Winston
Churchill
Three
years ago, I became very curious about bucket lists. I found that the biggest
motivation behind a bucket list is a desire to shake up a routine and live a
regret-free life. I also found that a bucket list usually covers the following
main areas: places to visit, goals to achieve, experiences to live and skills
to master. In other words, the bucket list should be the ultimate list of all
your lists. It should uplift you.
Inspired,
I decided to write my own “Bucket List before 50”. I collected different ideas
for my list. Research is not my forte, so the list was very generic. I shared
the list with my husband and my friend in Toronto, but never converted it into
a real list of “50 before 50”. There were 38 items on that list: 10 were
related to travel and 28 to experiences. They were not even my items, but
random ideas from internet.
A month
ago, I was going through my email folders and came across this long forgotten
list. Of course, some items on the list, like “Drink champagne at the top of
the Eiffel Tower” (I imagined that this would not happen at the Bar à
Champagne, but that the sky would rain champagne right into my flute), “Go
skinny dipping with girlfriends” (not sure when this will happen as some of my
girlfriends are afraid to even pee in the sea), “See the northern lights” (I
live in British Columbia, Canada, so I don't even need to travel to Norway or
Finland to see the Aurora Borealis) or “Stomp on grapes in a vineyard” (once
again, I can stomp here in British Columbia, I just need to visit our great
vineyards in the Okanagan) have not happened. At the same time, I was surprised
to see that many items have actually happened, not exactly as they were
written, but very close. I will not go through the full list, but here are some
of my favourites. Reminder: I am a “glass half-full” person.
1. “Dance
in the rain”
I want to
write here that I was dancing and singing in the rain like Gene Kelly “I'm
singing in the rain, Just singing in the rain...”, but that would be not true.
What I did in 2015 was not dancing in the rain, but swimming in the tropical
rain. Not once, but twice, during our trip to Thailand.
The first
time it happened in Koh Samui, the island of coconuts and beaches. I was there
with my two sons, as my husband had left to Siem Reap (Cambodia) to explore
Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. It was early afternoon
on our second day in Koh Samui, when the rain started. My younger son and I
were in the sea. Every hotel guest collected their belongings and ran to their
villas. The beach was abandoned. The sea was quiet. The rain was strong and
warm. We were so amazed by the power of the nature that we could not leave the
sea. The contrast of the underwater and overwater experiences was
unforgettable. The world under water was peaceful and quiet. The world over
water was disturbing and dynamic. We wanted the rain to last forever.
The
second time it happened in Railay, the small peninsula in Krabi separated from
the mainland by magnificent limestone formations (the only way to get there is
by a long tail boat and the only way to get around there is to walk). It was
late evening of our last day in Railay. My two sons and I were still at the
beach. Suddenly it was a full-on tropical storm. The scenery was terrifyingly
beautiful: dark clouds, lightning on the horizon, naughty waves, explosions of
thunder and heavy rain. Just as in Koh Samui, all the hotel guests ran back to
their rooms and only the “Russian” guests (my sons and I) run into the sea. We
enjoyed every drop and every wave. We screamed with joy so loud that two young
German guys joined us in the sea. The experience was liberating. It was our
dance in the rain.
2. “Win
an award”
In
December 2015, I really won an award. I went to our department holiday party to
support my colleague who was getting an award. It was a surprise for her. We
cheerfully chatted with our colleagues, enjoyed wine and food. Soon the
department head got on the microphone and announced the award ceremony. I kept
my eyes on my colleague, as I did not want to miss her reaction. When I heard
my name, I first froze and then almost jumped with a joy. I had no idea that I
was getting the award. It felt good. It felt rewarding.
3. “Use a
waterfall as a shower”
It was
not a romantic shower with a random hot guy (or with my husband) in the early
sunshine or at night under the stars in the middle of a tropical rainforest. It
was a refreshing shower at the Wang Sao Thong Waterfall, a very-very-very small
waterfall with a small natural pool and a breathtaking view of the mountains.
The walk there was not easy as the path was tricky and unpredictable. In some
areas, we would climb up holding the ropes and wearing Crocs shoes was not
helpful at all. After twenty minutes I was hot (not as hot as the random hot
guy), sweaty and red-faced. I definitely did not need any guys around. The
shower under the smallest waterfall in the world made me feel alive again. I
remembered a small waterfall in a small pool in our villa and made a mental
note to recreate the romantic shower with the imaginary random hot guy there.
4. “Go
white water rafting”
It was
not white water rafting at all. It was the ultimate thrill swim with the whale
sharks in the choppy water off the coast of Isla Holbox, where the Gulf of
Mexico and the Caribbean Sea merge. When I signed up for the swim, I thought it
would be a leisurely swim in the open water. What I did not know is that it
would be a challenging and competitive activity in the open water. First, I needed
to jump in the water on command from the speedboat captain. He looked like a
real pirate of the XXI century. I cannot be easily intimidated, but I would
probably jump in the water with real sharks on his command (not the first one,
but on the third for sure). Then I needed to do a speedy swim in a snorkeling
gear towards the whale shark chosen by our pirate-looking captain. I cannot
breathe freely with my mouth, so snorkeling is not always a smooth experience
for me. I decided not to risk my swim and asked our cute tour guide to jump
with me and another woman and hold my hand during the swim. After that, I
needed to make a 180 degree turn with an “Olympic” speed when we saw the
massive mouth (approximately 1 meter) open like in an eternal howl.
Finally,
I needed to do another speedy swim along the whale shark (they are slow-moving
creatures, but they are 6-10 meters long). I did it all, with the help of the
cute tour guide. Choppy open water, speedboat, pirate-looking captain and
enormous creatures with their massive mouths - it was nothing like white water
rafting. It was racing with the shark whales.
Just
telling you these stories makes me crave new travels. I will definitely make my
real bucket list this summer. Moreover, I encourage you to write down your own
list of dreams, desires and whims to pursue adventures, new experiences and
fun.
PS. This
morning I learned about an amazing project “Life List” by Danny Dover. He
should complete the entire list of his 150+ item by May 25, 2017. Danny also
posts a monthly LIfe List, an assortment of free and easy activities that you
can do right away.
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