Wednesday, 20 February 2013

There may be a hole in my bucket

Has anyone seen the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? That movie instilled in me a need to do some of the things I have always wanted to do with my life. In fact, after that movie came out is when I started to mentally tick things off in my head as I got them done: Edinburgh, check! London, check! Paris, check! etc etc. However, despite the fact that this movie came out a long time ago, I've never gotten around to actually doing a bucket list.

I started writing down things just in the last couple of weeks but I've come to the conclusion that I have so many items and, consequently, they will dint a hole if I put them all in just one bucket.

So instead, I made a Korea bucket list (see photo). I only actually wrote these down this week in this design and as you can see by the smiley face some are done already. That was on purpose. I need a little bit of encouragement and noting that a few things are done on my list already is a great incentive. I have 30 things on this list and I hope that I will add some more before too long. (NB-the things that are done already would have been on my list regardless!)

Incidentally, whilst my overall life bucket list isn't even started some things that would have been on it are: sleep in a bed on a train (I got to do this in Vietnam), eat streetfood in every Asian country that I visit (check for Korea and Vietnam), live in a country where I don't speak the language (check for Korea), visit one of the 7 natural wonders of the world (Ha Long Bay, thank you!), go on the Orient express (or at least part of it!) and visit the Pyramids in Egypt (that has been a dream going on 15 or so years so hopefully one day!). Another bucket list item is to visit as many countries as possible in a qualitative sense rather than quantative. Wherever I go, I want to experience as much as possible of the history, culture and food. So, that doesn't mean I can visit 5 countries in 1 week!

I've been reading a lot of online bucket lists and I have noticed that like mine, they tend to be a mix of dreams, aspirations and things that one can definitely do. For the bucket list I have for Korea, I would say my biggest dream/aspiration is to visit 4 other Asian countries, go to Jeju Island and do the Hot Air Balloon Ride. The ones that I can definitely do: visit all 5 palaces and eat the dakgalbi in Chuncheon as well as the more mundane (but no less important to me) such as kite flying, snowman building and learning Korean.

So, you might think I'm mad to have decided to do a bucket list that is really only aimed at Korea. So, you might think I'm mad to limit myself to only 4 Asian countries when the world is my oyster. You might be right.

However, I am LIVING in Korea and I would like to know that when I come back to Ireland that if people asked me what Korea is like I would be able to tell them something of the culture, the history, the food. That when I go back I would be able to tell people that such and such sight in Korea is amazing and you don't want to miss it even if it isn't in any guide book! I would like to be able to go home and say to people that I learned something about each place I visited's culture and history. I don't want to spend my time whirling around from place to place and coming away exhausted, confused and not remembering whether something was in Vietnam, Japan or China!

PS. This post was inspired by the song "There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza"  and the movie The Bucket List.
PPS. Please note that 11 in the photo only has 3 countries listed (Vietnam, Thailand and Laos) out of the 4  because I've yet to decide what other country I would like to visit.

PPS I can knock Busan off my list and taking the KTX...however, I do want to take the KTX whilst awake - passed out on my way home from Busan.

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