20 April 2013 - Day Six – Safe and Sound in Siem Reap, CAMBODIA
Submitted by admin on Sat, 04/20/2013 - 18:01
What a challenging leg it has been...and it is not over yet! Two extensive land transportation corridors, the unrelenting heat, the heat of the competition perking up, the language/communication difficulties..So, congrats to all of you for making it to the home of Angkor Wat. Enjoy yourselves until check-in time tomorrow (Sunday) at 10AM.
A quick recap of the last few days in Indochine: We arrived in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and began a difficult Par 4 leg on Wednesday morning. We saw the teams at a quick face-time check in on Thursday night at 10PM. They then hit the road traveling on the ground to Phnom Penh, stayed the night and then traveled today (Saturday) here to Siem Reap in Cambodia. Two separate and arduous ground journeys that should have lasted about 6 hours each—if done correctly. The vagaries of a border crossing and a whole of lot of scavenges in between. Good job all...
This was in my estimation maybe the hardest leg of the 2013 travel adventure competition. And the intense humid heat probably did not help. And it's not quite over yet—that will be 10AM tomorrow! I had to make a few rule clarifications to a few teams who contacted me about specific do and don't questions. A few teams have contacted me about what they saw other teams do—or not do!? And this is all normal. I get calls, texts, e-mails, letters delivered from the front desk, and even anonymous notes shoved under the door. It happens every event, sometimes sooner than later. But it always occurs. The Global Scavenger Hunt is after all a serious competition with winners and losers—and trust me when I tell you that some people hate to lose—and at the same time, certain personalities are affected differently by games, rules, competitions...and other personalities. All fun to me and a real study in human nature it has been over the years. Someday I will write an interesting tell-all book about all the personalities and events...it will make for an interesting read. Anyway, great job all...
One Minute Interview with the Traveling Tigers (aka John & Micheal)
I have to say right now also that no matter the issues, Cambodia puts life and the games people play into perspective. I am always blown away by the people here. They are just so gentle. So genuine. So giving. So gracious. And sadly, so very very poor! This is our third time here in the Kingdom of Cambodia over the years. We were here in 2004 and 2009. So every five years I just have to put it on the itinerary. It is always an amazing experience for our travelers. Fifteen million people, almost 90% ethnic Khmer, almost 95% Theravada Buddhist, and on average exist on about $1,000 a year. That's about $3 a day! I don't need to refresh your memories as to what has happened here, oh since 1431 with the fall of Angkor, let alone what these people have endured over the last 40 years. There is an ever-present hors du temps (out of time) vibe. It is in the smiles. It is in air. It makes you think. It makes you want to help. Sometimes it makes you want to cry.
Today for instance, we visited one village that was just so incredibly poor that the most predominate signs you noticed are from Oxfam, USAID and WHO (World Health Organization)! Our GreatEscape Foundation has in fact focused our microloan giving here to do what we can over the last decade. But no matter what you do, it just makes you want to do more. And it certainly puts the heat, the competition and the game we are playing in perspective.
Here are few photos from this hectic 4-day leg so far...
The faces of Bayon Temple
Monks...
Bugs for all my...friends!
The elephants love pineapples...who knew?
The boy on the left is nine...the boy on the right seven. New friends...
Monkeys love lotus blossoms...
The bridesmaids...
And a really good thing too!
Again,the boy on the left is nine...
The boy on the left become our Beng Meala ruins guide...and a good one! He is 12...
Again, please keep up on teams by visiting their blogs...
You are not in... (Andrew & Saskia, 2012 champs):
Lawyers without Borders (Zoe & Rainey, 2011 champs):
Captn Marvel & PI Baby (Michael & Nita):
The Buckeye Terriers (Anahi & Bill):
The Austinites (Erik & Casey):
Traveling Neophytes (Wendy & Oliver):
The Ogopogos (Gerry & Phil):
Miami in the Mix (Demetrius & Margarita):
Retired Traveling Chicks (Kim & Maria):
The Escapees (Christine & Jordan):
M2 (Marnie & Madeline):
The Traveling Tigers (John & Michael):
Team Wainwright (Angela & Sean):
Wander Woman (Margo):
Please friend and like us on Facebook...and I will attempt to add Twitter insight (sic) in 140 characters or less!? I will also be writing periodic Huffington Post pieces as well...
______________________________________________________________________
Remember that The Global Scavenger Hunt™ has always been about more than traveling around the world competing for The World's Greatest Travelers™ crown, it is about helping others help themselves through the GreatEscape Foundation. This year we have some great Travelpro gear for a lucky contributor who makes a small one-time $25 online donation during the course of the 2013 event (the more times you donate, the more chances to win). Thank you all, because we know all—every little bit helps out a lot. Thank you!
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PDF version19 April 2013 - Day Five – Somewhere in Cambodia
Submitted by admin on Fri, 04/19/2013 - 21:57
Good afternoon all...
Okay, some days it is hard to write something profound or relevant in regards to the event and our participants, because frankly I have zero insight to what they are actually up to! The road officials checked in with everyone last night in Ho Chi Minh City, and did not leave there until everyone was well on their way out of time. That said, we can only assume that everyone is Phnom Penh at The Plantation boutique hotel spending a restful night; and we hope to see them filter in tomorrow to our spacious and delightful digs here in Siem Reap at the Heritage Suites Hotel. Yes they are somewhere in Cambodia between here and there.
So, what to write about today after frog catching, gecko chasing, feeding spider monkey's lotus blossoms, eying the dispositions of elephants for tomorrow's adventure in Angkor Wat and just generally fooling around in the hot sun of Cambodia?
Okay, let's chat briefly about one of the many aspects of being a good to great traveler in the world today. It is not as simple as making reservations on a flight between Los Angeles and Bangkok for example. It is how you get around once you land in Bangkok that makes life interesting—and tests one's real travel savvy. Logistics is important. Getting from Point A to Point B, comfortably, safely and efficiently is key. Logistical snafus are common when traveling, and dealing with them quickly and creatively separates the good from the great! And will in my estimation, be one of the determining factors as to who will win the 2013 edition of The Global Scavenger Hunt™ and eventually be crowned The World's Greatest Travelers™ in Toronto on May 5th.
As I mentioned yesterday, teams would be using planes, trains and automobiles...minus the planes, trains and automobiles...to get themselves from Saigon, Vietnam, to their desired destination here in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Over the years, making the right logistical choices has made and broken teams chancing of winning. Obviously, there is both risk and reward in the choices our travelers make in regard to their transportation options. Taxi's are quick...but are they as quick as subways in some destinations like London or Shanghai? Land transportation is usually quicker than water transportation...but not all the time! (Example Bangkok.) Traveling around the world is not always safe, fun, predictable or fulfilling…sometimes travel can be frustrating, uncomfortable, frankly unnerving and quite uncertain. But the point is, that to do well in this travel adventure competition, you have to use the local and get from Point A to Point B well...
As I see it, from the Event Director's position, there are several modes of effective transportation: Human-powered, as in: walk, run (always dissuaded), bicycle, roller-blades, swimming, row boat, and scuba; Animal-powered and usually the most fun, that includes: camel, horse, pack animals, elephant, and all manner of carriages being pulled;
Cable-transport: gondola, cable cars, funiculars, chairlifts, and elevators; Man's flying machines: airplanes, balloons, and helicopters—speed is not always wisdom! Water transport: sailing, rowing, ferries. Road transport that includes bus, car, truck, and motorcycle...and then there is rail transport: trolleys, train, light-rail, trams... I took a quick look at all the methods our teams have utilized over the years on, sometimes, but always rather alternative, modes of public transportation:
taxi
planes: prop, jet
bus, double-decker buses
ferry
rickshaw/trishaw/pedicab/cyclco/becak/samolars/wallahs/motos/
walking
train, Bullet trains, Maglev's, subway, light rail, trams, monorail
pick-up truck/mini-bus/share taxis/Jeepneys/ trotos/tap-tap/dolumus
motorcycle
cable car
funicular
trolley car/trams/light-rail
hydrofoil
kayak
Segway
elephant
camel
ox-cart
bicycle
river taxi/vaporetti/ traghetto/
tuk-tuk
horse
donkey
hot air balloon
air gondola
canoe, river barge, dhow, felucca, oruwas, long-tail boats, Venetian gondola, Zodiac
4WD's
jet ski
parasailing
windsurfing
scuba diving
hitch-hiking
horse carriage/tangah
limo
people moving sidewalks at airports
elevators
paddle boats
rollerblades
piggy pack
swimming
ice skates
submarine
golf cart
By the way, we annually ask our participants to keep track of all the different modes of public transportation they utilize on The Global Scavenger Hunt, and the record is 28 different types in 2010....although Randy in 2004 also claimed to have had 28 modes of transportation on his list, but for some reason crossed one out officially before submitting his list for review.
Still...no one has claimed use of: snowmobiles, sled dogs, skis, snowboards, helicopters, pipeline (water slide?)...yet!
Good luck getting here travelers...we will see you tomorrow. We're sitting by the pool!
(Please forgive this copy...my editor is fast asleep....)
We Meet again... - Day Four – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Submitted by admin on Thu, 04/18/2013 - 21:14
Here's a better late then never post-mortem on China that appeared in Huff Po today.
After two days of site-doing in the HCM City area (Saigon), all the teams reported in at 10PM this evening (Thursday) on the rooftop bar Saigon Saigon to the Latin beats of a Cuban salsa band. Go figure. We will see everyone again on Sunday (hopefully) as they all make their way first to Phnom Penh, and then onward to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. It will be planes, trains and automobiles....minus the planes, trains and automobiles! More like bus, boats and beasties.
Here's a day in pictures from Vietnam.
Colonial Elegance
Pigs to market....or not!
Papayas
Fermenting snake wine...yes those are snakes!
Our oarsman, err, woman.
Mekong market
A boy on a boat on the Mekong River...
Finally, here is another Team intro...
A One Minute Interview with Miami in the Mix...
I will report from Cambodia tomorrow...
Also, please keep up on teams by visiting their blogs...
You are not in... (Andrew & Saskia, 2012 champs):
Lawyers without Borders (Zoe & Rainey, 2011 champs):
Captn Marvel & PI Baby (Michael & Nita):
The Buckeye Terriers (Anahi & Bill):
The Austinites (Erik & Casey):
Traveling Neophytes (Wendy & Oliver):
The Ogopogos (Gerry & Phil):
Miami in the Mix (Demetrius & Margarita):
Retired Traveling Chicks (Kim & Maria):
The Escapees (Christine & Jordan):
M2 (Marnie & Madeline):
The Traveling Tigers (John & Michael):
Team Wainwright (Angela & Sean):
Wander Woman (Margo):
Please friend and like us on Facebook...and for those of you who have no life and Tweet, I will attempt to add Twitter insight in 140 characters or less!? I will be doing periodic Huffington Post pieces as well...
______________________________________________________________________
Remember that The Global Scavenger Hunt™ has always been about more than traveling around the world competing for The World's Greatest Travelers™ crown, it is about helping others help themselves through the GreatEscape Foundation. This year we have some great Travelpro gear for a lucky contributor who makes a small one-time $25 online donation during the course of the 2013 event (the more times you donate, the more chances to win). Thank you all, because we know all—every little bit helps out a lot. Thank you!
We also want to issue a THANK YOU to all the official suppliers of The Global Scavenger Hunt's 2013 event. Thank you, great fun stuff we all agree!
We Meet again... - Day Four – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Submitted by admin on Thu, 04/18/2013 - 21:14
After two days of site-doing in the HCM City area (Saigon), all the teams reported in at 10PM this evening (Thursday) on the rooftop bar Saigon Saigon to the Latin beats of a Cuban salsa band. Go figure. We will see everyone again on Sunday (hopefully) as they all make their way first to Phnom Penh, and then onward to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. It will be planes, trains and automobiles....minus the planes, trains and automobiles! More like bus, boats and beasties.
Here's a day in pictures from Vietnam.
Colonial Elegance
Pigs to market....or not!
Papayas
Fermenting snake wine...yes those are snakes!
Our oarsman, err, woman.
Mekong market
A boy on a boat on the Mekong River...
Finally, here is another Team intro...
A One Minute Interview with Miami in the Mix...
I will report from Cambodia tomorrow...
Also, please keep up on teams by visiting their blogs...
You are not in... (Andrew & Saskia, 2012 champs):
Lawyers without Borders (Zoe & Rainey, 2011 champs):
Captn Marvel & PI Baby (Michael & Nita):
The Buckeye Terriers (Anahi & Bill):
The Austinites (Erik & Casey):
Traveling Neophytes (Wendy & Oliver):
The Ogopogos (Gerry & Phil):
Miami in the Mix (Demetrius & Margarita):
Retired Traveling Chicks (Kim & Maria):
The Escapees (Christine & Jordan):
M2 (Marnie & Madeline):
The Traveling Tigers (John & Michael):
Team Wainwright (Angela & Sean):
Wander Woman (Margo):
Please friend and like us on Facebook...and for those of you who have no life and Tweet, I will attempt to add Twitter insight in 140 characters or less!? I will be doing periodic Huffington Post pieces as well...
______________________________________________________________________
Remember that The Global Scavenger Hunt™ has always been about more than traveling around the world competing for The World's Greatest Travelers™ crown, it is about helping others help themselves through the GreatEscape Foundation. This year we have some great Travelpro gear for a lucky contributor who makes a small one-time $25 online donation during the course of the 2013 event (the more times you donate, the more chances to win). Thank you all, because we know all—every little bit helps out a lot. Thank you!
We also want to issue a THANK YOU to all the official suppliers of The Global Scavenger Hunt's 2013 event. Thank you, great fun stuff we all agree!
Good Morning Vietnam! – Day Three – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Submitted by admin on Wed, 04/17/2013 - 16:53
Hello all...we have made a successful transition from Shanghai, to Saigon and the second destination of our around the world travel adventure. We have also made the transition from an easy, convenient and reliable get-to-know-me leg...to a harder, hotter and more challenging leg. Indeed, this second four-day leg will truly test our savviest of travelers. But first a brief update since our last dispatch a few days ago.
As reported, we had just 48 hours in Shanghai to do scavenges as our 72-hour transit visa required that we leave the country before 5PM on Wednesday (today)...but since the last flight on China Eastern we could catch and still be out on time was 10:00PM last evening (Tuesday)—we did in fact leave. The teams therefore adjourned their first leg at our Shanghai hotel late in the afternoon yesterday, and we checked out and transferred quickly to the unbelievably large Pudong International Airport...just a Maglev ride away. Just an amazingly huge complex in every way. (Makes me wonder when the last time was we opened a new international airport in North America? Anybody know? Because I hear that they are opening up a dozen or so in China in the next five years!)
Question of the day: Does Shanghai have a Chinatown? Yes it does!
One-Minute Interview with The Buckeye Terriers
Anyway, I regress...so we catch our flight and land, most of us being jarred out of a pretzel-like fitful slumber at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN). I had visions of a comfy bed dancing in my head, and located a quick 7-kilometers from our hotel, the Caravelle, in the city-center; we were indeed close to fulfilling that horizontal vision. But first immigration formalities awaited. And this time, not as silly and chaotic as it was the case in Shanghai, we were able to obtain our Vietnamese visas-on-arrival (VOA) rather quickly after the required paperwork was completed and $45 was handed over—hard currency and cash only. So despite our flights 40 minute delay, we made it to our hotel by 2:30AM and the teams were given time to rest, refuel and recharge.
Between leg one's check-in and our landing, teams were required to conduct their assigned Peer Review duties, which calls on each team to debrief another team as to their successful completion of their Chinese scavenges. Basically, teams agree to met over coffee or an adult beverage, and fully explain to each other the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of their scavenges completions. It also gives them a great opportunity to swap travel war stories, talk about the culture and the things they learned, and of course prove they did in fact do what the claimed to have done. Teams learn the in's and out's of various strategies. We started this Peer Review process in 2009 following our 2008 event when it was the general consensus that less than honorable actions (okay outright cheating) occurred among a few teams. That said, the five-year Peer Review process has helped maintain the integrity of the competition to everyone's satisfaction ever since.
BTW: Happy birthday Demetrious!
And after all the points were added up, and then deducted for late arrivals, lost sheets, or fulfilling a scavenge less than required but still well within the spirit of the event...we arrived at a final score for our first leg. And it should come as no surprise that our defending champs Saskia and Andrew won the leg—completing 39 scavenges in the process, including a tough bonus scavenge. Good job guys!
Frankly, I was delighted to see that all the teams adapted to the competition quickly and quite well, and should do even better as the event progresses and their learning curve speeds up. It is indeed difficult for novices to successfully and immediately grasp the nuances of both the structure of the event, as well as developing a working and winning strategy to do well in it. But they all did well. I was surprised and impressed. Here is the leader board after the first leg of the 2013 Global Scavenger Hunt travel adventure competition.
Okay...onward as there is no time for licking wounds, hurt pride and tending to blisters in this event, and we quickly started a rather difficult and logistically challenging Par 5 second leg. (China by comparison was a semi-easy straight forward urban Par 3 leg.). The Indochina leg began at noon local time and it will be a fun-filled four-day leg that will take our travelers from Ho Chi Minh City and through the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, to the bustling Khmer city of Phnom Penh and the ancient kingdom of Angkor in Cambodia. And yes, they have a trial of scavenges to do in between. Travelers have twin check-in points: Thursday night here in Vietnam and then Sunday noon in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Good luck all...
Did you know that almost 40 percent of Vietnamese people share the same last name – Nguyen! it is indeed the Smith of Vietnam. I did not know that either.
Here are a few photos over the last few days.
Bird walking...
Teams strategizing...
Teams in Ho Chi Minh City...
Old Colonial Buildings
Beautiful colors....
Also, please keep up on teams by visiting their blogs...I highly recommend reading the participants blogs as their daily experiences are MUCH different frommy nuts and bolts business-like accounts. They are actually site-doing and actively involved...whereas I after spending months setting up the event, am like you, living vicariously threw them! Enjoy thier harrowing accounts of courage, color, bravery and....well,you get the point. Fun reads all.
You are not in... (Andrew & Saskia, 2012 champs):
Lawyers without Borders (Zoe & Rainey, 2011 champs):
Captn Marvel & PI Baby (Michael & Nita):
The Buckeye Terriers (Anahi & Bill):
The Austinites (Erik & Casey):
Traveling Neophytes (Wendy & Oliver):
The Ogopogos (Gerry & Phil):
Miami in the Mix (Demetrius & Margarita):
Retired Traveling Chicks (Kim & Maria):
The Escapees (Christine & Jordan):
M2 (Marnie & Madeline):
The Traveling Tigers (John & Michael):
Team Wainwright (Angela & Sean):
Wander Woman (Margo):
Please friend and like us on Facebook...and for those of you who have no life and Tweet, I will attempt to add Twitter insight in 140 characters or less!? I will be doing periodic Huffington Post pieces as well...
______________________________________________________________________
Remember that The Global Scavenger Hunt™ has always been about more than traveling around the world competing for The World's Greatest Travelers™ crown, it is about helping others help themselves through the GreatEscape Foundation. This year we have some great Travelpro gear for a lucky contributor who makes a small one-time $25 online donation during the course of the 2013 event (the more times you donate, the more chances to win). Thank you all, because we know all—every little bit helps out a lot. Thank you!
We also want to issue a THANK YOU to all the official suppliers of The Global Scavenger Hunt's 2013 event. Thank you, great fun stuff we all agree!
