31 places to go in 2010

Hi guys,

First I want to thank Chet from Le Canard for taking the opportunity to write me an email according to the review I posted of my experience in their lovely restaurant. He said that my enjoyment is their inspiration. Great! Thank you so much.

As well I would like to thank Karen Dickinson. She send me an email about Prue Leith's Spicy Fish Curry. She checked in the book "Leith's Cookery Bible" and told me that in the book the recipe is complete. There was a mistake on the website, so I would like to rectify that here. Thanks Karen!

I read the list below on the website of the New York Times and because I love lists like these, I couldn't help myself but post this list on my blog. According to the New York Times (January 10, 2010) these are the places to visit in 2010. South Africa is listed on place 22, what do you think guys? I feel that South Africa is more booming and interesting for travelers than ever before! I would love to visit Shenzhen, China. That is my travel goal in 2010. But what do you think? And where have you been? What is your holiday planning for 2010? Something from the list??

The 31 Places to Go in 2010
1. Sri Lanka
The civil war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and a separatist Tamil group ended last May, ushering in a more peaceful era for this teardrop-shaped island off India’s coast, rich in natural beauty and cultural splendors.
2. Patagonia Wine Country
Ten years ago, a group of adventurous winemakers set their sights on an Argentine valley called San Patricio del Chañar, an unusually fertile and eerily beautiful corner of Patagonia.
3. Seoul
They have been drawn by the Korean capital’s glammed-up cafes and restaurants, immaculate art galleries and monumental fashion palaces
4. Mysore
Yogis seeking transcontinental bliss head these days to Mysore, the City of Palaces, in southern India.
5. Copenhagen
The Danish capital has already emerged as one of the world’s greenest — and maybe coolest — cities.
6. Koh Kood
Is this the next Koh Samui? The Trat islands are emerging as Thailand’s new luxury outpost.
7. Damascus
Damascus hoteliers are trying to mine tourism gold in the rundown buildings of the Syrian capital’s Old City.
8. Cesme
Another corner of Turkey’s Aegean coastline has begun to emerge as a stylish alternative: the once-sleepy villages of the Cesme Peninsula.
9. Antarctica
This may be the last year that Antarctica is open to mass tourism — not because the ice is melting too fast (though it is), but because of restrictions that would severely curtail travel around the fragile continent.
10. Leipzig
In 2010, Leipzig, a small industrial city in the former East Germany with an illustrious past, will be marking the 325th anniversary of the birth of its former resident Johann Sebastian Bach.
11. Los Angeles
Visitors love to bemoan the lack of an old-fashioned cultural neighborhood in Los Angeles. Local museums, many of which struggled financially in recent years, are back afloat.
12. Shanghai
To many, the idea of a World Expo might seem like a dated, superfluous throwback from some preglobalized age.
13. Mumbai
On the one-year anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, citizens painted a one-kilometer stretch of wall in South Mumbai with murals to show their love and hope for the city.
14. Minorca
While the beat of disco pounds in Ibiza and Majorca, their quiet sister Minorca offers a tranquil contrast to the glitz next door.
15. Costa Rica
Costa Rica has been on any eco-minded traveler’s radar for years, but with a new birding route in the northeast region of the country, there’s a new reason to pay the country a visit.
16. Marrakesh
Ancient walls of Marrakesh must have protected the city from the global recession. Luxury boutique hotels, which began opening a few years ago, are now popping like Champagne corks over this North African city.
17. Las Vegas
Despite a 4 percent drop in visitors in 2009, and the fact that several Las Vegas hotels have drastically slashed their rates to attract bargain-seeking travelers, a number of ambitious developers seem to think there is still money to be made in Sin City.
18. Bahia
All eyes will turn to sultry Rio de Janeiro when it hosts the 2016 Olympic Games, but right now Brazil’s white-hot destination may be the northeastern state of Bahia.
19. Istanbul
The reputation of Istanbul’s contemporary art scene has been steadily growing in recent years, with the Web site ArtKnowledgeNews.com recently calling it “one of the most innovative in the world.”
20. Shenzhen
This industrial powerhouse of a city on the Pearl River Delta in the southern region of China, is more than just a factory town of sweatshops and bad smog — and it has the high-class hotels and high rollers to prove it.
21. Macedonia
One of the deepest lakes on the planet, with a dazzling Unesco World Heritage site of ancient dwellings rising high above its shores, Lake Ohrid in Macedonia is a local vacation star poised for greater international acclaim.
22. South Africa
As host of the 2010 World Cup this summer, South Africa has gotten its game on with a flurry of new stadiums, new hotels and safari lodges.
23. Breckenridge
The ski resort of Breckenridge is not content to be merely the party capital of the Colorado Rockies — now it wants to be the Amsterdam, too.
24. Montenegro
On the southern edges of Montenegro, almost at the border of Albania, is an unusual land formation: a powdery, eight-mile-long beach called Velika Plaza (Long Beach) and a triangular island where the Bojana River meets the sea.
25. Vancouver Island
The most rewarding outdoor exploration is found outside the city, away from the crowds and off the beaten path.
26. Colombia
Unfairly or not, Colombia is still known for its cocaine cartels and street violence, but cool-hunting travelers are calling it Latin America’s next affordable hot spot.
27. Kitzbühel
Most Austrians know the Austrian town of Kitzbühel as nothing less than a ski paradise, with 53 lifts and 104 miles of powdery slopes.
28. Norway
With an acclaimed new opera house and plenty of high-end dining options, Oslo is already a must-visit urban destination.
29. Gargano
Far from the madding crowds of Amalfi and Cinque Terre, the Italian peninsula of Gargano sits on the Adriatic and boasts a checklist of summer-perfect Italian holiday options.
30. Kuala Lumpur
While Phuket and Angkor Wat are tourism anchors in Southeast Asia, jetsetters in the region are heading these days to Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital that’s quietly evolved into one of the area’s coolest and friendliest cities.
31. Nepal
Looking for the next gay destination? How about the Himalayan country of Nepal? Yes, Nepal.

Warm regards,

Abigail Summer

Ps. For more detailed information about these 31 destinations have a look at their website: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/travel/10places.html