Day Two: Shanghai (PVG), CHINA...the new capital of the world.
Submitted by admin on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 14:54
Good morning...this is todays dispatch from afar...
Quiz Time: Over 50 cities in China have populations said to exceed 5 million, name four! Yes, we got: Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou...waiting, waiting, still waiting?
Like a dear caught in the headlights...that is the look I get after I hand out a legs scavenger hunt list. Participants look a little dazed, a little befuddled, a little overwhelmed, but always more than a little eager to begin and take on the challenge. And this crew was no different. They were ready to go! And go they did. The first leg included a handful of strategic Bonus scavenges, some fun and tasty eating scavenges and about three dozen regular scavenges. This leg was shortened from two full days to one and half due to the China 72-hour transit visa restrictions. We have to leave the country by 5PM Wednesday...and so we will. Teams will return and we will be flying out late Tuesday evening. So, just 30 hours of Shanghai area scavenge time.
Road Officials with their stylish Travelpro gear at hotel.
Line of the day: I tried to settle the hotel bill in Bitcoin, but was denied by management. Seems they wanted my American Express card instead.
A quick word about H9N7 avian influenza (aka bird flu). Part of my job as Event Director is to make sure everyone participating in The Global Scavenger Hunt stays safe and healthy. Part of doing that requires that I monitor all the secret destinations we are going to for severe acts of nature and its consequences, various political intrigues and other issues that may be of concern to our teams when visiting a place. Coups, elections, typhoons, earthquakes, international conferences, and disease outbreaks. On April 1...I thought it was a cruel joke at first, like the pizza-flavored Tic-Tacs...that bird flu was rearing its ugly head again in Shanghai. Our first destination! In 2003 you may recall, SARS, which also started here in Shanghai province, one of the two main reasons our 2003 around the world event was canceled—the outbreak of Bush's war of choice in Iraq was the other. Anyway...I have followed the World Health Organization's (WHO) daily reports, local Chinese coverage, as well as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) travelers' information. I watched with concern as confirmed cases grew by a handful a day to 60, and deaths linked to the outbreak grew to 13. You can't minimize that. Yet on the other hand, the fact is that these cases have come from a population area of 200 million and there is no proof yet of any human-to-human transmission. It is strictly an animal-to-human transmission. There have been no calls for travel restrictions. So what to do? Well, this morning before I sent the teams out I gave them a briefing on the topic with all the data points available to me. On top of that, out of caution, I scrubbed a few scavenges that could have put our travelers in potential harms' way—wet markets, street food and Nanjing (the potential source of the flu), on top of making sure they understood the need for proactive hygiene and other food safety measures. A scavenge was added for the team that was able to procure the most fashionable surgical masks. Teams understood the reality, accepted the risks, and that was that...
Trying to teach my son Lucca (who is tagging along with us this year for the first 10 days) how to count to 10 in Chinese today. Loved this video...and it helped too.
Speaking of videos, I will attempt to showcase a team or two every day and introduce them to you in regular installments of my One Minute Interview sessions. Here are the Retired Traveling Chicks (aka Kim & Maria) in their own words...
Overheard in the lobby: "Is it wrong to give my kid 5-Hour Energy drink in her juice? She's just no fun jetlagged, she won't let me shop."
Great Propaganda Art here...
Cute Pandas too!
And the latest in high-speed transport...Maglevs! (We dream...they do!)
More on Shanghai later...
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Submitted by admin on Sun, 04/14/2013 - 20:18
Welcome to Day Two of the most extraordinary three week event on the planet!
Following on the heels of California Governor's Jerry Brown's China fact-finding tour, The Global Scavenger Hunt has touched down this evening in Shanghai. Teams were well-disciplined and refrained from opening their 7:00AM envelopes early I am happy to say. Some thought it was a cruel trick, and believed somehow that I would come-a-knocking on their hotel room door at 6:55AM and ask for the envelope back as a test. Naw... But fear is a good thing to instill early. And in the end, it was like Christmas morning we were told, with a wonderful gift awaiting them all to open this morning...Where are we going today?
We all boarded a noon flight on the Southwest of the Pacific Ocean airlines known as China Eastern Airlines for a 13+ hour flight across the IDL (International Date Line) here to Shanghai. Many old China hands could not believe that we were actually headed to China due to the fact that no one had proper Chinese visas. But I uncovered a little known and relatively new travel tip...the 72-hour Chinese Transit visa-on-arrival available to travelers traveling only through either Beijing or Shanghai International Airports. It allows for transit passengers with onward tickets and proper visas to those future destinations to visit China for 72 hours without obtaining the usual tourist visa. Good to know and a good way for us to keep a destination a secret as long as possible. (This is getting harder and harder to do in the post-9/11 environment and globalized data era we live in.) BTW...it looks good in theory, but took a few hours for them to sort it all out. Patience is a virtue.
So here we are...what is left of Sunday, April 14th (9:00PM)...Pamela (Event Coordinator and partner) feels short-changed again as her birthday today only lasts but a few hours due to that wacky IDL. Indeed too short for us to properly celebrate her birthday (Happy Birthday Pamela!), yet ironically, it will be in fact the longest daylight period that many of our travelers have ever experienced as "today" for us (a little chuck of yesterday combined with a little bit of tomorrow) makes for over 22 hours of daylight "today" before we will finally experience the dazzling glitzy Pudong cityscape sunset from some 69 floors high in our Grand Hyatt Shanghai (aka Jin Mao Tower) hotel rooms. A wow in anybody's book! 
The Lobby of our hotel!
And good thing we arrived later in the day too, as the Shanghai Formula One race just concluded...always a busy spectacle around the world. (aka NASACR for real drivers.) Anyway, we are all here in Shanghai a Yangtze River delta city of 23 million, a little worse for the wear and tear after the long flight, but knowing that the worst is over quickly as that is by far the longest flight of the three week event.
We're on the right....floor 69!
Teams will be starting the 1st official leg at 9:00AM tomorrow (Monday) morning. The Shanghai area scavenger hunt is a Par 3 level of difficulty (on a 1 to 5 scale)—mostly because it is their first leg and they need to get their bearings, learn how to play the game, deal with jetlag, and unique culture we have entered.
Okay...off to Pamela's birthday celebration (can you say sushi in Chinese?)...See everyone tomorrow at 9AM to begin...
"Shanghai is heaven for the rich, hell for the poor." old Chinese saying?
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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!
The 2013 Teams
Submitted by admin on Sat, 04/13/2013 - 11:24
Welcome all to the most extraordinary three week event on the planet!
My name is William Chalmers, and I serve as the Event Director of The Global Scavenger Hunt™ travel adventure competition. Our 2013 event is set to begin here in Los Angeles, California, where all the teams have assembled for the first time. We have 14 teams participating in this, our 9th annual, around the world event that will crown The World's Greatest Travelers™ for 2013. We are excited to begin our geodrama (and global adventure) that will unfold over the next 23-days taking us to at least ten still secret countries/destinations scattered across our planet...hence A Blind Date with the World™.
This PostCards blog will be updated daily, and I will attempt to reconcile our travel time with North American East Coast time, and will include photos, team updates, competition news, video, destination intelligence and other bits of gossip I manage to pick up along the way.
We all met this afternoon at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel for the first time and conducted a brief Rules & Regulations and spirit of the event orientation. Teams certainly sized each other up and are all now well-versed on the do's and don'ts of the event competition. After that bit of business, teams headed over to the Pink Taco for our usually lively and festive Bon Voyage Party. Too much food! We now know what brands of tequila our travelers enjoy and who really enjoys them! Teams also entered our annual Player's Pool by guessing which 10 countries they would be visiting over the next three weeks. (BTW: When did they take geography out of the school curriculum I wonder?) Winners of the pool will be announced at the end of the event. Teams were then handed a sealed envelope, and told not to open it prior to 7:00AM PST tomorrow morning. Inside that envelope is information that will lead them to their first international destination—airline tickets and hotel confirmation numbers. We reminded everyone that integrity is what you do when no one is watching; it is doing the right thing all the time, even when it may work to your disadvantage—indeed the spirit of the event. Okay, how many of you would let that piece of somewhat compelling information go unopened for 10 hours? We'll see...It is their first test.
Okay, first things first. I am sure you are all eager to met The Global Scavenger Hunt's 2013 teams, so here they are (we have hot-linked blogs when available): 
The 2013 Teams...not in action!
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):
Okay, that is it for today...we will touch base again when we touchdown in our first destination and our teams confront the dreaded Circumnavigators Paradox. Stay tuned!
Here's what our defending chanps Saskia and Andrew have to say...
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!
Who are The World's Greatest Travelers?
Submitted by admin on Thu, 04/11/2013 - 01:03
Good Afternoon all -
Just two days away from the start of the 9th annual around the world travel adventure competition known as The Global Scavenger Hunt that crowns The World's Greatest Travelers.
The question was posed this morning on Huff Post in a fun (maybe too historic) piece by your's truly, asking the question: Who are The World's Greatest Travelers?
Well, of course we all know the answer as of today, because the reigning holders of The World's Greatest Travelers are none other that Saskia and Andrew, the 2012 winners. But starting Friday afternnon at 5:00PM, that question will be reasked...after that, the 2013 crown is up for grabs in the world's only (real-life) open around the world travel adventure competition.
Saskia and Andrew, 2012 holders of The World's Greatest Travelers crown.
Stay tuned to my next post that will introduce you all to the 2013 competing teams.
Cheers...
__________________________________________________________________
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!
Being a Responsible Traveler
Submitted by admin on Sat, 04/06/2013 - 00:08
Morning...one week to go!
I have to start getting in the blogging groove, so I guess today is as good as any day. I don't seem to have anything else to do...
Here is a creed already shared with our travelers personally that was repackaged for Huffington Post today.
And here arre a few photos from years gone by...and my how time flies!
From humble beginnings way back in 2002...our first! But some familiar faces...
In 2004 in India...we make friends everywhere!
In 2005...eating always at great places.
In 2008...after a brief baby hiatus, we are back in exotic locales!
In 2009...we kept our bearings--full-speed ahead!
In 2010...it was a very good year!
And 2011...was even better! (PS Who's the dude that obviously can't dance?)
But 2012...was simply the best, better than all the rest.
...Until 2013 of course!
See you all soon...
BTW...I will leave comments page open for 36 hours after each posting...but then will close it down sadly due to spam.
_________________________________________________________________________________
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 some lucky donators who give a little bit made during the course of the 2013 event, as well as some wonderful 6-night Caribbean hotel stays up for auction too. Please make online donations of $25 or more...because we know all—every little bit helps out a lot. Thank you!
