The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

Oprah Winfrey

Are you a list-maker? A list-follower? Or a little bit of both?

During this time of sheltering in place, we’re slowly but surely (well, sort of) checking off a list of things to do. To complete. To put to rights, if you will. Mind you, there will always be chores around our place, but for two people who love to travel there is also a list of places we would love to see — whether we write them down or not. But instead of clipping pictures from the internet of where we want to go, we’re showing you four places we’ve loved in case you want to add them to your bucket list. Here are four places with the Sams Stamp of Approval — places we’d love to see again.

Nepal

In Nepal, take a bus out to the mountainous regions near Dhulikhel where you most likely will see people working and living productively but simply as they build homes of mud and rock and gather branches of greenery to feed their animals.

But also take a tour of a shrine where you can observe people in worship, hike to a monastery, or add your prayers as your move your hands across the prayer wheels.

Viet Nam

Drive out to the country to see rice fields in various stages — from planting to harvesting — by the most dedicated people happy to share their craft with visitors.

Then board a cruise ship and sail into Ha Long Bay where you get swallowed up by the hauntingly dark limestone karsts of various sizes and dimensions. We’ve found no better place in the world to watch morning unfold.

Morocco

Visit Marrakesh during Ramadan, if you can, to see Koutoubia Mosque laid out with prayer mats and to listen to the five-times-daily prayers emanating from the speakers overhead.

But don’t miss any of the medinas in the cities you visit, be it Fes or Marrakesh or Tangier. In the narrowest of quarters as well as in open markets, you’ll find spices and dried veggies lined up ready for purchase and for creating true Moroccan cuisine back home.

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Romania

Of course, Bran Castle is on your must-see list, but not just because it’s known as Dracula’s Castle. In fact, Drac may not have even been there. Go see it for its beauty and history, winding passageways and secret rooms. You may even find that the story of Vlad the Impaler is just enough horror to fill the day!

But if you get the chance, put Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, on your sightseeing list. Celebration days feature young ones in native dress and all the music and beer you could ask for.

If the coronavirus quarantine has given you even more time to dream of in terms of destinations yet to see, share them with us.

We’re writing in pencil these days, not sure where to go next or what will move up to the top. Lists can be fun, but tentative!

Rusha & Bert

This post is part of a series of one-word prompts for April 2020 called Discover Prompts by WordPress. Enjoy!