Rewriting my travel bucket list

I’ve been neglecting this list since I’ve moved to Sydney, amongst other things. What is it about us that we get so unquestioningly complacent, and settle into everyday routines that will quite easily see us to the end of our days? Does life ‘just happen’ or is that an excuse we use later on because we didn’t really do more than dream?

As I was saying in the last post, I live in fear of not being able to do all the things I want to do, and go to all the places I want to go to and while it’s a stretch to even get halfway through this list I’d hate to wake up one day when it’s too late and wonder why the hell I didn’t at least try..

..so here goes, in no particular order:

[All images link to photographer's Flickr page]

1 - Island hop around Greece (2011)

2 - Look down the Avenue of the Dead from the top of the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacán, Mexico

3 - Ferry over the great blue hole, off the coast of Belize

4 - Explore the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru

5 - See the Aurora Borealis with my own eyes

6 - Cycle through Provence (and spend a Summer in) France

7 - See the Taj Mahal in India

8 - Walk along the old city port in Dubrovnik, Croatia

9 - Float the Grand Canyon

10 - Stand in the middle of Times Square (then shop 5th Avenue!)

11 - Visit all seven continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica

The rest of my original bucket list:

12 - Hike the Cinque Terre in Italy

13 - Float in a banana boat down the Amazon to where Peru, Bolivia and Brazil meet

14 - Light up a joint in Dam Square

15 - Eat a ton of tapas in San Sebastián, Spain

16 - Conquer vertigo in Bangkok from 61 floors up

17 - Bungy down a ravine in Queenstown

18 - Watch the dawn over Bay of Fires, Tasmania

19 - and the sunset over Uluru, NT (Australia)

20 - Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef

21 - Stand on top of the volcano in Mauna Lao, Hawaii

22 - Visit the ‘shire’ in middle-earth

23 - Photograph the Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon

24 - Explore Mulu and Niah caves in Sarawak

25 - Spend a week doing nothing in Maldives, Seychelles, New Caledonia and two weeks doing nothing in the Bahamas

26 - Go nuts at the French Laundry in the Napa Valley

27 - Party at the Carnaval in São Paulo, Brazil

28 - Paragliding Mount BabaDag, Turkey

29 - Ride a Vespa around Rome, Italy

30 - Fall in love (with Paris) on the Eiffel Tower

31 - Float on the Dead Sea, Israel/Jordan - I’ve wanted to go since I first read about it when I was 9!

32 - Marvel at the ancient city of Petra, Jordan

33 - …and the unfinished Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain

34 - Take a bath at Les Bains de Marrakech, Morocco

35 - See how long I can tolerate the stink of ‘sulphur city’ Rotorua

36 - Slide down the Great Wall of China

37 - Travel part of the Silk Road with my father

38 - Make like Lara in Angkor Wat

39 - Visit the Tsukiji Fish Markets in Japan!

40 - Climb the Harbour Bridge here in Sydney

41 - Order a Bellini at the original Harry’s Bar in Venice

42 - Attend Fashion Week in NYC

43 - Drive a convertible Ferrari on the German autobahn

44 - Get lost on the London Underground

45 - Watch the Monaco GP live

46 - Watch the Olympics live

47 - Get lost in the lava tubes on Jeju island, South Korea

48 - Visit the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

49 - Eat Hainan chicken rice in Hainan

50 - Take cheesy pictures with the pyramids in Cairo

It just hit me having lived in Kuala Lumpur most of my life, with so much of South East Asia so easily accessible, I’ve been taking a lot of places for granted! So much that I haven’t even listed any SEA places in my original list.. now that I’m on a different continent I’m starting to wish Bangkok is still only an hour or so away..

What are some of the things on your list? :)

Tagged as: lists, Travel