10 Places On My Bucket List | Must-Visit List – 2022 Edition

I’d written this article a few years ago and will keep updating it as and when time and my changing tastes demand. For now, here is the 2022 edition of the 10 places on my Bucket List. ❤

Not all those who wander are lost. – J.R.R. Tolkein

There are many things that give a person peace. Family, music, writing, friends, movies – the list is endless. But there is one section of people for whom peace equals the chaos of traveling, the excitement of roaming the world, the wonder of seeing new places, and the joy that comes with learning about new cultures. Within this section is another small one. One that finds happiness just in soaking up the new atmosphere. One that has dreams of having just their solitude for company as they travel and see new places.

I can happily say that I belong to the latter section of people. I have dreams of roaming the world. I have dreams of wandering these beautiful places and lapping up these experiences in pleasant solitude. And there are quite a few – not all conventional – that caught my eye. Those that make me sigh and make me dream of setting foot in those faraway lands like no other.

This Travel Tuesday, here are 10 places on my bucket list that I want to set foot in. Enchanting as they are, I have to remind myself that visiting them would be a dream come true and not just another task on my to-do list. 🙂

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Istanbul, Turkey

I won’t talk about my personal reasons for wanting to visit this city as well as this country so desperately. I’ll rather point out how Istanbul culture seems such a heady mix of the urban, the traditional, and everything in between, while inviting tourists with open arms. Be it the sight of the Blue Mosque or the Hagia Sophia or the bridges that cut through the city, all I want is to be able to wander through the streets, have a glass of traditional Turkish çay and pop in a piece or two of homegrown and homemade baklava, or wander through the hip, urban shopping center, Nisantaşı. Ah, the dream!

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Bruges, Belgium

There’s something about the twinkling lights of this Belgian city that pulled me to it. It remained number one on this list until Istanbul came in like a battering ram and pushed it into the next slot. But the sight of the canals, the medieval buildings, the cobbled streets, the greenery – all of this filled my heart with longing and my head with determination. I don’t know what life has in store for me, but I will, someday, go to Bruges. This, I know for sure.

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Positano, Amalfi Coast, Italy

Positano was another place that I used to be completely obsessed with, just like I used to daydream about strolling through the lanes of Santorini. And this is still one that I need to check off the list. However, I’ve seen people who’ve been there talk about how it is way too crowded. Does that affect me in any way? Maybe. But I don’t want to stay away just because of that. I’ve been fawning over it for a long time and I think I’ll trust my own judgment. Even if it IS crowded, the satisfaction of looking out at the brilliantly colored and lit mountainside would be more than enough incentive for me.

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Bora Bora, France

Blue waters, huts, greenery, solitude. What else could enhance solitude and give it meaning than the soothing coolness of the blue waters? To top it off, it’s France. Somehow, that makes it all the more exotic, for some reason. Imagine sitting there, facing the wide open waters and the blue sky, a book in hand and a mocktail by your side. It’s the life of a queen, but this queen needs to be able to afford it. Someday, I tell myself! Someday, I’ll step on those sands and I’ll write a blog post about it, perhaps. Someday…

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The Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland

Backpacking across the road covered with branches of trees to which lush greenery clings – sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Plus, quite a few scenes of Game of Thrones were filmed here. So why not? I just have to be really, really, really careful. 😛 Of course, the memory of how the show ended rather sours this beautiful fantasy, but eh, was I really expecting White Walkers to spring out from behind the trees? Nah. So there’s a dream well preserved. 🙂

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

At first look, this place looked pretty simple to me. But the architecture and the cobbled streets gradually grew on me. Before I knew it, I was taking second, third, fourth looks and I fell hook, line, and sinker. Now I really want to go to Germany and enjoy the quiet calm that this picture exudes. Imagine strolling through the streets, maybe sit down in a quiet café, people-watch, read a book, or merely stare off dreamily into the distance? Ay, I need to stop!

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Sea Cave, Malta

Sands, surrounded by the shades of towering seaside rocks, the cool waters and the lilting sound of the waves lapping on the sand in the light sunlight. This is what I visualize when I think of Malta. To be fair, Google helped a little. But then, in this time and age, it almost always does. This seems a faraway dream than any of the other places on this list, but sometimes challenges prove to work in the same way as anything that comes easily. So, yes, I will try to make my way to this Sea Cave, like (bad joke incoming) Maltese Falcon, perhaps. (I warned you.)

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Saint Lucia, Caribbean Islands

I’d known that Saint Lucia was a stunning beach place to visit. But it was only when I began researching for this list that I truly comprehended the extent of its stunningness, and that’s not even a word! The twinkling beaches surrounded by lush greenery and the shimmering waters of the Caribbean fill me with pure awe. I think of how wonderful it would be to sit on a reclining chair on the beach and read a book, occasionally looking down upon the dancing waves. Bliss! One of the best ways to spend a Travel Tuesday. Or any Tuesday. Or any day, for that matter. This gave me déjà vu and pushed me back to the beginning of this list. 😛

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Sea Cliffs, Etretat, France

It has cliffs. It has beaches. It has the cool waters to wash away your tiredness. I picture myself standing atop the cliff and looking out over the waters, hands on hips, with a feeling of achievement. It all seems a little dramatic and too ‘Leap Year’. I’m no Amy Adams but I AM a MELODRAMATIC BOOKWORM, so go figure. 😛

I remember looking across the sand and rocks at the Twelve Apostles in Australia and being filled with awe at how beautiful it was. I’m guessing this will be my reaction when I make my way to these cliffs too. 😛

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Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Who does not want to live above the clouds, if even for a few hours? And about how I felt when I first set eyes on this sight? There are simply not enough words to describe it. Going here will probably give the phrase ‘walking on clouds/air’ a brand-new meaning for me. Until then, I’m going to taste the harsh, brittle wisps of reality that binds one’s days and nights. Hmm. Grim but true. XD

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So that was my Travel Tuesday list of 10 places on my bucket list that I reeeeally want to visit during this lifetime. Which of these places have you been to? Which places do you want to visit? Let me know in the comments below. ❤

I’ll see you in the next blog post.

Until next time, keep smiling, keep traveling, and add melodrama to your life! 🙂

Airline photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com

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