YOLO

On Friday night I was lucky enough to hear Michael Palin speak at the Royal Geographical Society dinner, taking us through his recent adventures in Brazil. His knack for storytelling was so inspiring and entertaining. In a casual and really personal way we travelled from north to south Brazil visiting tribes deep in the Amazon who were only discovered 40 years ago, to him participating on a transexual float at the gay parade in Rio. For my fellow wanderlusters out there, if you ever get the chance to hear him speak, don't miss the opportunity!

I admit, I often find myself lying awake at night thinking about all the places I want to visit and experience first hand. My father always told me if I have too much on my mind, to make a list, so here it is in no particular order...

• see the Northern lights
• spend a summer in a villa in Tuscany (definitely need to do this again!)
• experience the Inca Trail and discover Machu Pichu at sunrise
• honeymoon in South Africa on a luxury safari and visit the gorillas in East Africa
• visit and learn the incredible story of the Taj Mahalo
• see Cappodacio from a hot air balloon ride 
• trekking in the himalayas (roll on Chinese New Year 2014!)
• go back to where I was born in the Philippines
• explore Petra and gain a better understanding of the Middle East and Arab culture
• marvel at the pyramids in Egypt 

- cairo -

- maldives -

- agra -

- cappadocia - 

- petra -

- beijing -

- niseko -

- ios -

- istanbul -

- whitsundays -

- mexico -

- tangalooma -

- jordan -

- morocco -

- new york -

- amsterdam -

I could go on for days....Jerusalem, Antarctica, Saudi Arabia, Rio for Carnivale, Sri Lanka, Croatia sailing week, Moscow at Christmas time...but these are my top 10 that first come to mind.

I wonder how similar most people's bucket lists are?

How many of us actually get to cross them all off?

Perhaps for some people, exploring the world from the comfort of their couch on the Discovery channel suffices. For others, their priorities don't allow them the time or funds to travel. Whilst the majority aren't as fortunate to carry a passport which allows them to cross borders. 

Consider yourself lucky if you do hold that passport to unlock this world of travel. And hopefully one day, like me, you'll be able to cross everything off that list one by one.