Kai Chronicles

Eating, exploring and enjoying life

Tag Archives: travel wishlist


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Dreaming of Dubai

dubai

Next stop: Dubai

I love to travel. Always have, always will.

I have wanted to go to Dubai for a few years now. I have yet to get the stamp in my passport.

a dubai

How cool is this?

This week, Masterchef took the contestants to Dubai which re-fueled my desire. I was giddy and goofy for two nights watching the TV food contest. My two loves in one show: food and travel.

George and Matt in DUBAI!!!

I do believe a trip to Dubai is in my nearish future. You see, I have friends moving there in a few weeks!! YES, it’s true and you know who you are! Did I ever tell you how good looking you both are?

Of course, when you have friends in a foreign country, it is certainly the best time to visit. I hope you guys will have a spare room in your castle (I imagine everyone in Dubai lives in a castle, even skydiving staff!!). Please do not crush my dreams.

Not only is Dubai rich, hot and stunning to look at, it offers my favourite food. I’m making falafel and hummus for dinner tonight to ease my future thinking fuelled anxiety.

So, as I sit here rugged up in my Kathmandu hoodie with the wind howling outside, I dream of Dubai. I dream of gold and riches. Camels and sand. Giant aquariums and water-slides. Souks and spices. Amusement parks and wind tunnels. Hummus and kebabs. And that fancy ass hotel, you know, the big one!!

Atlantis

Call me here.

Where are you dreaming of visiting?

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My Top 100 travel wishes

I’ve been lucky enough to travel lots! I was even fortunate enough to work as a photographer on a cruise ship so I have heaps of cool travel pics to share. If anyone is considering such employment, do it. I only lasted 6 months (1 contract) but that  was by my choice and because I got married.

So, not only will I share my entire top 100 travel wishes, I will share some of the travel that I have been fortunate to undertake. Enjoy. I hope it inspires someone, somewhere to dream large and then make the dreams reality.

singapore at night

Me in Singapore 2010

me snowboarding

Rippin’ it up at Big White, Canada 2009

church of the spilled blood

In St Petersburg – that’s the Church on the Spilled Blood in the background!! 2003

snow fun

Us having fun in the snow at Big White 2009.

Top 100 Travel Wishes and Dreams (in no particular order)

  1. Walk the Great Wall of China

  2. Buy a pair of Manola Blahniks in New York City (oh so Carrie Bradshaw)

  3. See a Broadway play in NYC

  4. Spend a weekend in a log cabin in the wilds of Canada

  5. Have a snowy winter wonderland Christmas

  6. Learn to cook a Vietnamese meal in Hanoi

  7. Work on my tan in the Cook Islands

  8. Do the hula in Hawaii

  9. Scream on a rollercoaster at an American amusement park with my boys

  10. Attend a writing course at Australian Writers’ Centre in Sydney

  11. Take Jo Tracey out for dinner in Sydney

  12. Meet my friend Gillian in Bali for a girls week away

  13. Spend a snowboarding holiday in Banff, Canada with my boys

  14. Cruise to Alaska from Vancouver

  15. Drink apple tea in Turkey

  16. Have a smoke and a pancake in Amsterdam

  17. Visit the Angkor temples

  18. Shop at the Angkor night market in Siem Reap

  19. Meet Leigh Redhead in Hanoi

  20. Dine on street food in Hanoi

  21. Drink a Guinness beer in Ireland

  22. Tour a winery in Margaret River

  23. Stay at an ashram in India

  24. Float on a junk in Hong Kong

  25. Practise yoga at the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh, India

  26. Fly my body at iFly Singapore

  27. Play for a day at Universal Studios Singapore

  28. Stay at the funky QT Hotel in Sydney

  29. Puff a cigar in Havana, Cuba

  30. Get high in Malaysia by spending a day or two at Genting

  31. Meditate in Nepal

  32. Have an espresso and tiramasu in Italy

  33. Splash and laugh at Adventure World Perth

  34. Take the Sea to Sky Climb train ride to Whistler (from Vancouver)

  35. Ride the rails aboard the Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Jasper

  36. Same as above but to Calgary via Lake Louise and Banff

  37. Spend a day at Vida Wellness Spa in Whistler

  38. Eat chocolate eclairs in Paris (worth the trip just for this)

  39. Retreat at Gaia Spa near Byron Bay

  40. Temple hop in Sri Lanka

  41. Stay at a resort in Langkawi

  42. Have a fondue in Switzerland

  43. Chill out at a fab apres ski bar anywhere in Europe

  44. Sunbathe topless in Nice

  45. Soak up the atmosphere at Bondi Beach (i’ve been several times and need more of it!)

  46. See what Manly Beach looks like…funnily enough, I’ve never been!!

  47. Attend a writing/yoga retreat in Byron Bay with Sarah Armstrong and Alan Close

  48. Ride a camel along Cable Beach, WA

  49. Attend The Taste Festival in Hobart

  50. Rise above it all at the Canberra Festival in a hot air balloon

  51. New Year’s Eve in Sydney for fireworks!

  52. Be colourful at the Holi festival in India

  53. Visit Siena, Italy during the Palio

  54. Eat pizza in Naples, Italy (I’ve done this before and OMG…the best pizza evah)

  55. Learn Italian in Italy

  56. Go to Milan during Fashion Week (I know nothing of fashion but it’s so Carrie Bradshaw that I must do it someday)

  57. Keeping with the Carrie theme……drink a Cosmopolitan & a Manhattan in…you guessed it, Manhattan

  58. Learn to dance like they did in the 1700s in Venice so I can……

  59. Attend a fab party during Carnival

  60. Explore the mysteries of Luxor, Egypt

  61. Spend a weekend in San Francisco

  62. See the Yukon, Canada

  63. Watch bull-riding at the Calgary Stampede

  64. Photograph the Grand Canyon, USA

  65. Tour the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica

  66. Climb the Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

  67. Swim at Shark Bay, WA

  68. Swim with dolphins at Monkey Mia,WA

  69. Take Master T trick or treating (a proper Halloween) in North America

  70. Eat falafel and hummus in Jordan

  71. Learn to belly dance in Egypt

  72. Drive a snowmobile in Canada (no, I’ve never done this…shocking, I know)

  73. Gorge on tacos, quesadillas and tequila in Mexico

  74. Rent a whitewashed, seaside house in Greece

  75. Never be hungry in Hungary

  76. Go back to Oman

  77. Arrive to Tofino, British Columbia (Canada) by seaplane

  78. Rent Tigh-na Clayoquot Vacation House in Tofino BC for a week with friends (Gillian, this has your name all over it!!)

  79. Go to the Australian Open (Tennis) in Melbourne

  80. See a quokka on Rottnest Island, WA

  81. Spend a night in an igloo

  82. See gorillas in the wild in Rwanda

  83. Ride an elephant in Thailand

  84. Snowboard in Japan

  85. Be amazed at Cirque de Soleil (anywhere will do)

  86. Take a learn to surf course in Hawaii (just for fun…I don’t want to surf)

  87. Visit Sydney with my sister, Christine!!

  88. See penguins on Penguin Island, WA

  89. Writing course in Paris

  90. Attend the Healthivate health bloggers conference in Sydney (aim for 2014)

  91. Spend a month or more just “being” in Thailand

  92. Spend the night on Halong Bay, Vietnam

  93. Walk the Milford Track (NZ)

  94. Walk along the Bay of Fires beach in Tasmania

  95. Walk the Inca Trail, Peru

  96. Return to Morocco

  97. Teach English in Southeast Asia (someday)

  98. Spend a month alone writing in Bali

  99. See a moose on Cape Breton Island (Canada)

  100. Travel around Australia on a promo tour as a published author!!

 I’m quite happy to say that some of the list has already been accomplished!!! Yip yip!!

Here’s a glimpse of the world through my lens.

corsica cottage

Cottage by the sea…Corsica 2004

casablanca

A Mosque in Casablanca 2004

portifino

Portofino, Italy….I love love love this one!

Even if not watermarked all photos  are © Jennifer Morton Photos

Dream BIG and live LARGE


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What’s Working for me Wednesday

And what a lovely Wednesday it is. I’m being sarcastic. Below will be my final 14 entries of my top 100 travel wishes. Before I go there, I must admit that I have a love/hate relationship with travel.

Yesterday, I returned home from a whirlwind trip to Sydney. I spent 4 nights away – one night was on the plane from Perth. What was I thinking? I do not sleep well on planes, trains, cars….ANY transportation so I’m not sure why I thought I could travel overnight from coast to coast and then spend the day at a writing course – without sleep!

I’m pleading optimism.

I was certain  the flight would not be full and I would have the entire left hand side of row 29 to myself. Ha!! Didn’t happen. But I made it through day 1 and then went to see Silver Linings Playbook in the evening (I liked it, btw). My mind was telling me that I was fine, ‘it’s all good, you can do it all’, I said. But my body protested.

The next day, I woke up with a sore throat. It wasn’t too bad and again, I pushed on. I walked from Central Station to Milsons Point in North Sydney, home of the Australian Writers’ Centre for day 2 of the writing course. I stopped off to get throat lozenges and cold relief first. At least I slept well the night before and I actually felt better on day 2 even though I knew a virus was attacking me.

Fast forward to arriving back in Perth at 9am yesterday. I was sore from the waist down. It was painful to walk but I had no choice. I had to get from A to B and carry my own bags. By the time I actually got home (3 hours north of Perth!), unpacked and took a shower I couldn’t stay upright anymore. I was in bed by 5pm and stayed there until this morning. My throat is red and puffy now. I have a doctor’s appointment at 11am today. I detest anti-biotics but I also hate pain, especially when it prevents me from eating!

There is a lesson in this. I just haven’t figured out what it is yet.

It’s kinda a lie to say dreaming of travel is working for me this Wednesday but ultimately it will always be my #1 thing to do…dream and the actual doing!!

  1. Show my sister, Christine Sydney and other parts of Oz!!

  2. See penguins on Penguin Island, WA

  3. Writing course in Paris

  4. Attend the Healthivate health bloggers conference in Sydney (aim for 2014)

  5. Spend a month or more just “being” in Thailand

  6. Spend the night on Halong Bay, Vietnam

  7. Walk the Milford Track (NZ)

  8. Walk along the Bay of Fires beach in Tasmania

  9. Walk the Inca Trail, Peru

  10. Return to Morocco

  11. Teach English in Southeast Asia (someday)

  12. Spend a month alone writing in Bali

  13. See a moose on Cape Breton Island (Canada)

  14. Travel around Australia on a promo tour as a published author!! 

And there it is!!! I’m sure there could be many many more entries.

I will post the entire 100 in another post!

Have you made your top travel wishes or a “bucket” list? Feel free to share!


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What’s Working for me Wednesday

WWWI cannot believe I’m up to the last 25 of my top 100 travel dreams and wishes. Minutes, hours, days and weeks are flying by so fast I feel I cannot keep up sometimes. And sometimes, I am not keeping up at all. I’m flailing through life at the moment.

It has been brought to my attention that many of my wishes so far are well and truly travel cliches. Fair enough. I agree. They are. But I want to experience those cliches. Am I now considered boring and unoriginal? To some, I guess so. But screw them. This is MY list and MY blog. Maybe a disclaimer is the right this to do.

WARNING: The following list may contain cliched travel dreams and may offend some readers. If you are so opposed to cliches, I suggest you piss off right now. 

Mision Beach walk_JMorton

I took this photo….I love it even though it’s been done on a thousand postcards around the world.

 

  1. Go back to Oman

  2. Arrive to Tofino, British Columbia (Canada) by seaplane

  3. Rent Tigh-na Clayoquot Vacation House in Tofino BC for a week with friends (Gillian, this has your name all over it!!)

  4. Go to the Australian Open (Tennis) in Melbourne

  5. See a quokka on Rottnest Island, WA

  6. Spend the night in an igloo

  7. See gorillas in the wild in Rwanda

  8. Ride an elephant in Thailand

  9. Snowboard in Japan

  10. Be amazed at Cirque de Soleil (anywhere will do)

  11. Take a learn to surf course in Hawaii (just for fun…I don’t want to surf)

  12.  TBA

 

So, I haven’t finished the list….I’m not prolonging this travel segment, I just want to finish the list with real wishes..not just more cliches….lol!!! See you here next Wednesday!!

 


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What’s Working for me Wednesday – 25 more travel wishes

WWW25 more travel wishes!!! It’s what’s working for me this Wednesday. I spend far too much time dreaming of travel. My brother-in-law and his new wife are on a 12-month long honeymoon at the moment and I just heard from them the other day. They’re in Thailand after spending a month in India!  Am I jealous? Nah, not at all…..ha!  Seriously but.

To be honest, I don’t know if I’m cut out for that kind of travel. I did do it once but I met my now husband just 5 weeks into my trip so I never felt like I was away for a year, then going home. Somehow I knew that I would not be going home to Canada. I travelled during the 12 months and settled in Sydney for 6 months of it. That suited me great. I love to see new places and do new things but I also like the going home part. I feel too unsure and disconnected when I’m living out of a suitcase. Plus, I always wonder how people can afford to travel for long periods of time. I was on working holiday visas when I did it (12 years ago!!) but once you’re over a certain age, that’s no longer a possibility.

 Do you prefer long trips (more than 1 month) or short holidays?

japanese style

Master T and I in Japan on my 40th birthday!! It was a dream trip come true for me.

Here’s the next 25 on my list of 100 travel wishes and dreams……

  1. New Year’s Eve in Sydney for fireworks!

  2. Be colourful at the Holi festival in India

  3. Visit Siena, Italy during the Palio

  4. Eat pizza in Naples, Italy (I’ve done this before and OMG…the best pizza evah)

  5. Learn Italian in Italy

  6. Go to Milan during Fashion Week (I know nothing of fashion but it’s so Carrie Bradshaw that I must do it someday)

  7. Keeping with the Carrie theme……drink a Cosmopolitan & a Manhattan in…you guessed it, Manhattan

  8. Learn to dance like they did in the 1700s in Venice so I can……

  9. Attend a fab party during Carnival

  10. Explore the mysteries of Luxor, Egypt

  11. Spend a weekend in San Francisco

  12. See the Yukon, Canada

  13. Watch bull-riding at the Calgary Stampede

  14. Photograph the Grand Canyon, USA

  15. Tour the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica

  16. Climb the Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

  17. Swim at Shark Bay, WA

  18. Swim with dolphins at Monkey Mia,WA

  19. Take Master T trick or treating (a proper Halloween) in North America

  20. Eat felafel and hummus in Jordan

  21. Learn to belly dance in Egypt

  22. Drive a snowmobile in Canada (no, I’ve never done this…shocking, I know)

  23. Gorge on tacos, quesadillas and tequila in Mexico

  24. Rent a whitewashed, seaside house in Greece

  25. Never be hungry in Hungary

IMG_0408

Here I am in Ottawa, Canada on the nation’s birthday..another travel dream come true!