Lisa's Bucket List

In no particular order, this is my 100 item bucket list!

1) Shop up a storm in New York

2) Learn to ski

3) Go on a roadtrip in the USA and Canada

4) See the Northern Lights

5) Do some study in psychology

6) Experience the cherry blossoms in Japan

7) Live and work overseas for six months or more

8) Try scuba diving

9) Swim with sharks

10) Fire a gun

11) Experience La Tomatina in Valencia

12) Take a road trip around New Zealand

13) Snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef

14) Go on safari

15) Visit every continent

16) Go on an international business trip (not for a conference, that doesn’t count!)

17) Improve my photography skills

18) Improve my photo-editing skills

19) Make a mosaic

20) Learn how to make candles

21) Become a confident cook

22) Host a 3 course dinner party (all cooked by me)

23) Restore a piece of furniture

24) Stop biting my nails

25) Make a big difference in at least one person’s life

26) Volunteer

27) Own a beach house or a farm house

28) Spend a week getting pampered at a 5 star spa

29) Start my own business doing something I love

30) Create a website for said business

31) reate enough passive income so that I don’t have to work another day in my life

32) Learn about tax minimization (when I have enough assets etc to make it worthwhile)

33) Have children

34) Pass on a family heirloom to my children

35) Mush a dog sled

36) Visit the San Diego Zoo

37) Live in a restored heritage house / cottage

38) Have a big garden

39) Spend time at a Vipassana/silence retreat

40) Own a dog

41) Attend the Mardi Gras in Sydney

42) Renovate a house DIY style

43) Go travelling with my Dad

44) Go travelling with my Mum

45) Make a living working with kids

46) Plant a tree with my kids and watch them grow

47) Get a professional makeover (makeup, hair, clothes)

48) Go camping in a foreign country

49) Fly first class

50) Have a mud fight

51) Go hot air ballooning

52) Publish a book

53) Learn to sew

54) Swim with whale sharks

55) Learn to surf

56) Make a piece of artwork and hang it on my wall

57) Take a pole dancing class

58) Go island hopping in Greece

59) Get engaged

60) Get married

61) Fall in love

62) Experience a white Christmas

63) Write a list of 100 things that make me happy and take a photo of each

64) Learn to ride a scooter or motorbike

65) Throw a dart at a map (blindfolded) and travel to wherever it lands

66) Visit Disney Land. Better still, take my kids there.

67) Buy a map of the world and pin all of the places I’ve been

68) See an octopus while scuba diving or snorkelling

69) See the Grand Canyon

70) Visit every state in Australia

71) Take my kids on a roadtrip

72) Visit the New 7Wonders of the World + the honourary 8^th  (only Petra, Chichzen Itza and the Pyramid of Giza to go!)

73) Visit the New7Wonders of Nature (Jeju Island, Komodo Island, Peurto Princesa Underground River and Table Mountain to go)

74) Visit Zimbabwe

75) Complete a Tough Mudder competition

76) Go on an Alaskan cruise

77) Invest in the share market

78) Own a convertible

79) See a Cirque de Soleil show in Las Vegas

80) Donate blood

81) Write a journal every day for 100 days

82) Win an overseas holiday

83) Volunteer at a Starlight Foundation children’s hospital play room

84) Learn proper dining etiquette

85) Eat at one of the world’s best restaurants (once I have mastered 84!)

86) Stay in a 6 star hotel

87) Own a house outright (no mortgage)

88) Design and build my dream house

89) Help out a random stranger in distress

90) Raise my kids bilingual

91) Learn and master meditation

92) Try a fried snickers

93) Experience Halloween in America

94) Make a bucket list scrapbook

95) See a glacier

96) Become a foster carer

97) Ride a horse along the beach at sunset

98) Host a bonfire party

99) Attend an Olympic games, or soccer world cup

100) Go spelunking

Road trips from hell

We were on a 4WD tour of Fraser Island. I was about 12 years old, but I remember the traumatic experience like it was yesterday. I had been feeling travel sick for a while, but I had been told in the past by my parents that it was "all in my head" and that "no one else in the family suffers from travel sickness, it is obviously psychological". Of course this meant I kept quiet and tried to ignore the feeling.

You can guess what happened. By the time I realised that I was actually going to vomit, there was no time to tell anyone let alone source a plastic bag or get out of the vehicle. I vomited all over myself, my Dad who was sitting next to me, my chair, the back of the chair infront of me, the floor etc.

I couldn't eat sundried tomatos for several years afterwards. Let's just say that if you gulp down whole ones the day before, they take a long time to be digested and whole sundried tomatos don't look good on the floor of the bus amongst other gunk. Too much information? Yes, I apologise!

Unfortunately, it all happened early in the morning on a full day tour. This meant I didn't have clean clothes to wear for the rest of the day, and I was very unpopular on the bus. I was mortified as the bus driver tried his best to clean up and spread ecalyptus oil around the bus to mask the smell.

 For those of you who have never seen a 4WD bus, they look like this - source

Later in the day we stopped for lunch and were instructed to leave our belongings on our seats in the bus. A rude German family joined the tour, and decided to appropriate our seats which were towards the front of the bus (they simply sat on top of our belongings). My Mum told them, "Excuse me, those are our seats" to which they aggressively replied, "We are not moving". She tried to explain that we were happy to give up the seats, but that I had vomited everywhere and they were sitting in vomit. They couldn't speak much english so obviously didn't understand, and simply shouted aggressively that they would not move (and proceeded to throw our belonings into the aisle). The rest of the bus witnessed their rudeness and there was a lot of laughter as they realised which seats these tourists had stolen. Talk about karma, you have got to love it!

Do you have an interesting road trip story? Do share!!!

Kelly's Courtyard: Our Hutong Guesthouse in Beijing

For our accommodation, I chose somewhere comfortable but authentic. I didn't want to stay at a 5* hotel which looked the same inside as it would in any country. Kelly's Courtyard was perfect - located in a hutong (alleyway), with rooms opening onto a traditional courtyard (albeit with a roof over it, which we were grateful for on the day it rained), decorated with antique furniture and with lots of special touches.

It is also central, close to a subway station (this is very important, because even small distances on the map are far in real life) and the hotel manager is friendly, goes out of his way to help guests and speaks decent English. Even better, despite being close to the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square, it's not in a very touristy area so you are not harassed by hawkers (as we were when we visited the touristy bar street) and it feels like you're experiencing the "real" Beijing.

 The gorgeous courtyard area

 It even has a fish pond!

 View over the hutong from the rooftop courtyard

 Rooftop courtyard - unfortunately it was too chilly to enjoy time out here

 The common room, where there is a TV and a computer (with internet) for guest use

The courtyard from above, with guests enjoying their breakfast

The simple but delicious breakfast that was included with our stay

 

Our gorgeous bedroom. Every room is uniquely decorated, with antique furniture and amazing wallpaper. I was lucky enough to get a peak into other rooms as on one morning, most rooms were empty:

I would definitely recommend this cute guesthouse if you're heading to Beijing. Here is my review from Tripadvisor:

We really enjoyed our stay at Kelly's. It is a cute and cosy place with lovely decoration and attention to detail. The rooms are comfortable and uniquely decorated. The location is great- not a very touristy area (which we liked), but plenty of restaurants in walking distance and a 5-10 minute walk from the line 4 subway.

What really makes the stay is the small size of the place and the personalised, friendly service. Bob is lovely and goes out of his way to help the guests. He recommended restaurants and helped us with whatever information we needed as first time visitors to China.

Pros:
-Good location, easy access to subway
-Bob is a fantastic manager, very helpful and friendly
-Lovely decor, very authentic
-Nice simple breakfast
-Excellent heating/air conditioning (and personal controls in each room)
-Very clean, rooms well cleaned daily
-Fast free wifi throughout the guesthouse, and computer also free for guest use

Cons
-We had hardly any hot water and it went from very hot to ice cold with no warning
-No fridges in rooms (which we would have liked)
-Has the potential to be noisy if other guests are inconsiderate. Bob is very good about reminding people to be quiet, but that didn't stop a rude French tour guide who came daily to pick up some guests.
-Difficult to locate when you arrive from the airport, taxi drivers aren't generally willing to take you to a complicated destination (even if you have a phone number etc)

Engrish and Other Funny Sights

I regret not capturing more hilarious examples of "Engrish", but the reality is that you're bombarded with so many every day, it's easier to laugh and get on with it instead of fishing around for the camera. Towards the end of my Beijing trip I realised I hadn't taken many photos, so made a concerted effort to snap a few funny signs and menu items.

 True honesty - Probably the finest seafood served in Beijing (but they cannot be sure...)

 A warm prompt (nicest on chilly days)

 All of these funny menu items are snapped at the one restaurant, but Engrish menus were a regular occurrence. My favourite is this bean salad with disabilities.

 The cake with donkey - yum?

 Watch out - smooth liver is pointed. Also on this page, explode three kinds.

 The incense burns the basin basin shrimp

 "I want to pig. I will developed"

Fake KFC - aka 'Mr Lee's'

Notice the slit in the child's pants. This was a very common sight, and allows for easy poohing anywhere and everywhere (when the child squats, the parting opens). It was particularly unpleasant to witness a child poohing in the middle of the path inside the summer palace (right infront of a temple actually...). This child's hairstyle is also a popular one amongst the toddlers.

 Another cute popular hairstyle.

 Exhibit B: another example of the pant slit

Ironically, while pooping by children in the street is still accepted, you'll then come across a sign such as this one (in Mandarin) which instructs you "No poohing" in the toilet.

Our hotel didn't have the most reliable hot water so we decided to get our hair washed at a hairdressing salon. We didn't expect them to lather and massage while we were sitting in chairs (with no sink in sight) - but it felt great! They did thankfully wash it out in a proper sink.

Food Glorious Food (Beijing Style)

We had many fantastic meals, and some disappointing ones. Overall, the food was delicious and I further expanded my waistline (despite all the walking we did). I still prefer Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, but Chinese food packs a punch if you eat at the right places.

 Strange snacks at the night market - scorpians, starfish, silkworm larvae etc. No, I didn't try any. I had plain beef and chicken kebabs (which I wouldn't bother with- they weren't great)

 Peking duck, one of Beijing's specialities.

 Sweet streetside snacks

 

Bodyparts galore -the Chinese eat every part of the animal (and seem to enjoy it)

 Hotpot recommended by our hotel. This was disappointing, although it *looks* good.

 Delicious dumplings and noodles

This bbq'ed fish was amazing

 

A typical delicious spread

 The simple yet satisfying breakfast provided by our guesthouse

Sweet potato vendors selling their wares. I had a few of these and they were such a delicious snack!

Both our best, and worst meals were at places we stumbled into rather than those that were recommended to us.

Sightseeing: Modern Beijing

Not many tourists have a whole week in Beijing, but we were lucky enough to have ample time to explore its sights. The Art Zone is not somewhere that many would prioritise (and we didn't either, we saw the ancient sights first) but it ended up being a highlight.

It is a trendy area with lots of cute cafes and shops, and plenty of interesting modern street art. I think photos are the best way to give you an idea of what it's like:

 A giant robot in one of the stores

 Wall of bears

 Fat posing Buddha- great for photo ops!

 I like how this one says 'made in China' around the barrel of the gun...

Certainly a hangout for the trendy (or try hards)

I'd definitely recommend visiting this cute area if you are in Beijing. Take the subway and then a taxi or bus from the subway station (it's too far to walk). 

Sightseeing: Ancient Beijing

Why is it that the week you return to work after leave, it is so ridiculously busy that your relaxation is undone almost immediately? Upon getting into work this morning, I was informed that I need to clear my evening schedule and will probably be here until 10-11pm. Fun times... Luckily, I have pre-written a stack of Beijing blog posts so you can still hear about my adventures!

We visited the Great Wall at Mutianyu, the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. Here are some photos from the Great Wall:

 

Mutianyu is a great section of the wall to visit: not too many tourists, and not too far from Beijing. Unfortunately it was a little foggy/smoggy the day we went, but it was still beautiful. There are lots of steps to climb, it is exhausting and a great workout!

We took the toboggans down the mountain which was a lot of fun. In hindsight, we should have taken the chairlift up instead of walking the 100s of steps (and saved our energy for walking on the actual wall, which is very steep at parts).

We only had blue skies on one day - it's amazing what a difference it makes to photos. It had rained heavily the day before (we shopped!) and was very windy, which must have cleared the air. On every other day, the smog was terrible. It is very polluted, worse than any other Asian country I have been to (a lot worse than India for example).

 View over the Forbidden City from a temple at a park behind it - this is a must see.

 Tienanmen square. I had forgotten that the Government completely covers up the history of what happened here, there are no memorials for the protestors - they are all communist centric.

Rock temple in Forbidden City - all man made!

 The entrance to the Forbidden City, a tribute to Mao.

 Forbidden City

The Summer Palace

Summer Palace

 Temple of Heaven - not sure what the significance of this writing is, but it is certainly beautiful.

 Temple of Heaven

Next post: Sightseeing in Modern Beijing!