Bali

A while back, I wrote a post about my (greatly abbreviated) top ten country bucket list. It was intended to be an exploration of my travel dreams, as well as a way to prioritize the places I most want to see (since I always have more travel dreams than time or money, making a list of my top travel goals makes sense, right? I’m nothing if not organized. Seriously, to an insane degree. It’s rather scary.)

Recently I started thinking about this list and thought it would be fun to check back and see how I’m doing with my list of must-sees: how many have I made a reality, how many are trips-in-progress, and how many remain tantalizing future travel goals? I love accountability, almost as much as I love to cross things off of lists, so here goes:

Melissa’s (Updated) Bucket List

View of a mist-covered mountain outside Nairobi

10) East Africa

Done and done (and soon to be done again!) Last year I visited Kenya and Uganda for a work trip, and I’ll be going back soon to explore more of Kenya (details pending). I can’t wait to revisit this beautiful corner of the world and dig a bit deeper into what it has to offer.

9) Brazil

Still haven’t been, but it remains high on my list, especially after friends have raved about it so much lately. I would love to make this a winter (aka their summer) trip one of these years—maybe in combination with Chile, another place in South America I’m longing to see….

8) Costa Rica

I seriously thought about taking a trip there this spring, but it didn’t quite pan out. I have looked into doing a yoga retreat in Costa Rica and really want to make that happen one day (two bucket list goals achieved on one trip; I love it!)

7) India

I was literally just talking yesterday with a friend who had spent lots of time in India and loved it. It remains high on my list, but I want to visit when I can do an extended tour through the country (both north and south, hopefully) and really get to delve into its magic. This trip may not happen in the foreseeable future, but it will happen!

6) New Zealand

No details yet, but I’m making a determined effort to visit this magical land within the next year (gauntlet thrown down, now I must commit!) Seriously, few places rank higher on my must-see-asap list than NZ, and I’m very hopeful a 2018 trip is in the cards. Stay tuned!

5) Australia

Well, of course you can’t mention New Zealand without bringing up Australia, right? Because they are SO close and both look SO AMAZING, I would really love to do a trip that combines both—if I manage to carve out a month or so in my schedule that would be possible, but otherwise, I’m afraid Oz may have to wait in line behind New Zealand (I guess I should officially bump it down behind NZ on my bucket list, right?) But I’m determined to make it to Australia in the not-too-distant future as well.

4) Vietnam

SO. CLOSE. A few months ago I was booked to go back to Cambodia for a work trip, and I had added on a few vacation days in Hanoi to check out the city and visit Ha Long Bay. Unfortunately, the plug was pulled on my work trip, so Vietnam was postponed as well…for now. I still hope to make it back to Southeast Asia later this year or early next, though it’s not totally within control due to the work factors. But one thing is certain: when I return to Asia, I will get to Vietnam at last.

View of Soca river in Slovenia.

3) Slovenia

Check another one off the list—I finally made my decade-long travel dream come true and visited Slovenia last summer, and ever since I’ve been recommending that everyone drop whatever they’re doing and head over there. What a beautiful and fascinating country!

2) Bali

Oh, Bali…how you tempt and vex me. I was determined to finally make this dream trip a reality for my milestone birthday last December. But, with all the traveling I’d done that year, and the relatively limited vacation time I had to work with, I decided it made more sense to postpone until I had a chance to do it properly, ie spend a few weeks in Indonesia and really get the opportunity to soak up Bali. After all, a 20-hour plane ride is nothing to scoff at, and if you’re going all that way you need to make your time there worthwhile, right? I don’t want to give Bali short shrift when I feel it deserves so much more, so I’m holding off until I can do it right (what a dangerous notion that is, really….) Anyway, I will make Bali happen. For sure. One of these days. Sigh….

`1) Russia/China/Mongolia and the Trans-Siberian Express

Big news here: I’M FINALLY GOING TO RUSSIA!!!

No, not the Trans-Siberian Express (that will happen eventually though!) but St. Petersburg. My friend and I have booked a cruise through Scandinavia (covering Berlin, Tallin, Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen), with a full two-day stop in St. Petersburg. So after two decades of dreaming about it, I’m finally going to Russia in August—just four months away!! Cue massive excitement, guidebook purchases, and earnest efforts to finally make it through Crime and Punishment this time….

So, that’s the status of my bucket list. Two countries checked off, three more in progress, and five dreams waiting to be fulfilled in the future….I guess that’s not terrible, right? Slow and steady wins the race, and even if getting to every corner of the world my heart desires may take longer than I’d like, I have no doubt that in the end, it will be well worth it.

Do you have a bucket list? How are you doing at fulfilling your travel dreams?

Happy Sunday! I’m sitting at my computer typing while watching the first real snowfall of the season fall softly outside my window. It’s a picture-postcard kind of afternoon (even if the snow is pretty minimal, which I don’t mind as I have plans later on today I’d like to be able to keep!) Anyway, it feels like a perfect setting for contemplation and looking ahead to what’s in store in the new year.

And for me, as always, that means travel—hopefully lots of it!

I’m still firming up my 2016 travel plans, but I’m excited to be able to share at least the broad strokes of what I hope to see and do this year. Here’s my travel plan/wishlist, so far….

The Places I’ll Go in 2016

The Big Trips

Guatemala: My first trip is one I’ve already shared on this blog: I’m going to Guatemala next month! It’ll be my first visit to the country, and I’ll be spending most of my time around the stunning-looking Late Atitlan, with a brief stopover to check out Antigua as well. I can’t wait!

Central Europe and the Balkans: I lived in Europe for two years, and every time I’m there, I realize how much I miss it and how much I need to go back for an extended period to see new places and revisit old ones. So this summer, I’m planning a European vacation. The main focus of my trip will be Slovenia, which I’ve wanted to visit for as long as I can recall, as well as a quick pop into next-door-neighbor Croatia to see Zagreb and the Plitvice waterfalls. I’m also planning to spend a few days in London to see my family there and get reacquainted with one of my favorite cities, where I was lucky enough to live for a year during graduate school. But of course, once you’re in Europe it’s incredibly tempting to tack more onto your visit, since everything is so close (relative to America anyway) and Easyjet can hop you around the continent for next to nothing. So I’m seriously considering extending my trip a few days and taking in another city in a new country: Riga? Estonia? Belgrade? Suggestions welcome!

Bali: This is the really big trip I’ve been dreaming about for ages and am determined to make happen this year. I have a milestone birthday coming up in December, which I firmly believe calls for an epic voyage. So I’m going to spend a week or so in Bali, chilling out on beaches, exploring green rice paddies, taking yoga classes, getting endless massages, and eating all the food. Sounds like a perfect transition into the next phase of my life!

The Smaller Adventures

New Orleans: Recently I was catching up with a friend who lives in another part of the country and we were tossing around ideas for a girlfriends’ getaway. My idea—New Orleans! I’ve wanted to visit for ages, it’s a fairly quick flight and can be done in a weekend (the highlights at least), and I’ve heard nothing but good things from everyone who’s been there about how magical the city is. Great food and jazz around every corner; how can we go wrong?

Portland, Oregon: Another city that’s been on my US list for quite a while. My best friend and I have a tradition of meeting up every year for a reunion weekend, either at my place in DC or hers in Connecticut. She really loves Portland and has spent loads of time there, so I suggested we shake things up and move our weekend plans out to the West Coast this fall. Not sure if it will happen this year or not, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Going Home: While my home now is the DC area, I’ve made plans already to visit my parents in Florida several times this year, and also want to do a trip back to Connecticut to see old friends I haven’t caught up with in person in way too long. Time for an Amtrak road trip!

The Possibilities

This will hopefully be the year I finally fulfill one of my personal and professional goals: international work travel. I don’t know anything for sure yet, but there is a pretty good chance I’ll get to visit some fairly exotic destinations for my job this year—including potentially East Africa. If so, I’ll definitely make sure to tack on a few vacation days to be able to take in a part of the world I’ve never been to and have long wanted to experience. More to come on this as things develop, but I’m excited by the idea of exploring some completely new-to-me corners of the planet.

Been to any of these places? Suggestions to offer? What exciting places will you go in 2016?

How’s That Bucket List Coming? An Update on My Travels

Oh, the Places I’ll Go! (In 2016)