The Secret of Youth? - The Ultimate Bucket List   by Stuart O'Brian

in Travel    (submitted 2012-01-05)

So much to do, so little time to do it.

Despite the call of the wild and an opportunity to experience that lifelong ambition of a Kenyan safari, this intrepid traveler chose another path for some reason.

Maybe it was age that had finally grabbed the frontal lobe and those decision making processes were now far easier arrived at or maybe I had just simply lost my bottle.

I had once nurtured ideas of the safari, fuelled by too many episodes of Daktari, Clarence the cross eyed lion, and a fair smattering of Tarzan, although in those early days of pubescence I would like to think it was more thoughts of Jane in her loin cloth and boob tube than those noisy swingers Tarzan and Cheetah that was giving me the yearning for Africa.

Now having completed some years, nay decades, nay scores of years and more it's a different set of thoughts that guide me. I don't fancy sleeping under canvas actually. Well maybe I will but how much hot water is there in the morning and is it a power shower? Can I use my iPad and how good is the Wi-Fi signal in Camp Kgalagadi National Park?

And apparently nowadays you don't get a gun and you can't bring home trophy heads and horns. So what's the point in killing some wild game if you can't bring home some proof? What? You don't get to go for a kill and have your forehead dapped with the blood of your first kill?
"And for that reason," said Mr Bannatyne, "Ah'm oot!"

Instead I found myself strapped in front of a fairly strapping lad and as my fingers clawed to maintain a grip on the bright yellow fuselage of my last bastion of safety, I felt what I hoped was his knee giving me the push that I needed. Next moment I am hurtling towards the ground from thousands of feet, flapping around in the air like a piece of paper, getting faster and faster and twisting and turning and as the spires of the nearby skyscrapers became more and more likely to be a potential risk to my sphincter muscle, suddenly we gained control - well he gained control and we floated to the ground gracefully and with neither fuss nor screams.

So it wasn't a question of bottle that stopped my safari as I had just completed my very first and (let me assure you secretly) very last skydive.

Well that's that off my bucket list. Now where?

I checked the mirror using both hands, adjusted the harness straps and I was off, hurtling down the pit lane to enter the race circuit. This beast was flying and I was flying with it. The Audi R8 is a strange experience. Raw power with a Ferrari feel without the overawe, after all, it's just an Audi! Yes sure it is and as you hurtle down the big straight and reach 150mph with your seat feeling an inch above the tarmac, its plenty fast! Three laps later and I am absolutely knackered! Fair credit and total respect to the Vettels, Buttons and Webbers of the world! It is exhausting and how much adrenalin can one fool pump around his ageing body in a day?

Well that was enough I have to say. After dining on the finest steak I have ever eaten in my life, we headed to the Madinat Jumeirah. We had tickets to The First Group Theatre and we were going to see Jump.

I cannot tell you how amazing this show is - I was breathless and speechless and my heart was pumping almost as much as it had been on the two earlier occasions of my day.

The First Group is a hotel investment developer and they have such a good presence in Dubai, their logo adorns the Jumeirah Madinat Theatre - The First Group Theatre - I guess this is the pay it forward, giving back to the community policy that so many of the world's major companies now do - playing a huge part in the community that has spawned their success.

I have to say that this was just Day 1 for me in Dubai, and I still had so much to do in only 3 remaining days.

I wanted to go to the Dubai Mall, go dune bashing on quads, have a drink at the Sky Bar in the Burj Al Arab, and then spend a couple of hours skiing in The Mall of the Emirates.

I managed it all - but I wish I had done less each day and had more time in Dubai. What a sensational place. It's funny because people are forever talking about Dubai as if you have missed the boat, and nothing could be further from the truth. This city rocks; It's clean, it's polite, it's safe, it's wonderful. There is so much to do. I barely scraped the surface of that list of things to do. I love it and I cannot wait to come back. And just so you know….. My bucket list is getting longer thanks to Dubai. Marhaba!

About the Author

I have a strong passion for travel and adventure and take great pride in being part of the first group of elderly rafters to set loose in Albania.