I narrowly missed travelling to Sri Lanka on my birthday this year. Ever since, I’ve been dreaming up of places where I’d like to wake up on days when I turn older in the coming years. Not that this has been some sort of tradition with me or anything but it’d be great to be in a different place on a day when you turn grey by another year. Of course, birthdays are essentially just numbers, which I why I have this deep-seated logic of associating it with places as well. Given a chance, these are the 10 places I’d pick to celebrate my next few birthdays.
Iceland
Iceland’s surreal landscape is a major attraction for me. Just about everything in the island country seems worth exploring to me. Forget the days, I’m keen on chasing Northern Lights during the freezing nights as well. From unpronounceable volcanoes to lava fields to its thermal waters and the inviting Golden Circle, waking up to nature’s bounty on your birthday seems to me like the best deal ever.
Blue Hole, Belize
I’ve done my fair share of snorkeling and deep sea diving in Thailand, Vietnam and Madagascar. But the pictures of Blue Hole left a big impression on me, along with the sudden urge of diving into its pristine hole and exploring the fauna that are lucky enough to call it home. Rest assured, no itinerary of mine that involves the Americas will leave out Belize.
Tahiti
Getting there and back costs an arm and both kidneys, but French Polynesia is a place where I want to go and just gape open-mouthed at the scenery in front of me. No rushing, no running – Polynesia seems to be the sort of place where you just let go of everything and spend days doing nothing. Sipping local cocktails and listening to the locals’ stories are other things I look forward to doing on my birthday.
Faroe Islands
The tourist season in this tiny cluster of islands between Scotland and Iceland lasts only between May to September. From watching puffins to taking boat trips around this little-visited destination’s landscape that is said to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings is something I wouldn’t mind doing on my birthday.
Minsk
Blame it on FRIENDS. I first heard about Belarus’ capital on the popular sitcom and have been fascinated by its sad history ever since. After Georgia, I have an incredible urge to visit all the free Soviet states too. Minsk just seems like the best place to begin this adventure.
Lakshadweep
Everybody loves visiting the Andaman islands. I’ve hardly heard anyone going to Lakshadweep though. I want to get here simply to enjoy this stretch of India that seems to have disappeared from everyone’s minds as if some sort of collective amnesia has gripped the populace. Bringing to light some of the delights these islands have to offer is something I very much look forward to.
Chiang Mai
When I visited Thailand, I had only two weeks and I chose the southern half of the country to explore. I missed the cultural heritage and easy-going vibe of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It’s something that rankles me very much and I’d love an opportunity to get here and tick it off my list of visited places. What better way to break the jinx than on my birthday?
Isle of Syke
I visited most of Scotland on my trip through the UK in 2015. I left out Isle of Syke because I had little time left over and I imagined it would be filled with tourists as it’s the most popular place in Scotland. But the wild beauty of Scotland is so alluring that I wouldn’t mind going back all the way for one more waltz in the fields of Syke and beyond.
Kars
Oh boy. I spent three weeks in Turkey and the one place I wanted to go was Kars – thanks to Orhan Pamuk’s Snow. Unfortunately, a couple of bomb blasts near Van en route to Kars put paid to my plans and I have nursed the wish to visit this forsaken side of Turkey ever since. The closest I’ve come to visiting Kars is seeing its imposing mountains from the Georgian border town of Vardzia.
Beirut
There are places that I’ve wanted to go for ages but never managed to, mostly because the destination makes it impossible for me to get there. Beirut is one prime example. Lebanon’s tourist visa policy is actually non-existent and yet I’ve heard stories of the wonderful people and places that some of my friends from other countries have had the pleasure of experiencing. Try as I might though, I can’t crack Lebanon. It would be great if I can visit this city on my birthday and break this impasse once and for all.
Main image via Unsplash
