Heather Tucker

Travel bucket list for 2012:

~Chernobyl – I want to experience the deafening silence of a village with no people. Where birds no longer sing and paintings of dancing alligators in a children’s’ shop are surrounded by rubble, broken glass and the beep of a Geiger counter.

~Tapis de Fleurs de Bruxelles – I’ve already had the pleasure of standing in Brussels’ central square, my neck craned and my eyes as wide as saucers in an attempt to take in the imposing architecture and magnificent guildhalls. Now I want to see with those same eyes the 2000-square meter flower carpet made of colourful begonias and dahlias.

~India – India has been on my travel bucket list for quite some time but more specifically I want to visit India during the Diwali festival. I want to help prepare a house to welcome the goddess Lakshmi, watch vendors push their make-shift trolleys brimming with red, yellow, green, pink and silver garlands through the street and feel the touch of a fingertip as red vermilion powder is applied between my eyebrows for the perfect round bindi.

~Rome – From the first moment I heard the melodic piano melody of Ludovico Einaudi’s I Giorni whilst riding down a busy motorway, I have wanted to explore the city and complete the visit by attending one of the Italian composer/musician’s concerts in one of the most famous cities in Italy.

~Switzerland – I am dying to find out, just how clean are their streets?!?

To go off-the-brochure:

Mexico appears to have a bit of an obsession and no I don’t mean of the skin-tight lycra and scary wrestling masks variety. No, Mexico seems to have a passion for breaking Guinness World Records.

Did you know that they hold the record for the largest cheesecake ever baked, the largest cup of hot chocolate and the largest group make-out session? 341 participants helped secure the record for the largest tequila tasting event and Mexico City’s 215,000 square foot nativity set with 5,000 figures just clenched the record for, yes you guessed it, the world’s largest nativity set.

With all these world records being set, why not bypass the typical activities of relaxing on the beach, exploring ancient ruins and sipping margaritas and instead add “helped break a world record in Mexico” to your resume?

Sure it will take some organising but is there a more authentic way to experience Mexico than standing shoulder to shoulder with locals to help make the world’s largest taco (achieved in 2003, weighing 1,654 pounds) or dancing in the largest Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance (achieved in 2009 with 13,597 participants)?

A travel dilemma started when:

As I sauntered through the doors, I was hit straight in the face with the sight of zigzagging lines, suitcases in piles large enough to challenge the Great Pyramids I had visited three short days before and the distinguishable din of chaos.

I was at Cairo airport ready for my departure back to the UK. Since I was travelling alone, there was no one else to exchange my wide-eye look with, leaving me with the only option of joining one of the ever-stretching queues.

As my line crept forward at a pace even slow for a snail, I began picking up snippets of other people’s conversations. The rumble in the airport was that the check-in staff were charging departure taxes. However, judging by the reactions around me, these were unexpected and varying in amount with very little explanation as to why. Perhaps even more worrying was the way that checked-in suitcases were being roughly thrown into the nearest pile, leaving me feeling that I better properly say goodbye to my suitcase rather than “see you later.”

It was at that moment that I noticed a couple causally stroll up to a desk next to all the others. They were greeted with a smile, their bags carefully labelled and placed on a moving conveyor belt and even better, they weren’t being charged taxes.

First class!

I’d always wanted to fly first class and I knew you could pay a reduced rate for an upgrade, provided there were seats free. I decided to risk it and ditched the crowd for the air conditioned ticket office where I secured my first class ticket at a fraction of the normal cost. And since I always travel with access to some extra funds for emergencies/unusual situations, I didn’t even have to worry about where the money was going to come from.

It was with great pleasure, rather than stress, that I strolled up to the desk, checked in with a smile and waved “see you soon” at my suitcase before heading to the first class lounge.

To be a prepared traveler, don’t forget:

Packing for a trip would not be complete without throwing in a pack of Immodium tablets and tissues. I love to try the local food when I travel, even if my stomach doesn’t always agree. I hate to be at the mercy of my stomach, so I learned some time ago that a pack of Immodium can make the difference between being stuck in my hotel room or out and about enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of a location. I also always pack a tube of Nelsons cuts and scrapes cream. I like having one cream that can soothe, heal and protect all at the same time.

While I’d love to say my Bose noise-cancelling headphones are the best gadget and most useful piece of travel gear, they would be left at home if I had to choose between them and my electronic suitcase weighing scale. Headphones are a luxury but knowing how much my suitcase weighs before heading to the airport is essential.

You’ll never find me with a carry-on that doesn’t include a camera, a notebook and at least two pens. I would eventually forget if I wasn’t able to brush my teeth for a day but I wouldn’t be able to forget if I failed to capture the smiling Italian grandmother in her patterned dress and baby soft purple shawl as she attempted to tell me something in Italian on the train ride to Pompeii.