While the media is publishing its 'places you must go in 2009' lists, travel bloggers have been busy posting their 'top travel blogs' lists. I place a lot more value on these lists, created by people who are widely traveled, well-read, and often well-published (many travel bloggers are also professional travel writers) than I do some of the more formal blog awards. So, if you're looking to increase your daily dose of vicarious travel, then check out these travel blogger's top travel blog lists:
* At Journeys Near and Far, Melody has posted her list of top 5 travel blogs you'll love, including my own (thank you, Melody).
* Melody was inspired by a top 15 list of blogs at Viscape that is also worth checking out, although I personally wouldn't include the LA Times travel deals blog.
* If you're still hungry for more, visit Hobo Traveller, where Andy has put together a comprehensive list of the lists of best blogs.
* Also check out The Best of Travel Blogs in 2008, which isn't really a list of great travel blogs, but rather the best content from travelblogs.com, a wonderful supporter of travel blogs. Eric has posted interviews with travel bloggers and fantastic posts where travel bloggers have responded to issues as diverse as loneliness on the road.
And do take a look at my own travel blog roll - there are so many very inspiring travel blogs out there.
The pic? Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, which topped my list of places you must go in 2009.

We have a few articles coming out this month... the January issue of Lifestyle+Travel magazine features a story on our recent road trip through the Northern Territory, starting with our journey on The Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin in October and covering our stays at boutique properties such as Bamurru Plains near Kakadu and Longitude 131 at Uluru. A guide to experiencing the outback in style aimed at people inspired to head 'down under' after seeing Australia the movie, the story covers the best of what the Territory has to offer. Business travel magazine Connect includes our 'Ultimate Guide to Australia', as part of their Global Traveller series, with a special feature on contemporary Australian cuisine, and a companion piece on doing business and corporate etiquette in Oz. If you're flying on United Airlines, take a look at their award-winning in-flight magazine Hemispheres, which features a piece I wrote on Dubai for their hugely popular '3 Perfect Days' series. It was the first time I'd written for Hemispheres and I was quite astonished that my brief required me to include a detailed list of shooting locations and PR contact details for the photographer they flew to Dubai.

Looking at the most recent American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) Bulletin newspaper, I was surprised at how many activities are going on this winter.  Nudists throughout the US are finding great ways to have fun.

Duckpin Bowling

In Baltimore, Maryland, the Capital Area Family Naturists (a nudist travel club) are hosting a few duckpin bowling nights.  The club has rented private space at a bowling center for naked bowling.

Watch the Super Bowl with nudist friends

Many nudist resorts across the country are hosting Superbowl events.  For instance, Mountaindale Sun Resort in Portland, Oregon will have a Super Bowl Party and Potluck Dinner.  Cedar Creek Park in Pelion, South Carolina is also having a big Super Bowl Party.

Celebrate Chinese New Years, Mardi Gras and Valentines

The Travelites, a South Carolina nudist travel club, has a slew of events planned, including gatherings to Celebrate Chinese New Years, Mardi Gras and Valentines.  Avalon in PawPaw, West Virgina also has Valentines and Mardi Gras events planned and its indoor pool makes it an attractive winter destination.

Go to a Chili Cookoff in Texas

Sahnoans at Star Ranch in McDade, Texas will host the 11th Annual Shell-less Armadillo Chili Cookoff on Jan 17.  Mmm...armadillo....tasty.   BlueBonnet Nudist Park in Decatur, Texas will host a Chili Cookoff on Jan 24.  

Party in Wisconsin

Valley View Recreation Club in Cambridge, Wisconsin is closed for the winter season, but that has not stopped them from putting together an innovative event.  The club reached out to a local hotel and rented out space for a weekend.  The result is the Valley View Recreation Club Mid-Winter Party on February 28, 2009.

Here's where I think you should be travelling in 2009:
1. NORTHERN TERRITORY - this is the real Australia, but be warned that everywhere will disappoint afterwards. Must-see spots include World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park and neighboring Aboriginal owned Arnhem Land with their abundant wildlife, lush wetlands and Aboriginal rock art; Litchfield National Park's dramatic waterfalls and waterholes; sultry multicultural capital Darwin; Aboriginal art centre Alice Springs; the ochre gorges, tranquil rockpools and corrugated dirt tracks of East and West Macdonnell Ranges; and that colossal magical red rock, Uluru (pictured).
2. MONTEVIDEO - Uruguay's elegant capital is an easygoing, off the beaten track alternative to Buenos Aires, and just a short boat trip across the river. As much as I love BA (we spent time there in 2007 writing Lonely Planet's Buenos Aires Encounter and it was on my 2008 Must Go list), Montevideo is less touristy, more low-key, and easily as appealing with its lovely architecture, leafy piazzas, and lively beaches. It has a rich culture, the highest quality of life in Latin America, and is very affordable.
3. ETHIOPIA - still an off-the-beaten-track destination, Ethiopia boasts one of the world's oldest and richest civilizations with 80 different ethnic groups and extraordinary archaeological and historical sites such as the Stellae at Axum, hundreds of rock-hewn churches at Lalibela and Yohanes, and the medieval castles of Gondar.
4. MALI - renowned for its music, the magical Festival of the Desert, and for being home to some of sub-Saharan's most intriguing and astonishing attractions, including legendary Timbuktu and the splendid mosque at Djenné, it's Mali's people that really fascinate, from the cliff-dwelling Dogon people to the nomadic Tuareg people.
5. HELSINKI - If the hip boutiques, fabulous design stores, fantastic seafood, and buzzy bars weren't enough, Finland's cool capital has an easygoing attitude and lively arts scene. Unlike Copenhagen or Stockholm, it never feels crowded with tourists, even at the height of summer, and it's ideally situated for exploring Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltic cities.
6. ABU DHABI - the UAE's sundrenched capital offers a more laidback, authentic and traditional experience of Arabia compared to sister city Dubai (without the traffic and crowds). It also has fine hotels, restaurants and beaches, and in the near future will be a Middle Eastern arts hub boasting branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim. Just an hour away are colossal apricot-coloured sand dunes and oasis town Al Ain.
7. YEMEN - there are few places left as magical, exotic and unique as Yemen with its astonishing skyscraper architecture, atmospheric old medinas, and rich traditional culture. Visiting Yemen is still an adventure and - depending on what you do - can be a little dangerous. Westerners are kidnapped from time to time when they venture into lawless areas (although they're nearly always returned safely) - this is one place where you must heed the travel warnings.
8. ZANZIBAR - with spices its main export and a culture and society influenced by its Arab, Persian, Portugese, Indian and African heritage, how could this Tanzanian island not be fascinating? The architecture of the labyrinthine capital, Stonetown, features intricately carved wooden doors and lovely terraces. There are splendid mosques and Persian baths built by immigrants from Shiraz.
9. MONTENEGRO - with its idyllic beaches, sparkling Adriatic sea, excellent seafood and atmospheric medieval villages, Croatia's diminutive neighbor, Montenegro, offers a similar experience without the crowds - and for less. When you tire of the beaches, there are stunning mountains to explore, and there's a developing wine region.
10. MARGARET RIVER - breathtakingly beautiful beaches backed by fragrant bushland and eucalyptus forest and miles of lush vineyards - this is one of Australia's most prestigious wine-producing regions after all - chic boutique hotels, retreats and spas set in tranquil locations (I'll bring you a full report soon), brilliant restaurants and buzzy bars, and it's handy to Perth in the north, and in the south, Augusta, Pemberton, Denmark and Albany, sleepy beachside towns surrounded by some of Australia's most beautiful countryside and forests.

That's what Budget Travel is asking its readers before publishing their own list. You can have your say here. I find it interesting that they've asked their readers to submit travel wish lists before releasing their own. Last year, the New York Times travel section came out with a controversial list of 53 places you should should go that received hundreds of comments and provoked some rather passionate debate. If anything, what the overwhelming response from NYT readers demonstrated was that when you get it wrong travellers aren't going to hesitate to let you know. Perhaps Budget Travel is thinking it's better to play it safe and gauge trends first. Or perhaps the editorial team can't agree themselves. What do you think?

The image? Morocco naturally, a perennially popular destination with travellers, and with a number of fascinating cities that still aren't on the mass tourism travel radar yet - I'm surprised we're not seeing those on any wish lists.

We all love a good list, don't we? The travel media have been busy publishing their 'places to go in 2009' lists, the hot 'new' destinations that guidebook publishers and travel publications think you should visit this year, 'it' places they want everyone talking about. Last year I posted a list based on places I'd been that I believed more travellers should visit and it included: Syria, Buenos Aires, Morocco (by road), Western Australia, Antwerp & Brussels, Thailand (road trip rather than beach holiday), Istanbul, Baltic Cities (Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius), Dubai, and Oman. I chose destinations I felt were emerging (the Baltic Cities), often overlooked (Syria, Oman), underrated (Western Australia, Antwerp), misunderstood (Brussels, Dubai), too hot to ignore (Buenos Aires, Istanbul), and places I felt people should experience differently to how they ordinarily might (Thailand and Morocco, which I encouraged people to drive). I'm still mulling over my list for 2009, which I'll share with you tomorrow. For now, here's a taste of the travel media's 2009 lists:
* CONDE NAST TRAVELER/CONCIERGE: Tel Aviv, Bolivia, Utah, Acapulco,Vilnius, Central Philippines, New York City, Rajasthan, Toronto, and Beirut.
* DK TRAVEL GUIDES: Vilnius, Buenos Aires, Gdansk, Seattle, Bristol, Fez, Washington DC, Copenhagen, Cape Town, and Vienna.
* LONELY PLANET: top 10 countries: Algeria, Bangladesh, Canada, Georgia, Greenland, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Peru, Rwanda and Sierra Leone; and top 10 cities: Antwerp, Beirut, Chicago, Glasgow, Lisbon, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Warsaw, and Zurich.
* FROMMER'S: Cartagena; Cape Town; Saqqara, Egypt; Washington DC; Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada; Civil Rights Trail, Alabama, USA; Lassen Volcano National Park, USA; Berlin; Belfast; Istanbul; Cambodia (But Not Angkor Wat); and Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

It's interesting to see the same places popping up, such as Vilnius, Beirut, Istanbul, and Oman. I've long been bewitched by Beirut myself (Terry and I wrote two editions of Lonely Planet's Syria and Lebanon guide, and wrote the Lebanon chapter for the first edition some 5 years ago), but the city hasn't yet stabilized and I can't see it having wide appeal. Ditto Georgia, where heavy fighting with Russia occurred in July this year, and Sierra Leone, where UN peace-keepers pulled out just eight years ago. But part of the point of these lists is to provoke discussion, get us excited about traveling, and influence us into buying books and magazines, isn't it? So, what do you think of the various hot lists floating around?

Pictured? That's the Corniche in Muscat, Oman.

Well, here goes..
1. Make time for more meaningful experiences with family and friends - we didn't see our family and close friends enough in 2008 and when we did it all seemed so fleeting. That has to change.
2. Travel less and stay longer - we lived out of our suitcases for another 365 days in 2008. It's time to stay put for a bit. That doesn't mean no travel, it means when we travel I want to stay longer in places, rent apartments more, and live more like locals, as we did this year in Milan and Turkey. This may be a personal goal of mine, but I also predict it's going to be a growing trend for 2009.
3. Write that book about our three years on the road - that's right, it's almost three years and what an intense three years it's been: we've written, contributed to and updated 26 guidebooks, worked for dozens of different publishers, written scores of articles for magazines, newspapers and websites, travelled to some 30 countries, and caught flights like most people catch buses. It's time to share some stories.
4. Start that online travel business we've been talking about for so long - now you'll just have to wait to hear all about this one... but don't worry, you'll be the first to know.
5. Make our travel experiences more meaningful - after I spend two weeks on a beach in Thailand recovering from our three years of intensive travel, I want to ensure that from then onwards all our travels experiences are more enriching.
6. Volunteer/donate - it's time to give more to people and projects that need support. It's hard to commit to any ongoing volunteering when we travel so much, so I need to explore ways I can donate my services/time ,and one-off volunteering experiences we can do and write about.
7. Support indigenous Australians more - as an Australian I am so embarrassed about the racism that still exists in Australia and how so many of our indigenous people live in poverty, the over-crowding in communities, the lack of educational opportunities and health care, the social problems. Some of my most enriching experiences this year have been meeting indigenous artists and guides in the Northern Territory. These experiences shouldn't be rare. I need to figure out ways in which I can help effect some positive kind of change.
8. Write the books we really want to write - Terry and I have a tonne of ideas we've been developing over the years for books that combine his photography with travel and oral narratives. This is the year we get one of them off the ground.
9. Go places we haven't been before - we have re-visited a lot of places this year, returning to some places for the umpteenth time - but that's why we get commissioned, for our destination expertise, and we have to go where the work is. But this year I want to make an extra effort to go to places I have never been, places that were on my list last year: Yemen, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Bhutan, Burma, and Guatemala for starters.
10. Slow down - 2008 raced by, more so than any other year. Is this what is meant by 'life after 40'? Or are we just doing too much too fast. I think it's time to spend a bit more time smelling some roses - or simply breathing in the fragrance of eucalyptus in the Aussie bush.
Your turn.