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Saturday, May 11: Ailsa’s Travel Theme for this week is Beaches. Here are some beaches I’ve encountered in my travels.
Let’s start at the beginning. Here is the beach of my childhood, on the York River in Yorktown, Virginia. I spent many of my teenage years hanging out with my friends on this beach.
In general, I prefer deserted, quiet, peaceful and unpopulated beaches, NOT beaches packed with people and umbrellas and chairs and tents and inner tubes like Guryongpo Beach near Pohang, South Korea or Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Most beaches in South Korea are crowded, as Korea is a tiny country with a huge population of 48 million people. Haeundae Beach in Busan is nice enough in early April, when this picture was taken, but it’s usually quite crowded.
It’s not so bad if the beach is set up with mostly EMPTY beach chairs and umbrellas, like this beach in Plakias, Crete, Greece. At least it’s on the Mediterranean, and what could be better than that?
Sometimes it’s nice to hang out at a hotel beach, like this beach at Shangri-La Resort near Muscat, Oman. It has a huge pool and a lazy river, so you can dip in the fresh water and wash off the salt and sand from time to time.
Some beaches in Oman are quite deserted or are used mainly by fishermen. Every time I’ve been to these beaches, they’ve been so extremely hot, I don’t find them enjoyable. Some of the beaches are so deserted they’re used only by campers.
This beach on the Dead Sea in Jordan is quite small, and it’s really impossible to swim in the water because of the high salt content. No matter what you do, you end up in a position like you are sitting in an armchair, with your arms, legs and head floating on the water’s surface. Only your rear end sinks in the water.
Some beaches are just little strips of sand situated on a lake shore, like this beach at Lake Langano, Ethiopia.
Luckily, there are some picture-perfect beaches like Sangju “Silver Sand” Beach in South Korea.
To see more beaches, check out Where’s my backpack? Travel Theme: Beaches.