Amanda's Bucketlist

Everyone has a bucketlist. I thought I would care to join the club and make my very own list of things I want to do before I make my way to heaven.

Travel:
- Experience Northern India (Varanasi)
- Get serious in Rishikesh, India
- Drink tea and enjoy the view of Himalayas in Darjeeling, India
- Go blue in Jodhpur, North India
- Go beach bumming in Bali and Lombok
- Get horrified by the komodors in Flores, Indonesia
- Climb a volcano in Indonesia
- Eat till I get fat and happy in Penang, Malaysia
- Revisit Ko Phi Phi
- Explore the underwater life in Koh Lipe
- Revisit north Thailand (Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sot)
- Gorge in Kuala Lumpur's nasi dishes
- Trekking and caving in Sarawak, Borneo
- Ride horses and camels in the steppes of Mongolia
- Spend a night in a desert
- Snorkel in the waters of Oman, Middle East
- Visit Great Wall of China and Xi'an (Terracotta Army)
- Eat dim sum in the streets of Yangshuo, China
- Go caving in Vietnam (Hang Son Doong)
- Complete an open-water diving course in Palawan Island, the Philippines
- Visit the pyramids of Egypt
- Go shopping, beach bumming and partying in Barcelona
- Let my hair down in Berlin's electronic night clubs
- Eat lots of pasta and cheese, and try lots of different red wines in Italy
- Watch the Northern Light in Northern Norway
- Mountain trekking to one of Norway's largest tourist attractions: Geiranger
- Shop till I drop and pop in New York
- Hike to Macchu Picchu
- Enjoy the beaches of Hawaii
- Visit Maldives before the sinking islands go down :-(
- VISIT GALAPAGOS AND WALK IN DARWIN'S FOOT STEPS!!!

The Balance of life:
- Get a meaningful job
- Get involved in a conservation project on Galapagos, Ecuador
- Get involved in a turtle preservation project in Malaysia

Business:
- Run a successful online business
- Publish an ebook
- Publish ebook no. 2
- Publish eBook no. 3
- Publish eBook no. 4
- Publish 5 eBooks in total
- Reach out to 1000 visitors a day
- Reach out to 2000 visitors a day
- Reach out to 5000 visitors a day
- Reach out to 10000 visitors a day
- Google PR 3
- Google PR 4
- Google PR 5
- Google PR 6

Hobbies:
- Master 4 languages which already includes Norwegian and English (so Spanish and French are left)
- Take a photography course and learn how to take great photos
- Watch more interesting art exhibits
- Attend the opera
- Fly in a helicopter

Last updated: Nov 12, 2012

India in Feb and March 2011

So here it goes...

It's all set. Tickets are bought and I'm leaving for Kerala, India on
February 4 (2011)! :-)

Basically, we're going to do our field work in Kerala, working our way from Trivandrum and northwards. We have decided to focus on how tourism affects small players in Kerala, and it's going to be interesting to interview local Indians and wear traditional Indian clothing called churidar :-)

After that, we're taking the flight from Kochin to Varanasi, via Delhi. That flight ticket is bought as well, and we're leaving Kerala on March 12.

I don't know quite yet where my journey goes after Varanasi. Since I only have two weeks before I have to head home, I have to restrict the itinerary. I'm looking forward to reading IndiaMike's tips on train information because booking a train ride and surviving it is what worries me the most! :-P

It would be awesome to catch the Elephant festival in Jaipur on March 19th and the Holi festival on the 20th. If I make it, it would be great to stop by the rat temple at Deshnok outside Bikaner. But we'll see ;-)

So this means that I will be adding my destinations to Backpacking Tips Asia.

Kerala and Varanasi are of course on the list!

Only thing that's missing now is applying for a visa, and getting a travel insurance. I always buy my travel insurance through Gouda, a company cooperating with Kilroy Travels (which we bought the tickets from).

We're not going to apply for a regular tourist visa because technically we're not there as tourists/travelers. According to our teacher we have to get the 'Entry Visa' (800KR) which cost a lot more than the tourist visa (400KR).

Hmmm... this is going to be exciting! :-D

Amanda

Going Back to School! :-D

Hey!

Hehehe I just got accepted to "Høgskolen i Oslo" and for the next year, I'm going to read about development studies. It's about the north/south relationship and some of the hot themes is how we can help poor countries to exploit their natural resources. I'm an environmental gal, so hopefully I will learn more about the global environmental issues! :-D Looking forward to it!

But this means that I won't be able to write that many articles for Backpacking Tips Asia.com in the future! I have to at least pass the exams you know :P

My main focus is to keep writing on my e-book. Yes, you heard me a very detailed e-book about how to plan a backpacking trip. Hopefully it will contain 200 pages and I will sell it to an affordable and reasonable price! :-)

Amanda

Editor of Backpacking Tips Asia.com going on a long vacation!

Hey hey,

tomorrow I will be sitting on a plane on my way to Bangkok! :)

We (me and bf) will be traveling in Thailand and Cambodia until May 6!

So no new articles during this period...!

I cant wait to share my adventures with you when I come back... hihihi

Bye!

Amanda

Researching for new articles....

Hey, hey!

I'm finally using my knowledge for something good. These days I've been working on articles about travel safety, crime and terrorism.

It's a HUGE project, and it's going to take some time -- but it will be good! :-)

Every traveler has their worries, whether if the travel destination is safe or if they will have enough money for the trip.

Now, SAFETY is of course a large issue when traveling, and I get regular e-mails about "How safe is it there?" "My mom is worried since I'm traveling to Asia, what should I say to her?" and etc etc.

To ease the pain for YOU, as my reader, and your family (who probably won't stop worrying even if they're going to read the articles, but at least you will get the hard facts about reality), I'm doing the dirty work for you ;-)

The themes of the articles will be anything from petty crime (theft, robbery) to larger issues like terrorism, trafficking, local conflicts etc.

The question is: "Should you really worry?"

And most importantly, how can you try to avoid it?

I'm going to try my best to introduce you the common potential dangers in Asia. To fully understand them, you need to know why they happen.

For example: I'm going to tell you about the conflict in Kashmir (Northern India), why there is a conflict and how travelers to this region can be affected/or not affected.

I appreciate your patience! :)

Amanda

Busy Bee...

Hey guys,

this month has been crazy for me. I have to move out again. So I've been damn busy with apartment-looking. I'm picky, and it's expensive to rent a room/apartment in Oslo, so this will take some time.

The last article I wrote was on Jan 4. I will try to write an article this weekend, but I can't promise anything. And my mom turns 50 on Sunday :-P

Please be patient! Remember that I'm human too ;-)

Amanda

Christmas is on...

Hey guys,

Merry Christmas!!! :D Hope you've eaten well :P

It's Christmas, and I've been a bit lazy these days. To be honest, I really enjoy doing nothing during the holidays... Haha. So new articles will come after New Year's :D

It's kind odd that I'm celebrating Christmas in Norway again -- I haven't done so the last two years. Christmas 2007, I was in Koh Pha Ngan (Thailand). Christmas 2008, I was in Pampanga in the Philippines. It feels strange to celebrate it at home again, but in a good way! ;)

Enjoy your steaks, Singhas or whatever! :D

Have a Happy New Year as well!

Amanda