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THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE FOREWORD What is the best moment of your life? It’s a simple question to ask, a much harder one to answer. I should know. Over the past year I’ve asked it of hundreds of people who’ve travelled the globe, and often had to wait patiently for the answer. But every response – judiciously plucked from a lifetime’s worth of memorable moments – was always worth the wait. Needless to say, the quality of replies made selecting of the city first that he’d heard countless stories the top 100 responses to fill this title a very difficult of, but more importantly he discovered another prospect indeed. What I hope to convey with wonderful side to the woman who raised him (p. 12). the stories that I have chosen is the sheer variety of ways that travel can positively affect your life. Wading into your own history or that of others is a Like the lives we live, each of these experiences remarkable thing, and it can certainly cement a moment’s is unique, both in how it plays out and how it has importance in your life. This could be playing a part affected the author afterwards (’The Take Away’). of history itself, such Duff Battye witnessing the first free speech of Nelson Mandela (p. 22), or it may be For some, the best moment couldn’t be more important, seemingly travelling back in time to touch a forgotten literally separating their life into a before and an after. This past. Emma Thomson’s explorations of Sudan’s pyramids was certainly the case for me, as my life was transformed at Begrawiya was a moving example of the latter (p. 90). during my first foray into India (p. 8). There, on the bank of the River Ganges, I realised the biggest tragedy of my The power and majesty of wildlife, whether a captivating life wouldn’t be dying – it would be not actually living. encounter with a mountain gorilla (p. 62), a fleeting Another of the lives divided distinctly in two is that of glimpse of a snow leopard (p. 208) or long-awaited tiger actor, director and writer Andrew McCarthy. Although sighting (p. 92), is also something that clearly impacts walking the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain (p. 36), the lives of those who have witnessed it. The beauty he wasn’t expecting his moment, yet it crept up on him and sheer scale of our environment that houses all of regardless. And rather than being marked with joy and Earth’s creatures has proved to be no less influential laughter, it was framed with tears and sorrow. Interestingly, in travellers’ lives, with best moments sparked by its significance was actually lost on him at the time and everything from the endless cosmos and dramatic was only to be discovered the following morning. deserts to twinkling city skylines and calving glaciers. The larger the backdrop, the more we seem to be able Other moments clearly mark high points or adventurous to bring some perspective to our place on this planet. accomplishments in the lives of those who have lived As Adrian Phillips (p. 194) puts it so brilliantly: ’Strange them, whether summiting Yosemite’s Half Dome (p. 60), as it sounds, nothing is more liberating – exhilarating cycling 11,000km around the shores of the Mediterranean even – than to experience a true sense of insignificance.’ (p. 80) or proving to yourself that parenthood won’t curb your adventurous spirit (p. 84). For Katalin Thomann Lastly, it’s the interactions with our fellow humans that in Tibet, it was as simple as finding true love (p. 42). often spark moments of a lifetime. Opening yourself up to others, even at the expense of the best-laid Family bonds are key to most of our lives, so it’s plans, can often provide rewards you never dreamed not surprising that they can play a role in some of possible. As my father says, ’Being present is a present.’ our greatest moments. For Cristian Bonetto, it was travelling with his mother to her childhood haunt of Matt Phillips Alexandria, Egypt – he not only witnessed elements © Mark Read | Lonely Planet | Lonely © Mark Read 3 Oce ct ic an A r 85 32 78 45 68 93 54 99 70 3 83 10 76 36 ASIA 52 NORTH EUROPE 12 5 AMERICA 79 73 77 98 61 37 60 26 55 16 27 81 65 35 21 4 84 66 Oc 49 92 t ic e an 50 23 r th P an 8 80 42 No ac 46 t l 2 100 15 74 i A 53 i c 97 86 57 14 n O h 39 67 ce a t O c r 1 c e 40 34 i o 94 i a 7 24 69 c n N 28 a 31 P 33 63 h 43 t 47 51 AFRICA 56 r 18 o 88 29 N 89 91 72 13 17 n 22 a 90 41 e c O 19 c 96 SOUTH i 30 i 64 AMERICA 38 c a 44 P 71 9 25 h 48 t 59 82 u o S AUSTRALASIA 87 6 58 n ce a O n 95 S ia o d u n I t 75 h A 20 t Culture Adventure Wildlife l a n t i c O c e 62 a n History Journey Environment 11 THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE CONTENTS 1 Discovering Life on the 18 Retracing the Slave Revolt 36 Coast Path Conquest 53 Death and Reincarnation 71 Tracking Desert Elephants 88 Guyana's Greatest Gift Bank of the Ganges John Gimlette 52 Paul Bloomfield 96 on the Kora Tony Wheeler 140 Simon Parker 184 Chris Leadbeater 230 Matt Phillips 8 19 First Watch on the Coral 37 Riding the Midnight Train 54 Jetty of Joy 72 Watching Lava Flow 89 Face to Face with Seven 2 An Egyptian Homecoming Sea Ruth Cosgrove 54 Wailana Kalama 100 Richard Mellor 142 Oliver Berry 188 Lions Mark Eveleigh 232 Cristian Bonetto 12 20 On Horseback with 38 Floating Among Giants on 55 Forgetting Solitude 73 Biking (and Bagging) Mont 90 Life Lessons in the Amazon 3 Ice Skating on a Glass Lake Gauchos Brett Atkinson 56 Canoe Safari in the Grand Canyon Ventoux Lori Rackl 190 Anne Howard 236 Duncan Craig 14 21 Climbing Half Dome Aurelia India Birwood 102 Amy C Balfour 144 74 Lost (and Found) without 91 A Mountain Gazelle 4 Navajo Ceremony: Neil Wilson 60 39 Hitting New Himalayan 56 Taking the Plunge Language or Direction Suzanne Joinson 238 Opening the Door 22 An Enlightening Encounter Highs Stephanie Pearson 104 with Whale Sharks Fionn Davenport 192 92 A True Transition in Aaron Millar 16 with Mountain Gorillas 40 Petra by Candlelight Georgina Wilson-Powell 146 75 Road-Tripping on Transit Pico Iyer 240 5 Finding Life on the Tour Jane Powell 62 Mike MacEacheran 106 57 Topping El Teide the Carretera Austral 93 Skiiing Up, Snowboarding du Mont Blanc 23 Rousing Respect 41 A Brotherhood on Kili Paul Stiles 150 Adrian Phillips 194 Down Toby Skinner 242 Ian MacEacheran 18 William Allen 64 David Gorvett 110 58 Oceanic Odyssey 76 Epiphany at Notre Dame 94 A Free Ride - Gary Arndt 246 6 Witnessing Mandela’s First 24 Temples at Dawn 42 Staring into an Lucy Corne 152 Don George 198 95 Twilight Surf Free Speech Duff Battye 22 Nicky Holford 66 Active Volcano 59 Looking Up to the Wonder 77 Summiting Mt Elbrus Duncan Madden 248 7 Bewitched by Lions 25 Coral Island Castaway James Gabriel Martin 112 of Penny Carroll 154 Hugo Turner 200 96 Moment at Machu Picchu Korina Miller 24 William Gray 70 43 Cycling the Temple Trail 60 Emerging from the Gobi 78 Chasing the Northern Susan Kurosawa 250 8 Touching History at the 26 Central Park Stroll Joe Minihani 114 Desert Benedict Allen 156 Lights Nick Boulos 202 97 Space Shuttle Launch Western Wall Anita Isalska 26 in the Snow 44 Good Heavens Above 61 Sperm Whales Gathering 79 Golden City Mornings Paul Brady 252 9 Carnival’s Wave of Alegría Tasmin Waby 72 Sally Gray 116 Sarah Outen 160 Kait Reynolds 206 98 Meeting the Naga Babas Robert Landon 28 27 Remote Mountain Rescue 45 Journey to the Centre 62 A Window into Antarctica 80 Tracking Snow Leopards Gopi Kallayil 256 10 Stories of the Trans-Siberian Stephen Lioy 74 of the Earth Chris Zeiher 120 Jamie Lafferty 162 Mike Unwin 208 99 Riding the Road of Bones Railway John Lee 32 28 In the Arabian Sands 46 Following Finn on the 63 A Writer’s Vision 81 The Great Hindu Gathering Charley Boorman 258 11 Shooting Star Below the Oliver Smith 76 Mississippi Nicola Trup 122 Anthony Ham 164 Mark Stratton 212 100 Making a Connection Antarctic Circle 29 Bicyling Beyond Fear 47 Exploring Colombia’s 64 It’s Not About the Bucket 82 Eyes Over the Outback Laura Millar 260 Jurriaan Teulings 34 Ethan Gelber 80 ‘Lost’ City Sarah Reid 124 List Mike Howard 166 Ross Turner 216 12 Putting Fear to Bed on the 30 Swimming with Whales 48 Exploring Precious 65 Snowed-Out on Wutai 83 Unlikely Encounter on the Camino Andrew McCarthy 36 Jean-Bernard Carillet 82 Madagascan Forests Shan Damian Harper 170 Thames Marcel Theroux 218 13 Passing the Flinch Test 31 Pre-Parenthood Pyramid Emma Gregg 126 66 Soul Food on Mt Bierstadt 84 Follow Me: Japanese Brian Jackman 40 Liz Edwards 84 49 Lightening the Load Laura Brown 172 Hospitality 14 Love, Light and Trekking 32 An Arctic Picnic Ashley Garver 130 67 Touching Tibet Katharine Nelson 220 in Tibet Katalin Thomann 42 Nigel Tisdall 86 50 Discovering Ancient Persia Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent 174 85 Carefree Campervan 15 Encountering Kuchi 33 Dunes, Glyphs and Claire Beyer 132 68 A String of Black Pearls Adventure Nomads Paul Clammer 44 Pyramids Emma Thomson 90 51 The Paris Opera in the Sophie Cunningham 178 Hannah Summers 222 16 Cliff Camping in Colorado 34 Long-Awaited Tiger Desert Brendan Sainsbury 134 69 Flying Flip-Flops and the 86 The Ultima Thule Everest Jonathan Thompson 46 Sighting Daniel McCrohan 92 52 Finding Perspective on the Birkenstock Thomas Mills 180 Expedition Art Wolfe 226 17 Pacific Perspective 35 Post-Tsunami Volunteering West Coast Trail 70 Wild Camping in Wales 87 Learning to Love Solitude Simon Heptinstall 50 Stephen Phelan 94 Dayna Aamodt 136 Phoebe Smith 182 Abigail Butcher 228 6 7 THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE One pilgrim collects The Take Away the cultural complexities (and also the 81 alms prior to Besides generating overwhelming heat if the mela occurs during summer).