Why We Travel

I pretend that I'm well-travelled. In reality, I've been to far fewer places than I'd like to believe, particularly when it comes to the realm outside the Southwestern United States and certain parts of Japan.

This means that on Lonely Planet's list of the top 10 countries to visit in 2010, I've only been to... One. And it's the U.S.

Anyway, I'd make comments on the destinations if I had actually been to any of them, but since I haven't, I'm going to talk about the article itself. Specifically, on Malaysia.

"Malaysia often gets criticised as being mild in comparison with its grittier neighbours, Thailand and Indonesia. It's true, natural disasters and coups only seem to happen across its borders, the roads don't have too many potholes, buses and trains have air-con and plush seats, and hotels are of international standard."

So what they're saying is, if you're a masochist, don't go to Malaysia. Realistically speaking, though, do people go on holiday hoping to be shot, come down with a case of Ebola and food poisoning, and then drown when the typhoon hits?

I have some paid vacation time that I can use, so maybe I'll go to Iraq and if I'm lucky, I'll be kidnapped by insurgents and beheaded on the internet.