Buy trips, not trash: ever-evolving cool bucket list ideas

Craig and I (Gemma) have been travelling together since we met in 2012. Our first trip to Southeast Asia was a test run to see if you could spend over a month in such close proximity without killing each other. Surprise, we had a thrilling experience and no one was drowned in the Gulf of Thailand or pushed in front of a moped in Hanoi! Three years later we took an 18-month career break to travel the Americas and Europe, in taking this risk we had ample time to tick off our ever growing cool bucket list ideas. We prefer to travel slow, at times even volunteering to help stretch our budget for longer and giving us the chance to immerse ourselves in the local community but often time and money dictates, and we take a whirlwind tour of our desired destinations – we believe it’s all about balance and hope that after reading our travel tips and quips here at Two Scots Abroad that you will believe that you can make travel happen too.

The Big Two Scots Abroad Cool Bucket List Ideas

• • 1. Visit Westminster – I did work experience
    2. Take a photo of Bled, Slovenia – it rained all day, unfortunately (still nice, take a look)
    3. See a diver at Mostar – no one dived while we were there, stunning though
    4. Island hopping in Scotland – not complete but have visited Skye and Islay
    5. Take a road trip – North Coast 500 in the Scottish Highlands
    6. Appear on TV – Craig was interviewed in Austin!
    7. Sunbathe on a boat while sailing –
    8. Aztecs in Mexico –
    9. Go cruising –
    10. Glacier in Argentina –
    11. Go to Siberia –
    12. Take a helicopter ride –
    13. See the northern lights –
    14. Go to a lagoon – this September!
    15. Live in Canada (permanently…)
    16. Go to space camp (this October)

Adventure Bucket List Items

1. Hike a volcano – Cerro Negro and Maderas in Nicaragua
2. Hike an active volcano and board down it – Volcano boarding in Nicaragua
3. Hike to Machu Picchu – via the Lares Trek
4. Scuba dive – Craig did his first dive in Cuba + video! (Gemma’s first was Australia)
5. Cycle the World’s Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia – hated it, Craig loved it!
6. Ski at Whistler in Canada – my second ski attempt
7. Surf – Colombia, I am rubbish at it
8. Road trip around the Faroe Islands –
9. Skydive and get a ridiculous photo with my cheeks pushed back –
10. The polar bear plunge in Alaska – (did it in Canada)
11. Swing at the end of the world in Ecuador –
12. Trek the Amazon –
13. Ride the bobsled track in Alberta –
14. Camp at Yellowstone National Park –
15. Go zorbing –
16. Do a safari –
17. Parachute –

Unique Bucket List Ideas

1. Say ‘I do’ abroad – we did it! On March 22nd 2016, we eloped to Austin, Texas.
2. Eat breakfast by a river or ocean – Organic breakfast baskets at Big Berry in Slovenia
3. Ride in a convertible – Havana in a vintage yellow mustang
4. Make maple syrup lollies in the snow in North America –
5. Swim in the infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands –
6. Watch the hot air balloons at Cappadocia (Turkey) – did it, it was magical!
7. Ice skate on a natural rink –
8. Dine at a high viewpoint –
9. Visit the Ice Castle in Edmonton
10. Do The Stans tour –

Art and Music Bucket List Items

1. Attend South By Southwest (for free) – Done, twice, then we got married after it! Craig is going again this year
2. Have a drink in a jazz club in New Orleans – kicked off our career break with this
3. Ski and party and Snowbombing in Austria – our belated honeymoon – we also went to Vienna, the city of music
4. Get a travel-related tattoo – León in Nicaragua (Gemma – Banff in the Rockies, Craig – space)
5. Take photos at Bolivia’s Salt Flats – during daylight and sunset, magical
6. Take the City Centre Mural Trail in Glasgow, Scotland – check out our Facebook for our mini guide
7. See the street art in Vilnius, Lithuania –
8. Party at Dreamland in Margate (Shoreditch by the sea!) –
9. Also, check out Bristol’s street art –
10. Visit the area where Broadchurch was filmed (Dorset) –
11. Stalk the city that Arcade Fire formed in (Montreal) –
12. Get our hipster on in Hamburg –
13. Sit on that bike in Penang, Malaysia –
14. Attend the Hindu festival Holi –
15. Attend Up Helly Aa in Shetland –
16. See DJs in Ibiza –
17. Be a Burner –

Simple Bucket List Ideas

1. Eat authentic Thai (Gemma, Craig hates Thai food) – for two weeks in the north and south Thailand
2. Get up to watch a sunrise – We set the alarm in Koh Samui, Thailand
3. See a sunset at the same spot for at least one week – Las Peñitas, Nicaragua (for three weeks)
4. Witness a winter sunset – Sunshine Coast, BC
5. Swim in the sea at night – Koh Samui (after a few cocktails, I lost £50)
6. Travel solo – Gemma NYC, Boston and Chicago, Craig in Canada
7. Sleep under the stars – Gemma in Monument Valley (no tent!)
8. Dispel a country’s stereotype – Colombia!
9. Cycle a coastline – Fife, my home region and Lima in Peru
10. Attend a baseball game – not as exciting as I thought!
11. Rollerskate – around Stanley Park in Vancouver
12. Watch a sloth move –
13. Hot air balloon ride – It was magical, read about Cappadocia here
14. Sleep in a castle –

Foodies Bucket List

1. Eat ceviche in Peru – Gemma, Craig hates fish! Minus the cilantro (coriander) though
2. Gorge on a Tex Mex breakfast – best hangover meal in Austin
3. Make a pizza – in Slovenia as part of the Big Berry glampsite experience
4. Eat a sandwich in NYC – I chose baloney, yuck!
5. Chow down on bugs –Bangkok, salty
6. Make Pad Thai – Chiang Mai Basil Cook School
7. Eat Pasteis de Nata in Belém, Portugal – magic in your mouth
8. Eat empanadas – every day in South America pretty much!
9. Stuff our faces with a North Am breakfast – Vancouver, Canada (pancakes!)
10. Make something new once a month (I hate cooking) – ongoing
11. Try deep fat fried Mars Bar – we did it, but not in Scotland!
12. Visit a Scottish whisky distillery – Isle of Islay and Isle of Skye
13. Drink a flight of beer in Portland – Portland is craft beer heaven
14. Salsa and rum in Havana – and Vinales and Trinidad!
15. Drink Guinness in Ireland – on the Ancient East
16. Try Filipino Pancit Palabok and Biko –
17. Eat Laksa in Malaysia (image below is Liverpool) –
18. Eat bull tongue in South Africa –
19. Make a maple syrup lolly in Ottawa –
20. Try true Mexican food (and not just mushy nachos) –
21. Eat an authentic curry in India –
22. Try a cornish pasty –
23. Go to vodka distillery –
24. Taste pasta in Italy –
25. 

As the stamps on our passports increase, the items here multiply. Bucket lists are supposed to be fluid and adaptable, there will be no stage in our lives where we manage to do all of the exciting experiences the world has to hold but we’ll definitely give it a bash! We think our travel bucket list is realistic, what do you think?

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Gemma I Two Scots Abroad

Gemma and Craig are full-time workers with a life-long travel habit. Flirting with 30 and let loose on the world! Gemma writes, Craig looks good in the photos.