The best part of travelling are the random experiences that happen along the way … that’s a main reason for compiling the experience inventory. Getting hopelessly lost in Morocco, getting stuck in a public restroom in Versailles, marvelling at the rice terraces in Batad, having a gun pulled on me in Palestine, discovering the best pizza and steak in Buenos Aires, all enhance the travel experience. After more than 10 years of travelling, you only realize that the more you see, the more you have to see – which leads to the invariably cheesy bucket list compilation.
Everyone has some sort of bucket list. My bucket list just happens to revolve around travelling. I’ve tried to compile my overall bucket list in my Experience/Happiness Inventory … it’s quite random and very untidy in the format – but I do have to remember that it is a work in progress.
The first bucket list that I ever really followed was the Hillman Wonders Top 100. I made a promise to myself that by the time I was 50, I would be done with this list.
Finally I’m past the halfway point … on the Hillman list. I think the first 75 or so are relatively easy and accessible to do. Places like Antarctica, Galapagos Islands, Ladakh and Easter Island are where the real challenge occurs, if not financially then definitely time wise.
1. Pyramids of Egypt 2. Great Wall of China 3. Taj Mahal 4. Serengeti Migration 5. Galapagos Islands 6. Grand Canyon (Nevada, USA) 7. Machu Picchu 8. Antarctica Cruise 9. Iguazu Falls (Brazil and Argentina) 10. Bali (Indonesia) 11. Amazon Rainforest 12. Ngorongoro Crater 13. Great Barrier Reef 14. Angkor Wat (Cambodia) 15. Victoria Falls 16. Forbidden City 17. Bagan 18. Karnak 19. Teotihuacan (Mexico) 20. Banaue Rice Terraces (Phillipines) 21. Bora Bora 22. Acropolis (Athens, Greece) 23. Potala Palace 24. Jerusalem Old City (Israel) 25. TerraCotta Warriors 26. Chichen Itza (Mexico) 27. Petra 28. Nile River Cruise 29. Easter Island 30. Cappadocia (Turkey) 31. Colosseum of Rome (Rome, Italy) 32. Fjords of Norway 33. St Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City) 34. Egyptian Museum 35. Borobudur (Indonesia) 36. Valley of the Kings 37. Hong Kong 38. Sistine Chapel (Vatican City) 39. Burj Khalifa 40. Alhambra 41. Louvre Museum (Paris, France) 42. Canals of Venice (Venice, Italy) 43. Versailles (Paris, France) 44. Carlsbad Caverns 45. Mecca 46. Kathmandu Valley 47. Metropolitan Museum (London, England) 48. Mt. Everest 49. Temple Emerald Buddha (Bangkok, Thailand) 50. Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey) |
51. Pompeii (Naples, Italy) 52. Kashmir Valley 53. Prague Old Town (Prague, Czech Republic) 54. Golden Temple 55. Amalfi Coast (Amalfi, Positano, Capri : Italy) 56. Meenakshi 57. Chartres Cathedral 58. Mezquita Cordoba (Spain) 59. Damascus Old City 60. Dubrovnik 61. Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy) 62. Rio Panoramic View (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 63. Golden Pavilion (Kyoto, Japan) 64. Delphi 65. St. Basils Cathedral 66. Abu Simbel 67. St. Mark’s Basilica (Venice, Italy) 68. Florence Cityscape (Florence, Italy) 69. Kremlin 70. Varanasi & the Ganges 71. Li River Cruise 72. Shwedagon Stupa 73. Sahara Desert 74. Leaning Tower Pisa (Pisa, Italy) 75. Baalbek 76. Mont St Michel 77. Topkapi Palace (Istanbul, Turkey) 78. Carnival in Rio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 79. Stonehenge (Exeter, England) 80. Angel Falls (Venezuela) 81. Yellowstone NP (Wyoming, USA) 82. Santorini (Greece) 83. Matterhorn (Switzerland) 84. New York Skyline 85. Marrakesh (Morocco) 86. Eiffel Tower (Paris, France) 87. Ladakh 88. Niagara Falls 89. British Museum (London, England) 90. Burj al Arab 91. Yangtze River Cruise 92. Yosemite NP (California, USA) 93. Ayers Rock 94. Hermitage Museum 95. Chambord Chateau 96. Lijiang & Shangri La 97. Neuschwanstein Castle (Bavaria, Germany) 98. Banff NP (Alberta, Canada) 99. San Francisco 100. Portofino (Italy) |
How about you?
Have you come up with your bucket list? If so, I’d love to hear or read your bucket list. I love any and all source of inspiration, since we can’t know about every great festival or experience in the world.