Lonely Planet - The World

Cover images Cover images iStock / Getty Images Plus / Leonello

The World Contents

Destinations

Africa

America

Antarctica

Asia

Australia/Oceania

Europe

While your father is alive, make as many friends as you can; while your horse is alive, visit as many lands as you can. [Mongolian proverb]

Today it is more important than ever to heed this proverbs calling to visit as many lands as you can. Travel is easier and cheaper than ever before...and in a political and social climate which is confused and confronting, it is important to see the world, and all it has to offer, through your own eyes. If you travel near or far the world will exhibit its beauty and diversity. Adventure and inspiration await around every corner, so whats stopping you?

There is so much to discover across seven continents and 221 countries, from rivers deep, like the Nile (snaking 6850km from central Africa to the Mediterranean), and the sunken shores of the Dead Sea (427m below sea level), to mountains high, like the Himalayas (more than 100 peaks over 7200m, including Everest at 8848m), the Andes and the Alps. There are mighty expanses of greenery, like the Amazon basin (7 million sq km of jungle), while beneath the crystal clear Pacific Ocean lies the Great Barrier Reef (stretching 2300km), and the scarred hide of the Grand Canyon is a repository of 2 billion years of geological history.

Wildlife spectacles include the annual wildebeest migration (two million strong) across the Serengeti, the stoic emperor penguins of Antarctica, and the diverse menagerie on the Galpagos Islands, where people seem out of place.

More than half of the worlds population now lives in cities. They are the pulsating beacons that attract us and each has its own distinctive character: New York with its skyscrapers and taxicabs; London with its parks, pubs and palaces; stanbul straddling the border of Europe and Asia; and Jerusalem, holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity. There are cities with thousands of years of history (Athens, Damascus, Varanasi) and booming new cities mushrooming across Asia, Africa and South America.

But cities are not necessarily humankinds greatest achievements. These are many and dispersed, assuming myriad physical forms. Mystery clings to many, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza, built in 2560BC, the Terracotta Warriors in Xn and the mighty stone moai of Easter Island. Others no less awe-inspiring were built for specific purposes, like St Basils Cathedral in the Kremlin, the Great Wall of China, and the Taj Mahal, a monument to love. More modern spectacles, like the architectural extravaganzas of Dubai and the Shanghai skyline, may lack the gravity of history but if anything are more dazzling.

We remember that not all of humankinds achievements are tangible. Just as intoxicating and just as worth getting out to see are cultures, festivals and events, from Viennese coffee-house culture to Cuban jazz, from Full Moon Parties on Koh Samui to Maasai warrior dances under an African sunset.

This book can act as inspiration and as a first step on your own voyage of discovery. Listed here is every country; each includes enough of a taste of its top sights and experiences to get your feet itchy, basic practical information to help you start planning and a map to help you plot a rough itinerary.

In the words of Lonely Planets founder, Tony Wheeler, all youve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. Where exactly you want to go and how you proceed from here is entirely up to you, but we encourage you to get out there and do it.

Cappadocia (Turkey) ()

APROTT / GETTY IMAGES

Wherever you go in the world youll need a fistful of cash (or a credit card). There are around 180 different currencies circulating in the world today. So-called hard currencies think the US dollar, the British pound, the euro, the yen and the Swiss franc are widely accepted, so can be handy to carry.

Depending on where you go, and where you come from, you will need to exchange your own currency into that of your destination. How far your money will go depends on exchange rates: they may make you feel like a pauper, or a millionaire.

Money-Saving Tips

Consider low-season travel.

Look for favourable exchange rates; when one currency rises against yours, another may fall.

Book ahead for the best deals.

Its the babble of Babel out there! There are almost 7000 languages spoken in the world today. These are divided into six major language families, and around 130 smaller ones. The distribution of languages across the globe reflects movements of people through history, and language families include some unlikely relatives: for example, Albanian is related to English, Hindi, Persian and Russian. The size of countries and populations dont necessarily account for numbers of languages, either: in New Guinea almost 450 languages are spoken by a population of only 3.5 million people.

Its estimated that half of the worlds population speaks more than one language. Fear not if you dont: a smile can go a long way, even among people you share no language with. That said, learning a few words of the language spoken at your destination can open a lot of doors.