BookFace: Travelling - locations, events and destinations

PLANNING TO TRAVEL ELSEWHERE? These books are excellent guides to places and events for us to enjoy. Despite its thickness and weight (almost one kg for each book), these publications provide invaluable source of information for travellers and the like searching for future escapades or looking for another getaway to experience different cultures, festivals and sporting events.

"501 Must-Visit Destinations" contains 544 pages divided into 5 major sections: Africa; America & the Caribbean; Asia; Australasia & Oceania; Europe & the Middle East; and written by a team composed of our of travel writers.

With the beautiful iconic shot of the magnificent Taj Mahal (India) as the front cover, aside from a descriptive page (with a photo) for each attraction, it also provides brief description – what is it to explore, where is it located, what is there to see, when is the best time to go or visit, and how to get there. Some of them contain additional short notes of the historical importance and interesting trivia of the featured places.

Interestingly, some of the places featured in the book that I want to go are as follows:

Africa: Mount Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar (Tanzania), Victoria Falls (Zambia), The Valley of the Kings at Luxor (Egypt), El Djem (Tunisia). For Americas and the Caribbean: Blue Lagoon (Jamaica), Iguaza Falls (Argentina), Rio del Janeiro (Brazil), Easter Island (Chile), Galapagos Island (Ecuador), Quebec City Winter Carnival (Canada),  Miami South Beach (US), Grand Canyon (US), Yellowstone National Park (US),  Mt St Helens (US). 

For Asia: The Great Wall (China), Mt Fuji (Japan), Varanasi (India), Taj Mahal (India), Angkor (Cambodia), Komodo National Park (Indonesia), Palawan Island (Philippines), Phang-Nga Bay (Thailand), The Tunnels of Cu Chi (Vietnam). While for Australasia & Oceania: Uluru (Australia), The Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Blue Mountains (Australia). 

Finally, for Europe & the Middle East: Mont-St-Michel (France), Berlin (Germany), Octoberfest (Germany), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), The Van Gogh Museum (The Netherlands), Geneva (Switzerland), The Scottish Lochs (UK), Oxford (UK), Stonehenge (UK), Prague (Czech Republic),  St Petersburg (Russia), The Kremlin and Red Square (Russia), The Acropolis (Greece), Venice (Italy), Assisi (Italy), Ohrid (Macedonia), Barcelona (Spain), Cordoba (Spain), The Blue Mosque (Turkey), Jerusalem (Israel), The Dead Sea (Israel), Petra (Jordan).

On the other hand, "501 Must-Be-There Events" features an amazing array of events being celebrated all year round in different parts of the world. The book is divided into 8 sections highlighting the selection of celebrations, festivities and sporting events from North America to Africa, and from Europe to Asia. 

Of course, there are interesting events that I want to attend in the future such as: Celebration of Light Festival (Canada), Sundance Film Festival (US), The Super Bowl (US), The New York Marathon (US), Rio Carnival (Brazil) – as the front cover of the book, Nobel Peace Prize Concert (Norway), Gothenburg Book Festival (Sweden), The Boat Race (UK), Edinburgh Festival (UK), St Patrick;s Day (Ireland), International San Sculpture Festival (Netherlands), Cannes Film Festival (France), San Isidro Bullfighting Festival (Spain), Easter Mass in St Peter's Square (Italy), Dubai World Cup (UAE), Dubai Shopping Festival (UAE), Dragon Boat Festival (China), Singapore Lantern Festival (Sngapore), Sinulog and Ati-atihan Festivals (Philippines), Gold Coast Indy 300 (Australia)

After reading these books, I feel that there are so many places to discover in this amazing world and more years to discover them. I understand that the collections included in the books are only selection of the writers. Yes, there are more desired and interesting places and events to be added in the list that each one of us wants to visit and experience in the future.