The China Bucket List

Three weeks from right now, I will be on a plane, winging my way to China... No pressure. To make sure that I make the most of my time while in the Middle Kingdom, I've come up with a China Bucket List.

Everyone who knows me personally knows just how obsessed I am with my bucket list (or as I call it, "My Life List"). Most people know the term from the 2007 movie (which I loved). However, I made my very first bucket list when I was only nine years old with five things on it. Since then, I am now 23 years old and I currently have 252 things on it with 90 things completed on it as of today (that's a 36% success rate... not too shabby). I love my bucket list. It's always pushing me to go outside my comfort zone--making me go to new places, try new foods, and meeting new people. From learning how to fly a kite and leaving a pair of shoes at the Shoe Tree, to riding on the Orient Express and climbing to the base camp of Mount Everest... some of the things are every day things to try and attempt and others are once in a lifetime/ life changing experiences. My last time in China, I was able to cross off #32 on My Life List:

Yes, that is the elusive bucket list!!

I was able to cross off a few things from my bucket list the first time I was over there, so it's my hope that I can cross off even more! I've included not only things to do in China but also nearby countries (because if I am in that corner of the globe and I don't see at least some of these places, there is something wrong in the universe).

So, without further ado, I present to you (Look! I'm a poet and I didn't even know it):

★ The China Bucket List ★

China

1. Visit the Mulan Temple

2. Eat at the Cliff Restaurant near Hubei

3. Cruise down the Li River

4. Visit the Potala Palace in Tibet

 Hong Kong

1. See the largest seated Buddha (Tian Tan) 

2. Visit Disneyland Hong Kong

South Korea

1.  Walk the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain Bridge in Seoul
2. Meet a Hallyu star (I like to dream big)

Japan

1. Climb Mt. Fuji

2. Visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial (leave the 1,000 cranes I folded for the victims of the Tsunami)

3. Eat fugu

4. Partake in a Japanese tea ceremony

5. Go to the "fish doctor"

6. Eat at "Alice in Magic World" restaurant 

7. Get a photo with the Okinawa clown

8. Visit Tokyo Disneyland

9. See a Takarazuka performance
10. Feed a rabbit at Ōkunoshima(Bunny Island!!!)

{Clearly I've been obsessed with Japan since I was 11... don't judge the obnoxious amount of things to do there} 

Thailand 
1. Shop at Bangkok's floating market

2. Visit Chiang Mai-Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

3.  Participate in Yee Peng lantern festival 

4. See the Naga fireballs of  Mekong

5. Participate in Songkran (water fight)
6. Volunteer at Elephant Nature Park Sanctuary

Vietnam

1. Visit the Temple of Literature

2. Visit the Củ Chi Tunnels
3. Sail along Ha Long Bay

 Cambodia

1. Explore Angkor Wat

 Random

1. Stand in the Indian Ocean

2. Try bird's nest soup

3. Ride an elephant

4. Try durian

5. Ride the Orient Express

6. Live in another country

7. Sail on a junk

8. Visit a hot spring

  

Of course, I'm not expecting to get through everything on my list, but you can be darn sure I am going to try my hardest!! I'll keep track of everything right here on this post by crossing the different things off as I go and I'll also write a post about each new experience I had while I went through crossing things off the list--so be sure to stick around!!

Do you think there should be something added to my bucket list? I would like to add some things to my China category since that is where I am going to be spending most of my time. Leave your suggestions in the comments, send me a quick message on Facebook, or you can shoot me an email at woomer@oswego.edu .

As I have gotten older (the wisdom that my whole 23 years of life has to offer), I have come to realize how important it is to travel and live each day with a hunger and a passion. We only have one life to live, so why not try to live each day to the very fullest? Instead of trying to "survive" from weekend to weekend and vacation to vacation, we should live each day from the moment our eyes open until our head hits the pillow every night.

The way that I have come to live each day to the fullest and make the most of the years that I have been given is by keeping my bucket list. Hopefully, having the China edition of this list with me will continue to push me to live life to the fullest and make the very most of my short time on the other side of the globe.

I admit that I do have a bit of nerves in regards to moving so far away from home but knowing that I have an endless sea of possibilities in front of me and so many new adventures ahead is making it all worth while. 

Three weeks to go!!

Until Next Time,

Amanda

 “There is never enough time to do all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember, time is short, and suddenly, you’re not here anymore…”

~Scrooge