Travel

I love visiting countries' official travel pages. Not only does it make me realize how fun a trip to say, Bulgaria might be, I love seeing what countries think are their best attractions.

For instance, on the official Visit Finland page there is a set of rotating pictures which include an image of an old wooden boat in some swampy grass, a white reindeer that appears to be coughing, a tree branch, a lot of snow, and a girl in front of dandelions. So come to Finland where you can get lost in a marsh, meet a sick reindeer, see a tree, get really cold and watch a girl spread weeds in a very scenic manner.

(Thanks to Tove Jansson's Summer Book I really would love to visit Finland. )

I could look at these pages forever. How else would I find out about the 2010 International Fireworks Competition held in Danang Vietnam? Chile looks pretty awesome from its site. There's one for almost every country: Japan, Indonesia, Russia, Israel, China, Belgium (the photos for Belgium kind of scare me. Particularly #10)

Iran even has a Beta version holding place in case they ever decide to switch tactics and start being friendly with the rest of the world. Another site even invites travel to Iran with the line Iran: the land of civilized and Friendly people.

And I guess that's what I really like about these sites. They make it look like all the world is a friendly hospitable place, ready to welcome you and show you the best they have to offer. So flipping through these pages gives me a glimpse at what world peace might look like. Ahhh, sweet delusion...

States have these pages too. Even states that you'd never want to go to like Delaware or Indiana. South Carolina's is nice enough but the video bar is kind of crazy and seems to be targeting heavy set men who like to walk around golf courses.

I've got a bad case of wanderlust.