The more I think about it (and probably the older I get), the less inclined I am to have a “bucket list”. What is a bucket list, really? Things you want to do before you die? Or things you’re going to actually be really disappointed on your death bed that you didn’t do? To me, there are few things that I’m going to be disappointed about never doing. A safari in Africa, visiting New Zealand and road tripping in a VW camper? Sure. But visiting Venice or eating out at a stupid restaurant, nah. I want to do them, but I won’t lay there dying and think, “damn, I never did have a meal at Cabbages & Condoms.”

Therefore, this page is changing. I’m updating it to a much bigger, but much less urgent, page of awesome things I want to do. That means I can add really stupid and fun places I’ve heard about and not worry about whether they fit the “bucket list” category.

ASIA

Destinations:
Hong Kong
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Bangkok, Thailand
Singapore
Tokyo, Japan

Experiences:
Volunteer with elephants at the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand
Go to a ping pong show in Bangkok
Songkran
Full Moon Party at Koh Phangan
Cabbages & Condoms (restaurant in Bangkok!)
Get a bamboo tattoo
Visit the Studio Ghibli museum
Visit Disneyland in Japan
Take the Hai Van pass in Vietnam
Ride the bamboo train in Battambang
Visit as many themed restaurants in Taiwan as possible
And Japan
Stay at the Jurassic Park themed hotel (okay, maybe not seeing as it’s a “love hotel”!!)
Ride an abandoned train through the mountains of Japan

AUSTRALASIA

Destinations:
Cairns, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Ayers Rock (Uluru), Australia
Coober Pedy, Australia
Great Ocean Road, Australia
Western Australia
Queenstown, New Zealand

Experiences:
Spend NYE in Sydney
Go snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef
Road trip in Australia
Hire a camper
Canyon Swing in Queenstown, New Zealand
Christmas on the beach
Hold a koala at the zoo
See a wild koala (x4!)
See a platypus (I was happy enough to see one at Lone Pine, but then I saw one IN THE WILD!)
Hobbiton
Hike Roy’s Peak, Wanaka
Take the Hooker Valley trail to Mount Cook
Road trip Western Australia
Drive the Great Ocean Road & visit the Grampians
Stay in a hotel / hostel in Coober Pedy

NORTH AMERICA

Destinations:
Honolulu, Hawaii
San Francisco, USA
Niagara Falls, Canada/USA
Grand Canyon, USA
Monument Valley, USA
New York City, USA
Orlando, Florida, USA
Banff, Canada
Vancouver, Canada
Yosemite National Park, USA
Yellowstone National Park, USA

Experiences:
Road trip in the USA
Jump off the Stratosphere, Las Vegas
Hike Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park
Road trip around Banff and Jasper national parks, Canada
Visit some Lost locations in Hawaii
Stay in the Dog Bark Park Inn, Idaho

SOUTH AMERICA

Destinations:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
Machu Picchu, Peru
Galapagos Islands

Experiences:
Paraglide from the mountains behind Rio and land on the beach (THIS LOOKS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE)

EUROPE

Destinations:
Ireland
Rome, Italy
Norway (just… Norway)
Kotor, Montenegro
Santorini, Greece
Venice, Italy
Reykjavik, Iceland
Moldova, because they’re nuts
Geldrop, Netherlands for the Lord Of the Rings inspired street names!
West coast of Scotland, including the Isle Of Skye (yup, let’s start at home!!)

Experiences:
Live in Edinburgh
Take a cruise through the Norwegian fjords
Road trip up the west coast of Scotland
Road trip through northern Italy
Climb Ben Nevis
Hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey
Snorkel the Silfra, Iceland
Visit Iceland in the summer
Paraglide over mountains
Celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh
Up Helly Aa, Shetland
Take the sewers tour in Paris
Stay in an igloo
Stay in the jumbo jet in Sweden
Have a night in Ballieballerson, London
Visit God’s Own Junkyard, London
Bonfire night, Lewes
Reading/Leeds Festival, UK

OTHER

Safari in Africa – preferably the Serengeti (***HONEYMOON ITEM***)
Sky dive
Go parasailing
Take the ferry from Europe to Africa
Volunteer somewhere
Visit Antarctica (South Orkney Island, anyone?)
Hire a VW camper anywhere!

Are any of these on YOUR bucket list?