Meaningful Experiences to Add to Your Bucket List (That You Won't Find Elsewhere)
And a flight deal you shouldn't miss.
Welcome back, and happy October. 🎃 Henah here! If you’re a new subscriber from the Money with Katie audience, we’re honored to be in your inbox—and we welcome all feedback! Thanks for joining our little corner of the internet.
It’s my husband’s birthday today, and when I asked him what his favorite memories of the past year were, he said visiting his family together in the Philippines. It reminded me that, even for those who aren’t obsessed with travel (read: my husband), many of our core memories in life come from a trip—whether they are more common (think eating bread and cheese in front of the Eiffel Tower), or truly one-of-a-kind.
With that in mind, we’ve got a list of meaningful experiences to consider adding to your potential core memories—the majority of which you won’t find elsewhere. And as always, we’ll see you down below at the In-Flight Menu.
Meaningful Experiences for Your Bucket List
Kayti
Going to a Christmas Eve service in Ullapool, Scotland. I’ve spent a lot of holidays abroad, but one of the most meaningful Christmases was when we were camping in Scotland. We rented a camper van to drive the coastline (in the middle of winter! What were we thinking?!), and on Christmas Eve, we stopped in Ullapool for the night. We ended up attending a service at a small church with some of the locals and sang Christmas carols by candlelight. The most special moment was the choir singing an a cappella song in Gaelic. It was magical.
Spanish school in Medellín, Colombia. A few years ago, my husband and I rented an apartment in Colombia and enrolled in a four-week-long Spanish course. It was so special to immerse ourselves into the city this way—classes were in the mornings, and then we’d go grocery shopping, hang out with new friends, and even walk around the mall at night. It was so simplistic, normal, and meaningful. And learning a new language is one of the best ways to experience a new place.
Riding mopeds along the Amalfi Coast. Ever since my husband and I rented mopeds in Santorini a few years back, it’s been one of my favorite ways to experience a new place. I see so much more while sitting on the back of a moped than I would a city bus or in a car, and there is something so evocative about feeling the wind on your face and getting to be up close and personal with sounds, smells, and people (we zipped through a few streets that were too small for cars!). I don’t know what exactly it is, but this way of transport and seeing a new city makes me feel so alive and present.
Henah
Visiting my ancestral home in India. I’ve alluded to this in past issues, but my family’s planning a very special trip back to India this January—and this time, I’ll also get to see where my mother was born, which I’ve never seen before. On a previous trip, we trekked to my dad’s village in Jher, including even the outhouse they once used. As a third culture kid, there was something powerful about visiting my roots… literally. I highly recommend.
Meeting artisans in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca. While on a small women’s group trip, we had the honor of visiting master artisans who handcrafted everything from candles to rugs to ceramics. Using centuries-old techniques that have been passed down for generations, we learned all about production as well as the local materials they source, from natural dyes, to indigenous red clay, to wool yarn. The women we met were from the Zapotec community, and their stories were incredibly powerful—it really inspired me to double down on my support of small businesses. 🥹
Teotitlán weaving production // Zapotec women artisans // Bududa, Uganda Joining a 300-person dance party in Bududa, Uganda. In a previous life, I worked for She’s the First, a global nonprofit supporting girls’ rights and education. I had the honor of visiting a partner school in Uganda, and upon our arrival, we were joined by hundreds of locals and girls. We all celebrated together with traditional Ugandan music and danced under the stars. (I even got to lead a campaign where girls dressed up as their future selves: a nurse, a radio journalist, a local tour guide.) It remains a cherished memory.
Honorable mention: Using my dad’s old Canon AE-1 from the 1980s to capture my travel photos on film. Feels like the best way to stay connected to his younger self (aka who he was before kids), while also memorializing our own adventures.
Where are some of your core memories from? Please share with us—we need some 2025 inspiration!
❤️ Our hearts go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene. My incredible coworker and friend Kelsey Jones made this list of organizations to support. To us, the privilege of travel also means acknowledging community challenges and the importance of mutual aid—so please consider giving if you can.
👧 Hurray: Global Entry is now free for kids under 18.
🙏 This travel hack is genius.
👀 This month’s Flying Blue promos include US ←→ Europe flights starting at 15k miles one-way. Time to book for next year!
😎 Peep these cute passport holders! Made with sustainable materials.
📕 Has anyone already finished Intermezzo, aka the ~most highly anticipated book of the season~? What are our thoughts?
Cheers to more core memories, and we’ll see you next week.
—Kayti and Henah xx
Awesome ideas! A core travel memory for me was hiking the last leg of the Inca Trail with my son, who was graduating high school that same month, and seeing the sun peek through the sun gate, and Machu Picchu below.
I traveled to Cherokee North Carolina and had a fantastic week working alongside people in need. I was assigned to a family living in a mobile home that had been donated and moved to a potato field but it was on a slant. We had a wonderful week, straightening it out, adding on a bedroom for the young girls, and learning all about the sovereign people. So much to learn about their customs and traditions.