Uganda

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

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?

Africa, Asia, Bali, Eastern/Central Europe, Kenya, Russia, Slovenia, Travel Musings, Uganda

Apr

2017

Where I’m Going in 2017 (And Why We Should All Go Somewhere New This Year)

Melissa Kaplan0

Plitvice waterfalls, Croatia

A few weeks ago, a friend posted on Facebook that she had just applied for her first passport. I smiled; it was the first piece of good news I’d read on social media in what seemed like ages. It’s not just the prospect of the new journeys and discoveries that lie ahead of her that excites me. It’s the fact that she, along with many other people, is making the decision to explore the world beyond America’s borders for the first time. And that type of exploration has never been more important.

Our world today is in the midst of a rising tide of xenophobia, bigotry, and sadly, outright hate towards those who are different from us. If we want to avoid getting swept away by this tide, we need to recognize that the source of much of these feelings is actually fear. It’s easy to be afraid of the unknown. For many people who’ve never traveled outside of their country, who’ve never met anyone from another part of the world, who’ve never spent time in a foreign land to learn about a new place, its culture and its history, it can seem that the world is a terrifying place filled with bad people who are all out to get us.

But that’s simply not true. I’ve visited 35 countries and five continents so far (often solo), and I’ve had amazing experiences and met wonderful people in every single one. And I can honestly say in all my wanderings, I’ve never had a moment when I’ve felt truly afraid.

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Bigotry thrives on ignorance. Hatred and xenophobia feed off of fear. The way to combat these demons is to throw ourselves out into the world and discover all that is has to offer, and connect with new people we never would meet otherwise whose perspective, values, and life experiences may differ from ours, but who are ultimately like us–just people doing the best they can to live a good life for themselves and their families.

The two most life-changing trips I’ve ever taken both happened last year, in Cambodia and Uganda. In Cambodia, I met people who had suffered enormously from a war my history books had barely even mentioned (and believe me, I’ve read a lot of history). In Uganda, I visited a center where refugees fleeing violence and local people confronting poverty unimaginable to most Americans were receiving food, medical treatment, and above all, hope. It’s hard to see things like this and not look at the world differently afterward. And I believe that, while travel has enormous value simply as a fun adventure and break from day-to-day life, the most rewarding trips are the ones that immerse you, however briefly, in a totally different environment, like the ones I got a chance to see in Cambodia and Uganda. An experience like this is the best antidote I know to hatred, intolerance and fear.

So, let 2017 be your year to travel and explore the world. If you’ve been thinking about getting a passport, or booking a trip somewhere new, or venturing outside your comfort zone in general, now is the perfect time. May 2017 be your Year of Travel!

Of course, it’s always my Year of Travel around here, and so I wanted to share my trip plans for the next few months…they’re still evolving, but I’ve got some great stuff lined up and I’m so excited to hit the road again. Bring it!

Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Melissa’s 2017 Travel Plans (So Far)

Cambodia and Vietnam: I visited Cambodia last year on a work trip and loved it. This year, work is sending me back again, and I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to add on a few days in Vietnam. I’m hoping to spend a weekend in Hanoi and do a cruise on Ha Long Bay; just enough time to get a taste of this fascinating country. I should be there in late March through early April, and I can’t wait!
East Africa: Another work-related trip to Kenya and Uganda, which I also visited last year. I won’t have much time to do non-work stuff on this trip, but I do hope to get in another breathtaking sunrise walk on the plains to spot some giraffes and other magnificent wildlife, at the very least.
Scandinavia and Russia: I’ve been dying to go to Russia for two decades now, and I’m determined that this is the year it will happen. I’m not sure exactly how this trip will play out though. I’m considering basing myself in Helsinki (which seems to be every travel blogger’s favorite Nordic city lately), exploring a bit of the Finnish countryside, day-tripping to Tallin in Estonia, and then finishing up with a few days in St. Petersburg. Another option is to take a Scandinavia/Russia/Baltics cruise, hitting all of these same cities and also Berlin, Stockholm, and Copenhagen (the only one I’ve been to before). I’m torn between my desire to spend more time on the ground and get to know Finland better and my love of cruises (don’t judge) plus the opportunity to see more places, with less logistical hassle, albeit at a more hurried pace. Not a bad dilemma to have though, right? This will be my big vacation trip of the year, so I want to do it right…details to come as I sort it all out.
Paris: Nothing definite yet but there’s a decent chance I may have a work meeting in Paris again this year, and if so, this time I’m definitely tacking on at least one vacation day. I can never get enough of Paris (and definitely not of Angelina’s hot chocolate!)
New Orleans: My best friend and I traveled to Portland, Oregon together last fall, and we’ve tossed around the idea of doing another fall trip to New Orleans (she’s been before, I haven’t). It’s long been near the top of my list of American cities to visit, and would fulfill one of my travel resolutions to keep exploring my own country, so I hope we can make it happen!

Do you have any exciting travel plans for the new year? Already taken an amazing trip? Share!

Africa, Asia, Cambodia, Kenya, Russia, Travel Musings, Uganda

Feb

2017

My Best Travel Moments of 2016

Melissa Kaplan0

It’s that time of year again! Time for holiday celebrations, festive lights, lots and lots of hot chocolate (not that I ever need an excuse, really), and of course, end-of-the-year roundup blog posts.

Honestly, when I look back on my travels over the past year, I’m still pretty astounded I got to see and do so much. I had travel goals and dreams at the beginning of the year, but what I actually was able to see and do and experience blew them out of the water. This was an incredible year for me, and I’m so grateful for every single new place I visited, every new adventure I embarked on, and above all, the people I met around the globe who reaffirmed my hope that, fundamentally, the world is full of good and decent men and women who just want to live the best lives that they can.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

This was the year I visited Cambodia for the first time, and was blown away by this majestic country. It’s the year I made it to East Africa, experiencing a taste of safari in Kenya and learning about the history and contemporary life of Uganda. It’s the year that finally saw me accomplish my decade-long goal of visiting Slovenia and northern Croatia for the very first time. I traveled to Portland with my best friend and had a great time in this fun, funky, donut-and-ice cream-laden city. I visited my family in England and got reacquainted with one of my all-time favorite cities, London. And oh yes, I made it back to Paris and it was every bit as delightful as I remembered.

What an amazing year. I’m so thankful I got to experience every moment of it.

View of Soca river…can you believe that water color is real?!

As December draws to a close, I thought I’d do a quick roundup of some of my favorite moments/experiences over the past twelve months. Read on for my favorites around the globe in 2016:

Best Massage: Bliss Spa, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. An hour and a half of heavenly pampering for only $30. Can’t wait to go back!
Best Hot Chocolate: Les Deux Magots, Paris. I sneaked in for an hour with a French newspaper and a chocolate chaud after a long day of work meetings, and it remains one of my favorite memories of Paris.
Best Sunrise: Across the magical vista of my lodge near Nairobi, Kenya. Watching the sun rise over East Africa at 6 am—and thinking how far I’d come to be able to experience that moment—made the early morning wake-up call totally worthwhile.
Best Meal: Paris again—Le Relais D’Entrecote. I’d remembered this fantastique steak-and-frites legend from an earlier visit but couldn’t find it on a map or in my guidebook…then I stumbled across it by pure chance while wandering around the neighborhood. Fate! And it was every bit as delicious as I remembered. That steak is reason enough to visit Paris.
Best Body of Water: As beautiful as the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia are, I have to give the edge to the Soca River in Slovenia. This ribbon of turquoise snaking through the beautiful Slovenian countryside is a marvel. I remember just sitting and staring at it during a break in my busy day-trip from Lake Bled, wishing I could gaze at it forever and never leave.
Best Museum: Also in Slovenia—the Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia in Ljubljana is a bit out of the way from the city center, but it’s very impressive and does a great job of telling the powerful, inspiring story of the country’s journey from Yugoslavia to independence to European Union membership over the past 25 years. It’s a must-see if you’re going to be in the capital.
Best Bookstore: This is an easy one (even though I got to revisit some of my favorites in London this year). I fell in love with the legendary Powell Books in Portland, Oregon when I visited this fall. SO many titles I wanted to take home, but I limited myself to three, and I still have two of them sitting on my nightstand that I can’t wait to crack open. This place is huge, diverse, and heaven for book lovers!
Best New City: While I enjoyed Phnom Penh a lot, and found Zagreb really charming, my hands-down favorite new city from the past year is Ljubljana. The capital of Slovenia is a gorgeous mélange of pastels set on a river and filled with beautiful architecture, excellent restaurants, and too many charming cafes to explore during my all-too-brief time there. I need to go back and revisit this delightful city soon—it made me so happy and I honestly didn’t want to leave!
Best New Country: Cambodia wasn’t even on my radar a year ago except in the vaguest way, but when a work trip sent me there for two weeks, I was thrilled to get a chance to check it out. It honestly was one of the most significant trips I’ve ever taken in my life. Not only is it an incredibly beautiful country with charming cities and impressive ruins to explore (hello, Angkor Wat!), it was filled with some of the kindest, most interesting people I’ve ever met, and I was inspired and humbled by how the country has worked to move forward after the horrors of its not-too-distant past. Cambodia is vibrant, fascinating, easy to explore even solo, and very affordable. It’s now one of my top country recommendations for all travelers. Cambodia, I’m so glad I got to know you a bit in 2016, and I hope to see you again soon.

What were your favorite 2016 travel experiences? What are your plans for 2017?

Africa, Asia, Cambodia, Croatia, Eastern/Central Europe, France, Kenya, London, Portland, Slovenia, Travel Musings, Uganda

Dec

2016

Riding the Wave to East Africa

Melissa Kaplan0

A few months ago, I was chatting with my mom one evening and reflecting how, after several rather tumultuous years, everything in my life seemed to be coming together. Work was good; family was healthy; I was feeling a newfound zest for life and, last but not least, I was getting to travel to places I’d once only dreamed of. But even as I contemplated this happy turn of events, I couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. As I confided in my mom, I always fall prey to that most human of frailties: the belief that, if things are going really well, it won’t last. What would come along to burst my happy bubble? What new threat might lurk around the corner? When would everything come crashing down around me?

I was trying to figure out how to deal with these fears in the back of my mind, to be able to enjoy my present life without being overly anxious about the future. My mom, as she always does, stepped up with some very sage advice: “Honey, just ride the wave.”

In other words, don’t look back to the past with dread or to the future with uncertainty about what it will bring. Just be here, in the moment, take it all in, and be happy.

So, I’ve been doing my best to take my mom’s advice. And now, as I set off from home again, I’m excited to announce yet another piece of good fortune this year, in the form of yet another travel adventure….

I’m going to East Africa!

Melissa’s East Africa Itinerary (with a stop on the way home…)

So, where will I be going and what will I be doing? Well, mostly working as this is a business trip, but I’m still hopeful of squeezing in some fun, travel-oriented experiences along the way…read on for details!

I leave tomorrow for Nairobi, the first stop on the trip, where I’ll be spending five days—mostly in conferences for work (which I’m excited about, as I’ll be meeting colleagues from all over the world for the first time), but I do have a full day free before I leave Kenya so I’m hoping to get to do a half-day mini-safari at a game park just outside the city. Also, on our meeting agendas, the planners have thoughtfully included an optional excursion “to see giraffes”—what’s cooler than that to kick off a workday at 6 am? The answer, obviously, is nothing!

My next stop is Uganda, where I will spend a week working, mostly in Kampala but also including a visit to the surrounding countryside. I don’t have much more detail than that yet, but I’m very excited to see even a little of this impressive-looking country (Winston Churchill once called it “The Pearl of Africa”!)

Finally, I’m wrapping up two weeks of work travel with possibly the best stopover ever: I’ll be spending three days in Paris! Again, it will mostly be meetings, but I have nearly an entire Sunday free when I arrive and, come hell or high water, I’m determined to fight off any fatigue from lack of sleep after a nine-hour night flight and get into the city to spend a little time at the Louvre (I’ve been once, but for an embarrassingly brief amount of time—I want to go back!), the Jardin des Tuilleries, and of course, the greatest draw for me in Paris: Café Angelina, home to the world’s most scrumptious hot chocolate. I’m already anticipating the happiness the visit to this chocolate shrine is going to bring me…I wish I could bring some of that divine chocolate back for every single friend, family member, and reader of this blog!

The Louvre in Paris

So, off to East Africa (and Paris) I go. And I’m pretty much leaving the experience unplanned, for things to fall into place as they may. I hope to see some wild animals in their natural habitat, discover a few hidden gems in Nairobi, and soak in the beauty of the African countryside I’ve only glimpsed in photos before. It will be quite an adventure, I’m sure…and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it and, as Mom wisely suggested, just ride the wave.

Have you been to Kenya or Uganda? Any suggestions for me? Any great recommendations for Nairobi in particular (I’m still researching!) Follow along with me on twitter (@perpetualvoyage) where I’ll try to tweet as I go, wifi permitting!

Africa, France, Kenya, Uganda

Jun

2016