Many holidaymakers pick destinations from travel blogs and listicles but they can also create their "bucket list" based on advice from Straits Times travel writer Lee Siew Hua.

Speaking to 280 people at an askST@NLB event last night, she gave tips on how to craft a list, tied to five categories - season of life, secret home, disappearing world, comfort zone-less and quest.

She said a season-of-life destination can be one that reminds a person of childhood memories; a disappearing-world spot is one that may disappear while quest journeys are like road trips.

Giving an example of a secret- home trip, she shared a story of a teenager who went to Israel with his parents and described it as "a home I never knew I had".

This is an experience similar to travel writer Pico Iyer's. He felt an affinity to Japan, even as a boy looking at pictures and paintings, before he ever set foot in the country.

Ms Lee also shared personal experiences of travelling to places in the Arctic Circle as well as those closer to home such as Sumba in Indonesia. The audience was captivated by photos of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one person was inspired to add a "classic railway ride" to her bucket list.

Ms Fong Foong Ching, who is in her 50s, came up with five destinations for her list. "I hope my next trip can be to Spain. I like to walk so I want to walk the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage trail," she said.

Yesterday's talk was the 10th in the askST@NLB series. The National Library Board is the venue sponsor. The next session on Feb 24 will feature executive photographer Alphonsus Chern who will speak on photojournalism.