I’m an avid traveller and have been travelling the world since the tender age of two or three. I think my love for travelling and attempting to continuously have yet, another ‘adventure’ comes from my father (who always encouraged it or took me to places in the world); and my grandfather (who said before he passed that the only regret he would have in life is not to be able to travel and see all the corners of the world in one lifetime- as he believed, knowledge of the world, is the only thing one could possibly take with them when they leave the planet).

Born in Hong Kong, my early travels as a child were to destinations in South East Asia, such asJapanandMalaysia. Having grown up inCanada, summer holidays includedLos Angeles, andTorontowhere my grandparents lived. As a young adult I moved to Europe and theUnited Kingdomand ever since then have travelled mainly across Western & Eastern Europe.

I am always fascinated by the reasons I myself, or others choose a particular destination to holiday because it can vary from an obsession to entities pertaining to history to other pleasures such as food or appreciating nature. A week ago, I was challenged by the team on the platform Joe Bloggs   to write about my top three destinations that would be on my bucket list, and in exchange there would be a chance to win a trip to see the Northern Lights- which is coincidentally, one of the wonders of the world I would like to see and experience.

I’m not a person who regrets much in life, but having said this, I did have one, regret before leavingCanada: not having visited the Maritimes off the east coast of the country. After all, I have visited most places, including having lived in the prairies for a year, and aside from theNorth WestTerritories, where seldom people visit unless they work for an oil company the Maritimes seems worth the visit for its richness inCanada’s heritage. The Maritimes include the provincesNew Brunswick,Nova Scotia, andPrinceEdwardIslandsand is where the first European settlers, who later formedCanada, first reached it through this area, and theSt. Lawrence River. 

They found ‘liquid gold’ in the lush waters through the vast amounts of seafood and namely the crustaceans such as lobsters. My unhealthy obsession with lobster leads me to delusions of a holiday where I can eat them 24/7. 

Perhaps it is also my fascination of quaint views of beaches with light houses, as seen in television series such as Murder She Wrote in the 1980s, of a Cabot Cove, or the desire to visit places that inspired childhood stories such as Anne of Green Gables, that lead me to draw upon this travelling desire. I hear from family members and friends who have travelled there that the beauty of the Bay of Fundy is unique and incomparable to even the great Lake Louise inCalgary.        

So I think if anyone did ask me, why the Maritimes, my answer would be: How can I say that I am truly ‘Canadian’ if I didn’t visit the entirety of the country from West to East in a lifetime? 

An old colleague from work and dear friend recently inspired me to putJerusalem, and a pilgrimage to the holy land on my bucket list, as she recently went and came back with the most amazing positive energy.  Like her, I am also Catholic, and like all Catholics perhaps long to see the places of all the stories from the holy bible come to life.

My fascination and love for literature and history also drives and attracts me to this destination. I do not completely imagine or expect it to be quite like what was interpreted in themovieKingdomof Heaven, but I am rather curious of a place where all three religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam can exist. The aspect of this trip being a pilgrimage also appeals to me as then I can also check off my other list of ‘Things to do with World Literature’ that I have fulfilled a pilgrimage as the folk in the Canterbury Tales.

When I was ten, my mother asked me if I could speak another language, what would it be? I immediately, responded: French, and so she sent me to the Alliance Francaise, (the international institute for French language) that summer for lessons. I find my ability to speak the French language a great asset in my life whenever I visit French speaking countries, and therefore, aim to visit as many as I can. Tahiti, inFrench Polynesiais a destination and the only place in the world I can say is this planet’s wonderland. 

With sky piercing blue skies, and rings of beaches, the landscape cannot be comparable to any other in the world. Diving, snorkelling, and jeep safaris definitely spell: A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E! 

I’ve also always wanted to stay in accommodation that was not just your regular hotel. The little huts add to that sublime feeling of being in a place not of this world.  Now, I wonder where the next banana boat is to take me?

So there you have it, my top three most wanted destinations in the world on my bucket list. Has it inspired your next holiday? What’s yours?