Why I’m Scared To Visit My Dream Destination

Have you ever built up something in your mind to be so great and then when you finally experienced it, you were disappointed?

Back in the “good old days”, you couldn’t just binge watch a TV series in a few days on a streaming platform like Netflix. You had to watch it at the time that it was on TV and if conflicted with another show or something else going on in your life during its timeslot, you had to make a decision on which one was going to be sacrificed. You also had to wait an entire week before you could watch the next episode. I honestly have no idea how we ever survived those dark times!

For six faithful years from 2004 to 2010, I watched a one hour episode of the the TV show LOST every week – 121 episodes in total. If you haven’t watched the show before it’s about a group of plane crash survivors who end up stranded on a tropical island that has mysterious and supernatural powers.

Over those six years I became vested in the story line and characters. Why did the island have supernatural powers? Was Kate going to choose Jack or Sawyer in the end? Were they ever going to get off the island? Did the survivors all die and this was all just a dream?

And just when you thought you knew the answer, you walked away with even more questions every time you watched an episode. When the series finale aired, it was revealed that each “survivor” in the crash was in a purgatory universe where they created a reality for themselves based on lingering issues in their lives.

I’m not really sure what type of ending that I was expecting, given the premise of the show, that would have made me happy but I was crushed! Disappointed that the show was over, with the way that it ended and with not being able to see the beautiful backdrop of Hawaii anymore where the show was filmed.

When it comes to traveling I can honestly say that I haven’t been disappointed by any destination that I’ve visited so far. Being a research geek I learn as much as I can about the area I’m about to visit. Then I know exactly what I’m getting in to and have a realistic expectation of what it’s going to be like.

Las Vegas is one of my least favourite places that I’ve been to (sorry Las Vegas) and I knew that it would be before we even booked it. I don’t enjoy large crowds of people, shopping or gambling but the lure of an inexpensive 1 bedroom condominium (through a workplace perk) and the close proximity of some spectacular outdoor landscapes made the decision to stay there an easy one. The Grand Canyon, Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon were the draw for my husband and I to travel to Las Vegas for our 10th anniversary. It was also a quick and easy place to have our vows renewed.

We made the most of our time there and I can now say that I’ve “been there done that”. The only way that we would venture back would be to bring our girls with us so that they can experience it for the first time.

Unlike Vegas, there have been many times where I’ve traveled and had surreal experiences with almost a disbelief that I was really in such an amazing place.

The first time this happened I was 16 years old and on a plane for the first time. I was in complete awe that we were above the clouds and I still feel the same way every single time that I fly.

I’ve also felt this way when walking through the tunnels of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy thinking of the 50-80,000 spectators that used to visit here and how old the structure is (construction was finished in AD 80).

My most recent surreal experience was when I was standing underneath the beautiful Seljalandsfoss waterfall in Iceland. I almost had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming.

In case you were wondering when I was going to get to the point of this entire blog post, here it is! Australia is the destination that I’m most scared to visit.

Australia has been in the top 3 on my bucket list since I made my first list many, many, many years ago. I’ve already planned out the entire 3 week itinerary for when we’re ready to book (and we still won’t be able to see everything that I want to see in 3 short weeks). I wonder how I can convince Joe that we need to move there???

I’ve had dreams about the outback, the great barrier reef, kangaroos and koalas. I’ve seen every episode of Steve Irwin’s The Crocodile Hunter TV show (crikey…there are lots of dangerous animals living in Australia!). Ok…so I probably need to brush up on my Australian lingo a bit.

I’ve been building the dream of visiting Australia in my head for years and now I’m scared to go. What if I don’t end up seeing any kangaroos or koalas? What if snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef ends up like being at a beach with thousands of other people crammed in the water like sardines? What if I forget to include some really amazing must do Australian experience on the itinerary?

My greatest fear is that if Australia is at the top of my bucket list and I end up being disappointed, then what are the other destinations on my bucket list going to be like?

I guess that I won’t really know until I make it to Australia one day but in the meantime I will keep it at the top of the list and dream of the day that our plane tickets are booked.

Have you ever dreamed of going to a destination and came back disappointed after the experience? Where did you go and why were you disappointed? Please share in the comments section below.