The worst thing about making New Year’s resolutions is that we forget about them by mid-January. So it’s best to print the list and hang it on the wall where you can see it every day (look for the printable version at the end of this post). Another option is to set up your calendar app so that it sends you a link to this article every month as a reminder.

Here’s the list:

1. Accept adventurous invitations more often.

2. Make more friends on the road. 

3. Try more new food.

4. Sail more.

5. Fly more. 

6. Be more curious. 

7. Get lost more often. 

8. Bring home memories and recipes instead of souvenirs. 

9. Try something for the first time more often – at least once a month.

10. Introduce at least one more person to the joy of traveling. 

11. Travel to more places where people know what happiness is. 

12. Become more immune to bad weather; don’t let it stop you from traveling.

13. Read more travel books. 

14. Get more organized and plan that grand adventure you’ve been postponing for years.

15. Spend less on clothes and gadgets and more on travel. 

16. Communicate more often with your new travel friends (send postcards or just random photos from your everyday life). Start right now. 

17. Take better care of yourself (because you need to travel in good shape).

18. Drink more water on planes. 

19. Spend more time off the tourist trail to discover the unknown.

20. Spend more time observing the world around you instead of rushing to your next destination.

21. Start enjoying the changes in your plan.

22. Spend more time in nature. 

23. Tweak classical holidays and celebrate them according to your own interpretation (check out our unusual Christmas travel ideas here).

24. Stop relying on other people’s opinion about places. 

25. Stop paying for tacky tours and use local transportation more. 

26. Fulfill (or take steps to fulfill) your biggest travel dream.

27. Pack lighter. 

28. Learn more words from the languages of the countries you visit.

29. Say “YES” more often.

How many of our travel challenges have you completed so far?

Pin or print this list to remind yourself of the good stuff you’ve promised yourself to do:

The post The traveler’s New Year resolutions (printable) appeared first on 203Challenges.

Wet New Year (Thailand) – The Thai New Year, celebrated on 13th April, has turned into great fun for locals and visitors. The Thai people pay reverence to Buddha, clean their houses and pour water over elders as a way to show respect. Over the past years, though, the tradition has become a bit wilder – whether you’re an elder or not, expect water gun shoot-outs in the streets, whole buckets of water to be amicably poured over you or water balloons to be thrown at you.

New Year’s, camping in the desert – Mark the beginning of the new year with Bedouin cuisine, music and dances around the campfire in the middle of the desert. Spend the night in a tent camp among sand dunes and get up at dawn to welcome the first sunrise of a great new year in your life. There are similar tours in Jordan, Dubai, Morocco, India – prices, duration and extras included may vary.

Join the ice-cold New Year’s Dive in the Netherlands  – 1st January in the Netherlands is no time for lying around and sobering up in front of the TV, but for the traditional New Year’s plunge into the icy waters of the sea, lakes and rivers. More than 25,000 Dutch people take part in this refreshing procedure every year. The largest dive is held at the beach of Scheveningen –  a seaside region in the Hague, where about 10,000 people plunge into the sea each year.

A couple more icy ideas: A traditional icy dive is held on Christmas day in Serpentine Lake (Hyde Park, London). In North America there are ‘polar bear’ clubs that organize charity ice dives. In Russia and other Orthodox countries, on the day of the revelation of God (Epiphany, 6th or 19th January) an iron cross is cast into the icy waters of a river. Young men race to retrieve it. It is believed that the first who reaches the cross will be healthy and happy all year long.

And don’t forget that celebrating New Year in your own home, apartment or family house in Sofia (or anywhere in Bulgaria or abroad), is cool and nice option, too 😉

The post 3 unusual ideas to celebrate New Year appeared first on 203Challenges.

1. January: organize a surprise trip for someone you love

It might be for a special occasion, like their birthday. Or you might want to surprise them just because.

Here’s a detailed plan for how to organize a surprise trip in less than 30 minutes.

Morning on the road | PicJumbo

2. February: travel for free

It’s not as hard as it sounds to travel for free. We’ve covered the topic in detail in our article How to travel for free (without feeling like a tramp).

3. March: head on a mystery trip

The only things you will know before your mystery trip are the starting point and your budget. Then 1) hop on the first bus and get off at a random stop, or 2) take the first cheap flight at the airport, or 3) blindfold a friend and let them give directions while you are driving (please make sure that YOU are driving, not your blindfolded friend).

4. April: go for more nature walks

Walking in nature is good for your physical and mental health (look at this infographic for more details), so why not put aside a little ‘me time’ this April and go to the nearest wilderness/forest/mountain every weekend?

5. May: travel solo

Because everyone needs to travel alone at least once a year to replenish their inner world and return to themselves.

Spend some quality ‘me time’ on the road | PicJumbo

6. June: for a week, do something unusual during your lunch break

Visit a museum, go to a yoga class, indulge in a wine-tasting session, go to the movies, meet a friend from your college years or do any other unusual activity that comes to your mind.

7. July: swap your bed for a hammock for at least one night in the summer. On a weekday.

Now, the second part is more important, because it’s not such a big challenge to do this on the weekend. But what a refreshing experience it is to spend the night in a hammock somewhere around the city (you can hang a hammock basically anywhere) and then, after having your well-earned morning coffee, go back to the office with a silly grin on your face. We did it last summer; here’s what happened.

8. August: bathe in a waterfall

Nothing is better than a free shower from nature. Here are a few of the best waterfalls to take a dip in the USA.

9. September: confront one of your fears

Think about one of your greatest fears, take a teeny-tiny step to overcome it. Then another one. Aaaand another one. Push your limits as far as you can.

10. October: you’re gonna like this – spend a whole day enjoying the sweetness of doing nothing.

Or as the Italians call it, il dolce far niente. There’s no need to run around the world crossing countries off your bucket list all the time. Just slow the f* down and practice dolce far niente for a whole day.

11. November: embrace the bad weather

Choose a day with bad weather and force yourself to go outside into nature. You’ll need to follow a few important rules to actually enjoy this. 1. Dress according to the weather (there’s no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing). 2. Take a flask full of hot tea. 3. Take photos, or simply observe the world around you. Observing is delightful.

12. December: spend Christmas like never before

This could mean anything from ‘go to Lapland to meet Santa in person’ to ‘go to a Bedouin desert camp on Christmas Eve’.

Read our list of cool unusual things to do this Christmas.

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