The more I think about it (and the older I get), the less inclined I am to have a “bucket list”. What is a bucket list, anyway? Things you’d like 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’d 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? I want to do them, but let’s be honest with ourselves, I won’t lay there dying and think, “damn, I never did have a meal at Cabbages & Condoms.” (…okay, knowing me, I probably would.)

So this page is changing. It’s now a much bigger, but much less urgent, collection of awesome things I want to do – which means I can add really stupid and fun places I’ve heard about, without worrying about whether they fit the “bucket list” category. Call it an alternative to bookmarking ideas.

And after all, I am definitely about the stupid and fun.

P.S. I swear I am updating this list every couple of days.

Want to read about the places I have been to? Click here!

My Current Top 10 (i.e. the actual “bucket list”)

• Japan. My number one bucket list item, but one I want to do right
• An African safari. Joint #1 bucket list item, and what we plan to do for our honeymoon!
• Norwegian fjords
• Slovenia
• Road trip northern Italy and eat all the food
• Australia part 2: Western Australia road trip & a trip to Uluru
• New Zealand part 2: hire a camper and road trip the hell out of the south island
• Iceland part 2… road trip (are you starting to see a theme here?)
• Northern Thailand (…part 2)
• Vietnam to do EVERYTHING we missed!

Challenges

I used to set myself goals a lot. I feel like I’ve spent the past few years wandering aimlessly which, while there’s nothing wrong with that, has led to feeling like I’ve lost my way a bit. Doing things I had never planned to do instead of my “bucket list” items; going to places for the sake of it instead of with purpose. So I’m laying out some challenges for myself, to give myself a focus, but ultimately I don’t want to be unrealistic. (I also have no desire to “visit every country in the world” so hopefully it will give me a chance to focus on those places I do want to visit!)

• Visit every continent in the world (5/7)
• Visit every country in Europe* (26/45)
• Visit every visit-able island in Scotland** (18, we can dispute the final amount)
• Bag 10 munros (I may increase this once I’ve hit 10!) (1/10)
• Visit as many Scottish castles as possible (there are 3000 of them, after all!)
• Visit four countries in a day
• Cycle (or walk) from Edinburgh to Glasgow
  
  * number is disputable – I’m not counting crown dependencies like Isle Of Man and Gibraltar, but it does include Kosovo
  
  ** I was going to put inhabited, but I’m including island like Staffa and Lunga, which are not

WORLDWIDE

Hire a VW camper
Volunteer somewhere (completed in Thailand, 2015)
Sky dive (completed in the UK & New Zealand, 2007 & 2016)
Go parasailing
Go paragliding (completed in Canada, 2018)
Go ziplining (also completed in Canada, 2018!)
Ride in a hot air balloon
Stay in a Hobbit house
Buy a campervan (or convert one!)

The rest of these were getting out of hand, so I’ve condensed them into their own headings! Click on them to find out what I’ve got.

EUROPE

Destinations

• Ireland
• Rome, Italy
• Norway
• Kotor, Montenegro
• Santorini, Greece
• Croatia
• Venice, Italy
• Reykjavik, Iceland
• Moldova, because they’re nuts (and also, Transnistria)
• Slovenia
• Chernobyl, Ukraine
• The Romantic Road, Germany
• Hallstat, Austria
• Alsace, France
• West coast of Scotland, including the Isle Of Skye (yup, let’s start at home!!)

Experiences – in the UK

• Live in Edinburgh
• Celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh (okay, I’ve sorta done this, but would like to do the ultra-touristy street party one year)
• Up Helly Aa, Shetland
• Road trip up the west coast of Scotland
• Climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike & Snowdon (the highest mountains in Scotland, England & Wales)
• Climb Stac Pollaidh
• Walk to the Scottish pyramids by Balmoral Castle
• Stay in a train carriage in Glenfinnan
• Stay in a castle
• Stay in some other interesting accommodation in Scotland (lighthouses, boats, churches… if you have any suggestions, please let me know!)
• Have a night in Ballieballerson, London
• Visit God’s Own Junkyard, London
• Bonfire night, Lewes
• Do the fastest zipline in the world – in Wales! (I’ve bought a voucher for this, hopefully we can use it in 2021!)

Experiences – in the rest of Europe

• Take a cruise through the Norwegian fjords
• Road trip through northern Italy
• Hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey
• Snorkel the Silfra, Iceland
• Go to Elf School, Iceland
• Visit Iceland in the summer
• Geldrop, Netherlands for the Lord Of the Rings inspired street names!
• …and sorry, I’ve just found another one in ESSEX?!?
• Stay in an igloo
• Stay in the jumbo jet in Sweden
• Visit Predjama Castle, Slovenia (it’s built into the side of a cliff! Seriously!)
• Visit Admont Abbey library in Austria
• Visit lots of castles in Germany. Obviously Neuschwanstein.

ASIA

Destinations

• Hong Kong
• Halong Bay, Vietnam
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Singapore
• Tokyo, Japan
• Kyoto, Japan

Experiences

• Volunteer with elephants at Elephant Nature Park in Thailand
• Songkran – Thai New Year
• Full Moon Party at Koh Phangan
• Cabbages & Condoms restaurant in Bangkok
• Get a bamboo tattoo
• Hike the Khao Ngon Nak trail at Krabi, Thailand
• Visit the Studio Ghibli museum
• Visit Disneyland in Japan
• Take the Hai Van pass in Vietnam
• Ride the bamboo train in Battambang, Cambodia
• Visit as many themed restaurants in Taiwan as possible
• (And Japan)
• Stay in Book & Beds hostel in 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
• Santorini, Greece
• Coober Pedy, Australia
• Great Ocean Road, Australia
• Western Australia (very generalised, I know!)
• Gwalia, Western Australia (mining gold town)
• Horse Head rock, Australia
• Port Stephens (Fingal Bay), Australia
• Queenstown, New Zealand

Experiences

• Spend NYE in Sydney
• Go snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef
• Road trip in Australia
• Hire a camper
• Spend 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!)
• Visit Hobbiton
• Canyon Swing in Queenstown, New Zealand
• Hike Roy’s Peak, Wanaka, New Zealand
• Take the Hooker Valley trail to Mount Cook, New Zealand
• Road trip Western Australia
• Drive the Great Ocean Road & visit the Grampians, Australia
• Stay in an underground hotel / hostel in Coober Pedy, Australia

NORTH AMERICA

Destinations

• Honolulu, Hawaii
• San Francisco, USA
• Niagara Falls, Canada/USA
• Grand Canyon, USA
• Monument Valley, USA
• New York City, USA
• Disney World/Universal at Orlando, Florida, USA
• Yosemite National Park, USA
• Yellowstone National Park, USA
• Banff, Canada
• Vancouver, Canada
• Montreal, Canada

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 (it had just closed for the season when we were in Idaho!)
• Stay in the Wig Wam Motel
• Stay in the Madonna Inn (we visited but didn’t stay)

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OTHER

Destinations

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
• Machu Picchu, Peru
• Galapagos Islands
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Namibia
• Antarctica (South Orkney Island!)

Experiences

• Safari in Africa – preferably the Serengeti (***HONEYMOON ITEM***)
• Take the ferry from Europe to Africa
• Paraglide from the mountains behind Rio and land on the beach (THIS LOOKS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE)

Are any of these on YOUR bucket list?