Westworld Alberta

22 W E S T W O R L D A L B E R T A | W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 (colombia) sime/estock photo (thailand) justin mott TOP 10 Best Value Destinations 3. Colombia Just a few years ago, Colombia's official tourism slogan was "The only risk is wanting to stay," an in-your-face rebuttal to its fraught past. Today, its catchphrase is "Colombia is Magical Realism." And it is. Home of Nobel-Prize-winning writer Gabriel García Márquez, its jungles and cobblestone streets inspire his literature, from the Caribbean coast and colonial charm of Cartagena to lush coffee plantations surrounding Bogotá. Colombia's biodiversity ranks second in the world alongside archaeological treasures and UNESCO World Heritage sites like the tombs in Tierradentro National Park. Medellín, a thriving city with public transportation that includes the Metrocable, a gondola lift system you can ride for about one Canadian dollar, is now known as the World's Most Innovative City because of that particular infrastructure, as well as its civic spaces like the central square with its massive Botero sculptures. – Barb Sligl 4. Thailand Long the most popular destination in Southeast Asia, this beautiful country and its warm, welcoming people also have some of the best spas in the world. Treatments here will set you back far less than they would in the West. In Bangkok, luxury hotels often offer rooms and treatments for roughly half of what they would cost in a major Western city, or you can go off-site to a place like Health Land Spa, where a 90-minute treatment in a simple, clean, comfortable room will cost only $30. Even better, head to the islands of the Andaman Sea or Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand, where affordable spa resorts abound. – T.J. Experience Colombia on a 12-day, small- group journey mixing rural, tropical and urban – and, of course, coffee. From $2,999, land only. 1-866-667-4777 See our Thailand get- away with exclusive AMA member bene- fits on page 28. Plaza de la Aduana is the largest and oldest square in the city of Cartagena. Thai spas are a tranquil oasis for the stressed and bone-weary traveler. Rua Augusta is a walkable, pedestrian-only street in Lisbon.

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