Q TRAVEL (CNN Español) It hasn’t begun yet, but it already looks like 2023 will be a year of “revenge travel,” with people locked down during the pandemic taking the dream vacation they’ve been saving for so long.
However, while most of the world is open again and operating as before, not all attractions made it out of the pandemic unscathed. Some have taken advantage of the tourism break to remodel or improve their infrastructure, while others have said goodbye forever.
Before you plan your next trip, check out here the places to check off your list for 2023 and, in some cases, beyond. For each location, we’ve included an alternate destination to explore.
Train Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
The “train street” of the Vietnamese capital, very popular on Instagram, has long been a source of controversy. The street in the old town became famous for the trains that ran along the tracks just inches from houses and shops. The spot became popular with tourists who liked the thrill of posing on industrial tracks with coffee shops inches away.
However, despite its ‘vintage’ appearance, the tracks are still very much in use. Over-tourism on Calle del Tren became not only a nuisance, but a legitimate safety concern, as trains sometimes had to be diverted at the last minute to avoid people.
Although the Hanoi government had ordered the closure of some of the tourist shops that had opened on Train Street to take advantage of foot traffic in 2019, the area remained popular. Finally, in the fall of 2022, the operating licenses of all the businesses on Calle del Tren were revoked and barriers were erected to prevent the passage of people.
Plan B: Hanoi’s Old Quarter, much of which was built by the French during colonial times, has plenty of postcard-worthy passageways. Visit Nhà Thờ Lớn Hà Nội (St. Joseph’s Cathedral) and explore from there. There will be no trains, but there will be many motorcycles.
Los Angeles Underground Museum
The brainchild of artist couple Noah and Karon Davis, the Underground Museum has become famous for championing the work of artists of color.
Occupying a few small storefronts in the lesser-known Bernal Heights neighborhood, the museum was also a bookstore, organizing space, and community center, and it persevered after the death of Noah Davis in 2015.
However, the pandemic was hard on the Underground Museum. Despite famous fans and supporters like Beyonce, Tracee Ellis Ross and John Legend, the museum closed its doors in 2022.
It is not clear what exactly happened, nor if the museum will reopen in another location with another format.
“We don’t have any answers at this time. For now, we will close the museum until further notice. During this time, we encourage you to come to the amazing art spaces throughout our beloved Los Angeles,” Karon Davis wrote in a statement on the museum’s website.
Plan B: The free California African American Museum in Exposition Park also displays works by black artists. Art lovers can take Karon Davis’ advice at Los Angeles institutions like The Broad and LACMA.
Jurong Bird Park, Singapore
Asia’s largest bird park announced its closure in August 2022 after more than 50 years of operation in Singapore.
However, there is good news for his fans. The park will not disappear but will join Singapore’s other famous natural attractions to create a new eco-tourism hub in the north of the city.
The Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari will also be part of the project, which will be called Mandai and could open in 2023.
Plan B: Spending time outdoors in ever-warm Singapore is easy. The Singapore Botanic Garden is the only UNESCO World Heritage site in the country, while those who want to get up close to the animals can visit the Living Turtle Museum in the Yishun area.
Dublin Writers Museum, Ireland
Wilde. Beckett. Yeats. Some of the most significant authors of English-language literature hail from Ireland, and the Dublin Writers’ Museum in the capital celebrates that literary heritage.
Like so many tourist attractions around the world, the museum closed in March 2020 for what was supposed to be a temporary closure.
However, that turned out to be the end of the story.
Failte Ireland, the Irish national tourism authority that owned and operated the museum, announced in August 2022 that the museum would close permanently, saying that it “no longer meets the expectations of the contemporary museum visitor in terms of accessibility, presentation and interpretation”.
Plan B: goodbye Dublin Writers Museum, hello MoLI. The Museum of Irish Literature opened with great fanfare in 2019.
A partnership between the National Library of Ireland and University College Dublin, it houses Irish literary artifacts such as the first copy of James Joyce’s “Ulysses” (the museum’s nickname is a nod to the novel’s heroine Molly Bloom) and painstakingly for highlighting lesser-known figures as well as authors writing in Irish.
Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant, Hong Kong
This floating restaurant did not reopen its doors after more than two years of closure due to the pandemic.
Hong Kong’s Jumbo Kingdom, once the world’s largest floating restaurant, had no luck over the years.
The restaurant, which has been featured in dozens of movies and TV shows and has been visited by everyone from Queen Elizabeth II to Chow Yun-Fat, has fallen out of favor with locals and tourists over the years.
Maintenance costs for the ornate three-story ship were high, and Hong Kong tourism plummeted amid strict lockdowns and covid restrictions.
After several unsuccessful attempts to sell the jumbo to a local Hong Kong buyer, the ship was en route to a Southeast Asian shipyard when she sank near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
Plan B: Even though the Jumbo is gone, many of Hong Kong’s iconic landmarks are still flourishing. One of them, the Peak Tram, was renovated in 2022.
If it’s a floating experience you’re after, the green and white Star Ferry continues to take locals and travelers alike between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and the Dukling, the city’s last wooden junk available for public use, plows through the waters several times a day in Victoria Harbour.
9/11 Tribute Museum, New York
Before the National September 11 Memorial & Museum opened at Ground Zero, there was the 9/11 Tribute Museum.
This quieter, more introspective cousin was opened in 2006 by loved ones of those killed in the World Trade Center bombings of 1993 and 2001. The small space in lower Manhattan was a gathering place for those affected by the tragedies and it housed many objects and personal items donated by the survivors and the families of the victims.
Claiming financial losses during the pandemic, the museum said goodbye in the summer of 2022. Its community tribute walking tours, led by 9/11 survivors, have also come to an end.
Plan B: Although the museum’s physical presence has disappeared, most of its holdings are now part of the permanent collection of the State Museum of New York in Albany, about 150 miles north of New York City.
Travelers unable to visit the state capital can also visit the nearby National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which remains open and active.
TeamLab Borderless and Edo-Tokyo Museum, Tokyo
Two Japanese museums are going through two transition periods this year.
Although both are located in Tokyo, they are very different: the Edo-Tokyo Museum is a traditional history museum focused on Japanese culture, while TeamLab Borderless is a fully digital experience created by self-described “ultra-technologists”.
The Edo-Tokyo Museum announced that it will close for at least three years while it undergoes a renovation. The building, located on the riverfront in the Ryogoku neighborhood, opened in 1993 and is best known for its life-size replica of the kabuki theater.
Museum representatives claim that it will reopen in late 2025 or early 2026.
For its part, TeamLab Borderless – which was crowned the most visited museum in the world by the Guinness Book of Records – will move from its headquarters in Odaiba to new facilities in the highly anticipated Toranomon-Azabudai project, scheduled for completion in 2023. The reopening date has not yet been announced.
In addition to TeamLab, the new complex will house the tallest skyscraper in Japan.
Plan B: Tokyo is a museum lover’s dream, with an extensive offering that includes the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, the Mori Art Museum, and the National Museum of Western Art. In Ueno Park, the Tokyo National Museum will pique your interest in history.
Museum of London, UK
The popular museum of history and culture makes a brief move of great importance.
The museum, founded in 1912, will move from its current headquarters on London Wall to nearby General Market, a former derelict site that will be renovated and preserved.
In addition to the new facilities, the museum will change its name from Museum of London to The London Museum, extend its hours on Fridays and Saturdays, and encourage visitors to visit small businesses in the area.
And what’s better: the museum, which is scheduled to reopen in 2026, will be easily accessible via Farringdon station on the new Elizabeth line, another example of London’s evolution.
Plan B: There are plenty of places to explore London’s rich history. See Shakespeare’s plays performed at The Globe, travel by Tube to explore the Churchill War Rooms, and learn about royal dramas of yesteryear at the Tower of London.
The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
After her glamorous life as an ocean liner, the Queen Mary retired to Southern California in 1967.
The Queen Mary, with her Art Deco décor of hers, functioned as a restaurant, hotel, and general tourist attraction after settling in Long Beach.
Now the ship needs urgent repairs.
The city of Long Beach, which owns the ship, says at least $5 million is needed to repair the Queen Mary, which has suffered more than just wear and tear. In particular, the weight of the lifeboats has caused long-term damage, and they will be removed, in the hope that a museum, historical society, or other attraction might want to put them on display.
There is still no specific date for the reopening of the Queen Mary.
Plan B: Long Beach has plenty to see, from a lively downtown to a museum of Latin American art. Meanwhile, the ship’s successor, the Queen Mary 2, remains in active service with the Cunard Line.
Source: CNN Español
