All I Ask, the Heaven Above [Bucket List]

All I ask, the heaven above, and the road below me – these lines from Stevenson’s Vagabond have always stayed with me. When I heard of ‘Befikar Umar Bhar’ (Sans Worry All Your Life), I took a moment to sit down and think of my bucket list.

One thing about life is certain. It is uncertain! Change is something we all face and if you take a minute to think of what matters to you, you will find that the answers you come up with today are totally different from those five years ago, or maybe ten years ago.

What if you could live life without any care in the world? Nothing to stop you or hold you back? What if you win the Mega Million lottery?

Hindsight is always 20-20!

There are so many things that I could have easily done a few years ago, but never did. If only my future self had given me a dose of wisdom like in this video?

A Food Blogger’s Bucket List

As an inveterate traveler and food blogger, most of my wish list is centered around food, wine and travel. And maybe a bauble or two, or some designer stuff. Check out the top 5 items on my bucket list.

1. Indulge in a meal prepared by a Michelin starred chef

Gourmet cuisine is in! My style of cooking is more homestyle. I am not sure if I can ever be truly artsy with my food. One of my ultimate dreams is to eat a meal prepared by a Michelin Starred chef. Notice that I don’t say eat in a Michelin star restaurant. And Vikas Khanna is my chef of choice. Who else can combine Indian flavors and serve them up in a modern way?

2. Visit the Last Frontier and see the Northern Lights

By Nic McPhee from Morris, MN, USA (Road to special places) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Alaska, the lost frontier has been calling to me way before the bridge to nowhere became an election issue. The Northern Lights are not just a Nora Roberts novel to me. I really want to see this spectacle of nature. Denali National Park with the tallest mountains in North America is just the place I want to travel to.

3. Tour the South of France, tasting local wines

By Megan Mallen (Flickr: Burgundy, France) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I want to see the whole of France Rick Steves style. And I want to tour the wine country – Burgundy, Lyon, Champagne etc. – in a leisurely manner. In the perfect world we are talking about, I should easily be able to cycle along meandering vineyards, stay in chateaux, taste local wines, eat rustic French food and just take it easy and enjoy life.

4. Write an award winning fiction novel

Ever since I read my first Jeffery Archer book, I have wanted to be a famous writer. Of course it is a pipe dream, but it is certainly something to have on a bucket list, right? The novel I write would span continents and certainly have both Eastern and Western characters. And the protagonist will probably be a woman!

5. Buy an Hermes scarf

I am not much of a fashion buff. I live in my jeans most of the time. I don’t dream of being dressed by Dior or Anita Dongre, but I would love to own a Hermes scarf. It actually seems very frivolous to me and hence it goes on my bucket list.

6. Go on a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 [Bonus]

Brian Burnell via Wikimedia Commons

Actually, I would love to go on any cruise. But there is something special about the Queen Mary 2, the most magnificent ocean liner and the most luxurious. While I would love to go on a Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival etc. cruise, traveling on the Queen Mary 2 in a room with a balcony facing the ocean would be my ultimate bucket list item.

Food, Wine, Travel, Work and Lifestyle are the main categories I have chosen for my five item bucket list.

So what is the top most thing you would do if you had the resources, the time and not a care in the world? Why not drop a comment and share below?

This post is written for the #BefikarUmarBhar campaign with Indiblogger and IDBI Federal.