Countries I Will Visit Soon, And Why

(1) North Korea
At the HOPE conference in New York last year I watched the North Korean propaganda film "The Four Seasons of Pyong Yang". It was impossible not to fall in love with such a strange, beautiful and stupid country.

(2) China
Many aspects of China, good and bad, are changing rapidly. China needs to be visited soon, before things change too much, I will probably spend most of eitehr 2005 or 2006 living in Shanghai, Beijing and the Chinese countryside.

(3) Hong Kong
I don't include Hong Kong as part of China because I strongly believe that it should either go back to British rule or become an independent country instead of being controlled by mainland China. I first became fascinated by Hong Kong when I watched the Wong Kar Wei films "Chungking Express" and "Fallen Angels". Since then Hong Kong has haunted my thoughts and dreams on an almost daily basis.

(4) Turkey
Although I have been to Turkey a couple of times before, I have not been to Instanbul, neither have I discovered an ancient underground city. I hope to do both these things during my next visit.

(5)Egypt
It's been years since I was in Egypt but my memories of camels, the Nile and King Tut's tomb are still crystal clear. Watching the sun rise from behind the Great Pyramid is a magical experience that I will never forget, at least not until I see something more impressive such as a monkey who can play the piano while smoking a cigar...