At the same time, it is also a little elitist to criticize the idea of the bucket list. While social media certainly exacerbate this image-obsessed travel culture, using imagery as travel inspiration is nothing new. And I suspect that many critics were quite well-traveled themselves and have been to just about every cliche destination on most lists. Who are we to say one should not have a wish to climb the Eiffel Tower or to fly on the hot air balloon over Cappadocia?

For me, a bucket list is merely an inspirational board for your travel planning. It should not be the be-all and end-all when it comes to travel. Rather than ticking off items from my bucket list, they are simply a jumping-off point in exploring more of the regional culture. Ironically, I do not necessarily have high expectations for many items on my own bucket list. Sometimes, the fame alone was enough to pique my interest, knowing full well that the reality may not live up to our expectations. Frankly, enjoying the cultural cliche is just part of the fun I came to enjoy in my travel!

Africa

• Visit Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. [Dec. 2023]

• Take a cruise on the Niles to Luxor.

• Abseiling the Maletsunyane Falls in Lesotho.

• Visit the volcanic peak of Pico Cão Grande in São Tomé and Príncipe.

• Check out the Angolan capital Luanda, the most expensive city to live in on this planet.

• Visit Stone Town of Zanzibar.

• Visit the Spanish exclave city of Melilla and Ceuta along the coast of Morocco.

• Walk down the Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar.

• Take a tour of the palace complex of Rova of Antananarivo.

• Visit the Tsingy De Bemaraha National Park in Madagascar.

• Walk the shores of the Island of Mozambique.

• Take a selfie outside of the Taiwanese Embassy to Eswatini in Mbabane.

• Visit the ghost town of Kolmanskop in Namibia.

• Take a few photos of Deadvlei (dead marsh) of Sossusvlei in the Namibian desert.

• Spend a day on the iconic beaches of La Digue in Seychelles.

• Spend a night in the old town of Ouarzazate and Aït Benhaddou. [Dec 2022]

Asia Pacific

• Admire the murals of Mogao Caves in Dunhuang.

• Climb the staircase to the Gate of Heaven for sunrise at Mount Tai.

• Visit one of the fake “European” cities in China.

• Spend a night at a Tulou of Fujian Province.

• Climb the Hengshan Hanging Temple.

• Do the plank walk along the cliff of Mount Hua.

• Visit the ancient city Pingyao in Shaanxi Province.

• Climb Adam’s Peak in central Sri Lanka. [Jan 2019]

• Ride the mountain railroad through the hill country of Sri Lanka. [Jan 2019]

• Spend a week in the mountain kingdom of Bhutan.

• Visit the Parliament Complex of Bangladesh in Dhaka.

• Get a haircut at a random street-side barber in India.

• Attend the India-Pakistan border ceremony at Wagah-Attari.

• Enjoy a communal meal of Langar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

• Stay at one of the ultra-luxurious hotels in Rajasthan.

• Visit the Capitol Complex of Punjab in Chandigarh. [Feb. 2012]

• Spend a few days along the bank of the Ganges in Varanasi.

• Attend Naadam, the national festival of Mongolia.

• Ride the ‘Stalin’s coffin’ in Chiatura. [Jun. 2018]

• Stay at the village of Ushguli in the Svaneti region of Georgia. [Jun. 2018]

• Hike the Kumano Kodō pilgrimage trail in the Kii Peninsula of Japan.

• Try an authentic Kaiseki meal in Kyoto. [Jun. 2024]

• Attend an official sumo wrestling event in a honbasho.

• Visit Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. [Nov. 2011]

• Visit the three principal holy sites in Jerusalem:

  • The Western Wall

  • Church of the Holy Sepulchre

  • Dome of the Rock

• Explore the ancient city of Sanaa.

• Visit Mada’in Saleh in Al Madinah.

• Experience the monsoon season in the Dhofar region of Oman.

• Attend the weekly livestock auction in the souq of Nizwa. [Jan. 2018]

• Take a swim in one of the many wadis of Oman. [Jan. 2018]

• Spend two weeks in Iran.

• Pet a baby wombat in Tasmania.

Europe

• Spend a week in Moldova and the breakaway region of Transnistria.

• Visit the massive statue of The Motherland Calls in Volgograd.

• Take the full Trans-Siberian Railroad journey from Moscow to Vladivostok.

• Take a tour of the Golden Ring of Russia near Moscow.

• See the embalmed body of Vladamir Lenin. [Oct. 2010]

• Attend the National Song & Dance Festival of all three Baltic countries:

  • Estonian Song & Dance Festival [Jul. 2019]

  • Latvian Song & Dance Festival

  • Lithuanian Song & Dance Festival

• Visit the NATO frontline in the border town of Narva.

• Spend a night on the Kihnu Island, the Isle of Women.

• Tour the printing shop of Marimekko in Helsinki.

• Visit the glass blowing factory in Iittala.

• Stay at an ice hotel and see the northern lights in Finnish Lapland.

• Cycle along the banks of Curonian Spit.

• Walk the historic section of Via Appia in Rome.

• Take a selfie outside of the Taiwanese Embassy to the Holy See in Rome. [Jun. 2006]

• Visit all “Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome”:

  • Saint Peter's Basilica [Jul. 2006]

  • Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

  • Basilica of Saint John Lateran [Jul. 2007]

  • Basilica of Saint Mary Major [Aug 2007]

  • Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls

  • Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem

  • Saint Sebastian Outside-the-Walls

• Attend the celebration of the National Day of Liechtenstein in Vaduz.

• Tour the facilities of Bauhaus in Dessau and Weimar

• Visit major works of Mies van der Rohe in Europe:

  • Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin

  • Villa Tugendhat, Brno [Jul. 2016]

  • Barcelona Pavilion, Barcelona

• Tour the Senedd Building, the parliament building of Wales, in Cardiff

• Sun on the beach of West Bay in Dorset.

• Climb the Tower of Hercules in A Coruña, Galicia.

• Walk at least three of the following routes of Camino de Santiago:

  • Camino Portugués [Sep. 2022]

  • Camino Le Puy

  • Camino Primitivo

  • Camino Frances

• Walk the entire length of the Hadrian’s Wall in England.

• Take a train into Santiago Caltrava’s Liège-Guillemins Railway Station in Liège.

• Visit four major works of Le Corbusier in France:

  • Colline Notre Dame du Haut, Romchamp

  • Villa Savoye, Paris

  • Unité d'Habitation, Marseille

  • Sainte Marie de La Tourette, Éveux

• Take a regularly scheduled helicopter taxi in the Faroe Islands.

• Collect passport stamps from micro-nations of Europe: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco & San Marino.

Americas

• Hike a section of the Appalachian Trail. [Jun. 2020]

• Attend a live oral argument of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington DC.

• Board a plane via a mobile lounge at Washington Dulles International Airport.

• Visit the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. [2010-08]

• Eat a burger at Louis' Lunch, the oldest hamburger restaurant in the world. [2009-10]

• Stay at one of the houses (with original interiors) designed by Frank Loyd Wright.

• Drive on at least part of the Denali Highway in Alaska.

• Attend the final competition of the Drum Corps International (DCI) championship in Indianapolis. [Aug. 2010]

• Visit Casa Estudio Luis Barragán in Mexico City. [Jan. 2022]

• Take a road trip from El Calafate to El Chaltén in Argentina.

• Go on a boat tour to the Perito Moreno Glacier.

• Explore the surreal landscape of Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia.

• Travel across La Paz on the aerial tramway of Mi Teleférico.

• Walk the famous W Route at Torres del Paine National Park.

• Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. [Jul. 2023]

• Go on a cruise around Patagonia.

Others

• Meet an American ambassador in his or her host country.

• Meet travel writer Rick Steves while in Europe.

• See an active volcano and lava flow up close. [Jul. 2021]

• Visit the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World”:

  • Great Wall of China

  • Machu Picchu [Jul. 2023]

  • Petra

  • Chichen Itza [Dec. 2020]

  • Giza Pyramids [Jan. 2024]

  • Taj Mahal

  • Colosseum [Jul. 2006]

  • Christ the Redeemer

• Fly first-class on an intercontinental flight with a 5-star airline.

• Fly on an Airbus A380 jumbo jet. [Sep. 2011]