The Bucket List

by Alex in Pre-trip, Epigrams and Interludes

Update: This post inspired us to write an extended Bucket List check it out to see what else made it onto to the list - and what we have been able to cross off so far.

Everyone prospective traveller has their international 'bucket list' - the list of things that they want to go and do and see before they die. In that vein, I would like to present for your pleasure, Tash and my list of sights around the world to see and do and experience before we grow old in body and proverbially 'kick the bucket':



1. Drink a glass of champagne in the Champagne region, France
2. See the Kaaba in Masjid al-Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
3. See the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel
4. Tour the Vatican City, Vatican City (or Italy, if you prefer!)
5. Walk across Salisbury Plain from Stonehenge to Salisbury Cathedral, England
6. Tour the ruined city of Pripyat near Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, Ukraine
7. Attend a midnight mass at the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, France
8. See the Eagle's Nest near Berchtesgaden, Germany






9. Hike to the top of Machu Picchu trail, Peru
10. Buy and eat a hotdog from a street vendor in New York, USA
11. Watch the Northern Lights in Rejavick, Iceland
12. Crawl through the Cu Chi tunnels, Vietnam
13. See the remains of Pompeii, Italy
14. Dive into the Mediterranean from the Greek Isles, Greece
15. Catch the Vodka train through Siberia, Mongolia and Russia
16. Tour the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, Russia
17. Visit Anne Frank's hiding place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
18. See Hatshetsup's Temple in Luxor, Egypt
19. Swim in the Devil's Pool, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
20. Climb to the Golden Temple in the Wudang Mountains, China

While it's by no means a definitive list of everything we want to go and see and do in the world, this is an easy top 20 experiences, shared between Tash and I. Individually, our lists differ somewhat, since we have different areas of interest around the globe (and so does everyone, there's nothing wrong with that!). Tash grew up studying a lot of history, both modern and ancient, and particularly a lot of military history.

Therefore, it is important to her that we visit some sites of historical importance, such as the town Bastogne in Belgium (most famously known from the Battle of the Bulge), the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark (since she grew up with the more traditional, less-Disney version of that fairy tale), as well as Tobruk in Libya, where her great-grandfather was one of the Rats of Tobruk during WWII. (Although, being in Libya, that particular one may prove a bit dangerous for us in the immediate future!)

I, on the other hand, have two (some may say conflicting, or at least non-complementing) main interests in travelling the world: Food and religion. It's always been a dream of mine to visit every region on earth and envelop myself in the cuisine of different cultures - eating, watching, learning, cooking - and particularly to sample famous dishes in their native lands, such as traditional rustic pasta in the Italian countryside or a simple bread and stew in the provinces of France.

More than food, however, I have always wanted to travel the world and visit many of the major religious sites that exist, such as Zoroastrian temples in India, the Hagia Sophia mosque in Turkey and the famous Mount Sinai in Egypt. (I would like to state at this point that while I come from a semi-religious background, both Tash and myself do not consider ourselves religious, and my fascination with places of worship is purely secular.) I've always been fascinated by the impact that worship can have on the hearts, minds and actions both of peoples and individual persons, and seeing the places, natural and constructed, that drive people to worship is a major part of this fascination.


Aside from these more personal reasons, we want to travel to expand our horizons and challenge our own world views. For example, Tash has always had a terrible fear of volcanoes, and so therefore one of the items on our "to do" list (albeit much lower down!) is to climb an active vocano in South America, as a way of confronting those fears. It may need to wait until we have a bit more experience (and some hiking equipment) under our belts, though!

As the months of planning and preparation continue, we will keep updating here with things to do, places to see, experiences to ...experience, and there is no doubt in my mind that this list will only keep growing and expanding as time goes on and the departure day draws nearer!

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