The Intrepid List is not a bucket list; it’s almost the opposite. This is a curation of precious moments experienced by our travellers that have never been forgotten. It aims to inspire you to explore a little further and delve a little deeper, to engage with communities, look below the surface and open yourself to new learnings. This is the way to find the kinds of experiences that will stay with you forever so you can form your own personal Intrepid List.
Within the 10 themed sections are experiences from more than 55 countries worldwide. They range from daring to caring, wild to mild. Change the way you travel with The Intrepid List; discover local secrets and experience the eccentric, the rare and the astonishing.
5 travel experiences that will stay with you forever:
Sea Swimming at the Forty Foot – Ireland
The Forty Foot bathing spot has been attracting sea swimmers for over 250 years. Located next to Sandycove Beach, on the southern tip of Dublin Bay, and taking its name from the Fortieth Foot Regiment once stationed in the nearby battery, a dip in the Forty Foot is one of Dublin’s most invigorating experiences, serving up craic (‘good fun’) and cold-water benefits in equal measure. Then, of course, there’s the scenic view of Dublin Bay and its salty soup of seaweed-clad rocks, iconic Poolbeg Chimneys and even Howth on the opposite side of the bay – it really is unique.
Close encounters with holy crocodiles – Pakistan
There are few places in the world where you can walk up to a pond full of crocodiles and live to tell the story. Manghopir might be the only place on earth where it’s considered a sacred experience. One of the oldest parts of Karachi, this rural area is home to mugger crocodiles, the shrine of Sufi saint Pir Mangho and sulphur spring waters believed to have healing properties. Visitors and devotees flock to Manghopir to pay their respects at the shrine every year. They gather at the pond to see hundreds of crocodiles and to feed and adorn them with flowers.
Relive the ‘60s at a Korean record bar – Seoul
In the evening, atop Seoul’s bland-looking office blocks and down its basement stairwells, passionate bar owners cue up their favourite vinyl records. Like Japan, the capital of South Korea is full of LP bars hidden in plain sight; you just need to know where to look. These aren’t the usual DJs who haul their records around town to different gigs. These are record collectors who run bars just so they can play their prized albums and 45s every night. They work the turntables in front of shelves of records while serving soju (a clear spirit) and Hite lager. These bars feel like an extension of a friend’s comfortable lounge room. It might be Seochon Blues in Jongno-gu, Woodstock in Gangham or – the best – Cream in Hongdae, where the owner Choi Byung-ik specialises in ’60s psyche, blues, rock, folk and oldies.
Matera’s dark history – Italy
Did you know that Italy has a dark history? Although it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site today, Sassi di Matera in southern Italy was once known as ‘the shame of Italy’. This area is one of Italy’s earliest known human settlements but also one of the region’s poorest areas. Until the 1950s, families lived in caves carved into the limestone cliffs. Slowly explore the hidden alleyways by foot and discover the genuine stories of those who once inhabited these caves.
Captive cooking – Australia
Inside the thick concrete walls of an old prison yard, a group of people wander among one of Australia’s largest kitchen gardens. They’re not prisoners preparing mess; they’re guests gathering the ingredients for a day at the country’s leading cooking school, the Agrarian Kitchen.The garden, school and attached Agrarian Kitchen Eatery, sit inside a former ward and the prison yard of Willow Court, Australia’s oldest continually run asylum until its closure in 2000. The school has more than a dozen class options, from natural cheesemaking to fermentation and the weekly Agrarian Experience. In the latter, three courses are prepared from recipes designed around seasonality, with each participant preparing individual details for a lunch (with paired wines) that will last long into the afternoon.
