1,000 Places to See Before You Die
Editor’s Note: I originally posted this back in April. Since then I’ve received numerous replies and emails about it. Some people have complained I am a snob. Others think I am being too judgmental. Some agree I’ve hit the nail on the head with my rant about the Ulles, the book, the TV show, and the cultural mediocrity it all represents.
Whatever your opinion, I am adding this preface and reposting because I have a question for you. Week in and week out, this post is one of the most searched for on our blog. Hundreds of people Google ‘1,000 places to see before you die’ and they end up here. And thus I am curious: when you type that search term in Google, what are you actually looking for? Are you simply hunting for a pre-packaged marketing concept broadcast over on the Travel Channel? (If so, I assume you haven’t made it even this far into the post…)
Or are you looking for actual, unbiased, honest-to-goodness travel inspiration? If so, let me make a humble suggestion: Skip the ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die’ book, television show, T-shirt, DVD, podcast or whatever. Just go. That’s always the best advice. Just pick a destination and go. And as always, leave me a comment telling me what a snob I am, how wrong am I, how right I am.
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| If only we had made it to Timbuktu… |
Once upon a time I was excited by the concept of ‘1,000 places to see before I die’. As a lifelong traveler, the idea of visiting a thousand of the world’s most exotic, far-flung and inspiring destinations before — what’s the right word here, perishing? kicking the bucket? fading to black? — felt like something I had to do. Success was not to be judged on actually accomplishing this goal, but in the effort spent trying.
And the effort would be daunting. Assuming you can tackle 1 ‘must-see’ destination per week, you’ll need to set aside nearly 20 years to visit all 1,000 locations. On a budget of $25 per day, those 20 years will cost $182,500. If I adjust for inflation, well, we’re talking some serious cash.
But that’s part and parcel of the concept’s power. To actually visit all 1,000 places requires Commitment (note the capital C). It requires sacrifice. It is not something for weekend warriors or mere armchair travelers.
And then a few years ago I discovered a book called 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. My first reaction was annoyance. I was annoyed that somebody had actually written a book about the concept, thereby sucking the authenticity out of it by transforming the noble idea into a crass commercial project with a bottom line and a marketing plan.
I was equally annoyed that it wasn’t me who had the foresight to suck the authenticity out of the concept, by transforming it into a book with a bottom line and a marketing plan…
Clearly I had been scooped. But who was the author? Was she in the model of Tony Wheeler, the legendary founder of Lonely Planet and a man who knows travel? (Pardon this brief detour: Check out Tony’s new book, Bad Lands, an account of his travels in George W. Bush’s so-called ‘axis of evil’, Iraq, North Korea and Iran. Now that’s a travel book!)
The author is Patricia Schultz. I’ve never met Patricia. But I’m certain she is a lovely person. She is a freelance travel and fashion writer based in New York City. And as a one-time freelancer based in New York myself, I can recognize Patricia’s project for what it is: a great idea written by somebody who was at the right place, at the right time.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the concept is 100% compelling. And I think some of Patricia’s recommendations — a hot-air balloon ride over the plains of Kenya, the Pushkar camel fair in India, etc — are spot on.
I just wish the book had been written by a road-weary traveler who has spent — sacrificed, struggled through — 20 years personally tracking down each and every one of these ‘must see’ sites. I suspect that our New York City-based fashion and travel writer has not personally visited more than, say, 50 of the 1,000 places she writes about. I’m happy to be proven wrong. (If she has visited more than 200, I will eat a hat. If she’s ticked off more than 500 on the list I will personally carry her bags and cook her meals on her next trek in Nepal.)
Normally I don’t get this worked up. However a few weeks ago I started seeing television commercials — and billboards and magazine ads — about a new show on the Travel Channel called ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die‘. The advertisements were omnipresent. They were slick. And they did a good job getting me excited about the show’s USA premiere last month. So I surfed the Travel Channel website and found this:
“Inspired by Patricia Schultz’s best-selling travel book, ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die’ chronicles the journey of a young couple who put their lives on hold to travel the world for 14 weeks.
Albin and Melanie Ulle, newlyweds from Colorado, experience the vast beauty and diverse cultures of 13 amazing countries and approximately 100 of the 1,000 Places from the book, while unearthing all the local charms and traditions along the way!”
Hang on a second. I was expecting some life-changing description. I was expecting the Travel Channel to throw resources at this idea and to create the definitive television travel experience. Maybe my expectations were unrealistically high. But I can tell you I was not expecting “a young couple who put their lives on hold to travel the world for 14 weeks.”
Fourteen weeks? Are you serious? 14 weeks? That’s barely three months. Was this TV show really about a newly married couple who travel the world for 14 weeks? Because in most parts of the world these are called ‘honeymoons’ and they don’t usually end up on television.
I know of a dozen people out there, on the road right now, who are better qualified to lead armchair travelers on a journey to the world’s top 1,000 sites. How is it that the producers of the show don’t bother to include some authentic travelers into the mix?
The answers — that character-led programming is what drives television ratings, that this couple beat out 900 other couples in the auditions because telegenic good looks are more important than actual travel experience, that nobody really cares if the backstory is coherent as long as the program makes money — are no surprise.
The problem, of course, is that a show about real travelers, going to real places, would not make money. Alas, this is why I am not a television executive. Yet I am a traveler. I have authored a dozen travel books and visited more than 50 countries. I am not bragging. I am just saying I can tell the difference between travelers and tourists.
And on the road leading to the world’s 1,000 must-see places, the Ulles from Colorado are merely tourists. There’s nothing wrong with that. The world needs tourists. But I wish the producers had shown us the real travelers they met along the way. In doing so they would have created a compelling television program that lives up to the promise of its concept. Instead we get ‘travel lite’ with too many commercials.
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April 21st, 2007 at 11:59 pm
I can really feel your pain and I’m sorry for you.
They better rename their channel to tourist channel if they like to produce shows like one you described
April 24th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I’m from the other side of the fence - a proud tourist - so I will probably enjoy this series. I like to see the attainable side of travel. As much as I love a “traveler” experience, sometimes there just isn’t time to seek it out.
April 26th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Great point! Can’t stand the tourist scene and many of the places she describes have become just that. I have only been in about 30 countries in 30 years…lived in several for months at a time. You can’t know a country by flying through on a tourist bus….you can’t know the people or the culture. It reminds me of Chevy Chase’s American and European Vacations…..
May 4th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Dear Scott…your passion for travel is certainly infectious. I have recently overcome some serious fears of travelling and especially flying and would love to hear some of your tips on how to get into the business of traveling and seeing all wonders of the world as a living
Is that even possible?
May 4th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Thanks Brandie, that is a very nice compliment. Your question is an interesting one — how can somebody make a living from travel? Probably the easiest way is to start writing about it, and asking people to pay you! As strange as that sounds, I know a number of people who make a living as travel writers. The best place to start is your local papers or local weeklies. Most travel publishers — Fodors, Frommers, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Footprint, etc — will not hire people as travel writers without some writing experience, so try to get yourself published, it really doesn’t matter where. Maybe contribute a restaurant review, a trip review, that sort of thing. It doesn’t really matter what you publish, the publishers are mainly looking for somebody who cares enough to get their work out there.
These days, a good blog also helps. So why not start your own blog.
The second big thing to consider is experience. Most publishers want somebody who has an area of expertise. It could be the city you live in, or it could be a place you’ve visited many times before. In most cases travel publishers won’t simply give you free reign to go somewhere you’ve never been before. They prize experience, especially if you can speak a foreign language. This isn’t a deal breaker if you don’t speak a different language, but you need to find something for which you’re an expert.
Once you have a few writing samples in hand and a good idea of your area of expertise, email or mail the travel publishers. Most have staff who constantly look for new writing talent. Many will have a writing test and an application. You may not get offered something immediately, but I’ve found that if you are persistent (in a nice way) and show you really, really, really want to try your hand at travel writing, they will eventually find you an assignment to test you out.
It sounds like a lot of work, I know. But here’s the bottom line. If you want to travel and write about it, you need to start traveling and start writing. Actions speak louder than words, and if they see you are seriously committed to both travel and writing, well, you’re off to a good start.
Keep us posted on what happens. And feel free to send us an article or two for consideration. The same goes for anybody reading this blog — we, too, publish features from travel writers, so if you’re interested in submitting a travel blog feature, simply leave us a comment and we’ll be in touch.
Good luck Brandie!
May 6th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Our city is the most diverse of coastal cities in Florida. You my have heard of us as “da burg” but Saint Petersburg is swarming with women whose rocks will send them to the bottom of the ocean, to a growing undercurrent of young men and women living life as if they are in the projects.
The Tourist industry has nothing of importance to stop its countinueing explosion. The beaches are beautiful especaily this time of year. Lined with hotels, tiki bars, live music, and weekly drum circles at sunset. When you want off the beach, come dowtown, takes five (fifteen) minuets. Here you will find the Devil ray stdium, plenty of art gallerys, and tatto parlors.
I would recommend this place to experience for anyone, I love my burg!
So in your opinion Scott have I a chance in this lifestyle?
ps your funny-
May 20th, 2007 at 9:45 am
The episode about Nepal and Bhutan was so disappointing: I nearly started counting the occurrence of such expressions as “That’s so amazing” and “That is so cool.” I wouldn’t have been surprised if they varied their exclamations of wonderment with an occasional “gee whiz!” Their response to a community’s recent acquisition of a drinking water system was something on the order of “That’s really good.”
But I should have known, if I had read the Discovery Channel’s blurb on their Web site: The couple actually put their lives ON HOLD to do the series. Good grief.
May 20th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Fran, I couldn’t have said it better myself. GOOD GRIEF, indeed.
Next time the Discovery Channel wants to do a travel show, they should start by hiring some real travelers.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
[...] too tempting of a concept. Witness the latest crop of reality shows. I’m talking about 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, Bizarre Foods, The Best Places to Find Cash and Treasure, Deadliest Catch, Man vs. Wild, I [...]
June 7th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
haters..
June 9th, 2007 at 3:33 am
Dear Scott,
My wife and I are on our six and a half month honeymoon, but doing it young world traveller style: spending a month in Madrid, three months exploring SE Asia, and then returning to Germany and whoknowswhereafterthat. We own the ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die’ book and ended up once on the Lofoten Islands in Norway because of it, hitting an Artic storm, missing our boat that could not dock, and about losing our proverbial sh*t in the process. Good times. I would say that the volume does have some value, especially to those of us who tend to wander off the beaten path and like to have a bit of direction in so doing.
Why not write ‘501 Places to See While You’re Still Able to Walk’ and really cater it to the traveler instead of the tourist? Best wishes in your adventures in life! And thanks for the great read of your article!
Martha
June 9th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Yeah, that’s a good idea. I like the idea of ‘501 Places to See While You Can Still Walk’. I just checked that URL and it’s available, so Martha, I think *you* should write that story!
I also agree that the book has some value. Sara thought we were ‘haters’ for being too negative. Maybe so. However my point is that, while there are some good pointers in the book, the concept of ‘1000 places’ has become so heavily commercialized it’s lost most of its original meaning.
Anytime you get too many people following the same path, doing the same thing, then that’s where the trouble starts. You see it with Lonely Planet guidebooks on the road — dozens of people all reading the same 5 restaurant recommendations, all going to the same places, all driving up prices so that only foreign travelers end up at these places, pushing the locals out.
Either way, the real answer to these problems is simple. Travel is incredibly personal, the journey is about you and your discovery of the world, the connections you make with people you meet. Sometimes all you need to do is throw away the guidebook, turn off the TV, and hit the road with no clear destination in mind.
June 10th, 2007 at 5:33 am
Amen, Scott. Certainly the essence of travel and the greatest moments therein come from the unexpected turn around the corner, that moment when things seemingly go wrong–but an incredible story is your gift afterwards. Some of us certainly live for such things, as long as we live through them, that is.
We use the Lonely Planet often as a checklist to begin a day out, gain some history on the sites, and ensure that we see most of what any city has to offer; I never leave home without it quite honestly (we have three with us for this trip). But they are well named as ‘guidebooks’ and are never the endall of our adventures. We often head for one restaurant, check menus along the way, and make an unexpected turn into a gastro-orgasmic place. The best moments do come when we just hop on a bus, head for something with trees on a map, and see where we end up!
I, too, have noticed that the places touted as being “where the locals go” do not often seem to be so. It happens quickly, as well, as at least one place just recommended in the Spain guide from LP (just released before we left) was predominantly littered with ‘folks like us.’ Still a great time, mind you, and we did have the pleasure of meeting a stranger from Australia who enriched the experience for us.
Thanks for the push to write the ‘Walk While You Can’ guide, too, Scott. Part of this adventure is to give me time away from my former working world (as a writer, in fact) so that I can dedicate time to a book of my own. So I will have to keep that one in my pocket for the future. (Unless someone manages to preempt me on the idea after reading it here! HA!)
Great reply … thank you again!
Martha
July 15th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
My wife and are are avid travelers, That is how we started our relationship, We took a U-drive from
R.I. to Seattle and hitch hiked down the west coast into Mexico ,Guatemala and Belize in 1978
I was so disappointed in the show. There were alot of wows and oh mys and yucks that is crummy commentary.
Since 1978 are situations have changed and we do not have to hitch hike anymore , although
we did hitch a ride in St. John two years ago. I think a show more in the lines of a budget traveler
Like Lonely Planet with a little Anthony Bourdan commentary throw in would do alot better, althought
Ian is an excellent travel journalist. Thanks for the forum to let me rant. I have been to 17 countrys and my wife 25 . We do use lonely planet books as a general guide. I enjoyed the book the show sucks!
Terry
,
August 14th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Tedious narration (’The Ulles are blahblahblah… the best blahblahblah in the world!”), limited travel scope (Lake Como and Venice is ALL that is to Italy?), uninspired expressions (”Wow that was cool! Amazing! I will always remember it!”)and spending 20% of the show stating the painfully obvious (”Wow the speedboat was so fast! We got to ride a boat around and it was so cool!”) does not a good travel show make. The concept was good, but frankly I’ve never found a travel show to be so painful to watch.
Globe Trekker > 1000 Places
August 20th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Scott,
I checked the book out at the library and was kinda disappointed by the high number of hotels.
I mean, really… does one need to visit hotels as “places to see before I die”. Hardly !
Someone needs to improve on this concept and make a TRUE 1000 places to see before you die
without all the fanfare and tourist gimmicks discribed in the book…just my opinion.
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:17 pm
[...] post about 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. It struck a nerve, and generated a fair amount of controversy. My opinions have not [...]
December 6th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
I also take issue with this show. As a traveler, I’ve seen some pretty nice places, however were I to die, I’m not sure London, Brussels, or even Antarctica would be an appropriate place to see before death. Places to see before one dies should include…
1. An antidote
2. Medical help
3. The knife being removed from your chest
4. A hospital
5. An X-ray specialist
6. A surgeon
7. Some sort of transplant
8. A specialist
9. Someone with the cure to cancer
10. An alternative doctor
11. A priest, rabbi, or other form of spiritual leader/consultant
12. Your loved ones
13. A lawyer to write a filthy joke into your will
14. A lawyer to write me into your will
15. A room with a life-support machine
16. The fountain of youth
17. Another source of immortality
December 29th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Thank you. You have put perfectly into words how I feel about the book and the t.v. program. I am not a seasoned traveler… I should probably graduate highschool first. I am however an admirer of knowledge. I appreciate the knowledge more though when it comes from experience not from google or wikipedia. If you could suggest more travel books, from authentic travelers I would be much obliged.
-Ave
December 29th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Thanks Evelyn. Glad you’re keen to explore the world for yourself with eyes wide open. Keep us posted if and when you hit the road, we’re always interested in reports from the road.
In terms of travel books, I’ll let others pitch in as well because the range of opinions is certainly going to be large. Caveats aside here are a few of my favorites:
“Wind, Sand & Stars” by Saint-Exupery, the author of “The Little Prince”. If you want one book that captures the excitement of adventuring in foreign lands, this is it.
Most anything from Bill Bryson. He’s not a hardy traveler, hardly somebody who’s tackled the world the hard way and now writing about it. He’s more of a genteel traveler. But he’s very, very funny. Definitely worth reading.
“Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu” by Kira Salak is a great read. A little depressing in the way that the world can be depressing when you stop and think about it. But wonderful all the same.
Check out Paul Theroux. His “Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia” is a superb read. As is his “Mosquito Coast”.
Finally I also love “Sheltering Sky” by Paul Bowles. This isn’t a typical ‘travel book’ but I don’t care. Read it, you will love it.
January 20th, 2008 at 4:41 am
the idea of visiting a thousand of the world’s most exotic, far-flung and inspiring destinations before someone die is a great idea and worth to be achieved, however it is a little bit difficult
January 27th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
[...] The San Francisco Chronicle travel section does a deep-dive into Oaxaca, Mexico; announces a new ‘Family Travel’ column; and opens the Pandora’s box that is ‘things to see before you die‘ (uh oh, here we go again…). [...]
January 29th, 2008 at 8:40 am
[...] witness the latest crop of reality ‘travel’ shows. I’m talking about Last One Standing, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, Bizarre Foods, The Best Places to Find Cash and Treasure, Man vs. Wild, I Shouldn’t Be Alive, [...]
June 21st, 2008 at 11:21 am
I agree. I watched parts of this show and found it done in a very cheesy way. Something attempting to be such a profound concept- of all the corners of the world, these are the 1,000 (100 for TV purposes) places you should absolutely, without doubt, see before you die- should not be a glamorized honeymoon. The deal breaker to me was when wife refused to do a cliff jump in Hawaii. Isn’t being adventurous and fearless part of the entire travel experience? This show is a waste. The author is correct in his statement that you are better off picking places in the world to travel and just going and seeing for yourself. If you need suggestions, find your globe and spin it.
July 26th, 2008 at 3:19 am
I watched part of one of episode on the TV show– The show is not for me as I prefer my own memories– Maybe the show is for armchair travelers. I love the book and was sent a copy in November of 2003. It has been a “guiding light”. I wish workman press would up date the book–The lists in the back of the book are useful too. Enjoyed reading your blog– Norman
September 6th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
think that you have to cook for her in Nepal… she says in a interview for the LA Times that she has been in 80% of the places she describe in her second book… its easy to do, drive through Chicago and you have already 13 spots… before you left the state, only 920 to go…. each American family will do that… so what makes her then the expert? because she was at Oprah’s book club????
just wondering where I can find that list of ” 1000 places in the world ” online on the next, don’t want to buy the book because I don’t like to support these kind of traveler-wannabees…. have much more respect for the guys in their ‘Irene’ to Mongolia…
reason why I like to have the full list, wanna see what she have missed out, what don’t belong inside and coming up with a list of REAL 1000 spots to go so long you can walk…