Think Globe Trekker’s Ian Wright has a dream job? The eponymous host of travel programme Life’s A Trip with Andrew Anthony has done one better.

Anthony’s work? Jetsetting around the world to experience 18 things he’s always wanted to do in his lifetime, all in a year and a half.

“I’m the envy of everyone I know,” the ebullient Canadian said with a laugh in a telephone interview from Toronto.

To get the job, Anthony, the former host of popular dating show Matchmaker, convinced the powers-that-be that his bucket list would make a hit travel show.

For Life’s a Trip — which airs next Monday on Discovery Travel and Living — Anthony flew to Kobe, Japan, to tuck into a US$700 ($990) chunk of Wagyu beef; to Dubai to live the pampered life of a millionaire for 24 hours; and to Milan to mingle with the world’s most glamorous people and stomp down the catwalk as a male model.

It’s not all about pecking at the moneyed trough, however. Anthony also went hunting for magic in Iceland and faced his fear of open water with a swim in the Bahamas, where he not only confronted his phobia but also faced the very real possibility of being shredded and eaten by some four dozen sharks.

“The sharks cruising by you are designed to be the perfect killing machine and the only reason you’re alive is their lack of desire to eat you,” Anthony said. “I watched Jaws as a kid, but television is so distant from real life.”

The 44-year-old’s desire to experience the cut-and-thrust of real life, as well as its beauty and absurdities, lay behind many of the choices on his to-do list.

“People spend too much time in a bubble,” said Anthony. “The show is about the passion and the courage to get out there.”

Which he did, even if it meant placing himself in the thick of a potentially dangerous football game in Argentina.

“Football is not just a sport here. It’s life and death. The riot police were called in to prevent fans from killing each other. The stadium was like a battleground,” said Anthony.

Still, apart from the initial terror of being in the midst of hooligans, watching a football match in Argentina was a cultural lesson that Anthony was glad to have had.

“The goal of the show is to spend time learning about the people, immersing in their culture. Not only did I eat the best beef in the world, I also tried karaoke and sumo wrestling in Japan.

“If we learn about other people, we will get along a whole lot better.”

No doubt, many will want to start with a cultural lesson on living the seven-star life in Dubai. Jennifer Chen

Life’s a Trip with Andrew Anthony debuts next Monday at 10.30pm, with encores every Satuday at 3pm, on StarHub Channel 16. - TODAY/ra