Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider
- A year ago, I left New York to travel around the world as Business Insider’s international correspondent. Over that time, I visited over twenty countries.
- I decided it would be fun to pick my five favorite places I’ve visited over the last year.
- My list includes: Bali, Indonesia; Almograve, Portugal; Inner Mongolia and Gansu, China; Arusha, Tanzania; and St. Petersburg, Russia.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
I always felt like ranking countries to travel to is a hopeless exercise.
Everyone’s experience of a place is different, altered by dozens of factors from weather and season to the randomness of meeting a friendly local in a pub or bumping into someone having a bad day on the street.
When I first visited Vienna, Austria, I went out one night in early September and found it to be a lifeless museum of a city. When I returned two weeks later, I found the city electric with bumping clubs and late-night restaurants. The difference: The first time I came, the city was empty because all of the students in the city were on holiday. I didn’t even know.
Over the last year, I have found myself in the middle of more adventures than I can remember. There’s been off-roading in the desert in Inner Mongolia, visiting one of the seven wonders of the world in Jordan, and partying all night in Seoul, to name a few.
With over twenty countries checked off on the trip, I decided it was time to pinpoint my favorite places I’ve visited this year and why. Perhaps you’ll find some inspiration for your next trip abroad.
Here’s what’s gone down so far:
1. Ubud, Bali
Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider
While most people know about the Indonesian island of Bali as a beach paradise, I found the interior jungle, and specifically the city of Ubud, to be a far more interesting place to explore.
Ubud has a bustling community of local Balinese, digital nomads working on startups, and vacationers exploring Ubud’s mix of rice terraces, temples, spiritual retreats, yoga and meditation classes, and villas set into the countryside.
Ubud would be easy to make fun of due to its proliferation of New Agey seekers, vegan and raw food establishments, and more, but instead, the positivity that permeates through the city makes it the kind of place you want to experience and return to.
2. Almograve, Portugal
Annie Zheng/Business Insider
Last year, Portugal was recognized as the hottest travel destination of 2018, due in no small part to the country’s spectacular beaches, which many say are the most beautiful in the world.
Most travel guides, however, will tell you that the best beaches are the touristy hot spots in the Algarve region. While those were certainly beautiful, I discovered beaches far more wild, beautiful and remote a couple hours north in the Altenejo Region and specifically near the town of Almograve.
The town of Almograve and its surrounding area feels lost in time a century ago and the coastline teems with submerged black rocks and sea life. While the water is colder and the beaches more rugged than the Algarve, adventurers are rewarded for their persistence. Rarely did I find a beach with more than half a dozen people on it, and this was during peak season.
The area is where Portuguese families go for a quiet beach day away from the hordes of British tourists in the Algarve. If you go, don’t spoil the atmosphere.
3. Gansu + Inner Mongolia, China
Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider
While most people who visit China experience the bustling and crowded cities of Beijing and Shanghai, the country’s wild west is an even more rewarding experience.
Last April, I flew to Zhangye, a small city in Gansu province. Sitting on China’s ancient Silk Road, the area around the city is dotted with gorgeous Buddhist temples, snowcapped mountains, and China’s "Rainbow Mountains," a geological formation of brightly colored stripped hills.
For those who are willing to travel a few hours to the next province, Inner Mongolia, there is a whole world of adventure — think a massive sand sea of rolling dunes and over 140 hidden lakes — waiting in the Baidan Jaran desert. Just make sure you go with someone who knows the terrain.
I befriended a group of Chinese adrenaline junkies who were part of an off-roading club. They invited me to join them on a two-day tour through the desert. They’d already been driving for nearly a week, but they couldn’t get enough of racing over the massive sand dunes and camping in Mongolian camps in the middle of nowhere.
It was one of the wildest experiences I’ve ever had.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
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- I got a last-minute ticket to Coachella, the festival as famous for its flashy outfits and Instagram-heavy attractions as its music. Here’s what it’s really like to attend.
Source: Business Insider – hjacobs@businessinsider.com (Harrison Jacobs)