My "Top 50 Cities" in the World
- the Grand Finale - No 5 to No. 1
After doing the countdown for the past few months, finally we get to this point: The Final Five. It's like the TV show "American Idol" (though there is only one American city in the Top 5...)
Overall, in my Top 50, European cities occupy almost half of the seats. With 24.5 (Istanbul counts as half an European city, mind you) out of top 50 destinations are European, it is definitely my favorite continent in the world. With 8 cities in the final 50, United States is the country occupies more spots than any other single country. But ironically, my former top cities like New York and Boston are not even in Top 50 (due to "personal deduction"). However, at the end, one American city does get to the Final 5 and doing very, very well. Talking about a year all of us really need are "hope" and "change" and "yes, we can"....
The following is my Top 5 favorite destinations in the world...
5. Cuzco, Peru (including nearby Sacred Valley, Inca Trail, and yes, Machu Picchu): To be exact, Peru is also my favorite country in the world and I definitely think this region should be the first choice for anybody who plan a visit to South America for the first time (yes, Peru is the first South American country I visited). Compared to Antigua in Guatemala (another Top Latin American city for me), Cuzco is an even more beautiful and cultural place. Even the nearby sacred valley of Inca offers a lot of activities to choose: white water rafting along Urubamba River (part of Amazonian system); shopping for Incan crafts at Pisac Sunday market; wandering through less famous Incan sites such as Sacsayhuaman and Ollantaytambo. Of course, no experience can rival that of trekking on Inca Trail, passing by Huinay Huayna, to reach Intipunku (Sun Gate) and have the first encounter with Machu Picchu. Yes, even a person as cynic as me would say: "This is the trip of lifetime!"
My writing about Cuzco and Machu Picchu:
Silence of the Andeans (in Chinese)
Photo album:
Next....My No. 2 city in the world was No.1 for 4 years. Now it falls to No. 2...
2. Berlin, Germany:
For a history buff like me, Germany's "former" but also "new" capital is the most fascinating city in our time. It had morphed 5 times in the past 100 years alone. Even after entering 21st century, Berlin still hasn't stopped its process of metamorphoses. Now the avant-garde art and nightlife center of the new integrated Europe, Berlin still remains a bargain destination. Your Euro (or pounds or CN$, and yes, maybe even US$) can still go further here than many other European cities. For architecture buffs, many interesting modern building can be found here. And after 2009, the Museum Island Complex will become the largest museum complex in the world. I have long been aware Berlin is a fun place to visit while most of the world still did not know. Unfortunately, after last year's World Cup, the secret is out....After visiting this city 6 times in the past 12 years, I also want to say "Ich bin Berliner!" (no "ein" here...).
My only Berlin travelogue in English, published on BootsNAll.com in 2007: "You Are Still The One"
and
An older article The Lost Past of Berlin (in Chinese)
Photo Album Well...it is Chinese only sorry...
So what is the BIG NO. ONE among them all....after all? Yes, I have a new No. 1 now! Isn't it great that finally this year, Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" is some guy most of us all like? And yes, he hails from my No. 1 city in the world - a city I first visited back in 1992 but took me so long to start liking it. Now, it is my favorite city in the world....
And this city, my No. 1 is....
1. Chicago, USA: A city I called it home when I was in one of the lowest period in my life. Nothing went right in that period, except anything related to "travel". However, my Chicago days offered me opportunities to write, to be creative, to recoonect with many other aspects of my life. Now looking back in that 2006-2007 miserable period, Chicago actually reignited my hope - hope about the possibility of still living in the US and still enjoying it, hope that had been extiguished after the fiasco in my New York days. Interestingly, more than a year later, someone started his career in this city actually brings hope to the whole country.
It is called "second city" though in my mind it is no second to any other in the US. It is a highly culturally rich and ethnically diverse city, but still manages to be much cheaper and less arrogant than cities on both coasts. Sometimes, even its polital scandal looks amusing and entertaining. Of course, there are always prices to pay for some place this good: yes, the winter is very harsh...
So that is it...Finally I finish it! Another round of Top 50 right before the end of 2008.
Hopefully, everybody have a great travel year ahead in 2009!....