Intentional Travel: Adding Value to the Bucket List

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My first reaction to pandemic lockdowns was to obsessively plan future trips. After months of planning several new adventures, it became apparent that there is just too much to do on this Earth and, most likely, not enough time to do it all. I might need to prioritize, to focus on intentional travel, if I want to ensure that I get to the destinations that are most important to me. Sure, 2020 might have been a torturous bout of travel deprivation for the travel obsessed, but it also turned out to be a time for revelation. Mainly, this: there is no better time to kick my old “bucket list” to the curb.

New Perspectives

As the world shut down in 2020, I became shockingly aware of just how important travel is for my emotional state and mental health. I imagine I was in the same position as many others who love to travel.

Sure, I know that during all of this, some people continued to travel where it was allowed, regardless of the potential to increase transmission in those areas. I’ve basically been the extreme-hermitting opposite of that.

I’m currently contemplating if hermitting should have one or two t’s. I realize “hermitting” isn’t an actual word, but it absolutely should be.

Anyway, so suddenly I (and much of the world) am spending all hours of every day at home. I planned new trips. Travel podcasts, which I had never listened to before, are now a part of my daily routine. I became a birdcentric travel blogger, which I’m pretty sure is a niche that didn’t need to be filled. Like many others out there, I missed travel in an obsessive, “pleeeeease, don’t take away my favorite toy” sort of way.

But now people are getting vaccinated, and there’s some suggestion that travel might be a remote possibility in the near(ish) future. There’s some reason to at least be mildly optimistic!

Uneasily Influenced

And yet the possibility of traveling again is somehow causing anxiety and angst. What does traveling again even look like??? No idea, probably will be a bit scary though. Will I let fear stop me from travelling? Definitely no. Will I urgently travel to the first possible place out of sheer desperation? Ah, that’s a good question!

Don’t get me wrong. I desperately want to travel. I need my vaccication just like everyone else! But I also realize that I am consumed by impatience. A whole year has passed inside this house! I don’t care where, just let me go; I want to be freeeeeeee. But a sinking feeling in my soul tells me that any ol’ place just isn’t good enough…

Lady, you have leave balances to think about. You ain’t “free”. Let’s not entertain delusions, mmkay?.

So, I’m feeling self-doubt about traveling again. Maybe a random destination isn’t appealing simply because American tourists are allowed. Should it be? Should desperation be given the power to overwhelm reason, finances, and the all-powerful leave balance? Maybe not entirely. Although travel for the sake of travel can be inspirational, my non-retired mentality is to keep focus on the experiences that will be the most rewarding or meaningful.

Making a List

The current usage of “bucket list” might just be anything that sounds fun – things you want to do this summer, or this year, or in your 20s? It may be a reference people make in conversation more than an actual list of life goals. But that’s not terribly useful for me. I want to remind myself of the things I genuinely want to do most.

Recently, I heard someone refer to an ASAP list, rather than a Bucket List. Things to do As Soon As Possible. It’s not the most elegant rebranding, but I’m struggling to coin a snazzier label. The point is, I want my “bucket list” to be travel motivation rather than a catch-all. If it is true that it is more often the things we don’t do that we regret most, these are the adventures that I would genuinely regret not taking.

(1) India

Thing to See: A Wild Tiger

This is and always has been the thing I would love to do most in this world. I’ve seen three big cats: (African) Lion, Jaguar, Leopard. I’ve also seen a Cheetah, but that’s not a member of the genus Panthera. All are very impressive, beautiful animals. The jaguar easily is my favorite cat observation, for reasons both good and bad. The only “big cats” I haven’t seen are the snow leopard and the tiger.

Uh, the snow leopard lives in cold places and was not a member of Panthera when I was in school. Darn you, taxonomists! I will re-consider revising my desire to see all the big cats once I develop a tolerance of the cold. (So, probably not.)

The tiger is the most massive of the cats, and I chose my career based solely on my fascination with this species – its habitats, its history, and the current struggles related to its conservation. It seemed like a different world, and I still long for a glimpse of it.

Also, India has some fantastic birds, too. So birding will also happen!

My trip to India was scheduled in January 2019 but was cancelled due to low registration. Then my trip to India in January 2021 was cancelled due to an ongoing pandemic, yes. So now my trip to India is scheduled for January 2022. Third time’s a charm?

(2) Southeast Asia – Cambodia and Singapore

Things to Visit: Singapore hawker centers; Tuol Sleng Museum in Phnom Pehn; Angkor Wat in Siam Reap

I really want to go to Singapore. It seems it would be easily navigated. There are some really great birds, and some great gardens to see them in – including one of only three gardens to be named a UNESCO world heritage site! And the food sounds both diverse and fantastic, so it appeals to me for just about every reason I love travel.

I love when travel is an education as well as an adventure. And Cambodia is a country that I knew woefully little about until far too recently. I knew that Angkor Wat was a destination, yes. But I want to go to Phnom Pehn, just as much as I want to visit Auschwitz in Poland. There’s a gap in my knowledge of world history, because my education certainly had an almost wholly European focus. This gap is something I should have done a better job addressing on my own. But it’s never too late to start, and this seems like an excellent place to learn.

(3) Switzerland

Thing to Do: Lodge-to-Lodge hiking along the Via Alpina

On my must-do list for a few years now, this is something I know I should do sooner rather than later! It seems like a hike filled with grand views similar to our Rocky Mountains, but dotted with mountain towns rather than being in designated wilderness. Flower-filled meadows and mountain views, with raclette in the evenings? Nice lodging to stay at between long hiking days? No tents?!

And after a few days of hiking, just hop on a train to visit Munich or Strasbourg and find other beautiful views and amazing food?

Sounds like heaven. And heaven definitely has cheese.

(4) Baltics Cruise

Things to Visit: The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia; Gdansk, Poland; Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark

This is a brand new obsession for me. I’ve never considered a cruise ship before. Not ever. But the itineraries for the Baltics just look appealing – so many old town centers to visit, a new country almost every day. Many companies focus on maximizing time at port and diversity of destinations, which sounds great. And the major appeal – European Russia, without the paperwork process for the visa. Sold!

And it turns out that some cruise companies actually don’t carry thousands of people, which makes the idea much more desirable. Individually, many destinations on the Baltic Sea wouldn’t rise to the top of my list, but collectively they hold a ton of allure. It seems like this might be the ideal “cruise” plan for me – using the boat as an easy way to hop around and get a quick feel for a destination. I’m game to try it!

(5) The Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)

Things to See: little finches, slightly less little than little finches but not as big as medium finches, medium finches, etc.

Really, there are Darwin’s finches!!! Which are actually in the tanager family, but that’s irrelevant to the point I’m making. There are BOOBIES of the blue feet. And lava gulls. And penguins.

But also sea lions. And giant tortoises. And marine iguanas. The wildlife photography is a dream, with critters that you can’t touch but that also aren’t afraid of you. I am ready for your close-up, Mr. Booby. And many species here are endemic only to these islands – or even very specific individual islands – so the wildlife experience here is genuinely unique to the Galapagos.

I’ve been to Ecuador, but not to these islands west of the coast. It’s not an inexpensive trip, but it’s one I should be taking; for me, it is a bucket list requirement. I’m almost ashamed that I haven’t already been to this naturalist’s mecca. God Bless You, Mr. Darwin.

(6) Japan

Things to Do: View cherry blossoms; Visit temples and shrines everywhere

For a smaller country, it’s so difficult to decide exactly what itinerary I’d like in Japan. I’d love to see Blakiston’s Fish Owl, a massive owl found only on Hokkaido (the north island).

Otherwise, the sights of the Tohoku and Kansai Regions have struck a chord. I’d love a (very early morning) visit to the bamboo forest at Arashiyama. The torii gates at Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine. Japan is just an intriguing interplay of dramatically modern meeting ancient sites and traditional customs. I want to ride the bullet trains and visit wooden palaces and also learn more about the combination of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs and practices, since so many recommended sites are either shrines or temples.

And I’d love to try an onsen or two. I might be a fan of relaxing in stupid-hot water and not thinking at all.

Note: I want to go to Japan despite not caring about seeing the many, many recommended monkey-centric attractions. Because no, monkeys. Just no.

(7) Central Europe

Things to Visit: Auschwitz Memorial (Poland), Prague, Budapest, and opera in Vienna

Here, the driving force is the chance to learn more about history, even when the lessons are tragic and difficult. The holocaust museum in Washington D.C. was an amazing experience, probably the best-curated museum I’ve ever seen. But I don’t think that’s the same as visiting a place and understanding the cultures, the history, and the impacts of the where. If that were enough, we’d all be satisfied with photos of Machu Picchu…

There’s a ton to see here, and it’s hard to decide what I’d like to see most. It’s most likely I’ll do a small group tour of this area to get a sampling of the sites and cultures, then return to areas that resonate with me. But I imagine there will be hiking in the High Tatras, birding anywhere feasible, and castles. And also great food, because I like desserts too much to refuse a torte or two in Vienna…

And, at some point, I would like to see Dresden. It’s supposed to be beautiful, yes, but I would really like to find Slaughterhouse Five, as well. Because literature references are everywhere!

(8) Australia

Thing to See: Cassowary and Duck-billed Platypus

Australia is such a long flight that I’ve always lumped it with New Zealand as a “retirement trip”. But with climate change, catastrophic wildfires, and habitat loss expected to negatively impact species like the platypus, I’m willing to re-evaluate that timeline. It’s just an interesting, unique species! It’s a monotreme – an egg-laying mammal! With the tail of a beaver but the face of a duck, seeing one of these fascinating animals would almost count as birding!!!

But for actual birding, the cassowary is just living proof that birds are dinosaurs, y’all. All of the cassowaries have some amount of blue on the face and a cranial ridge, with bulky black bodies. They’re flightless birds, smaller than emus but with more attitude and a crazy long talon that should make any sane person wary. The Southern Cassowary would be the bird to see in northeastern Australia, and it’s the more common of the three cassowary species. (I’d love to see them all, but the other two are found in parts of New Guinea – i.e., probably not this trip!)

Okay, this is a trip I can’t do for another 5 years, because I will start earning more leave then. Seriously, this full-time job thing is rough! Even a short birding trip to Australia will require 3 weeks, plus travel days. Although it doesn’t belong on the bottom of my list, I’m putting it down here as a nod to realism.

To Be Continued…

I know this isn’t a complete list. I’m sure I’m forgetting things that are very important to me. And it’s hard to capture some desires. I’m eyeing Bhutan in a way that might warrant addition to this list soon. And, well, I seem to want to see all of Africa. Same for South America, the birdiest of birdy places. And regardless of priority, I’ll probably go back to either continent well before I get to Australia!

Scheduling issues and leave balances and… well, life… always do seem to get in the way of our best laid plans, no?

But these are, for now, the travel experiences I want most. I will try to keep this updated, and I hope to use it as a reference. To remind myself that I shouldn’t let convenience, or even covid-deprived urgency, be a constant distraction from intentional travel.

I’d love to hear how others approach travel goals – whether on a big budget or a shoestring, domestic or foreign, birding or not! Do you have a bucket list? What are the types of travel experiences you’re seeking?