The Great Travel List, Part IV: Asia

Part 4 of 5 in my ongoing series is coming later than anticipated, but my loyal readers will surely forgive me. On to Asia!

Bali - This small Indonesian island has long been the focus of exotic travel narratives, undoubtedly due to its unique material culture and social practices. As long as we are in the area, we might as well see what all the fuss is about, as well as purchase one of Bali's famous wooden carved statues or masks.

China (assuming its gets nicer) - The sites in China - Forbidden City, Great Wall, etc. - are well known and well worth seeing, but the country has a bad reputation of not being very nice to visitors, especially Americans. I'd love to go assuming the tourist climate improves a bit, or the Chinese government gets a little nicer (they are making baby steps as we speak).

India - Everyone goes to India to see the Taj Mahal, which would be worth a trip in and of itself. But additionally, the southern section of the peninsula contains some of the world's great Hindu temples, while the north leads into the Himalayan foothills where the tradition of Buddhism was born. Great architecture all around - plus elephants and tea!

Japan - Like a surprisingly large amount of people in the contemporary United States, Shewara and I find Japan's art and culture to be fascinating, both on the more traditional and modern ends. Japan's native arts and culture (which were NOT strict Chinese imports) continue to impress me, while the juxtaposition of their modern society with its insane amount of amusing quirks still interests me. So we must go.

Tibet / Nepal - Anyone who knows me should know why this locale is on the list. I find Tibet fascinating both for what it has become in Western eyes in addition to what it really is. The area has been ravaged by the Chinese government since 1959 and bears little to no resemblance to the Tibet we see in contemporary cinema, but this does little to lessen my desire to go there. Nepal would make a great sidetrip - it's the world's only Hindu kingdom, and the only strictly Himalayan nation to allow visitors (Bhutan is restricted to outsiders - probably a smart move considering what Tibet and Nepal have been through in that department).

That's all for the Asia. Central Asia doesn't interest us that much, and the Middle East and Iran are no-goes until the political situation improves. We'll see. Next time, we wrap up with Africa, Australia, and Oceania.