Places to see before you die

Trawling Facebook as I do on occasion, I came across an app titled The Travel List Challenge that invited you to rate how you compared against other people’s travelling history.

All keen and excited I decided to take part and see how many sights I had clapped eyes on, confident that I would score pretty highly . .

Alas and alack, I only got a paulty 15 out of 100! Shameful, although my excuse is that it seemed rather biased in favour of the USA, a place I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting, with a whopping 32 out of the 100 being American!

So, after feeling rather slighted by this list, I have decided to compile my own top ten sights (as 100 would take a while) from my own experience.

1) Angkor Wat – Cambodia. An incredible temple complex, rich with carvings, lush with greenery and lakes.

2) Taj Mahal – Agra, India. A monument to love, every bit as incredible as people say it is – Ornate and majestic even in the hectic whirl of hundreds of visitors.

3) Florence’s Cathedral, tower and duomo. A gorgeous decorative feast for the eyes that offers a panoramic view of the sprawling city.

4) The canals of Venice – roaming them in the mists, discovering hidden alleyways that open into ornate, squares overlooked by the decaying grandeur of palaces

5) Grand Palace – Bangkok, Thailand. An incredible, glittering, blinding spectacle, with golden towers, demons and detailing.

6) Aythuyya – Thailand. One of the old capital cities, a deserted, crumbling relic of former glory, complete with immense buddhas that watch serenely as the world around them falls apart.

7) Ho Chi Minh City, South Vietnam. My first ever experience of Asia, and one that sticks the most vividly – the noise, the crowds, the utter feeling of alienation. Brilliant!