why Chichen itza wasn't on the list.
- Rotzooi, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3whoops wrong button
- boonesfarm, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3yeah, but don't you die after you see #28? or did I read that wrong.
- MetalLizard, on 01/14/2008, -0/+3I dugg you up just because that was the most well constructed comment on digg I've ever seen.
- inactive, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2haven't been to nazca or cydonia.
Been to Chichen Itza (or, Chicken Pizza, as i like to call it); it's definitely very cool, the well-preserved, and enormous structures provide great picture opportunities. But it's becoming overrun with touron (tourist + moron)... When I was there, they have since closed off El Castillo (the main pyramid) and you aren't allowed to climb on top any more; but there are other ruins in the Yucatan which you can climb. Tulum is also pretty cool, although also touristy and disney-ified with gravel walkways and such; it's right on the beach, though, every picture looks like it's out of a postcard. IMHO the coolest ruins we saw were Lamanai; they weren't as well preserved, but it was nestled in the forest and you could actually climb the ruins to up above the treetops (and there were howler monkeys...).
We almost went to Tikal; from everything I heard while we were down there, it is way cooler than Chichen Itza. We didn't go because crime apparently is a big problem in Guatemala, and lots of the locals said that it isn't very safe for backpacking tourists. (unless you're with one of those hoity-toity all-expenses-paid tour groups for old people...) So, no gua-gua to Tikal for us...
El Castillo (and the Temple of Warriors in the background)
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=237765115& ...
The Great Ball Court:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=237765113& ...
I have pics from Tulum and Lamanai as well, I just don't have access to a negative scanner anymore... hopefully they'll get uploaded at some point.
(just thought i'd share some travel experience for those interested. hope you don't consider it too atrocious of comment abuse.) - mk2ja, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2Dugg for having them all on one page, with convenient links to whatever you want to read more about.
Oh, and dugg because it was a pretty cool list, too. - Fullvinyl, on 01/14/2008, -2/+4Meh, it's all right. There's a lot of sheep there. It was a bit of a letdown, honestly.
- cyranthus, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2what are you? 5?
- inactive, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2... no, cake! i meant cake!
"ah ah ah! you said death!.... oh alright, you're lucky I'm chuch of england" - bloominoctober, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2I'm 28 years old and have not been out of the US (except to Toronto for dinner once). I really need to expand my horizons, and this list has given me some good destinations to target. I've always wanted to see the Taj Mahal and Macchu Pichu. Maybe I'll start there.
- ostracize, on 01/14/2008, -0/+2So what are you? Apathetic or envious?
- appletoapple, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1I'm 24 and I've been to 3.
- inactive, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1watch a desert sunset....on acid
- shovelihave, on 01/14/2008, -1/+2This is coincidental, a couple of my friends and I were just discussing the possibility of scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro. Too bad we don't have the cash - and are in high school.
- theodenking, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1Or rather, would want to go if you had the money.
- carpespasm, on 01/14/2008, -1/+2neither are the major internet shock sites.
- appletoapple, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1idiot
- evildeadguy, on 01/14/2008, -2/+3Dugg for quoting the good Dr.
- kuj007, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1yeah... lighting up the sky like a flame is overrated.
- brufleth, on 01/14/2008, -2/+3...When was it ever up there with the pyramids (I'll assume you mean the 3 big popular ones in Egypt) or the Taj Mahal?
It is an interesting archaeological site and it is amazing they were able to setup those large stone blocks the way they did. That said it really doesn't come close to competing with the pyramids or the Taj Mahal. - calon9, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1While you're young keep the vision alive and do it one day. I'm old and decrepit and half the time my knees feel like angry blind lemmings, so my adventure travel days are nearing an end.
When younger, I backpacked around a few different countries, and I never let cash, parents, school, peer pressure or fear stand in my way. - inactive, on 01/15/2008, -0/+1correction:
watch a desert sunset....on peyote. - inactive, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1once you have the plane tickets (and even those you can get fairly cheap if you bargain hunt); some of these places can be incredibly cheap. I've been on vacation in South America plenty of times on a shoestring budget. If you don't mind backpacking it, staying in small local-run hotels/inns (no Best Westerns or the like), and taking the local, informally run bus system (also called "gua-guas" or chicken buses, because yes, sometimes a guy gets on with a chicken or two) you can easily see places like Macchu Picchu, or Tikal, or Chichen Itza, etc. for no more than $20-$40 a day ( for everything: food, lodging, transport). I'm assuming that you can do a lot of the other places the same way.
Check out the Lonely Planet guidebooks; they are *great* for the traveler on a budget; and have been indispensable on every vacation I've taken (especially outside the US, or in "3rd world" countries.) - gettarat, on 11/24/2008, -0/+1hmm. I'm 31 years old and only been to 4 of them. I better get going!
http://pyramidsofgiza.org/ - xdvx, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1I know :)
- JoeVet, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1The military was kind enough to get my family close to some of these sites and others not listed.
- Schda, on 01/16/2008, -0/+1Could always join the peace corps. I had a friend who did that, spent two years in Africa, helped people out, climbed Kilimanjaro (the corps provided all the equipment), and had many more memorable experiences.
- inactive, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1"There is something intrinsically ugly about nature's beauty"
I agree with everything but that phrase.
I have yet to see something man-made that can take my breath away like a desert sunset. - inactive, on 01/14/2008, -0/+1sorry, *central* America. For some reason I always mix them up in speech/type. tickets cost a bit more (for me at least) to south america than central america and i have yet to go there. Once you have the tickets, though, from everything i know the local tourist economy is very similar.
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http://hyipnews.freehostia.com/hyip - Nexus6, on 01/14/2008, -1/+1I'm 37 and have seen 9.
- lololololol, on 01/14/2008, -0/+0I'm 16 and have seen 6.
- travelerguy, on 01/15/2008, -0/+0What about NewGrange in Ireland? It's very doubtful that it could be repeated today
http://www.myguideireland.com/index.php?option=com ... -
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