Travel website TripBase.com is currently running a web series where people are asked to dig out old posts, in answer to seven fixed questions. Amer from Tend To Travel was kind enough to nominate me, so here goes:
– Your most beautiful post
I’ve a real love of deserts, so I chose Crossing the Atacama desert in a 4×4 from Chile to Bolivia. My note taking seemed to be affected by the altitude, so the text is still a bit random, but I do still love all the photos of the Atacama Desert, especially the vivid colours during sunrise compared to the brilliant white barrenness that overwhelms once the sun has fully risen.
I also considered Sossusvlei in Namibia, for the photos, but the accompanying text is sparse to say the least.
– Your most popular post
A short post from 2006 about visiting the burning gas crater in Turkmenistan, also known as “The Gate To Hell”, gets far and away the most hits from all over the world after it was referenced on Wikipedia and translated into numerous languages.
– Your most controversial post
A recent post on the poor animal treatment at Beijing Zoo got many comments, both here and on social media link sites. The majority that put their name to their comment agreed that it’s an unpleasant place, but a few anonymous messages from the contact form were little more aggressive, presumably from the same sort of people who enjoyed throwing bottles at the animals.
– Your most helpful post
When I needed to get a new Chinese Visa there were many sites saying it’s easiest in Hong Kong, but no actual instructions, so I went to Hong Kong and wrote about my experience. Variations of “Chinese Visa in Hong Kong” have been the most popular incoming search term for the last few months.
– A post whose success surprised you
I was surprised that so many people had heard of a small temple in Malaysia, but an older post that still gets a lot of traffic is a few photos of Kek Lok Si, on Penang, during the Chinese New Year illuminations.
Close second:
Another was a 700 word whinge about failing at learning Mandarin Chinese, but commenters came through with some excellent suggestions and I’m back on track now.
– A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved
Again, another old post short on text, but with some lovely pictures. The post doesn’t warrant much attention, but I do feel that if you’re ever in the area you should try snorkelling in the rivers of Bonito, as it was such a random and unexpected experience.
– The post that you are most proud of
Mount Roraima from above - image from listverse.com
I’ve been to quite a few interesting places, but the one I remember the most fondly for many reasons is climbing to the top of Mount Roraima, a sheer sided, two kilometre high tepui that straddles Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. It was a personal success as I was still in the grip of a long bout of hepatitis caught whilst cruising down the Rio Madeira.
Honourable Mention:
I get the occasional question about how to afford lots of travel. One way to travel cheaply is by volunteering. I spent 8 weeks building houses with Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica. Despite the constant agony and ridiculous lack of safety precautions at the time, I look back on it very fondly, and am still proud of most of what we did.
Nominations
Here are the Bloggers I’ve nominated in order to keep the project going. Some I’ve been following a while, others are recent discoveries that I’ve enjoyed but not had time to read their older posts, so am letting them do the sifting work for me!
- Chengdu Living – I’m going to live down there for 2-3 months soon.
- Art for travelers – A very attractive blog showcasing her art work.
- Brittany Hite – Another recent discovery, but a fun read.
- And finally Today was not about Tay-Sachs – I’m a patron of the CATS Foundation that aims to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for Tay-Sachs disease.
Here are the #My7Links rules to follow and I look forward to reading the posts. Cheers!
If anyone wants the spare nomination, let me know, either in the comments or using the Contact form in the sidebar.
Steve, these articles are amazing! Keep up with your fantastic work!
Cheers! Thanks again for the nomination, and have fun in KL
I took you up on your nomination, thanks Steve! http://www.chengduliving.com/7-links/
The earthquake post is excellent – I was recently talking to some friends of friends that survived what must have been an awful time.
Hi there. Thanks for the nomination. Glad you liked my stuff! Will have to see if I can pull this all together soon and post away.
Great, I look forward to it