Living To Do | Make your own Bucket List of things to do before you die

On the List: The Trans-Siberian Railway

The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest train ride in the world, covering nearly 6000 miles from Moscow, across the Siberian wasteland, and on to Vladivostok. It is a travel experience that everyone should take part in at least once in their lives, seeing the grandeur of the largest country in the world from the window of a train. Though the ride is long and you may find your backside aching after so much time sitting down, the spectacular views would be well-worth the discomfort.

Being on this railroad also means rubbing elbows with many Russian natives who happen to be using the train for more practical purposes. There is no better way to know the real face of a country’s people than interacting with them on a daily basis in an environment where there is little to do but interact. This journey is one that can be both social and introspective at the same time and give you some unique insights.

Those that plan on travelling the railway need to be careful about purchasing their tickets, however. Buying tickets for the Tran-Siberian Railway is much the same as buying tickets for an airplane with many layovers. If you happen to get off the train at a stop and decide you want to stay a while, you’ll be buying a new ticket for the next train as the old one becomes useless. One option is to just buy them along the way, though you may end up stranded somewhere for a few days if the train happens to be sold out. With the increasing popularity that the ride holds for tourists, the possibility of a sell-out is a very real threat. The best way to do it is perhaps to plan ahead where you want to stop and then purchase tickets accordingly.

Also, eating on the train is pretty expensive, so it’s best to pack some of your own food or wait for the longer stops and then jump off to find a nearby place to eat. Platform vendors are notorious for being outrageously priced, so it’s best to avoid them when possible.

Whether looking for an adventure or picking up a nice, pre-planned tour package, the Tran-Siberian Railway is trip that should be on everyone’s bucket list.

On the list: Cave Exploration

There are places beneath the earth that hold some of the most amazing wonders in the world, but most people will never witness with these wonders with their own eyes. Caves are everywhere below our feet, waiting to be explored. It’s easy enough to find a cave somewhere nearby wherever you happen to live that gives tours, but the only way to truly experience the magnificence of a cave is to go exploring.

When you’re down in the depths, relying only on your wits and your equipment, it adds an element to the exploration that gets the adrenaline pumping. So many things can go wrong which could have dire consequences. Gear can break, you can become stranded somewhere and there’s always a chance that you might end up getting lost in the maze of passages. Of course, anyone who goes exploring will bring one or more friends along to make sure they don’t meet an untimely demise (or at least not meet it alone).

Once in the caves, one is greeted by a strange landscape of winding caves, vertical shafts, and underground rivers. Among these natural features are amazing crystalline structures, stalagmites and stalactites, vast underground lakes and all sorts of rock formations. There are also varieties of life, such as fish and other unique animals that you’ll never see above ground.

Though I have yet to explore any cave other than a few local holes with little to see, I can imagine that the serenity and peace that one must feel when deep in the darkness and far away from civilization. It must be an experience that is rivaled by little else other than, perhaps, finding an isolated mountain to sit upon. Being in the womb of the Earth is something that everyone should experience at least once before they leave this mortal coil.

Do A Birding "Big Year"

For those who dedicate a year to birding, it's literally an adventure that is a lifetime in the making

Do you enjoy bird-watching? (Enough to refer to it as "birding" instead, as the Serious Birders do?) Then some year you owe it to yourself to take the year off and travel the world!

You are no doubt familiar with the concept of doing a "Big Year" if you have either read Mark Obmascik's The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession or seen the movie "The Big Year" starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin which was adapted from it. Although the book and the movie follow the sport of competitive birding, you don't have to compete against the world record. In fact, many people who choose to do a "Big Year" don't have a specific goal in mind, beyond squeezing as much traveling and birding out of a year as they can possibly muster.

It's expensive, this year of travel. Depending on your specific Life List wants and needs, you will probably find yourself traveling to every remote location in the United States. Other birders go international, seeking to photograph all the birds of the African grasslands, for example, or in pursuit of a particularly rare species (like endangered Amazon parrots or the elusive Birds of Paradise of Oceania).

It's also arduous. Very few rare birds live convenient to national hotel chains, or even campgrounds. If you are serious about birding, you will want to be out right at dawn to catch all the birds as they wake from their sleep and forage for breakfast. Most likely, you will be camping out in the rough, and having to pack in your gear on foot.

It also requires a lot of timing. If your sightings depend on the migration cycle, you may find yourself chasing the migrants up and down the Eastern seaboard. The chance of failure is always high.

But for those who dedicate a year to birding, it's literally an adventure that is a lifetime in the making. It means being surrounded by the best that Nature and the planet Earth has to offer, from the peaks of the Rockies to the Louisiana back-country bayous. It means travel to places you never knew existed, and spotting birds that most people will never see in their lifetimes. Done right, it's the birding equivalent of a Gap Year, but you do it as an adult, and thus fully able to appreciate the luxury of taking time to travel and experience a fresh perspective on the world.

On the list: Hike the Great Wall of China

One of the most impressive man-made features in the world, the Great Wall of China measures more than 5500 miles. A little less than 4000 miles of this is actually wall, the rest being composed of trenches, fortifications and in-between zones. Before I end up beneath the earth, I intend to spend some time walking every last inch of this wall – a feat that few could ever claim that they’ve done.

The Great Wall has become a major tourist attraction, so the most popular locations for people to visit have become polluted with merchants selling their goods at ridiculous mark-up. This makes it seem a like Disneyland in a sense, with marketing more important than the wall itself. But there are still several areas of the wall which people rarely ever see. Part of walking every foot means seeing these things that most don’t, including spectacular scenery and remnants of the wall that haven’t been touched for over a thousand years.

Sure, 5500 miles worth of wall (and other stuff) is a long walk indeed. Add to that the number of tourists who end up needing to be rescued because they happened to wander out too far without the proper supplies or wearing the wrong shoes and the wall seems even more daunting. Heck, throw on top of that the fact that the wall runs up-and-down in many places, making it quite strenuous. But still, just the chance to do it makes my heart race.

Part of living is in doing those things that no one else is willing to do. Making that great trek across the Great Wall is something that just doesn’t appeal to the mass majority of people who can’t conceive of traveling more than four or five miles without some sort of automated transportation. I may have to be in the best shape of my life before I do it, and willing to camp under the stars in whatever weather Northern China decides to send my way, but it will be well worth it in the long run.

On the list: Write a novel

One of the signs of having truly lived is in leaving a legacy behind for others to remember you by. This can come in many forms, from making an impression on your family to the point that they speak of you fondly to changing the world for the better in some fundamental way. For me, it’s all about creating a work of art that carries my name through history for generations.

Art can come in many forms, and each has a similar effect. I am a writer, of course, so the novel is my outlet of choice. By putting pen to paper (or rather ink jets to printer paper), the things I wish to say will be transmitted through time. Others will be able to read my words in years to come and make their own judgments as to my character as well as being influenced by the concepts that I put down.

Writing a novel is no easy task, however. One must find a subject that means something personal to them. One must know how to put the words together in an order that comes across as both informative and poetic. And, perhaps the most daunting element of this task, one must be able to motivate oneself to both begin and finish the book.

With publishing becoming easier every year (thank you, eBooks!), getting something from the mind to the page to the public is no longer much of an obstacle. Even if the eBook is all your words ever see, it is still a record of you that can, potentially, change the way someone thinks hundreds of years from now.

Passing down wisdom via the written word is important for the development of social and intellectual change in the world. Think of how influential a book like the Bible is on so many people in our own world. While I certainly don’t expect to reach the same level of fame that the Bible has achieved, if even one person looks upon my words and grows because of it, then my legacy, and thus my life, has a true purpose.

On the list: Join the circus

It may seem like a dream that only kids have, but joining the circus is something that I want to do before I kick the bucket. It’s not any delusional belief that I’ll be walking across the high-wire or swallowing fire. Those sorts of things are reserved exclusively for the ones who have trained years to master them. The real life of one who travels with the circus is one of heavy labor and long hours, and most of those who don’t have special skills do nothing more than help to set the tent up, clean up the poop from the animals and sit around waiting for something to break so they can fix it.

Sure, this may not seem glamorous, but the desire to travel with the circus is one that stems from being on the road, traveling and helping one of the world’s oldest traditions to operate successfully. Plus, in just being present, you will have the opportunity to meet all those talented folks who make the circus what it is.

Life on the road with the circus is a dramatic one. The people who do the various jobs come from all walks of life and often don’t see eye-to-eye. Living conditions are close and you are forced to work with those that you live with, which can create quite a bit of tension. There is no place to escape from the drama on the road when it occurs.

Just being there and experiencing this adversity and the thrill that comes from putting on one of the classic shows would be worth all of it. I only hope that I manage to get a chance to travel with the circus before I get too old to be of any use. On the off chance, I may be able learn how to walk the high-wire in the meantime and make myself of some use in the talent department.

On the list: Attend San Diego Comic-Con

To most people, attending a comic book convention is definitely not on their list of top priorities. The idea of shuffling through mobs of geeks who are obsessed with comic books, movies, video games and cosplay is a daunting one. But those in the know-it realize that the San Diego Comic-Con is one of the biggest cultural phenomena that our world has seen in recent years.

More than 150,000 people attend the San Diego convention every year. Tickets for the event are sold out within hours of being available to purchase. Hotels are booked months in advance (and at premium rates) and, when the event happens, the streets are literally filled with geeks of every type.

Comic conventions nowadays are less about the comics, unfortunately, than they are about everything else that goes on there. When the convention in San Diego first started, there were about 500 people attending. Those numbers have certainly grown, and with the added people comes added interest. Now video games and films usually take the spotlight, not to mention the panels with esteemed guests, ranging from geek icons like Stan Lee to pop-culture icons that happened to star in geek films, like Sylvester Stallone.

I yearn for the day when I will have my thousand plus dollars to throw down for the San Diego ticket, hotel and all other necessities required to make the event one to remember. Anyone with an interest (or obsession) with geek culture should go to at least one convention, and if you can make it to San Diego, all the better. There is no experience like being surrounded by 150,000 like-minded people who won’t make fun of you just because you want to dress up as a stormtrooper and parade around in public.

On the list: Hiking Mt. Huashan

Mount Huashan is not only one of the five sacred mountains of China, but it also happens to be one of the most spectacular hikes in the world. It’s known for being a sometimes treacherous hike, though there are a variety of trails so even the inexperienced hiker can still experience at least some of the mountain’s majesty. For those that wish to push themselves to the limit, the climb to the southern peak is the one to aim for. Being a public trail, with no warnings or regulations, the mountain is often filled with inexperienced hikers and the past has seen more than its share of people making fatal mistakes and falling to their deaths.

When I say the mountain is “filled,” I am not exaggerating in the least. This mountain is so popular among Chinese that many thousands of people swarm the five peaks on a daily basis. Even the snow of winter doesn’t keep people away from making the trek to the top. And it’s no wonder they do, as the scenery in the area is spectacular to say the least. Since the spot is of religious importance, there are also several temples – mostly Taoist – built throughout the peaks and open to visitors.

For those that aren’t in the mood for an all-day hike, there’s a gondola in place that travels about half-way up, to the North Peak. This ride can be an amazing experience on its own, dangling from a wire hundreds of feet above the rocky ground with nothing but the rugged mountains and pristine forests to see.

Personally, when I hike Mount Huashan, I’m going for the full experience. The South Peak is the one for the adventurous, and it’s no wonder why. Many areas of the path are nearly vertical, with only rough-cut steps and a chain to provide access. Paths wind along the sides of vertical cliffs that drop into deep canyons and valleys. At one point, known as the Changkong Zhandao, there’s a wooden plank that has been fixed directly to the side of a cliff. One must traverse this barely one-foot wide path if they wish to make the ascent.

Once at the top, however, the view is absolutely amazing. From the top of the South Peak it’s possible to look down upon the Yellow River, many miles away, and see it winding through the valley below. Anyone with an interest in hiking and climbing should brave the perils of Mount Huashan before they kick the bucket, whether just going the easy way to enjoy the view, or pushing the challenge of the infamous South Peak.

On the list: Aligator Wrestling!

It may seem like one of the silliest “sports” in the world, but the tradition of alligator wrestling is one that can’t be ignored when it comes to making a proper bucket list. It is probably to some degree mentally damaging to the poor reptile, but the opportunity to fight a giant, mean and dangerous lizard is akin to battling Godzilla for supremacy over Tokyo. Risking life and limb to make a gator submit is a top priority before I bite the dust.

Not for the weak of heart, alligator wrestling is a very methodological process with many guidelines that need to be followed in order to come out with all of your limbs. The following, very brief outline will explain how the pros do it. Warning, don’t try this at home!

The first step is getting on the gator’s back. This is said to be the most dangerous part of the entire process, as if the gator sees you coming he still has his full range of movement available to whip around and snap off a piece. To seize the back, one needs to come from behind, not the sides, as the rear is the gator’s only blind spot. One technique is to distract the gator before going in by using another person, though throwing something over his eyes works just as well. A quick run and a leap and you’re mounted.

Next, you need to grab the head and jaws before they grab you. The hands go on the gator’s neck and its head needs to be pressed into the ground to keep the jaws shut. Your legs should be used to pin his hind legs as well so that he can’t spin and buck you off.

Keeping in control of the mouth is essential during the whole gator-wrestling process. With one hand pinning the mouth, the other can be used to cover his closely-set eyes and blind him. Then the hands can be shifted to grasp the jaw and hold it shut. A gator’s primary muscles involve closing the mouth, not opening it, so it doesn’t take a huge amount of strength to keep his trap shut. Once the jaw is firmly in hand, you pull the head back to a 90 degree angle and the gator is officially submitted.

Getting off the gator is important too, and the process is pretty much the same as mounting it but in reverse. The most important thing to remember is that when dismounting you need to leap off his back and get away from him quick. Usually they won’t pursue, and even if they do they tend to give up rather quickly.

So yeah, for what it’s worth, those are the basics of alligator wrestling. Obviously, you don’t want to go and test this out without having a little professional help. Luckily, there are schools which cater to this particular sport, so if it happens to be your thing, there are people who can show you the ropes.

Meditations on Death

The fear of death is perhaps the greatest thing in our lives which prevents us from truly living. Sometimes this fear can be great and overwhelming; sometimes this fear can be quite unreasonable. For some, even the smallest chance of harm can be overblown in their minds and be enough to keep them from participating in the exciting adventures and life-changing experiences that memories are built from. Unfortunately, the fear is usually greater than the person who must fight it. Avoiding death is something that is engrained in the human species as an animalistic instinct to survive. So how does one conquer this oppressive fear?

One technique has evolved from eastern religion and philosophy – that of meditating upon death itself as the inevitable outcome of life. The theory is that if one accepts death as a given, then the fear of it will subside.

The concept has been made popular in movies and literature via two main routes. The first is the Hagakure, an early 17^th century written work by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. In his writings, Yamamoto relates what he sees as the samurai obligation to remove his fear of death through meditation. He suggests contemplating such things as “…being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords…”, “being thrown into the midst of a great fire...” and even, as was a reasonable possibility of the times, “…committing seppuku…” In modern days we might want to shift these a bit to some more common causes of death, such as disease, murder, being hit by a car or falling off of a tall building.

The other main source of the death meditation practice is the teachings of Buddha. Some of Buddha’s recorded words speak of “…impending death is like a persistent malevolence dogging our steps through life…” and impart the wisdom that “Meditating on death is a way to pierce the illusion of the body.” Basically, he believes death to be an obstacle to growth that must be accepted in order to be overcome.

These meditations are supposed to be done daily, and preferably when one is at ease with their life, in order to have the desired effect. One does not have to be Buddhist or a samurai to try the practice of meditating on death, but need only have a desire to shed that fear which clouds the mind and keeps life from being lived to its fullest.

Pages