Category: Travels

4. Georgia/Chechnya border (tie) I visited the border with an aid group during the height of Russia’s 1999 onslaught on Chechen land and people. For many refugees, fleeing their homes through the rugged and dangerous Caucasus mountains and into Georgia was the only hope for survival and medical attention. Our team was sent to provide…

4. Sarajevo, Bosnia (tie) The first time I heard of Sarajevo, other than the 1984 Olympics, was through my Bosnian friend growing up in Calgary. Even though he and other Bosnians I came across through him were very westernized, they are among the simplest and kindest people I’ve ever met. All the more reason the…

5. Los Angeles Ok, the main reason I decided to include LA in my list is pretty much based on one thing – Disney-freakin-land! Even though I’ve visited LA in recent years, my family’s trip over 20 years ago was probably one of the most memorable for me and my brothers. Part of the N.…

6. Chicago Just like most large metropolitan cities in North America, the best thing about Chicago is its many faces. If you don’t like one part of it, move and you’re practically in another city with its own subculture and atmosphere. Chicago is definitely quite clean compared to her bigger cousins (NY and LA) and…

7. Barisal, Bangladesh Barisal is the village my dad grew up in, his childhood home. Pretty much everyone in Bangladesh (or Asia, for that matter) grow up in cities/villages other than the bigger metropolitan cities that they eventually move to for work, marriage and ultimately, family. However, it is very uncommon for those families to…

8. Calgary When the application to move to Canada had finally been accepted, we were quite the happy bunch. I remember visiting my grandmother with the news and she claimed it was the first time in 2 years she had seen me smile. It wasn’t so much as moving out of Bangladesh or into a…

9. Bankok, Thailand Unlike #10, which I really wouldn’t recommend visiting unless you have family there, Bankok is a haven for tourists and travellers. Even though I and my family visited Thailand many many years ago, it continues to this day to be a great bargain travel spot. The weather is quite mild, the scenery…

10. Dhaka, Bangladesh Obviously the only reason it’s on my list is because I was born, and lived a good part of my childhood there. Aside from the suicidal traffic, air and sound pollution, beggars, and mosques, the language and culture was unique in the old part of town where we lived. I can see…

As some of you might know, I consider myself quite well-travelled. Having lived in 7 countries and travelled to 28, there are still quite a few places on my wish-list that I’d like to visit soon. Nothing like psyching yourself up for travels than reminiscing about your past ones. That’s why I came up with…