The Geography of Bliss

I just finished reading a book called The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World.

The author, Eric Weiner, gets this idea to travel to counties where the people are notoriously happy (or in one case notoriously sad). His goal is to determine whether or not the people living in these "happy countries" know something about the pursuit of happiness that the rest of us do not.

His quest takes him to Iceland, Switzerland, Thailand, Bhutan and more. In each place, the author (being a long-time NPR correspondent) gets hooked up with some sort of social expert. Perhaps he talks with a doctor, a professor, or a government official. And always, he wants to know: Why are the people here happy?

He also does a lot of just hanging out and talking to local people, getting their views on happiness as well.

While all this might sound stuffy and somewhat clinical, it's actually a very funny read. Weiner is witty, sarcastic and really quite self deprecating.

Does he ever unlock the happiness secret? Well, you'll just have to read the book and find out.

But the book did get me thinking about my very own geography of bliss. Where I have traveled, and once there, found myself crazy happy?

Here is my list, in no particular order:

1. Inle Lake, Myanmar (Burma)

2. Mui Ne, Vietnam

3. La Paloma, Uruguay

4. Machu Picchu, Peru

5. Buenos Aires, Argentina

6. Ang Thong National Park, Thailand

7. Valle de Bravo, Mexico

8. Pisco Elqui, Chile

9. Iguazu Falls, Argentina-Brazil

10. Rome, Italy