Globetrotter's Treat
What’s the purpose of working nine hours a day, slaving away at your desk on OT and hustling to earn some side income? To travel the world of course. Here are a few destinations to consider packing your bags, and jumping on the next flight out of the country.
Zhangjiajie National Forest, China
Who could forget scenes from Avatar (the one with the blue people; not the incredible adventures of the beloved air bender, Aang) one being the awe-inspiring floating mountain. Known as the ‘Hallelujah Mountains’ in the movie, it was based on the gorgeous quartz-sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie. Formed by millions of years of erosion, you can roughly make out bizarre shapes that are a boon for natural landscape photographers.
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Japan
Like something out of an HD desktop wallpaper website, the Arashiyama bamboo grove is as real as you and me. This ethereal setting is perhaps the most photographed site in Kyoto, and with good reason. Located slightly north of the Tenryu-ji Temple, words cannot describe the feeling of being in the midst of towering bamboo, which is often paired with a visit to the temple.
Northern Lights, Greenland
During the day, you’d be traipsing down snaking paths of Nuuk (the capital of Greenland), in the bitter Arctic cold, moving past rows of colourful houses fringing the waterfront. As night descends, the otherworldly lumens dance across the sky, illuminating the Sermitsiaq mountain. Visit the small city anytime between September and April and you will be rewarded with nature’s multicoloured light show – with a glass of champagne in your hand, perhaps?
Grand Prismatic Spring, USA
Truly one of the most colourful views in the world, the Grand Prismatic Spring in Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, is a thermal spring that is sourced from 121 feet below the surface. What gives it a kaleidoscope of colours? Thermophile (heat-loving) bacterias with photosynthetic pigments, living around the edges of the pool, give it its rainbow hues. Going further than just making the pool more photogenic, these bacterias have helped scientists in the sequencing of the human genome and played a major part in other scientific advances.
Waitomo Caves, New Zealand
The Waitomo Caves seems like a scene pulled from a dream – a beautiful one at that. At the Glowworm Grotto along the Waitomo River of New Zealand’s North Island, lies a tourist attraction that is so beautiful, it would be sung by travelling bards back in the days. Larval fungus gnats, found only in certain areas around Australasia (namely Australia and New Zealand) are responsible for its incomparable beauty.
