Our Top-10 Lists: Favourite Journeys of the World
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This list is our own personal top-ten favourite journeys based on what we have seen and experienced in our travels.
[updated in 2018 with the addition of the Sri Lanka blue train journey]
1. Amalfi Coast, Italy
The views out of the bus window during the bus ride along the Amalfi Coast in Italy were spectacular.
2. Slow Boat, Laos
The choice was either a speed boat out of Laos, or a two-day slow boat ride along the Mekong River. In typical backpacker style, we chose the slower (and cheaper!) route.
3. USA Road Trip
Leaving San Francisco, we took our hire car to the highways. The road trip took us to Yosemite, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Death Valley.
4. Blue Train through the Sri Lankan Hills
Our trip on the blue train from Ella to Kandy in Sri Lanka in 2018. This journey took us through the tea country in the hills of Sri Lanka.
5. Camel Trek, Jaisalmer India
Three days, two nights travelling around the Jaisalmer region of India, on the back of a camel, with nowhere to wash and no change of clothes. Yes it was fun.
6. Guatemala Bus Ride
Any bus ride in Central America is a memorable experience, though our trip from Panajachel to Chichicastenango was especially memorable. We were squashed on as usual, sharing hard wooden seats with the locals, while the bus was driven at high speed along the windy mountain roads.
7. Corsica, France
We spent several days taking our borrowed car though the windy mountain roads of Corsica.
8. Indian Auto Rickshaw
The day’s journey started with a 2.5 hours bus ride to a small town called Biahur, and after a 45c lunch from a bus-stop snack-bar (for the two of us), we hired an auto-rickshaw to take us to Khatia National Park, thinking that it would just be another usual ride. We did not realise that it was a 1.5 hour cross country journey along dirt tracks through rural villages, including crossing muddy rivers and pushing the vehicle up steep dirt tracks. We even had a couple of young Indian hitchhikers joining us for part of the ride.
9. Egyptian Nile Cruise
Any visit to Egypt would not be complete without a cruise down the Nile.
10. Australian Nullarbor
Driving across the flat, treeless desert centre of Australia is a classic Aussie journey.
* missing out on the top 10 are: train from Milan to Switzerland, sailing the Caribbean in Belize, Hitching a ride on the back of a truck in Guatemala, Driving along the Big Sur in California, cycling in central France, Train through the Copper Canyon in Mexico.
See also the list of unusual transport modes