I don’t want to lecture anyone about having a list but was flicking through Lonely Planet Traveller  – One Planet 100 Experiences Guide (in association with British Airways) and it got me thinking about ‘bucket lists’ ‘the travel list’ ‘places I want to go list’ and realise that for many travel is not all about ticking countries or places off a list it’s more about the experiences and the memory making and this old traveller still wants to memory make big time.

…………but these kind of books are great for inspiration …..and it reminded me that I still have many places left that I want to see. This guide is exactly as it says on the tin a list of experiences. Oh I have been lucky enough to have seen many of the places mentioned but not necessarily experienced the ……well experiences suggested.

I have

• admired Hong Kong aboard the Star Ferry
• joined the fun in the Jemaa el fna Square in Marrakech.
• taken a sailing trip down the Nile.
• ascended the world’s tallest building in Dubai
• haggled in a bazaar in Istanbul!
• explored the temples of Angkor Wat

and the book has given me some new ideas….not that I need any more but I do welcome suggestions! and in no particular order I want to

• learn to tango in Buenos Aires
• balloon over Bagan
• walk into the clouds in Costa Rica
• explore Kerala’s backwaters
• get up close to a polar bear
• take a long boat to a Thai island
• step into a Chinese painting
• pose on Rio’s Ipanema Beach
• spot tigers in the Indian jungle

I don’t actually think I will be seeing polar bears or tigers any time soon as they need all the help they can get to maintain their habitat and groups of travellers intruding does not help their case. However maybe you can add to my ‘non existent’ list what experience shouldn’t I miss?

So thank you Lonely Planet and British Airways for making me make that list if only in my head….may the first get longer and the second shorter!