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Frequently
Asked Questions What
Does the Interntional Media Say?
Q.
What is The Global Scavenger Hunt?
Q. What is The Global Scavenger Hunt?
 A.
Remember
when you were a kid, or in college and your teacher or summer camp
counselor would divide you up into teams to go find special or unusual
items in the school yard, campground or town? Usually it was theme-oriented,
like nature items, the beach or oddball quirky and historical stuff?
No! Well, okay then, let us explain further: The Global Scavenger Hunt is a contest where Teams of two individuals will be given a well thought out "List of Things to Do in Rio de Janeiro!" that will have them solving riddles, following cryptic clues, answering travel trivia questions and looking for physical hints to discover unique items. The Global Scavenger Hunt twist is that you'll be repeating this scenario in untold exotic and off-the-beaten-path dream destinations while immersing yourselves in local cultures. GreatEscape2007 participants will seek out scavenges in 10 countries across 4 continents. The whole world will be transformed into your own personal gameboard as you learn to trust strangers in strange lands. Back to Questions Q.
Okay, give me an example of a scavenge?
A. We won't be giving anything away by using these examples, or will we...! (Answers provided) "List of Things to Do in...Mystery Destination X" Item One: (25 points) Ride a four-legged beast around one of the Seven Wonders of the World (Pyramids) wearing a traditional Arab galabyia and headdress purchased in Khan al-Khalili. (Cairo's Grand Bazaar) Item Two: (10 points) Find the early morning market that sells so-called "Blue Gold," taste it. (Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo sells Bluefin sushi tuna at dawn) Item Three: (30 points) Send my daughter's class an e-mailed photo of your Team playing Frisbee on the Great Wall from a Kathmandu Internet cafe. (Obviously you would have had to visit both China and Nepal) Item
Four: (25 points) Visit the "Temple of Love"
and find a nearby soothsayer who uses an unusual friend to assist
him and have your fortunes told. (Near the Taj Mahal Toothy
Malya uses a 60-year old monkey as his celestial assistant) Item Five: (25 points) While in the 'City of Waters' learn the local dance from an instructor inside the "World's Largest Shopping Center". (In Kapali Carsi - the Covered Bazaar, you'll find a belly dancing studio...take a class!) Q.
Will The Global Scavenger Hunt be a breakneck race around- the-world
or will we have the opportunity to enjoy any of the places we visit?
A. Yes and no! Yes, your Team will be going around-the-world within a 3-week time frame from exotic dream destination to sacred site, but GreatEscape2008 is more of a "rally." It will be a fun mix between "racing" for two or three days freely and independently, say from Singapore to Bangkok, then having a two day "rally" in the Bangkok area. This will allow Teams to slow down, stop and smell the roses, enjoy the sacred and beautiful places they're visiting, rest, see the other noteworthy sites, swap war stories with fellow contestants, build camaraderie, call the office and do postcards. No Team participating in any of The Global Scavenger Hunt's has ever done all the scavenges--we believe that it is impossible to do so--it's really up to you to do the scavenges you want to and prioritize your goals. Back to Questions Q.
I know what a race is, now what's a rally?
A. A rally is where all the Teams meet together in the morning somewhere over a cup of hot joe or breakfast and are given a "Scavenger Hunt List of Things to Do in Kathmandu!" -- Again, there's no way all the tasks could be completed! -- Points are attached to each scavenge. The catch is that each Team must return to our wonderful hotel by say 8PM or noon the next day, collecting as many points (doing as many scavenges) as possible during that time period. It will be up to each Team to devise their own scavenger hunt strategy. Then, that evening might include free downtime, an official GreatEscape organized banquet or even some other special local cultural event, like: festivals, movies, sporting events and theater. Back to Questions Q.
How long will GreatEscape2008 take us to travel around-the-world?
A. Three
weeks, 23-days to be exact! The GreatEscape2008
event will take place between April 11th and May 3rd, 2008. All the
travelers will meet in the designated departure city -- either Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver or Miami--for a special Bon
Voyage Party. We will then all depart on The Global Scavenger
Hunt the next day and return to our designated arrival US city (New
York, Washington D.C., Boston, Montreal or Toronto) three weeks later.
The prize money and the coveted crown of The
World's Greatest Travelers™ will be awarded that evening
at a special Winner's Gala. Back to Questions A.
Well, The Global Scavenger Hunt is also A Blind Date With The World™
in that we will not reveal any of our annual event's impending destinations
in advance to anyone. Past participants have said that this element
of constant global surprise continued to motivate them and was another
exhilarating aspect of their adventure around-the-world. We make it
A Blind Date With The World to keep your planning to a minimum
on our participants part and keep the travel adventure competition
aspect as fair and equal as possible. No Team can obtain any type
of "competitive advantage" in The Global Scavenger Hunt
if they don't know where they're actually going until you board a
flight. It is special... Q.
Prize money? Did you say prize money?
A. Well yes, technically we can't offer "prize money", but what we are offering to the winners of GreatEscape2008: The Global Scavenger Hunt is the opportunity to defend your title as The World's Greatest Travelers™ in our next event...with all fees waved! You do the math and figure out the value... In addition we also offer some interesting prizes as we go for some of the winners of the several scheduled "City Rally's" and other fun awards will also be given out as special prizes along the way for those completing "Special Scavenges". Everyone participating in the annual GreatEscape event will receive medals, certificates and other honors. Bragging rights for surviving this around-the-world competition are yours alone.
Back to Questions
Q. How much will it cost me to enter? Q.
What
about the charity aspect?
A. Our annual Global Scavenger Hunt events are essentially the platform that our charitable foundation, called the GreatEscape Foundation (ID#95-4831064 is a tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization) uses to raise money in a fun, novel and interesting way. And that by participating in our fundraising efforts, other aspects of your travel-related costs may also be tax-deductible. But please don't take our word for it, consult with your tax advisor or accountant for full details. Please visit the GreatEscape Foundation page. In fact, those that help us raise the most money for our Foundation's causes will automatically be entered into the next GreatEscape event and have their Team's entire entrance fee waived, win or lose The Global Scavenger Hunt!! A free trip around the world for doing good! What a concept... Again, please see the GreatEscape Foundation page for details. Back to Questions Q. Do
I have to raise money if I can't or don't want to?
Q. I'm single and don't have a travel partner, may I still enter the
annual event?
A. Yes, this is no problem, simply click to the Contestants Information page and fill out the Application & Registration form. We will do our best to find another gung-ho and like-minded travel savvy contestant for you to enjoy the global adventure with. When all applications are in, we will then personally contact you and suggest contacts for you in an extremely confidential manner. In fact, the winners of a couple of our annual events were Teams of travel savvy gals who had never met prior to participating in The Global Scavenger Hunt! Over the last couple of events, we have matched up over 50% of applicants with other singles successfully. Talk about a perfect match... We do anticipate a few non-relationship (not husbands & wives, sister & brothers, significant others, father & daughters, father & sons, mother & daughters or best friends) Teams to enter. We will attempt to accommodate all applicants the best we can, but all applications will be post stamped so get your applications in early! Needless to say that no one will be discriminated against entering The Global Scavenger Hunt on the bias or race, color, ethnicity, country of origin, sex, weight, height, sexual orientation, age (must be over 16 and accompanied by a legal guardian), residence, fashion or hair color. We will indeed run an equal opportunity international event! The entry fee is based on double-occupancy. (Lawyers again!) Back to Questions
Q. How should I pack?
 A.
Who knows? That's one of your first scavenges. Our best advice is
simple: If you can't carry it, don't take
it! It will be in your best interest to pack as functionally
light as possible. Check out our 101
Best Travel Websites™ page for some great links.
In our humble opinion, Spring is the best times to travel the globe.
No rainy season. No tourists. Not to cold yet. Maybe even a Indian
Summer in Southern Hemisphere and an early Spring in the North?Back to Questions Q.
Is The Global Scavenger Hunt for backpackers or for suitcasers?
A. This travel adventure is a First Class event with great world-class hotels, delicious food, internationally famous events and world-class fun for all. You won't need a backpack, a daypack yes, but definitely not a backpack. We suggest a single bag with rollers for easy transportation. Back to Questions Q.
I have never traveled internationally. Is this a problem?
A. Yes! Leave this site at once. You've obviously come to the wrong place. Go watch Amazing Race XIII, Survivor IX, Last One Standing or the Pro-Bowling Tour on TV! GreatEscape is only for the most savvy globe hoppers and travel enthusiasts. While not physically demanding, The Global Scavenger Hunt contestants should have experience in dealing with spontaneous travel circumstances, foreign cultures and language barriers. A strong curiosity and healthy imagination are also required. Oh yeah, wanting to partake in some world-class fun is a must! Back to Questions Q.
I am from Spain, Japan, Iceland...pick a country. May I participate?
A. Yes. You may however be required to obtain different visa's based on your nationality. We've had travelers, explorers and adventurers already contact us from over 36 countries and truly expect The Global Scavenger Hunt to be the Olympics of international travel adventure competitions. Back to Questions Q.
What are the Terms & Conditions for participating?
A. See: Contestants Information.
Back to Questions Q.
Where are the moneys paid to participate and prize money held?
A. All moneys are held in a special segregated travel-related Trust account as mandated by Californian law. Applicant fees can only be used for direct travel-related expenses under the law. See The Global Scavenger Hunt's Terms & Conditions for all the lawyer-speak! Back to Questions Q.
What about visas?
A. Most
places don't require Americans to get visas anymore--although the
tough new USA Patriot Act laws are making it more difficult to travel
abroad. But, whether you're an American citizen or other nationality
as your first scavenge should be to check the requirements for visas,
at our Traveler's
Directory. For information about potential GreatEscape
destinations, click on our Country
Database page. But remember, The Global Scavenger
Hunt is truly A Blind Date With The World™
so don't think we're gonna actually tell you where you're headed until
we're 38,000 feet over the International Dateline. Back to Questions Q.
What about shots and inoculations?
A. Your second scavenge will be to check with the Centers for Disease Control at this sites Travelers Directory for the same list of above countries? Back to Questions Q.
You've got me! What should I do if I'm interested in participating
in The Global Scavenger Hunt?
A. Fill out the Application & Registration form. We are accepting Team and single applications until Jan 19th or until we are full and we have slected our 25 Teams! Call us at 310.281.7809 or e-mail us at Inquiries. 
Back to Questions Q.
May Tour Operators/Travel Agents enter Teams?
A. Yes you may. We have an incentive program to get you involved and to send us your most intrepid travelers for the travel adventure of a lifetime. Not only will they thank you, but so will we! Contact us immediately at Inquiries. (By the way, there is currently talk that there will be a type of competition within a competition where an internationally well-known travel magazine will be finding out who are "The World's Best Travel Agents" by having several compete in The Global Scavenger Hunt without the benefit of their computers, phones and safety nets! Stay tuned...) Travel agents are invited to visit our specially-designed Travel Agents Page, just e-mail us for access. Back to Questions
Q.
May I bring my cell phone, crackberry and/or
my laptop on the event?
A. Yes you may. Although we will monitor situations so that the use of your technology doesn't give you an unfair competitive advantage in any way. Like calling Mr. Encyclopedia back home for an answer! No lifelines here! We want this extraordinary adventure to be a real cultural immersion where you will have to leave your assumptions behind and trust strangers in strange lands. We want you to take a break from the real world for three weeks. Back to Questions Q.
How much out of pocket expenses will I have
participating in The Global Scavenger Hunt?
A. Hard to say. It really is a relative thing. Some people are real shoppers. Some people are hefty eaters. We can't really tell what type of people you are. Some places are more expensive than others too.(Note: The winners of our the last event, spent on average about $60 per day, per person...and they have the jewelry to prove it--whatever that means! And the only Teammate that reported expenses after the last event said they spent about $900 out of pocket over 23-days!) What we can tell you is that we won't be asking you to purchase anything expensive (over $10.00) as part of a scavenge. We believe that less than $125 a day per Team should cover all your scavenges, camel and elephant rides, museum and other entrance tickets, as well as your meals not eaten at one of our special cultural events. Room service is extra! Back to Questions Q.
Is GreatEscape just another reality-TV show?
A. We get asked this question a lot! Almost daily in fact... The short answer is NO! The Global Scavenger Hunt idea was hatched in 1999, long before the advent of so-called reality-TV shows. (In fact, we were approached early on in 2000 about participating in some of the so-called "travel-related" reality-TV shows and declined our services, expertise and event concept for use in such exploitative and purely commercial endeavors. And we're about raising funds for our worthy causes, not garnering TV ratings.) We are simply NOT interested in casting beautiful demographically correct telegenic folks, making them perform prearranged and staged stunts, inducing petty made for TV soap-opera-like human conflict, or making fun of either our participants or the people and places they will be visiting. That said, YES of course, The Global Scavenger Hunt will be filmed and eventually seen in the media. We have had a well-respected Emmy & Peabody Award winning production company attached to the project and we will be providing footage to interested media outlets like: The Travel Channel, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, CTV and the BBC among others. Our event will be tastefully captured (not produced) with a minimal of interference in documentary and newsmagazine-like formats. With the twin Wars raging in the world today: the Iraqi War II and the War on Terrorism (WOT) still lingering on everyone's mind, it is okay to ask the twin questions: Is it safe to travel now? Will I be put at risk participating in The Global Scavenger Hunt? Of course the short and truly honest answer is: No one really knows. Having said that, if you are a real traveler who's got some real-world travel experience, you personally know that, the world is a big place with over 194 countries--or is it 202?. We assure you that The Global Scavenger Hunt will not be going to Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Israel or Palestine. Caracas, the Ivory Coast, Kashmir and the Darien Gap won't appear on any of GreatEscape2008's lists. Simply put, we will not put you in harm's way or take you to any destination that is either hot or overtly hostile to the presence of travelers or American visitors. What happened on 9/11 was horrible and unprecedented--our hearts still grieve the loss five years later. And what has taken place in the tourist haunts of Kuta on Bali (202 dead), the historic areas of Tunisa (21 dead), the trains and subways of Madrid (killing 191), Mumbai (207 lost), and London (killing 55), hotels in Jakarta (12 dead), Amman, Jordan (61 dead) and the Red Sea resorts of Egypt (148 dead in 4 attacks), and streets of Turkey (57 dead), are all equally horrible; as is what took place at an Israeli hotel in Mombasa, Kenya (13 dead), along with the attempted attack on the returning Israeli charter. At first glace, the numbers are too large and widespread. But, the reality is that incidents of terrorism against travelers, particularly Americans, are extremely rare. How rare? According to Brian Jenkins, one of the world's foremost terrorism experts at RAND, "It is statistically so unlikely that a traveler will be a victim of terrorism that we'd be better off telling people how to avoid lightning." (By the way,the odds of being killed by lightning: 2,320,000 to 1!) And we agree. Bad things can and do happen on the road: ordinary crime, car accidents, food poisoning, and ferry or train disasters. But those things also take place in our own communities. Personally, I have a fear of flying, always have, but I am more concerned about bankrupt airlines maintaining their planes properly and the ever-present threat of malaria-infested mosquito bites along with severe tropical sunburns on my lilly-white Irish skin, than being caught up in a terrorist incident.
We at The Global Scavenger Hunt all have family and friends that we
love and want to return to just as you do. Please know that we constantly
monitoring global, regional and local events. We are very well informed.
We have, and will continue to alter our travel route according to
both the real and perceived threats against travelers. So you know,
following 9/11 we canceled GreatEscape2001 set for an October
12, 2001 departure! And we also canceled GreatEscape2003 set
to begin April 12th, 2003 because of duel outbreaks: the Iraqi War
and SARS in Asia, we
were set to depart on March 20th, 2003. So we do stay attuned to world
events and take all necessary precautions.
This event is a labor of love for us, not a money making bottomline
busniess. (FYI: We didn't do an event in 2006 because we had a newborn
who wasn't ready for an around-the world adventure just yet!...He
is now...)
In spite of the Mean World Syndrome being portrayed in the
mass media, we feel secure enough to travel and know objectively that
we have several things working in our favor: 1) We have no known predictable
travel route, internationally or locally, for anyone to plot or plan
against; 2) We don't travel with any visible corporate logos and signs
on tour buses; 3) We don't even really travel as a group save for
a few specially-planned cultural events; 4) We are all seasoned travelers
with a greater understanding of a travelers best friend on the road--situational
awareness! And finally, 5) we all know how to blend in and trust our
well-honed instincts. |
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"The Global Scavenger Hunt™," "A Blind Date With The World™,"
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