I'm curious if you think you've found paradise. Is your paradise real or are you still searching for it? Is it a stereotypical island with a sandy beach and palm trees or something very different? Are you there now? Have you had previous "paradises" that have been supplanted by new paradises?
Reply to this I used to think that the area around Doi Inthanon National Park, the highest mountain in Thailand, southwest of Chiang Mai was paradise...I actually called it Shangri-La and would break out into that song "Your kisses take me to Shangri-La" every time I entered this remote valley with waterfalls and hill tribe villages. However, in no small part my fault due to my having built a road into this area in 1974-5, civilization and tourism has now invaded the area. I've tried to think of another paradise which hasn't become a tourist destination over the last several decades, and can't think of anything right now. Maybe comments by others will spark a memory so I reserve the right to come back later!
Reply to this I used to think that paradise was a place. Then, like Bob, the places I thought fit the description changed over time. Either they got developed in ways I disliked, became too popular, or my interests just changed too much to enjoy it any longer.
Now, I consider paradise to be an experience rather than a particular place. A great hike certainly fits the description, for example:
The Path Less Travelled By. The time I spent soaking in a hot spring in the Sierra Nevada under a carpet of stars certainly was (near the end of
The Ancients). A great raft trip can be paradise too:
The best raft trip in the United States. Of course, this can also be Paradise in the right circumstances : )
Reply to this Rakhigarhi, Haryana - The largest city in the Indus Valley Civilization,Rama Setu, Tamil Nadu - Limestone Shoals connecting two nations, Sundarbans, West Bengal - The two faces of Mother Nature I think these are my Paradise
Reply to this My personal paradise is the Bay Area of Northern California: specifically San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley,. They cannot be beat for diversity, progressiveness, restaurants, things to do, and social acceptance. My wife and I took Amtrak's "California Zephyr" from Chicago to Emeryville, CA. It lasted two nights and three days on the train but we had a sleeper bedroom accommodation that was wonderful. All meals were included in its price. We made the trip part of a 'once-in-a-lifetime' vacation. Several online sites give you an idea of the trip - google '<snip>' If you've never done it it's a trip you won't soon forget.
[Edited: 2016 Aug 15 15:32 - auspicious:163658 - No URLs please]
Reply to this I love the eastern end of Lake Geneva around Montreux, Vevey and Chexbres where I did a project in 2002/03 and had an appartment for a while. Here you have nice and warm climate, a beautiful lake and the mountains. Medium cities like Lausanne and Geneva are close by and big cities like Milan, Turin, Lyon and Zurich are within reach. Excursions to Italy and France are possible and I frequently made them with my company car. You can also enjoy clean and orderly Switzerland. You find a few photos especially from my old and still favorite hotel in Chexbres in my blog.
Reply to this Sapa, North West Vietnam...is my paradise. That is my first blog here. Before that, I always held the Tharn Thong Lodge near Chiang Mai close to my heart. It is still close to my heart, and I would love to stay there again. But mystique, mountainous Sapa with its soft touch of clouds rolling in and out, its tale of Dragon mountain, the rice terraces dotting the foothills and the innocent smile of Black Hmong tribe when walking the cobblestones of the Sapa town, made my 'paradise regain'!!
Reply to this Today is the 11th anniversary of our move to Woodland Park CO. Upon reflection it struck me that this is my paradise! After roaming the world and visiting every State to find a place to retire, we chose this little town in the Rocky Mountains. The scenery is beautiful with blue skies, evergreen forests, and snow capped mountains. The people are warm hearted, with our town small enough that we know a lot of people and all our neighbors. The climate is perfect with summers not hot and the winters not too cold, and with 300 days of sunshine per year. We are centrally located in the U.S. near a major airport hub in Denver and a regional airport in Colorado Springs making travel anywhere convenient. Driving distances to many national parks, from the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in Wyoming, to Arches and Canyonlands in Utah, to the southwestern towns of Taos and Santa Fe in New Mexico, and to the many national parks here in Colorado are less than a day away. Our own influx of tourists, mostly campers, is much less than destination places like Estes Park and confined to the summer months. We are so fortunate to have found our paradise!
Reply to this It's a dificult question since I do not know other corners of the world, but so far I guess Manu Park, Sacred Valley in Cusco and Tayrona Park in Colombia are my favorite places.
Manu because the scenery is amazing you are able to see the limits of highlands and all of a sudden the Amazon covered by an amazing sea of clouds, going down is the best because all streams create wonderful landscapes of litle waterfalls.
Sacred Valley because the mountains are jagged, some of them with beautiful snow mountains and along the valley colourful villages, towns, wonderful food, ancient temples, shrines and settlenments.
Tayrona Park because the granite rocks, the coffe zones, the diversity of trees of the jungle that ended up in the beautiful turquoise Caribean beaches.
Reply to this Nepal is my paradise, which is known as kindom of Himalayan regions. And all the world knows that Nepal is one of the preffered destination for Himalayan activities. Sir Edmund Hillary marked after his first Everest ascent in 1953 that Nepal is the great paradise hub for trekkers and mountaineers and one of the nicest countries in then world. Out of the fourteen mountains above 8 thousand meters in the world eights lies here in Nepal. They are Everest (8848m), Kanchenjungha (8586m), Lhotse (8516,), Makalu (8485m), Cho Oyu (8201), Dhaulagiri (8167m), Manaslu (8163) and Annapurna I (8091m).
Reply to this I love mountain, I love the view from the top the mountain of the Australia. That's the paradise for me.
Reply to this Mine has to be Austrailia, specifically Cairns in the North East region of the continent. We were there on our honeymoon 6 years ago, and chose a room close to the ocean facing the great barrier reef so we fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean waves every night. We loved the tropical landscapes, the diverse animals, and the people were extremely nice.. probably the nicest people we've ever met. It was certainly developed, but not in a crazy annoying way like some comenters have said about their paradise. I can't wait to go back some day...
Reply to this I kind of agree with Roosta..but I could see it as a specific place, I would have to say in my personal view I think it can be both. As a physical place I would have to say a beautiful small island where my only noisy neighbors are the lapping waves and a bountiful ocean of food or an experience of feeling of utter euphoria in whatever place(s) you are. I've seen some amazing places that I would consider paradise... The Amazon, Angkor Wat, Koh Phi Phi...etc etc those were places of paradise for me personally, but I suppose it depends on the person's idea of paradise in the end.
Reply to this Banff in Alberta, Canada. Snow capped Canadian Rockies, the magical turquoise Lake Louise, the Elks and other wildlife freely roaming about. I wouldn't be surprised if fairies live there.
Reply to this My home, the California resort town of Santa Barbara, has everything. We have dolphins and whales, islands off the coast and miles of beaches (including nude ones) where you can see the sun set into the Pacific at the same moment that the full moon rises from the ocean. The mountains are crossed with trails, and the ever-so-charming downtown is filled with fabulous, Spanish colonial revival architecture, museums and music venues. For now, I like Andean towns for hiking and indigenous culture. But peace and nature are the most important.
Reply to this Here my paradise below and you can also visit my site here Awesome of Indonesia
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[Edited: 2016 Dec 05 01:45 - Roosta:95057 - No embedded videos please. Use [youtube ... ] to link to videos]
Reply to this My latest travel experience was in Georgia!! I arrived to Armenia, <snip>rented a car</a> and crossed border to Georgia by myself!! That was the coolest self-drive tour ever!!
[Edited: 2016 Dec 14 07:00 - traveltalesofawoollymammoth:258356 - No URL's allowed]
Reply to this My paradise is right here in Zurich, I absolutely love living here and would hate to leave. In travels, it is difficult to pin point one place, but few places I wanted to go back and stay longer would be Iceland and Bolovia. Two very different places but I feel strangely drawn to them.
Reply to this My paradise is Cape May, NJ. Perfect weather during the summer accompanied with warm people and long sand beach. What else you need to ask? The only problem about that place (anywhere in USA) is that you need to put your beer inside the wraper which is a strange thing. I remember the days where I rented a beach tent <snip> and relaxing on the beach for the whole day without thinking about anything or anyone - such a great moment.
[Edited: 2017 Apr 28 03:05 - Roosta:95057 - No embedded URLs in forum posts. please. See TOS.]
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