Places rlaurak Wants to Go

A lakeside garden in the Southern Alps full of whimsical artwork and thousands of beautiful flowers.

Celebrating the history of whiskey production during New Zealand's era of prohibition.

The most southerly spot on New Zealand's South Island is home to surreally shaped, permanently mangled trees.

This electric green sulphur lake in New Zealand looks like a cartoonish radioactive dump site.

A solitary tree has grown up all alone on Lake Wānaka, backdropped by the beautiful Southern Alps.

Dolphins, ancient clams and hundreds of waterfalls make this one of the world's top tourist destinations.

Tubing through a cave lit with glowworms is a magical underground experience.

This sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for “The Hobbit” film series.

One of the most horrible legacies of the Cold War is a site where the Soviet Union tested nuclear bombs on civilians.

A Stalinist prison camp for the wives and children of men accused of betraying the Soviet state is now a memorial museum.

Mysterious spherical rocks in the semi-desert of western Kazakhstan.

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

This Soviet-era athletic and recreation facility is the highest ice skating rink in the world.

A modern tower, symbolizing the legend of a golden egg on top of the tree of life.

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

Avenue of trees planted by cosmonauts before their space departures.

An entertainment center in a huge transparent tent.

Beatlemania is still going strong... at least in Kazakhstan.

Nicknamed Kazakhstan's Grand Canyon, this natural wonder lies east of Almaty near the Chinese border.

Iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world's religious faiths.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

An abandoned Soviet-era mining town in the mountains of South Kazakhstan.

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.

Granny Smiths and Fujis can both be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild.