Sight-seeing bucket list.

In My Humble Opinion
42

I’ve got oldish (nearly 71), and am definitely on the poor side (my own stupid fault for not acting more sensibly earlier in life). My “bucket list” has more or less shrunk to one item. Am British, and a keen railfan: have travelled fairly comprehensively over the railways with passenger services in the British Isles, except for some big gaps in my coverage of Scotland.

Have never travelled on the northernmost stretch of railway in Britain: from Inverness to the mainland’s effectively northernmost towns of any size: Thurso and Wick, about 100 miles north-east of Inverness as the crow flies, nearly twice that distance by rail (the rail route is very indirect). Reputedly: although not Scotland’s most magnificently mountainous region – a very interesting journey, scenic in its way, and traversing some large and wonderfully empty wilderness expanses. Am determined to do this journey, if I’m spared for another year or so; there are relatively affordable ways of accomplishing it. Am hoping to make it in midsummer next year – in those latitudes at that time of year, daylight lasts very long and the hours of darkness are few.

43

I just came down through that part of Scotland a couple of months ago, after a trip to Shetland and Orkney. We drove down along the east coast to Inverness, but the rail line was in sight much of the time. It is beautiful up there.

One rail bridge across a valley distinctly reminded me of the one in the Harry Potter movies (I don’t know if it actually was the same bridge, though).

44

If you’re adventurous go on a guided white water rafting trip on the New River. The mountains and river are beautiful, and some of the routes go under the bridge which is also spectacular. There are some really exciting rapids too, like drops of 8-10 feet. The trip I went on I think there were 7 of us in the boat with the guide in the back, we wore helmets and life vests, and a few people did fall out.

45

No – that bridge is over toward the west coast, on the wonderfully scenic line from Fort William to Mallaig (which I have travelled on a couple of times – it’s a superb run). Trivia department: said HP-associated structure, a curved viaduct, is an example of early use of reinforced concrete – a wonderful new state-of-the-art invention at the time of building circa 1900.

46

1 - Greece (yes, all of it) - Going this December to see at least a good part of it, Zeus permitting.
2- Rome (ditto) Probably will never go since I had to save for about 3 years to go to Greece, but who knows?
3 - All the rest of Europe (definitively impossible)
4 - The Pyramids.
5 - A total solar eclipse.

47

I’ve been very fortunate to have already seen many of the places named in this thread.

In the US I’d still like to visit Glacier NP.

For reasons I can’t explain the place I’d most like to visit outside the US is Bhutan.

48

i had an unanticipated emotional reaction to seeing the grand canyon. it wasn’t something i ever had on my own bucket list, but it turned out to be one of my most memorable domestic tripss. i’m sure it’s bordering on cliche by now but, yes, you really do have to see it in person. :slight_smile:

49

Southern Italy - my grandparents were born in Calabria
Ireland
Scotland
Hawaii
New England

I’ve been to most of the states west of the Mississippi, but none of them east other than Wisconsin and the UP.

50

I’d dearly love to go to Japan. I can speak a tiny smidge of Japanese (learned it in college), and I love the culture.

I also want to see Bali. I think this dates from when I saw Anthony Bourdain standing on the edge of a rice paddy in Bali, listening to an imam in the distance. Haunting.

And I’d like to see Norway, which my great-great grandfather left during the potato famine to homestead a farm in Minnesota. His village of origin is right in the heart of fjord country.

51

One thing though – while Indonesia is a Muslim country, the island of Bali is predominantly Hindu. But Bali is a good destination. I highly recommend the town of Ubud. And Lovina Beach on the northern coast for early-morning dolphin watching. Schools of them speed past you out on the water.

As for Japan, do it. It’s our favorite place in the entire world.

52

We try to make it there every two years just to rejuvenate. 2020 is the next scheduled trip and I’m going to make it North Rim for the first time instead of the Village.

Pro tip:
Unless you’re an absolute candy-ass, stay at Bright Angel Lodge. It’s the cheapest place to stay in the park and designed in the 1930s by Mary Colter. As such, the rooms small with an older vibe to them and while all have a toilet and sink in the room, most times to shower you have to go down the hall. To me, this is more than made up by the fact that I can sit outside with my feet propped up, a mug of coffee in my hand, watching the sunrise paint the far side of the canyon.

Thunderbird Lodge and Kachina Lodge are virtual twins also on the rim, built in the 60s and as such better serve modern sensibilities, but cost more.

El Tovar, the last of the rimside accommodations, costs a lot more but might be worth considering if you figure your GCNP visit a once-in-a-lifetime visit.

Maswik Lodge is about a quarter mile back from the rim and the only recommendation it has is that’s it’s easier to get a reservation there for a last minute trip. The rimside lodges, you’d better be looking as much as a year in advance.

If you make a reservation, please enter code DDTSD so I can get my kickback. :wink:

53

It’s a loooooong list.

I’ve been all over CONUS, though there are certainly places I’ve missed; Typo Knig and I were chatting the other day and trying to figure out how many state capitals we’ve seen, and the answer was “less than half” despite having, between the two of us, visited all but a handful of the states. That would be more of a “punch the list” kind of thing, not unmissable.

I’ve never been to New Orleans though I don’t have an overwhelming urge to do so. I’d like to visit more sites in the southwest (including the bottom of the Grand Canyon, which is tricky since I’m not up for the hike), and I’d love to drive down through the Florida Keys.

I’d love to take another cross-country driving trip - though this time I might want to do it across Canada, then go up to Alaska.

Beyond that: well, despite having been all over the US (and a couple of brief jaunts into Canada), I’ve never been across an ocean except for one trip to Hawaii. So, Europe in general, and Paris in particular, are absolutely on my must-do list. If I were told tomorrow that I had 6 weeks to live, 2 of them would be spent flying (first class!!) and travelling at least a bit.

Australia and New Zealand are second on the “must do” list. I’d love to spend about 8 weeks travelling around both countries.

Antarctica: There are cruises that leave from the southern tip of South America. Some of them will land you on one of the islands. There is at least one tour company that will take you to the South Pole itself but those tours are about 50,000 per person, so I’ll skip that one.

Africa: A friend of mine has done any number of guided tour vacations, including one to various places in Africa - sounds really neat. I’d love to see the Pyramids some day but with things as they are in the middle east, and having a Jewish-sounding last name, I’d probably want to be cautious.

The plan is to accomplish all of these things as soon as the lottery people come through. They’re being deucedly uncooperative though.

54

I’d like to see Mt Everest. NOT climb it, I have zero interest in that, but I’d like to visit Base Camp and see it in person.

I’m ethnically Chinese but I don’t really have much interest in visiting China; I’d much rather see Japan.

I’d like to see the pyramids in Egypt but, even disregarding the political situation there, I hear it’s kind of sad when actually you get there; it’s not in the middle of the desert like you’d imagine, it’s literally right on the edge of the city, and the city is threatening to completely surround the site. And then you see photos like this, of the pyramids site, taken from inside a Pizza Hut: http://www.sunnywithachanceofbluebirds.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Pizza-Hut-Window.jpg

55

The Mena House hotel, where I stayed, is right across the street from the parking for the Pyramids complex; I could see the Great Pyramid from my window.

On the other side of Cairo, however, are the Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid along with some other older “step” pyramids. These are out away from the city and you pretty much have them to yourself. They’ve just opened the Bent Pyramid up for tourists to see inside (which I didn’t get to do).

56

Me too. For those who have seen the aurora, did it live up to your expectations?

57

I just call it my “list”, rather than “bucket list”. We’re all going to die. So there’s no difference between “list of things I want to see before I die” and “list of things I want to see”. I just think it’s a more positive spin, and makes you realise it’s up to you to make it happen.

Still to do:
Norwegian fjords and midnight sun
Japan, especially Hiroshima
Monument Valley, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon
Pripyat and Chernobyl
Australia - Sydney skyline and Uluru
Tigers in the wild
Smithsonian, especially the Apollo stuff

Of the above, I am booked on a Norwegian cruise next year, and next month I’m going to Chernobyl.

List already ticked off:
Total solar eclipse
Northern Lights
Taj Mahal
Petra
Angkor Wat
Rio de Janiero
Iguassu Falls
Machu Picchu
Tikal
Chichen Itza, Palenque and Uxmal
Pyramids, Sphinx, Nile cruise, Abu Simbel, Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Karnak etc
Masai Mara safari
Panama Canal transit
New York
Red square
Rome
Paris

I will happily advise which of the above are “worth it”.

58

I’ve seen the Northern Lights a dozen or so times, mostly from Northern New England and once from Minnesota. The experience varies tremendously; it can be a dull glow or a spectacular show. The further north you are increases your chances, and further away from light sources you get will enhance the display.

59

Oh, that is a tricky one. It was still breathtaking seeing it, but there’s something they don’t tell you: it doesn’t look like it does in the photos.

When I saw it in Iceland, to the naked eye it was white. Through a camera lens, it came out green. Apparently it’s actually green, but your eye can’t detect the colour because of the low light levels. So the camera tells the truth, but your eye/brain combination doesn’t actually see it like that.

That and the unpredictably of the lights appearing mean I would advise against ever travelling somewhere specifically to see them. I saw lots of other stuff in Iceland that made it a memorable - if expensive - trip, and I was overjoyed to see the Aurora, but it was just a little disappointing.

Now, a total solar eclipse on the other hand…

60

I don’t really have a list of “sights” I want to see, but rather countries I haven’t visited that I’d like to. At the top of my list would be:

New Zealand
The Galapagos Islands (ok, not technically a country)
Some South Pacific island nations, like Fiji or Tahiti.
Egypt
Argentina
Russia
Although really any place I’ve never been is fair game

Within the United States I’d love to visit Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.
And I’d like to do a long distance train trip someday, like the California Zephyr through the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. In an actual sleeper car.

61

I missed the edit window, but I also would genuinely like to see the World’s Largest Ball of Twine Rolled by One Man in Darwin, Minnesota. No irony whatsoever. My parents live in western Wisconsin, so it’s not that far from where they live, but not close either. So far I haven’t been able to convince then to take us to see it when I visit them.