Have you dreamed about climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris; bungee jumping in Queenstown, New Zealand; discovering the amazing wildlife of the Galapagos Islands; or visiting Mayan ruins in Cancun, Mexico? If these are things on your life's bucket list, then you could just get the chance to make your dreams reality in a competition called the Biggest, Baddest, Bucket List. Not only does the winner of the Biggest, Baddest, Bucket List not only get to choose where they want to go, making their bucket list truly personal, but the lucky winner gets to check everything off at once during an incredible six-month around the world journey -- all expenses paid.
It's the ultimate bucket list. Six months, six continents, all expenses paid -- travel expenses (flights, trains, boats, tuk-tuks) accommodation, activities and $10,000 in spending money, plus you get to choose your destinations. And at the end of it all, the winner also pockets a cool $50,000. This sweet deal is a contest known as the Biggest, Baddest, Bucket List competition -- and one lucky person will win this all-inclusive, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity blogging trip around the world to a minimum of 25 international destinations.
During the trip of a lifetime the winner will take part in challenges in each location. The challenges will be wide and varied, from helicopter rides, wildlife spotting or bungee jumping to learning how to cook the perfect Thai curry. The winner will be required to do at least one local experience in each destination and document it for My Destination readers. The challenges will depend on season and availability and whether the winner is up to the challenge. The competition's winner gets the opportunity to create their six-month itinerary, working with My Destination, taking in the sights that appeal to them the most.
In order to get the true around the world flavor, the final itinerary should include a minimum of 25 locations from the My Destination network and at least two destinations from each continent. The winner will blog for My Destination (which is headquartered in London) throughout the trip, keeping the people in their home country and around the world up to date with their adventures and the friends they make along the way. The winner will receive a camera, phone and any other technical wizardry they will need to produce their posts on the road.
After the trip the gadgets, gizmos and other equipment are the winner's to keep. Applying for the Biggest, Baddest, Bucket List is straight forward: Applicants must create a video application in English and up to three minutes in length about their favorite destination around the world, whether it's the city where they live, their best holiday or the place they've always dreamed of traveling to. Applicants upload their video together with a completed application form and travel blog-style entry to www.mydestination.com/bbb.
Ten candidates will make it through the voting shortlist, five chosen by My Destination and five selected by the world. The 10 finalists will be flown to the United Kingdom for a week of challenges and interviews. At the end of that week, the best candidate will be selected for their dream job. The global contest application process opened on January 28 and closes on March 31. On April 12, the top 10 will be announced. On April 20, the top 10 finalists are flown to the UK for finalist week. On April 28 the winner will be announced.
In June, the winner begins his or her expedition on a trip of a lifetime. The dream job contest has been created in partnership with fellow travel brands Hotels.com, Travelex and Viator. According to My Destination co-founder Neil Waller, the only requirements for entry into the competition is that the entrant must be at least 18 years old, has a valid passport and can travel between June and December. He said they are looking for a person who is "interesting". "The personality of the individual is important," Waller said from the United Kingdom.
"The person has to be someone all of us will enjoy watching on this journey. A person who is outgoing, a people person who wants to meet with the locals in the various destinations and engage in the local community ... adventurous, but we're not necessarily looking for a thrill seeker, but someone people want to watch." With entries already pouring in, Waller said people from 93 countries have already entered, including two from Barbados, one from Cuba and another from the Dominican Republic.
He said they would love to have Bahamians enter the competition, as he said it is a global event. With 30 days to the closing of the competition, he encouraged people not to rush to enter, but to take their time and think about their entry and how they present themselves. "We want Bahamian entrants to sell The Bahamas to the world and encourage someone to want to visit with their entry. Use their three-minute entry video to take us on a tour of their home destination, telling people why they should come to The Bahamas. We're not necessarily looking for the iconic things that people come to The Bahamas for, but the hidden gems.
We are looking for that video to show that people will experience more than the standard," said Waller. Waller said when they first introduced the contest they thought the applicants would range between the 18-year-old to 29-year-old age set, but they have been surprised to have gotten entrants as old as 50 years. He also said that they have received entries from people who have never traveled outside of their own countries. And that if the winner does not want to travel alone, My Destination has teams on the ground worldwide to help the winner on their journey.
And if the winner wants to take someone with them on their travels, Waller said My Destination has made provisions to release some of the final prize money early so that the winner can take a partner along if they wanted to. That person would not be reflected in the blog coverage. Ben Southall, winner of Tourism Queensland's Best Job In The World will preside over the entrants a guest judge. "Winning Best Job In the World was truly a life-changing experience for me and I can't wait to help pick out the winner for the Biggest, Baddest, Bucket List, and help give someone else an opportunity that could very well be life-changing for them," said Southall.
"I haven't looked back since winning in 2009 and I'm delighted to see an amazing travel blogging opportunity that really looks to get under the skin of so many destinations around the world," he said. Entry dates March 31 -- Applications close April 12 -- Top 10 announced April 20 -- Top 10 fly to the United Kingdom for finalist week April 28 -- Final winner announced June -- The trip of a lifetime begins For more information and to apply, visit www.mydestination.com/bbb.
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