Popular Cities

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I saw this in the SFGate edition this morning:

London is the most popular travel destination in the world. (I would agree with that!) The British capital reclaimed the most popular spot based on air travel arrivals and foreign visitor spending, besting last year’s most popular destination, Bangkok, by more than 2 million visitors according to MasterCard’s Global Destination Cities Index released this week.
Where else are people traveling? Behind London and Bangkok, Paris, Singapore and Dubai rounded the top five locations across the globe. (per Chris McGinness)

I can see why London, Bangkok, and Paris are on the list. But Dubai is not a real place, and Singapore is basically NYC moved several thousand miles east (or west depending on where you live). Of the top three, I prefer Bangkok, since it offers culture, food, friendly people, and a great jumping off point or hub to the rest of SE Asia. With the chunnel, London and Paris are like "brothers from other mothers", rather than two distinct trips.

But this article touts the rise of Lima, Peru. Personally, as far as South America, I prefer both Rio and Buenos Aires. The cultures there seem richer, the lodging and dining options are much better, and the people are friendly. Lima, to me, is on the cusp of getting noticed, even though it serves mostly as a hub for the rest of Peru, like Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. His quote: On the downside, I’ve heard that Lima is somewhat gritty and cloudy most of the time, so I’d probably hightail it outta there and hit the Andes and Machu Picchu after a few days. I was in Mexico City last year and really REALLY liked it. It’s definitely cleaned up its act lately, has a fun food/dining scene and lots of new hotels– it’s clearly a sleeper city.

Now, Mexico City is intriguing, since it is so close. And we even speak the same language here in California (take note Republicans!). I would imagine the cost of living is still less in Mexico and Mexico City versus any of the South American capitals. And I hear the lodging and dining options are improving as we speak! So, if you ever get asked to vote, think about it first. Yes, the city should have great lodging and food options. But there must be a culture, and I am not speaking of yogurt. Singapore is quite sterile for a SE Asian country. London is too much like the USA, and the Parisians hate us. That leaves Bangkok as the winner.
Where might you be going??

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

Bliss
Bliss comes in many forms...I agree this photo takesone there. Please tell...where is this?

[golfkat]

Photo location
on the Mediterranean, Italy as I recall.

[D MJ Binkley]

Excellent
Love your photos.