Where we’d like to travel in 2011
It’s the beginning of the year, a depressing period of time after the Holidays where you can only dream about your next trips around the world. We wanted to share the destinations we hope to see in 2011 to fuel your imagination until the next time you take off.
This is in no way a list of the predicted travel trends for 2011. We don’t believe in those. Everyone should choose his travel destinations according to his personal desires and not because some trendy magazine said where it’s gonna be cool to be.
On the flight plan today: Israel, Berlin, Ukraine, Rio and Melilla in spain. Please fasten your seat belt, we are about take off! First stop, Ben Gurion International Airport.
Israel
Our travel destinations are often based on where we know people. When my friend Sean, told me he was sent to Tel Aviv by his company for 6 months, it was the long-waited opportunity to finally visit the Holy Land. Israel has always been a controversial destination subject to a lot of fantasies (for the last 63 years at least). I know people that are afraid to go there because they fear terrorist attacks. Or there’s this big belief that Tel Aviv has an amazing party scene that people enjoy like there’s no tomorrow because, well, there might actually not be a tomorrow. I also know people that simply don’t want to go to Israel as a hostile reaction to the political decisions of the government.
To be honest, we have no ideas what to expect but our minds are always wide open with no prejudices. And we’ve met enough really cool Israelis to make us want visit their country. That’s why we want to make our own opinion about the situation even if I’m not sure two weeks will be enough to really get all the aspects of a complex situation.
Berlin, Germany
We’ve been in Berlin several times already but we can’t get enough, it’s definitely one of our favourite cities in Europe. It has become quite the hipster hangout but it has a unique vibe that we miss in Paris. A creative vibe that we really enjoy, even if it’s a pretty common thing to say. And the city is just huge, so many things to do, so many things to see and so many people to meet. It seems that we could go there again and again still discovering new things every time. The fact that it’s way cheaper than Paris is also a good point for a trip there.
In 2011, we plan to take the team Hejorama to the Pictoplasma festival to cover the event. It’s an event focused on contemporary character design and art. Can you think of a better place than Berlin for a festival of this kind?
Crimea, Ukraine
In the summer we like to go the beach, that’s a fact. If it’s not warm, sandy and we are not wearing shorts, it’s not a summer trip. We have no plans yet, but we are strongly considering the Crimean coast of Ukraine. Don’t listen to people telling you to go to Croatia to escape the crowded beaches of Greece, France or Italy. Croatia is exactly the same for a couple of years now and it’s not even cheaper anymore. I admit it’s a gorgeous country with amazing islands but not an adventure enough for us. We could consider the Bulgarian coast but Ukraine has a special appeal to me since I have some family there. And I can assure you the Crimean coast has nothing to envy to the French Riviera or the Italian beaches. I mean, it depends on what you look for but we think that it would be way more fun and exotic over there.
Wait, did I tell you about Kazantip? A piece of land auto-proclaimed as an independent republic where thousands of people party in one massive rave. If you’ve never heard of it you should check the documentary made by Vice. We’d like to check it out for sure...
Rio, Brazil
Everyone wants to go to Brazil. What’s there not to like? Beaches, caipirinhas, beautiful girls in bikinis and athletic guys in boardershorts... Some might say there is the rampant corruption, drug-plagued favelas, the likely chance of getting robbed at gunpoint and an invasive passion for football. Well, it’s exactly like Israel, we need to go there to figure for ourselves what this is all about.
There was a very interesting survey in Monocle about Rio last year and it really made us want to go. You could understand how Rio is becoming a city full of opportunities and working on solving its problems with results. The new mayor seems to understand quite well the challenges that Rio is facing and has interesting solutions for the favelas, the environment and the transportation. Especially since Rio will host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. This is an amazing chance for them to show the world that it has become a major city to be known for more than the favelas gangs and the bikinis on Ipanema.
Melilla, Spain
I’ve always been fascinated by enclaves. Can you imagine, a territory enclosed in a culturally distinct foreign territory? There’s probably a lot more of those than you actually think, just check the list on Wikipedia. One that caught my attention after I read about it in Courrier International is Mellila, a Spanish territory located in Morocco. It’s not technically an enclave since it’s not fully surrounded by Morocco and has a port on the Mediterranean Sea. That’s what you call an exclave (check for this page for details).
Anyways, I’d love to go there and see how it works for people there to be politically/legally in Spain but geographically in Morocco. And since I’ve never been to the surrounding country either that could be a good occasion to visit two countries at once!
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Of course, this is just a selection and we hope to do many trips in 2011. Whether it’s go for drinks with our mates in Dalston, visit our friends from Night Thirst in Prague, do our yearly pilgrimage to NYC, discover SEA, surf in Australia, help in Africa or simply hike in the mountains of France, we have many plans for 2011. You are welcome to join us for this journey of a lifetime!
What about you ? Any plans for 2011 ?
Alex
