Bakary Cafe

… but it doesn’t mean that your help is no longer needed…

Amazing, almost miraculous, stories of survival  are still making the news… but these are few and far between.

The tragic reality of what happened on 12 January is only now becoming apparent. It will take Haiti years to recover from the earthquake. For some, the psychological scars will never leave them.

If you haven’t yet got round to donating to the Haiti earthquake appeal, don’t worry. It’s not too late.

DEC Haiti appeal (bear in mind that the DEC will close the Haiti emergency appeal at the end of July; any donation made after that will be allocated to the next appeal)
UNICEF Haiti appeal

And remember that whatever you can afford to give will make a difference…

Elephants are everywhere…

So… only one new country in the last 14 months.

Go to World66 to update your travel map.

If you need some inspiration, then have a look at the destinations the experts are tipping for 2010. 

Wanderlust have compiled a month-by-month list:
January: the Philippines
February: Brazil
March: Sweden
April: Mumbai (India)
May: Damascus (Syria)
June/July: South Africa
August: Edinburgh (UK)
September: DR Congo
October: Mexico
November: Arabia (UAE and Oman)
December: New Zealand

DR Congo, the Gulf countries and Damascus sound exciting. These destinations conjure images of mystery and adventure and it’s good to see them on the list. Would also be good to see tourism returning to Mumbai. The Philippines make an appearance as the ’secret’ South-East destination and the tourist-free isles of the Philippines certainly sound intriguing. I’m bored, however, of seeing New Zealand on these lists, years after years. And South Africa for the summer is far too predictable.

The Lonely Planet’s top ten destinations are:
El Salvador
Germany
Greece
Malaysia
Morocco
Nepal
New Zealand
Portugal
Suriname
USA

New Zealand, hey? How predictable. Apart from that, it’s an exciting list with exotic destinations (Suriname and El Salvador). Good to see a few European countries on the list with Greece, Portugal and Germany. And whether it’s the Obama phenomenon or not, it’s good to see the USA there too. Whether you go for cities or national parks, you can’t go wrong. It’s a stunning country.

Morocco, however, is so 2009 as far as I’m concerned…

Where will 2010 take you? Made any plans yet? If you’re still undecided, you may be interested to hear that you can now fly to Iraq from Manchester!

Like me, I hope that you’re enjoying scheming and planning. I’m revisiting my travel wish list and hoping, seriously hoping, to go to either Rwanda or Greenland this year. Very different destinations you will agree and both quite expensive.