13 places I’d love to visit

1. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India: Ever since I studied International Development at BYU with Dave Shuler I have been dying to go here!

2. The Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. In my limited interaction with members of the Sikh faith, I have been incredibly impressed by their kind and faithful nature. Karan Singh and Channpaul Singh have influenced me much more than they will ever know in the short time I was able to spend with them in Utah of all places.

3. The Church on Spilled Blood in the center of my favorite European city yet. I love Saint Petersburg with all my heart. The people are amazing, and the language continues to challenge me, but I will prevail. Hugs to Natalja.

4. Guillin, China–every time I see these mountains I crave to be there. We know from the Bible that holy experiences happen on the mountaintops. I only wonder what has happened here.

5. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic–My Dominican students raved about their country for years. Send me. I’d love to experience a sliver of what they have seen.

6. Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Canada–I’m not a huge fan of ice, snow or cold weather, but I’ve always dreamed of a trip to the north. When I graduated high school I wanted to drive up the coast, until I could go no further, but it never happened. Someday it will though.

7. A canopy in Ghana–Now this would scare the beejeezes out of me, but oh would I love to see the lush land and meet the amazing people. As I read about the faith the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ghana, I just want to meet them. The stories of them walking all day just to get a temple recommend inspire me.

8. Incan stairs over a cliff at Maccu Piccu–My boss got sent to Peru and I was sent to San Salvador, El Salvador. Where’s the justice? She was eating in 5-star restaurants and golf clubs, while I was fearing for my life in a 4-star hotel. The history of this area intrigues me, and how smart are they to put stairs over a cliff! It would definitely deter intruders from other areas.

9. The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, although I don’t think this is the week to do that trip.

10. The Sydney Opera House–I’ve heard the Metropolitan Opera in New York, but the scenery just isn’t the same. And the accents–oh how I love the accent. . . <sigh> And then of course I’d have to swing on by Brisbane to visit my friend, ElvisPirate.

11. A trip on the TransSiberian Railroad from St. Petersburg, through Moscow, Yaroslavl, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk (with an obligatory stop at Lake Baikal), Ulan Ude and on to Vladivostok. I really want to see the library in Irkutsk to see if it is anything like what Anton said it was 10 years ago. I’ll never forget him leaving us all of his clothes, to pack 2 full suitcases of English language books to take to the library in Irkutsk.

12. The isolated beauty found in Tahiti–I can always use some sand in my toes and waves crashing at my feet.

13. And lastly, to kayak the oceans and maybe the ruins in Belize.

Some (esp. my husband) will ask why I didn’t list Romania on here as a destination. It’s because I don’t hope to go there. I know we will go there. It’s a given. Our kids need to know about where their father came from.

This post would not be possible without the awesome photography of Rainbowb, Blind Starfish, Vetkaa, WangHL, Mark714, Rexton, bntrphotos, adam_s_johnson, charliel2557, Piero Sierra, gsherman, and eltonito and their generosity to share their photos on Flickr. Thank you!