Time to revamp your bucket list

Bucket list. Over the years this term has gained its popularity like Northern Lights.

Active travellers, across the globe, are known to possess their own bucket list. Thanks to marketing promotions by travel agencies and experience sharing on social networking platform, this genre of travellers has increased exponentially in the last few years. People want to join this brigade and become a traveller in true sense.

Research conducted worldwide has shown that travellers can be distinguished into two categories – tourists and active travellers. However, the term active traveller is now interchangeably used with ‘explorer’ or just ‘traveller’. Let’s stick to traveller here.

With the increasing interest in this type of travel, more and more youngsters have got active and want to travel active. But not everyone who travels is a traveller. So how would you know if you are one?

– If you wish to relax, rejuvenate and sightsee famous monuments, then check out spa and guide options with the hotel, and totally forget being a traveller.
– If you want to carry along all your necessities and just-in-case extras, unfortunately the answer is no but do remember to pack a raincoat, just-in-case you know.
– If you intend to click a whole lot of yourself and in several chin-up, tummy-in poses, then better to get yourself a model’s portfolio.
– If you have made an itinerary and swear to follow it, answer is again a no and advice is to take Alexa along to keep you organised.

Memory flashback must have occurred to you by now. We have done all of the above on several vacations as respectful ‘tourists’. But the era has entered a new constellation now.

Have you ever wondered

-How is it to hike a hilltop to see clouds beneath you?
– How is it to trek in a national forest and encounter a whole new world of flora and fauna?
– How is it to sit down quietly at a picturesque location and admire its beauty?
– How is it to walk alongside a river just to know its path?
– How is it to cycle the wide and narrow bylanes of a city only to pass through its unique history?
– How is it to cover the difficult terrains just to uncover the timeless caves?
– How is to to walk through the lavish lavender fields?
– How is it to be a part of a local dance group in their festival?
– How is it to reach a countryside to meet, talk and eat with the locals?
– How is to play a game of volleyball with the team on a beach?

Experiences like these open your perspective towards others and self. One learns to give and take respect. Memories made like these make beautiful stories for the coming generations.

Try your hands in a dying art, speak an about to extinct language, cook an age-old recipe, feed the last remaining species of a breed, play a local sport and do all that you wish to before you depart. Expand your bucket list.

Soul-satisfaction can also come from adventures. Paragliding, bungee jumping, sky diving, scuba diving, kayaking, going on a zipline and similar have also made their place in the bucket list. Although, you may have to do undergo a brief training to experience a few of these. Being sporty brings in a sense of achievement and helps you bounce back with confidence.

Indulging in active travel not only helps you mentally but has also been related to your physical wellness. Doctors in Scotland have now started prescribing Nature to patients. Long walks, bird watching and making daisy chains is what goes under Rx. Similarly, doctors in South Dakota prescribe park to patients.

Moreover, these options are so pocket-friendly. I mean how much can you really spend in a forest, at a hilltop or in a countryside? In return, what you carry back with you is priceless.

If you are still thinking with ifs and buts, close your eyes and imagine yourself in one of the experiences. If you are not convinced, think of your routine life and relapsing enthusiasm. Still finding yourself too lazy, allow some travel agency to get after your life with their crazy marketing scheme. There’s definitely no escape from that.

Now before rushing, remember to stay safe when you travel. How? We will tell you.

Keep safety apps in your phone. Turn on phone tracking, in case you loose your walky-talky. Carry just sufficient money. Update emergency contact numbers in your SOS list. Keep posting your whereabouts to someone in the family. Most importantly, use your guts and wits.

So what are you waiting for? Get your backpack and hit the road. Who knows, you might end up travelling to the lost city of Atlantis!