Our trip to Sri Lanka lasted five nights, the longest of any of our challenges so far, and it was considered a “Par 6.” The scoring for the Global Scavenger Hunt is not straightforward and isn’t worth explaining, but basically, over the course of 23 days, there are two Par 6’s, and they’re worth a whole lot … Continue reading Sri Lanka, “The Past is a Bucket of Ashes”
Yesterday we did a layover challenge in Thailand. We landed in Bangkok at 1:30pm, were handed a scavenge booklet with ten scavenges, and told not to miss our 10pm flight. With a renewed vigor following a day of rest (see Halong Bay), Mark and I set off with determination to kick some scavenger butt. Thanks … Continue reading 7 Hours in Thailand
*if you read Joyful, this will be largely repetitive Seven years ago, visiting Halong Bay was a scavenge on the Global Scavenger Hunt, but because of our limited time in Vietnam, Bill decided not to include it this year. Unfortunately, it was the only thing I could think about from the moment we received our … Continue reading Part II: Halong Bay
ICYMI: the answer to yesterday’s riddle was Vietnam. Our second leg of the journey takes place in Hanoi, Vietnam. But before I talk about the country, I need to set the stage for why I’m the most horrible teammate in the world. An hour after we arrived, our score sheets were tallied and we learned … Continue reading Good Morning, Vietnam!
We arrived to Hong Kong at 8:30 a.m. on Easter Monday. I knew absolutely nothing about Hong Kong, such as the fact that they celebrate Easter Monday,* but the eerily silent streets and closed shops tipped us off that something was amiss on a Monday morning. *when we inquired at the hotel, the bellman said, … Continue reading Day 2-3: Hong Kong Heroes
Today I had a Hunger Games moment. Mark and I, having met for the first time at noon today, joined our cohort of Global Scavengers –nine other teams of two people– for orientation and a Bon Voyage dinner. We began with introductions. Here are the teams we’ll be competing against: Lawyers Without Borders – 5 time … Continue reading A Little Hunger Games
It wasn’t too long ago that The Global Scavenger Hunt and I (along with my teammate, Mark) became “official.” I wrote a blog about it, which is the equivalent of setting one’s Facebook status to “Committed relationship.” And then the freakout began, as all who are in committed relationships are wont to do. My freakout was not packing … Continue reading And So It Begins
It started with an email. Over the past couple of years, I’ve collected travel subscriptions like they’re toothpicks, and a couple of weeks ago I received one from The Travel Magazine that had a subject headline: “Win a trip around the world.” Now, if you follow me on Twitter, you’ve noticed I’m a little overeager when it … Continue reading Global Scavenger Hunt: Here I Come
I had wanted to be on Thassos today. I don’t mean that in the “I want to be on Thassos every day” way, though that’s also true, but today has special significance. As some of you may recall, I struggled with visa issues when trying to stay in Greece at the end of summer. I thought it … Continue reading An Unlikely Reason to Give Thanks
I must say, as August 23rd approached, I was not looking forward to leaving Greece. I’d been hoping to stay for at least six months, and as my 90th day approached, I was afraid to transition back to real life because, as Tassos said, “It’ll be like you dropped down from outer space.” I remember when I returned from my … Continue reading Transition
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