I have said this before, I have never really been one to have a “bucket list” but there are definitely things that I have on a mental list in my head that I want to do and experience. Also sometimes after I have done or experienced something I definitely think to myself “Now that was a bucket list item”.
I was recently approached by Schick about partnering with them to help promote their “Fly Free with Schick” campaign where they will give one winner a chance to #FlyFree for the rest of their life, (Which roughly translates to $1,200 in travel money each year for 25 years) along with a bunch of other cool prizes (2,450 to be exact) and weekly give aways on the @FreeYourSkinCA Twitter profile. To me personally with the travel lifestyle that I lead, that doesn’t sound like nearly enough money, but for the average person/non-travel blogger to receive that kind of money each year to use purely for travel would be quite extraordinary.
Schick also asked me “What are the first five places that you would travel to if you could travel free for life?“. This is not an easy question for me. I want to go everywhere. When I first started blogging my goal was to go to every country in the world by the time I had turned 30… that has recently past and I am only at 40 of the 195 countries on the list. Slightly far off…. also I’ve come to realize that there are probably also a bunch of places that I could just do without visiting, especially right now. I’m looking at you Syria.
I thought about it long and hard and here is what I came up with:
A whales tail in Antarctica captured by Dave and Deb of theplanetD.com
Antarctica
Quite possibly the most remote destination on earth. It takes a long time to get there, there are a bunch of adorable penguins to look at and stunning icebergs, whales and more. It is also the “7th” continent. I have so far only been to 5 continents but going here of course would mean that I would also get to check off South America from my list as most likely my trip to Antarctica would begin with a starting point of Ushuaia, Argentina. I am “dying” to visit Antarctica. Even though I am Canadian I have never been one for doing the polar plunge but I TOTALLY would do that here.
A gorgeous photo of cherry blossoms at the Senso-Ji Temple in Tokyo, Japan. Taken by Sara Thomas of thisgirlloves.co.uk
Japan
My first year of school in grade primary there was a student on our class named Fumi (no idea if that spelling is correct or not) and we learned a lot about Japan from him. Or as much as 5 year olds can learn that is. Ever since then I have always thought of Japan as being a place that I would like to visit someday. Now that I am older and have become slightly addicted to sushi I really, really want to visit. Everyone says it is quite pricey though, so if I had the money to travel for free I would definitely visit Japan. I also really want to see those monkeys in the hot tubs with snow all around them. LOL.
The stunning view of the Sydney Harbour, bridge and Opera House from my room at the Shangri-La in Sydney, Australia
Australia
I have been to Australia about 8 times now I think and may be going again soon. So why might you ask do I have it on this list? Well I love the place quite simply, and I have some wonderful friends that live there that I don’t get to see nearly enough and this way I could fly in style and perhaps be in first class for that 15 hour flight from Vancouver to Sydney.
A Llama visits Machu Picchu in Peru – photo by Erica of OverYonderLust.com
Peru
As cliche as some might think it to be, I also really, really, really want to visit Machu Picchu. I don’t really need to trek up the Inca Trail for 4 days to get there or anything but taking a nice cozy train ride would be A-ok with me to see this stunning, gorgeous site at the top of the world.
Lastly….
I don’t know! There are waaaaay too many choices! Help me pick one!
What are the first five places that you would travel to if you could travel free for life?
To enter to win your chance at flying free for life with Schick buy any participating Schick #FlyFree products and enter your pin codes and learn more at www.WeSetYouFree.ca – Sorry this is open to Canadians only.
This post was sponsored by Schick, doing sponsored posts like this are fun and help keep me traveling around the world. As always all opinions and views expressed are my own and I really, really, really want to go to all of these places!
11 Comments
Fabiana
April 7, 2015 at 8:51 pmAwesome places! Especially Japan and Peru. I loved the cultures. I would add Spain. I have been there but there is too much to see and I want to see it all. Historic places, vineyards, little villages in the mountains, beaches, everything. An unlimited budget would definitely help :)
Cailin
April 12, 2015 at 12:37 amAn unlimited budget would be fantastic! I think I would pick Italy over Spain though any day personally ;)
emi
March 31, 2015 at 2:48 pmawesome choices, some of my favorite places!!
xo
Heather
March 18, 2015 at 10:40 pmNorway would top my list … horrendously expensive but oh so beautiful!
Erik
March 15, 2015 at 11:54 am1) Ile Amsterdam – The most remote constantly inhabited island in the world (alledgedly). You can only go here once per quarter in a cabin on a mail boat (for a budget-friendly 14K euros, not including your flights to Reunion Island from where it leaves).
2) Yukon (and Alaska). Vast, remote, beautiful. Wouldn’t like to do it on my own though, since I’d probably go insane on my way to the top of the world.
3) Greenland, I’ve already been there for a short stint, but I would love to go back to see more. The ice cap is amazing and the fjords are more interesting (because less-settled) than Norway.
4) North-Korea. This is probably the most bizarre country in the world right now (coming from a “westerner’s” perspective). On the other hand I don’t really want to give my money to this regime. I really doubt any of it would land in the pockets of the people who need it most.
5) Russia. The biggest country in the world, with amazing diversity in natural beauty from tigers in the east to bears in the polar regions. I’d love to see more than just St Petersburg here. Also, it would be great if I could learn at least basic Russian just so I can say more than just ‘Vodka’.
Other than that, most countries on my “want to go list” where I haven’t been are currently war-torn which is a shame. But no amount of money would make me want to risk my life too much.
Cailin
March 15, 2015 at 8:47 pmGreat picks! :) Some very remote places in there :)
Erik
March 17, 2015 at 2:14 pmThe more remote the better (unless you get eaten by a bear…. You can laugh now, but this is a serious concern in both Canada and Greenland. And Svalbard! I forgot to add that one! ;-))
One of my favorite holidays so far was a hiking trip to Norway with two other friends, we hiked a grand total of 100 km in 5 days and saw about 3 people on the way. Fantastic! Of course, if you don’t like getting dirty, your feet wet, climbing mountains, sheep or ending up in a hailstorm with nowhere to hide … Maybe then it’s not your thing.
I for one would love to see a travel vlog/blog from a place slightly less-traveled by the average tourist :)
Jane
March 14, 2015 at 5:32 pmAntarctica seems to be a very nice place for travel because the mountains look gorgeous, but I don’t know if you can go there without a team. I rather go to Mars.
Cailin
March 15, 2015 at 8:46 pmYou can definitely visit without a team, there are a bunch of tourism boats all of the time :)
Nishadha
March 5, 2015 at 10:30 amI haven’t thought of 5 but I always wanted to go to Antarctica, Australia and Peru. Peru been the first choice. Would love to go on the Inca trail and see those amazing sites. The next choice would be Antarctica, probably catch the National Geographic tours organized to Antarctica. Ohh the things I wish I could do :-)
Vanessa
March 1, 2015 at 10:09 pmMy top recommendation is Mons. Its very romantic and stunningly beautiful. Actually they’ve been preparing for 2015 to welcome visitors and the last time we went there, the renovations were in full swing and they even prepared a long list of cultural programs.