The Great Escape
In and around World
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain
We took Mr. Twain's quote to heart and took a year off to travel the world. What happens when you trade a life full of certainties like a pay cheque, friends, a fridge full of food, flush toilets and live out of a backpack for year? Guess we'll find out. See you there.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Len and Jenn
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1
Connecting the Dots
We thought we'd take advantage of this blog and try out a couple of pre-trip entries. It may be interesting to share our pre-trip adventures... Continue reading »
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2
Please Dial Zero For Assistance
Well, I've been officially unemployed since the beginning of this week. That gave me some time to update this blog and give it some sens... Continue reading »
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3
Goodbye, Farewell, or See you later???
My work has generously offered me a year unpaid leave of absence. It's a pretty sweet deal and I am definitely not complaining considering th... Continue reading »
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4
La Tomatina
La Tomatina: 30,000 mostly inebriated tourists, 40,000 pounds of ripe tomatoes, 1 small town square, 1 obscure festival. Mix together f... Continue reading »
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5
Greetings From Granada
Greetings all,
Jenn and I have made our way down to the south of Spain and are living in the city of Granada for the next month.
Centur... Continue reading »
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6
Hiking the Sierra Nevada
Considering that we would be heading to Nepal in the coming months, we thought it would be a good idea to hike around Granada to test drive some of... Continue reading »
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7
Felicidades!
What does one get when they celebrate a birthday away from home? A following morning without a hangover.
Last Monday was my first birthday a... Continue reading »
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8
Vamos Ir de Tapas!!!
Some things in Granada take a little getting used to. Scooters that take traffic lights as suggestions. 45 degree afternoons. A v... Continue reading »
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9
Road Trippin' Through Spain
Hello All,
For the last 10 days we've been travelling with our friends from home, Sheri and Cao (aka Unsuspecting Gear Mules #1). They... Continue reading »
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10
Namaste from Kathmandu
Hello Everybody,
Just a really quick update from us.
After an entire day's worth of travel, Jenn and I finally made it from Spain... Continue reading »
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11
The Annapurna Circuit
Namaste everybody.
We just got back from a 21 day, 280 km trek through Nepal's Annapurna mountain region. Our route is most commo... Continue reading »
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12
Yogi in Training
Hi Everyone:
For the month of December, Lenny and I have been travelling separately in Nepal. Lenny is volunteering at a sch... Continue reading » -
13
Table for One
After the yoga retreat, I decided to do a bit of travelling in Nepal by myself. This was the first time I have ever travelled alone without a real... Continue reading »
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14
Bungy over the Bhotse
Three hours from Kathmandu is a metal bridge suspended 160 m above the Bhotse river. A crazy Swede decided it would be a great place to hang a bung... Continue reading »
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15
Kids and Chaos in Kathmandu
"Ke bhayo?" means "What happened?"in Nepalese. For the month of December, while volunteering at an Nepalese orphanage and school, I was usi... Continue reading »
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16
Tasty Taipei
Hello All,
While Jenn was in Hong Kong visiting family, I took a side trip to Taiwan to visit my good buddy Tony.
For those that&... Continue reading »
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17
Whatever Doesn't Kill You...
My mom told me that the Chinese eat anything that doesn't travel on two feet. No legs, four legged, six legged, many legged creatures... all fair g... Continue reading »
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18
Crashing the Bollywood Wedding
Last year we had dinner with a good friend of ours, Vik, and his cousin Varun. We told Varun about our year off and he was visibly dissapointed tha... Continue reading »
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19
Going Goan
After what amounted to three nights of wedding celebrations, we took a much needed break and hit the road for a whirlwind tour of India.
<... Continue reading » -
20
Taking the Heat in a Thai Kitchen
The hardest thing about eating in Thailand is knowing when to stop. Damn it. Thai food is so mind boggling cheap but incredibly delicio... Continue reading »
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21
Row, Row, Row Our Slowboat
The slowboat from Northern Thailand into Laos was just as advertised. Slow. Jenn and I crammed into a rumbling, wooden 80 seater boat f... Continue reading »
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22
Learning About Laos
During the Vietnam War, the US waged a secret bombing campaign in Laos to destroy Viet Cong supply routes and bases in the country. Over a pe... Continue reading »
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23
Life on the Rocks
Hey All,
We just finished three weeks of travelling Northern Thailand and Laos. And after a while another temple wat look... Continue reading »
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24
A Three Island Tour
After a week on Koh Phi Phi, we boarded a ferry for the island of Phuket to meet with our friends from home, Gil and Michelle (aka Gear Mules #3).&... Continue reading »
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25
Full Moon Fever
The right place at the right time. Mardi Gras in February. Octoberfest in October. Carnivale in March. For Lenny and I, it... Continue reading »
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26
Angkor's Most Incredible Little Museum
After the beaches of Thailand we made our way overland to Cambodia to visit the fabled Angkor Wat. The Angkor Wat definitely ranks up there w... Continue reading »
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27
Finding Nemo
One of the things we were looking forward to doing in Thailand was scuba dive. Partly because it was just so damned hot on land and our room... Continue reading »
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28
Kickin' It In Kalbarri
G'Day mates,
Reverse culture shock. That's what we called it. After 7 months of travelling in Asia we landed in Western Australia... Continue reading »
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29
We Took the Road Less Travelled But Where the Hell Are We?
In Oz, it's pretty popular to rent a campervan to drive all over this immense country. To our surprise we found out that Oz is just slig... Continue reading »
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30
An Apple A Day... Makes You Pay
The man said, "That'll be $200 for the apple".
We were speechless. Usually, when somebody pays $200 for something sweet and tarty it co... Continue reading »
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31
The Glacier
In New Zealand, accommodations were pricey. Long gone were the days of $7 private rooms with shower and air condition. Now, at $40 a ni... Continue reading »
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32
The Air Up There
New Zealand is the place to do something extreme.
In the town of Lake Taupo, the unoffical extreme sports capital... Continue reading » -
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Tico Time in Turrialba
Turrialba was our kind of town. It was small, off the tourist path and cheap.
We came across this jewel of a town pretty much by... Continue reading »
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