THE GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

It’s almost hard to believe things like this exist naturally. The Grand Prismatic Spring, located in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world. With an average temperature of 160°F, the spring discharges about 560 gallons of water per minute. Pigmented bacteria and microbial mats grow around the edge of the water, causing the stunning display of colors seen in the picture. Sometimes nature makes for the best art.

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Queensland, Australia is definitely a breathtaking site. Consisting of more than 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system sprawling over 2,600 kilometers in Coral Sea. This World Heritage Site is the home to several wonderful species of marine creatures and hence, divers are rewarded by the sight of an astounding bio-diversity. You could also enjoy staying at its live-aboard as a tourist or a scuba diver.
While you take the plunge into warm seawaters, you can catch sight of over 400 coral species and other endangered species of sea animals. 


I have visited many coral reefs so far in my lifetime but none so diverse. If you are a lover of nature like I am this is definitely a must see.

INDONESIA

Indonesia encompasses more than 17000 islands, two-thirds of which are inhabited and unique in its own way. On Sulawesi, the elaborate funeral ceremonies and timeless traditions of Tana Toraja are light years from the surfing culture of Lombok. But so too are the mighty saddle-backed Batak mansions of Danua Toba and the volcanic lakes of Sumatra from the mummies and deeply etched gorges of Papua’s Baliem Valley. The resorts and restaurants of Bali pamper precocious style cats, while at the same moment threadbare backpackers are adopted by homestays in Kalimantan.

Going to Indonesia means getting a secret pass into a world of new beauties, new wonders and new, life changing experiences.

THE JUNCTION OF TWO RIVERS

This site to behold is found in Geneva, Switzerland and is called the Junction of two rivers because of the simple fact that the waters never mix. The river on the left is Rhone and is so cold that it keeps from blending completely with the Arve river (hot water is less dense than cold water). As such it creates a beautiful site that no one would even think to expect. 

Arve, which receives water from many glaciers of the Chamonix valley before flowing northwest into the Rhone on the west side of Geneva, where its higher levels of silt creates this striking contrast between the two rivers. 

This site is on my bucket list for obvious reasons.

(photo by Edouard V)

DUBAI

Described as one of the most modern cities in the world Dubai is at the top of my travel bucket list. Dubai is located within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and have some of the world's most amazing sky scrapers. 

Dubai is essentially a desert city with superb infrastructure, liberal policies (by regional standards), that became popular for its excellent tourist amenities. Just 5 hours from Europe and 3 hours from most parts of the Middle East, the Near East, and the subcontinent of India, Dubai makes a great short break for shopping, partying, sunbathing, fine dining, sporting events, and even a few sinful pleasures. 

It has the largest immigrant population in the world. As such there is a little of every country in the world in this one city.