Around the world in ?????? days.

[ray.duke]

Howdy, I've got a very broad question for everybody. What I'm wondering is this...... "If you could take a trip around the world, and time and money were not an issue, then where would you go to photograph?" I ask this because I'm going to be in Afghanistan for the next couple of years and I plan to do just that when I'm done here. Once I've made the money I need to start my cabinet shop and pay off my house, I plan to save however much money it takes to finance a 3 - 6 month tour around the world to photograph places that are slowly disappearing or becoming modernized. Many places on my list include ancient cities that will be theme parks in 10 years, fabulous canyons and waterfalls that the rest of the world hasn't exploited yet, etc.... I'd love any input from you, no matter how insignificant you think it may be, about places you've been or learned of all across the globe. Thanks, Ray.

[Colin Graham]

Southern Spain and North Africa, then on to Thailand, Vietnam, China before it's really too late, and India. All are places I just want to visit, I'm not implying anything political or environmental by listing them....(OK, maybe China)

[Ron Marshall]

Angkor Wat in Cambodia; Kashmir in Northern India; Himilayas in Nepal...

[Marko]

Eastern Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar...

Most of these places are still relatively untouched by the mass consumerism. Except maybe China, but I'm sure that's still only in big cities. I'm also sure that will change rather quickly.

[Colin Graham]

I really would have like to have spent some time around the 3 Gorges before cities were leveled and temples moved, etc. And Add Cambodia to my list, that's a great one. Also Turkey. And everything really between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers as well...

[Daniel_Buck]

I would love to go to Egypt and photograph the Valley of the kings, Giza, Luxor, and some of the other areas with ancient Egyptian artifacts. To me, that would probably be the most enjoyable experience I think. And then after I was done shooting the artifacts, I'd go out into the sand sea and photograph the landscapes.

However, I'd probably want to shoot so much film, I would have no idea what to do with it all, how to carry it around, and all that. I could imagine myself taking a photo every 10 minutes for as long as there is light, for weeks! haha!

[DavidFisk]

New Zealand in a heartbeat. Staying 2 months on the South Island and wishing for more.

[mrladewig]

New Zealand for me too.

I agree about the Himalayas too.

Singapore is an interesting city with excellent food and is easy for Americans as English is the primary common language. I enjoyed working there for a bit over a month a couple years ago.

I'd like to visit Vietnam and might in the near future.

Bali.

Western China.

[Blueberrydesk]

Lake Baikal, New Zealand, everywhere really. But especially the Taiga and Baikal.

[Ole Tjugen]

I used to dream about that trip around the world with a big camera.

Then I realised I live in one of the most exotic locations there is, and there are even better ones within a few hour's drive.

Among them is what might be the world's third highest waterfall, which I have repeatedly failed to photograph.

So now I'm planning a project which will hopefully end up as ten 100x120cm prints mounted on aluminium. And all ten will be shot in my own garden. ;)

[ray.duke]

OK guys I'm very excited about this now. I've been searching online for safari's and things of that sort when I ran across a website with some amazing treks. Now let me say, before anyone gets the wrong idea, I'm not rich or stuck up, far from it in fact. I'm working my ass off in Afghanistan living in horrible conditions and eating crap for food. I happen to be single and saving money here while not paying taxes. Moving on, this company that does the tours, they are cheaper than most, probably very unorganized by their own admission, and they appear to be my best bet. By combining 8 of their trips, each between 30 and 85 days long, I can see most of Asia, a good portion of Africa, the middle east, and nearly all of South America. These are "ground expeditions". Most of the travel is in a 4wd vehicle or on horse or camel, etc... Lodging ranges from tents to grass huts to hostels to locals to even hotels every now and then. Most food is provided, but not all. Group sizes are limited to 18 people with a minimum of 12, and most of the stops include 3 days to wander or hike or whatever. What I'm looking at is a cost of about $30,000, and 420 days of travel. This doesn't include all of the film and shipping costs I'll incur, and it doesn't include the weeks or even months I may be sitting in some random town somewhere in the world waiting for my next leg to begin. At any other point in my life I would have slapped myself for even considering spending 30,000 on a trip around the world, but seriously, what sane single person with not ties and no debt would turn down an adventure such as this? Pease keep the ideas coming, as I'm sure this trip won't cover all of the places I want to photograph, and hey, if anyone is interested perhaps we could make a team effort.

[claudiocambon]

As the tattered Tourism Board poster says in Zia International Airport in Dhaka, "Come to Bangladesh before the tourists do."

[Ron Marshall]

OK guys I'm very excited about this now. By combining 8 of their trips, each between 30 and 85 days long, I can see most of Asia, a good portion of Africa, the middle east, and nearly all of South America.

I've done mostly independent travel, tours can be great or they can be hell. Ask for references and do the research on this company.

Check out Lonely Planet's website and their guides for more ideas.

Good luck!

[Richard Wall]

I think what you are doing is a wonderful idea. I have done a similar thing on two occasions in my life. Although only for 9 months at a time and not around the world. However, I think the tour thing may be difficult to do with LF. Most tours don't give you time to yourself, typically they have you constantly moving between stops.

As an alternative, you might think of this as a series of hops. Gather a list of must travel to locations. Then find lodgings in those spots. With the internet it is pretty easy to find apartments to rent. Rent a place for a month at a time then move to the next location. By doing this you can mix tough locations (Zimbabwe) with easy locations (south of France). It also gives you time in a location where you can get into the local way and photograph the area at a more leisurely pace.

Good luck and keep us posted, and by all means be safe in Afghanistan!

Richard

[cyrus]

Central Asia and Iran

[jnantz]

chile

[eddie]

SE Asia. NZ, nepal, tibet, iryan jiya.

hit myanmar for sure. some great photo ops there. way better than angkor wat. check my gallery for some pics.

eddie

[Maretzo]

Mongolia has an incredible light (cool and dry air), do not miss it!