Canadians Travel the World

[Nashe]

A spin-off of a discussion held in the "ugly Canada" thread, I figured it was more apropos to a new one.

Where have you been?
What did you see there?
What places and sites made the biggest impact on you and why?
Where are you headed next and what do you plan to see there?
Where is on your bucket list and why?

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by Nashe

Where have you been?
What did you see there?
What places and sites made the biggest impact on you and why?
Where are you headed next and what do you plan to see there?
Where is on your bucket list and why?

Biggest impacts

Hong Kong is the most impressive city I've ever been to, and I've been to London, Paris and NYC. It's a combination of the sheer density, the layers of buildings and how they and the neon lights seem to hover over you, and the unique geography/topography - especially of HK Island. It's wild that you go from the most intense urbanism to hillside forests in about 500 meters. For skyscraper fans, riding the Star Ferry at night at Christmastime is the best skyscraper viewing experience I've ever had.

My favourite architectural experience is the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

My favourite natural experience was the Carthew-Alderson trail in Waterton NP. Of all the Rocky Mountain parks in Canada (I've visited all of them), Waterton is definitely my favourite.

Where are you headed next?

Nowhere special. I have two kids under 5, so we usually visit relatives and do week-long road trips staying at AirBnBs with all their stuff in tow.

Where is on your bucket list?

Japan
Sicily
Shanghai
Cairo

In Canada, undoubtedly Newfoundland

[Nashe]

Mine are relatively modest in comparison to most. I'm envious of people who can travel as part of their work!

Been to, what I saw, what I liked:
- Half of Canada, mostly the East, obviously (NL, NS, NB, PEI). Would really like to drive across the whole thing. My wife hates being in the car for too long, so that's a problem. PEI is really a gem, if you go in the summertime. I've been farther west (QC, ON, BC) but the BC bit was only the VAN airport.
- Some of the US, mostly the Eastern seaboard along w. California and HI multiple times. HI is obviously the standout, being gorgeous and having a really nice vibe. FL because it's easy to get to, easy to be in (facilities-wise) and a "quick-fix" when you need some warm weather in November or March.
- The Caribbean: Barbados, St. Maarten, Turks & Caicos, Belize, Roatan (Honduras), St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, St. Bartholemy, Jamaica, Peurto Rico, BVI, USVI... some of those via cruises, but most as single-destination stays. T&C's beaches and Jamaica's food, people and greenery were standouts. I'd recommend them both.
- Mexico: Mostly just the Yucatan, sometimes at resorts, sometimes not.
- UK: Just London for a few days. My favourite city that I've visited, just for the diversity of experiences and food. Tower of London and the British Museum were my high points (I love history).
- France: Paris for a few days. My wife loved it, and I respect the architecture, but it wasn't my vibe. I might be getting farther South this fall, so I look forward to that.

I've almost booked trips to The Netherlands, Germany, Iceland, Scotland and Ireland, and hope to get there in the near future, we'll see. Places like Japan, NZ and Aus are a bit more daunting to contemplate, logistics-wise, but I'd love to see them as well (especially NZ). I'd also like to drive the rest of the way across Canada and see the prairies, Rockies and the BC coast.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Hong Kong is the most impressive city I've ever been to, and I've been to London, Paris and NYC. It's a combination of the sheer density, the layers of buildings and how they and the neon lights seem to hover over you, and the unique geography/topography - especially of HK Island. It's wild that you go from the most intense urbanism to hillside forests in about 500 meters. For skyscraper fans, riding the Star Ferry at night at Christmastime is the best skyscraper viewing experience I've ever had.

On the island it can get even more blurred, walking around the Mid-Levels many of the paths and staircases are completely encased in dense jungle, but if you look through the canopy, you can see the 50 story towers surrounding you. Despite all its flaws, that's really the dream for urbanism; intense urban development, yet encased in a blanket of green. Mind you, being a tropical rainforest certainly helps with that, but it's really a nice experience.

For me, climbing Victoria Peak (and going where you're kind of not supposed to), gives the best skyscraper viewing experience I've ever had. Photos are mine!







(Sorry about the haze, it's around 40% air pollution 60% cloud. I could do without it, not going to lie.)



(Same view but from opposite direction on the waterfront.)



(Closeup of the building on the far left. Imagine a building in Canada being permitted to do something like this!)

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Nashe

Mine are relatively modest in comparison to most. I'm envious of people who can travel as part of their work!

Been to, what I saw, what I liked:

- Half of Canada, mostly the East, obviously (NL, NS, NB, PEI). Would really like to drive across the whole thing. My wife hates being in the car for too long, so that's a problem. PEI is really a gem, if you go in the summertime. I've been farther west (QC, ON, BC) but the BC bit was only the VAN airport.

For me, I have spent time in eight of the 10 provinces (sorry MB & SK). I have lived in NB, NS & PEI. I have worked (locum tenens) in NL a couple of times, and spent a week once touring St. John's and the Avalon. I have attended conferences in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Lake Louise and Vancouver. Major omissions for me are interior BC and northern Ontario (in addition to MB & SK). I am familiar with most of the rest of the southern civilzed portions of the country. Like you, I would like to drive coast to coast. I will likely do that the first year of retirement.

Originally Posted by Nashe

- Some of the US, mostly the Eastern seaboard along w. California and HI multiple times. HI is obviously the standout, being gorgeous and having a really nice vibe. FL because it's easy to get to, easy to be in (facilities-wise) and a "quick-fix" when you need some warm weather in November or March.

Dozens of trips to the US, frequently for conferences and also many times for leisure (although leisure travel to the Excitied States is becoming less frequent). I have visited ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, MD, DC, VA, PA, FL, LA, CO, UT & CA, so, 17 states in total.

Originally Posted by Nashe

- The Caribbean: Barbados, St. Maarten, Turks & Caicos, Belize, Roatan (Honduras), St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, St. Bartholemy, Jamaica, Peurto Rico, BVI, USVI... some of those via cruises, but most as single-destination stays. T&C's beaches and Jamaica's food, people and greenery were standouts. I'd recommend them both.

I've been to Bermuda twice (for extended visits, my sister used to live there). I have also been to the Bahamas (Atlantis Resort). It would be interesting to do a Caribbean cruise sometime.

Originally Posted by Nashe

- UK: Just London for a few days. My favourite city that I've visited, just for the diversity of experiences and food. Tower of London and the British Museum were my high points (I love history).
- France: Paris for a few days. My wife loved it, and I respect the architecture, but it wasn't my vibe. I might be getting farther South this fall, so I look forward to that.

I have been to Scotland for a week, and also spent a week in London. Road trips both times, so covered a lot of territory in the Highlands, and down to Edinburgh. I have seen Bath and Stonehenge in southern England. On the continent, I have visited France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. I have also been to Iceland.

Originally Posted by Nashe

I've almost booked trips to The Netherlands, Germany, Iceland, Scotland and Ireland, and hope to get there in the near future, we'll see. Places like Japan, NZ and Aus are a bit more daunting to contemplate, logistics-wise, but I'd love to see them as well (especially NZ). I'd also like to drive the rest of the way across Canada and see the prairies, Rockies and the BC coast.

My truncated bucket list of trips I would like to do in the future would include repeat visits to the UK and Switzerland, and visits to Norway, Ireland and Italy (I'm a sucker for the history of the Roman Empire). I absolutely want to visit New Zealand, especially the south island, and, would like to do the train journey across the Nullarbor Desert in Australia. Add in a Mediterranean cruise and I think that would be enough for one lifetime.

[Coldrsx]

Where have you been?
I'm at 17 countries visited and hope to get back to 1-2 new/year from here on out.

What did you see there?
Culture, food, music, trains, perspective

What places and sites made the biggest impact on you and why?
Peace Museum in Hiroshima - should be obvious

Where are you headed next and what do you plan to see there?
Italy - eat

Where is on your bucket list and why?
India - such an unknown, yet familiar and often misjudged

[casper]

Where have you been?

In no particular order: US, Brazil, Bermuda, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Slovenia, France, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Australia.

In Canada I have lived in BC, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Traveled to Quebec, Alberta, NFLD, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

What did you see there?

Some trips were vacations, most were business trip. If it was a business trip and a new country I would usually try to add a weekend or a few days to explore.

Today what I do is mostly in North America, but for about 15 years I managed projects that involved highly specialized equipment, that got me into a lot of global destinations.

What places and sites made the biggest impact on you and why?

Biggest impact (outside of Canada) was probably China and Japan. Followed closely by Turkey. Europe, Canada and the US are more similar than different. Both China and Japan are completely different mindsets to how people interact. You see some of that as a tourist but it is far more pronounced if you are doing business in those countries.

Inside Canada I had the opportunity to visit and work with some indigenous communities. Starting to understand how those cultures function and how decisions are made is striking. The media and political leaders in Canada just don't get it.

From a nature perspective (outside Canada) it has to be Cairns Australia. About 15 years ago, spend a week in meeting in Melbourne then did a mini vacation for 4-5 days up in Cairns. Getting to snorkel over the great barrier reef, travel up to the Kuranda mountain and then spend time learning about indigenous culture.

Where are you headed next and what do you plan to see there?

Outside of Canada, Iberia peninsula (Spain/Portugal). Family, and fairly remote old castle ruins.

Where is on your bucket list and why?

I want to go back to Japan. The Japanese are like an onion, when you think you understand, you discover you don't and there is another layer.

Canadian arctic.

[niwell]

Where have you been

A lot of places but also not enough!
-All Canadian Provinces except PEI (been to the base of the bridge) as well as Nunavut.
-A decent amount of American cities and locales. NYC, Boston and Cape Cod, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, Portland (and the Oregon Coast), Los Angeles (briefly), Omaha, Vermont, roadtrip through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.
-Mexico City and Baja California, albeit when younger for the latter
-Costa Rica
-Cuba
-Copenhagen and Malmo/Lund
-Berlin
-South Africa (Johannesburg, Cape Town and Kruger)
-A handful of Caribbean islands when younger

I'm probably forgetting a few in there.


Biggest impacts

South Africa for sure. Both visiting and living there for a bit. Definitely influenced a lot of my views on things, political and otherwise. A bit of a warning in the direction things could head even though I had nothing but good experiences with everyone there.

Copenhagen also sticks out as one of my favourite city trips.

In Canada Nunavut, even though I didn't particularly like the place. But it's absolutely something to experience if you can. Newfoundland was also great, even though we didn't leave the St. John's area.

Where are you headed next?

A family trip in a few weeks to Cape Cod to revisit places my grandparents went when they were young (and it was cheap). Will have relatives from Canada, the UK and Australia there with us.

On a more exciting note planning a one month trip to Australia for next March. It's been on my list for a while and my wife spent a decent chunk of her childhood living there and has a bunch of relatives there (I also have one). Planning to hit the major cities and up to the Great Barrier Reef. We're also going to tack on a couple days in Hong Kong which has been on my bucket list forever.


Where is on your bucket list?

Japan
Shanghai
Sao Paulo and Rio
A big trip of the British Isles
More of mainland Europe but I feel like there's not as much urgency
[/QUOTE]

[ConundrumNL]

Where have you been?

International:
-UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi),
-UK (London, Portsmouth, Edinburgh, and Perth)
-US (Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the D.C. area)
-Saint Kitts
-Cayman Islands
-Jamaica
-Saint Martin
-Haiti (private resort)
-Mexico (Cozumel)

Canada:
- Quebec (Montreal, Gatineau, Sept-Illes, Blanc-Sablon)
- Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa, Belleville, Niagara Region)
- Nova Scotia (Halifax, Pictou, Cape Breton)
- New Brunswick (Moncton)
- Alberta (Edmonton)
- BC (Vancouver, Chilliwack, Whistler, Victoria, Comox, Sooke)

What did you see there?

Trips were mostly work with quick turn arounds. I had little time to see anything (took me 7 trips to the UK before I seen any of London). When I did have time, I generally did the touristy stuff but also seeked out of local spots to eat off the tourist routes.

The Caribbean spots we're part of cruise travel, but I typically just wandered around whatever town we docked in.

What places and sites made the biggest impact on you and why?

Saint Martin. We arrived just a few weeks after a hurricane had gone through and the place was still a mess. There were multi-million dollar yachts capsized in the harbour, buildings and houses leveled. Just floored me how these people we're still trying to host tourists.

Where is on your bucket list and why?

- Japan
- New Zealand
- Australia
- The Koreas
- Bhutan
- Napal

Why? I just want to go there, lol.

[Laceoflight]

Where have you been? / What did you see there?
- Netherlands (1) / Germany (2) : Amsterdam, Hannover, Hamburg, and a few towns (ex.: Göttingen) - for Deutsch immersion, Goethe Institut, then Trier and area
- Japan (1) : Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji
- France (~15) : most of it, every region, many times, also lived there quite a while for grad school
- UK (1) : London
- Spain (3) : Barcelona / Catalunya a few months, then most of the northern provinces : Aragón, Castilla y León, Galicia, Navarra
- Portugal (1) : essentially O Porto / Douro valley
- Switzerland (2)
- Luxembourg (1)
- Belgium (1), around Liège, Bruxelles and in the Fagnes
- Italia (2) : Liguria, Sardinia, Rome
- Honduras (1) : Tela
- Cuba (1), unfortunately because my in-laws paid me to go to a resort, worst travel experience ever, though I would have loved to get a chance to explore the country
- USA (innumerable) : most of the northeast / New England as I lived 6 km from the VT border for most of my childhood (VT, NY, MA, ME, RI, CT, PA, NJ...), then California / Nevada and nothing in between, unfortunately.
- Canada : lived in Quebec almost forever, seen most of it except the north; NB / PEI / ON / BC.

What places and sites made the biggest impact on you and why?
- France / Spain, as I have walked 1700 kms from Arles to Santiago de Compostela when I was 27 years old. I absolutely loved this walking pilgrimage (though I am an atheist), chosing a place to camp every night in France, then the hostels in Spain, meeting people from around the world. It was not life changing, but I keep a fond memory. We walked for 70 consecutive days.
- Japan, especially Tokyo and Kobe : first time feeling totally disoriented, LOVED Tokyo
- France in general : as a french canadian, the first time I went there (I was around 20 years old), I felt like a whole new world was opening in front of me. Also, the country is MUCH more than Paris and its region : snow in the north, Mediterranean sea in the south, the Massif central plateaus and steppes looks like central Asia, the Alps, the Pyrénées, the dunes and white villages on the Atlantic, the castles and food of Dordogne, the beauty of Alsace... They literally have everything. As a fellow hiker, I go there often to do long treks, as they have a very comprehensive network of GR paths.

Where are you headed next and what do you plan to see there?
- A roadtrip around Ireland (especially the west coast) and Scotland (we want to go to some distilleries) was planned this year but I ended in France (again!) instead. Next year it will be. I have a young kid (2 yo) so I never really know.
- A roadtrip from Venice (Italy) to Athens, accross Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania is being planned with friends for 2026.

Where is on your bucket list and why?
- Southern part of India - because I am intrigued
- South America (Bolivia / Argentina / Peru) - always appealed me
- Azores is being discussed since a few years with my partner, we'll see; we'd especially like to go trekking / hiking

[Pavlov]

Its been about six years since I did any real travelling (had children, etc). But I'll go anyway.

Where have you been? (Listed in order of visit and major cities visited in brackets)

England (London);
Netherlands (Amsterdam);
Germany (Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg, Berlin);
Poland (Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk);
Sweden (Stockholm);
Estonia (Tallinn)l
Latvia (Riga);
Lithuania (Vilnius);
Czechia [well, Czech republic at the time] (Prague);
Hungary (Budapest);
Switzerland (Lucerne, Zurich);
Italy (Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome);
Greece (Athens, Corfu [@ the infamous Pink Palace], Thessaloniki);
Turkey (Istanbul, Cappadocia);
Egypt (Cairo, some Red Sea area whose name I can't remember);
Morocco (Tangier, Casablanca);
Spain (Madrid, Barcelona);
France (Paris);
China [lived here for ~2.5 years] (Beijing, Tinajin, Qingddao, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong [numerous times])
South Korea (Seoul);
Japan (Tokyo);
Mexico (Nogales, Mazatlan, Tepic, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Tulum);
Belize (Belize City, Placentia);
Honduras (Tegucigalpa);
Guatemala (Guatemala);
Taiwan (Taipei);
China [moved back for ~10 months] (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Lanzhou, Jiayuguan, Kashgar);
Pakistan (Gilgit, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar);
Afghanistan (Jalalabad, Kabul, Bamyan, Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh);
Uzbekistan (Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent);
Tajikistan (Dushanbe);
China [visited again] (Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Beijing).

I've lived in four provinces now (Calgary [all of my childhood and young adult], Saskatoon, Regina, Victoria and now Kingston).

I've obviously visited the United States many times (mostly LA and New York). I've also been to a few resorts (Mexico, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, St. Lucia).

That was a fun trip down memory lane. I'm really looking forward to travelling again once the kids are a bit older.