From Wikitravel

I'm Rastapopulous. I live in New York and like to travel, and although I haven't traveled nearly as much as some other people on this site, I have traveled more than most my age, a consequence of having travel-loving parents.

[edit] Docent

I am the docent for Brooklyn. If you have questions, please leave them on my talk page.

[edit] Projects

Main Projects

• Improving the page for Riga, as I feel it would make a very good DOTM with some work. Basically, that involves adding all the remaining attractions, formatting the unformatted ones, cleaning up the messy sections, and getting some better photographs in. I've done a good deal of it, but if you can help with the buy, sleep, or eat (esp. categorizing restaurants) sections, it would be wonderful.

Where I would greatly appreciate help:

1. Bars, nightlife info, and price classifications in the Drink section--I know very little about nightlife!!
2. More restaurants are needed (esp. Splurge) and there are several that need to be categorized.
3. More mid-range and splurge hotels: Currently, there are only two of each!

• Getting my own hometown of Brooklyn up to shape, particularly the areas around Prospect Park, which I know well, and the Downtown area, which I also know well but not as well as the area around Prospect Park. Districtification has begun--if you can help out, please do!!

Future Projects

• I would also like to work on Tallinn, which could also make a good DOTM, but is farther along than Riga currently. Mostly it just needs more stuff.

• Lubeck, which would make a great OTBP, but the current article is a mess. Not even half the attractions are listed, the page itself is poorly formatted, and it lacks good pictures (other than the lead picture, which is excellent). Additionally, there is nothing said about the utter lack of English spoken in Lubeck.

• Improving the New York article, or at least what I can work on: the aforementioned Brooklyn work, plus some stuff in Lower Manhattan.

[edit] Travel Stuff

[edit] Where I've Been

I have visited the following countries:

• My native USA
  • Frequently, I travel to Vermont
  • I have ventured into New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey for collegy-type stuff
  • Washington DC
  • Virginia: Area around DC
  • Maryland: Area around DC
  • Pennsylvania: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
  • Illinois: Chicago
  • California: From San Francisco to LA, with stops in Yosemite, Sequoia National Park, and Fresno, and on to Joshua Tree National Park
• My "motherland" Italy
• My other "motherland" South Africa
• Switzerland
• France
• Spain
• Monaco
• San Marino
• The Vatican
• The UK
• Belgium
• Germany
• Latvia
• Estonia
• Finland
• Japan

My favorite places (In no particular order):

• Hiroshima
• San Francisco
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Granada (even though I was 8 at the time, I still loved it)
• Riga
• Tallinn
• The Kohtla-Jarve Mining Museum
• Brussels
• Sicily
• Cape Town
• Kruger National Park

[edit] Travel Goals

So far, they are:

a. Leave the United States and live somewhere else, quite possibly permanently. b. Go on a round the world trip. c. Visit every country in the former USSR.

[edit] Wish List

Regions I am interested in:

• Eastern and Central Europe, especially Russia and the former USSR (one of my goals is to visit every former Soviet state; so far 2/15 completed)
• Central, Southeast, and East Asia
• West and North Africa and the Sahel
• Andean South America

Top 10 Wishlist Countries:

1. North Korea--So I can say I've been there
2. The Caucasus, particularly Georgia
3. Peru
4. Cambodia
5. Uzbekistan
6. Egypt
7. Russia--A country I would love to explore in depth
8. Niger and Mali
9. Belarus, while it's still controlled by Lukaschenko
10. Indonesia, a fascinating country