tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54131852011-09-10T18:36:15.453-07:00Making great memories, one country at a time...Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comBlogger1541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-13075466900492716922011-02-27T11:12:00.001-08:002011-02-27T11:26:41.132-08:00

Sitting in this window in the warm Himalayan sun...Who knew reflection could be this much fun? Ancient mountains surround my tiny window perch...Quietly whispering that we've reached the end of our search. Em left an hour ago to hike the ridge alone.I love that beautiful girl down to the very bone. My peanut butter pancake has started to warm my tummy...But dehydration has found a way to make

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-29133644768025821522009-03-27T11:00:00.000-07:002011-02-27T11:22:04.938-08:00

I wonder if I will ever find that thing they call inner peace.I wonder if I'll buy a path or if I'll always lease.Having time to think like this is an absolute luxury...But no matter how many times I pick up a pen the truth I never see.Why do we exist? What will happen when we die?No one knows the answers but plenty know how to lie.We cling to this rock as it flies quickly through space...Taking

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-17422178636207668982008-12-16T07:48:00.000-08:002008-12-16T07:58:15.855-08:00

I had, and continue to have, big dreams about blogging till my fingers bleed here in India, but I haven't been able bend reality to meet my vision yet. Such is life. I just smiled and bluffed my way into the executive lounge here in Mumbai, and I am still baffled by the joy a good internet connection and cushioned seat can provide. I will be boarding a Continental flight to the US in about 2

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-65931755367471250812008-07-30T14:53:00.001-07:002008-12-10T15:58:57.705-08:00

I first realized I could see myself spending the rest of my life with Emily during our first weekend in Minneapolis and I actually started looking for rings that Fall, but it wasn't until the I got close to graduating that I seriously started planning my proposal strategy. It was pretty simple. All I needed to do was get a ring, ask her Father for permission, and then get down on a knee. As

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-63411897335589214872008-07-29T13:07:00.000-07:002008-12-10T15:58:57.848-08:00

"Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward" - Soren Kierkegaard Last July, if you would have told me I would be engaged and living in Minneapolis in a year, I probably would have involuntarily spit my drink out in your face. At the time I was busy working 60+ hour weeks for Deloitte Consulting and I had convinced myself that I needed to figure out how to quit screwing

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-89912171824837229112008-03-10T19:29:00.000-07:002008-03-10T19:33:46.025-07:00

Happy 2008 from Peru! As you may already know, some friends and I managed to break away from the matrix long enough to spend part of December and January re-building an earthquake-torn town in Peru right before blowing out our quads on over 50 kilometers of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I didn’t get a chance to finish a complete blog this time, but the captions under each picture are

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1153060402576317582006-07-16T07:19:00.000-07:002006-07-16T07:33:22.626-07:00

As anyone reading this blog already knows, things have hit the fan here in the Middle East. I have tons of moving, incredible stories I can't wait to tell you about the last two weeks in Israel, but before I get to all that, I wanted to make sure you know I'm still breathing. As ususal, conflict and war looks way worse on TV, but there is still plenty of fear in the air here. The rockets got

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1152622002676257752006-07-11T05:27:00.000-07:002008-07-25T11:55:25.587-07:00

I heard once that "an unexamined life is not worth living." While at times it seems that I may "over-examine" my life, there is a part of me that wishes I would have kept downloading my thoughts over the last year. Regret is a choice, so I'm working not to choose that path today, but just know that I missed sharing my life with you over the last 365+ days. I am writing from a crowded internet

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1121122733800123422005-07-01T15:52:00.000-07:002005-07-11T15:58:53.810-07:00

Blogging is a whole different experience when you’re living in one place. When I was overseas and I went for three weeks without an update, I had to go back and explain how in the hell I ended up where I was at the time I was writing. I guess I could write about what I’ve been doing during the week, the weekends, etc., but for some reason that doesn’t interest me, so there’s probably a pretty

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1119821695238748402005-06-25T14:34:00.000-07:002005-08-07T15:14:02.856-07:00

My experience at the Grand Canyon could not have been better. I arrived in time for the sunset and got up early enough to see the sunrise. Incredible. You know what’s funny? I felt like I was still on my trip around the world. Over half the people I met at the Canyon used English as their second language. Germans, Japanese, Dutch, Chinese, Mexican…you name it. I only met one American couple. It’s

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1119821637833751822005-06-18T14:33:00.000-07:002005-06-26T15:02:28.703-07:00

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re within one days drive of this great wonder of the natural world. I lived within eight hours of the Grand Canyon for five years and never even considered going there. I went to Vegas ten times and couldn’t bother to run down to the canyon and back in less than half a day. Maybe it wasn’t

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1119821594904092992005-06-15T14:32:00.000-07:002005-06-26T14:33:14.906-07:00

Eight days after touching down in the Motherland, FMI revealed that my travels were not yet complete. Since I would be spending the summer in Denver, I decided to rush to Ukiah to give my little sisters some huge hugs before I hit the road. On my way out of Sac I managed to squeeze lunch with my great buddy Jamie Brown and a dinner with the Bentleys and the Deans. Megan and Bryan Bentley

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1119821526449695952005-06-10T14:30:00.000-07:002005-06-26T14:32:06.450-07:00

Even though I got a chance to hang with my Mom in April when she flew to meet me in Thailand, I was still super excited to see her. I think she must have been excited to see me too since she completely forgot where she parked her car. I think the little things that make us human are the best. I’ve also noticed that the toughest, weirdest, and most unique experiences make the best stories. Not

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1119821442370057782005-06-05T14:29:00.000-07:002005-06-26T14:30:42.373-07:00

Over the next two days I was fortunate enough to see a ton of my good Socal friends. What’s crazy is that most of them seem more like family than friends. I remember reading an article about five years ago on “Urban tribes”. The author argued that since most of us live far from our families, our circles of friends become like family tribes. We paint each other’s houses, we help each other

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1119821377913560262005-06-01T14:28:00.000-07:002005-06-26T20:16:06.356-07:00

Have you every caught a foul ball at a professional baseball game? After attending over 500 games, my buddy Matt Johnson (Majo) had never caught a ball, but that all changed on May 26th. We arrived just in time to see batting practice at the Angels-White Sox game, and 30 minutes later Majo was laying out over three rows of seats to pull in his first professional baseball. Even though Majo had

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1117566890465677852005-05-31T12:09:00.000-07:002005-05-31T12:14:50.473-07:00

I LOVE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!! I guess that probably has something to do with the fact that the majority of the people I love happen to live here, but WOW! I am FIRED UP to be home! After dropping in to LA to re-live May 26th for the second time, my buddy Matt Johnson stoked me out in the hugest way by taking me straight from the airport to the Angels - White Sox game. Life hasn't

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1119822908063916802005-05-28T14:44:00.000-07:002005-06-26T18:16:43.926-07:00

I originally put this list together on the plane ride home after over nine months in Europe and Africa and I posted it as "Lessons from the Dark Continent" on March 13th, 2004. Since many of you never got a chance to dig that deep through my entries, I've re-posted it here because all of these lessons apply to the second leg of my trip as well. I never intended this list to become a blog entry.

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1117093691897214322005-05-26T00:47:00.000-07:002005-05-27T14:46:11.106-07:00

Every business in Queenstown is hiring for the upcoming snowboarding season so I was definitely tempted to spend the summer as lift operator or bar bouncer. Fortunately I could hear my sister Shaun’s words ringing in my ears, “If you don’t come home for my graduation, don’t bother coming home at all.” That solved that. The more I started thinking about home, the more I realized how little time

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1117093460305856132005-05-20T00:42:00.000-07:002005-05-26T00:44:20.323-07:00

Since the Kiwi prices were busting our budgets, Shawna and I decided to hightail it down to the South Island to complete all our big ticket adventures before we started getting really cheap. Our first stop was Christchurch, which would have been foggy and uneventful if my great friend Paul Mangen hadn’t hooked us up with Simon, an off the wall Brit that Paul and I met in Beijing. Simon just

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1117070570224994062005-05-14T18:22:00.000-07:002005-05-25T18:22:50.226-07:00

I love being inside a warm comfortable home when its raining...and that's a good thing considering the New Zealand weather reminded me of Seattle for my first couple weeks in the country. During one of our cozy nights in, Brett gave me a bagpiping education I'll never forget. Do you known any bagpipers? If not you should get to know one because there is an art to that instrument that takes a

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1117070311592721012005-05-11T18:17:00.000-07:002005-05-25T18:18:31.593-07:00

After soaking up a week's worth of Maori history in four hours, Amalia and I settled in for dinner with Brett and Sue, Amalia's amazing parents. When Brett looked down his nose and asked Amalia "Do we have to be nice to this one?" I knew I was in for a great week. The Kiwi wit flew all day every day, and when I learned that Brett and Sue drove a minivan from Singapore to London (via Afghanistan

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1117070249650366802005-05-07T18:15:00.000-07:002005-05-25T18:20:39.690-07:00

I first met Amalia in the small central-Tanzanian town of Iringa about a month before Shannon and I flipped our Landcruiser. Amalia was busy using her multiple degrees Oxford and Yale to teach a variety of subjects at an international school to prepare herself for a job with an international aid organization. Shannon and I felt instantly comfortable with Peter and Amalia, and I had the same

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1117070097336871842005-05-02T18:08:00.000-07:002005-05-25T18:14:57.343-07:00

I've found I do my best thinking when I am forced to sit still. Airplane trips, bus rides, toilet time, shower sessions...all great for contemplation. Maybe its because the constant flow of "should's" recedes for a while because it's obvious I can't do much multi-tasking at times like these. As I stared blankly at my elderly co-passengers during my flight from Brisbane to Auckland my mind

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1114770598212597052005-04-29T03:29:00.000-07:002005-04-29T03:29:58.213-07:00

Leaving Magnetic Island and my ocean-view campsite was tough, but my time in Oz was running short and I still wanted to dive a section of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns. I've overcome my need to do everything in every country, but checking out one of the wonders of the world seemed to justify skipping another beach day at Magnetic. Although we only had 15 meters of

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1114767450620122562005-04-23T02:31:00.000-07:002005-04-30T06:02:14.853-07:00

After a night full of jello madness I hitched ride north to Magnetic Island and my first full moon party. I missed all the full moon parties in Thailand due to the chaos of the tsunami, and this one just fell in my lap. I ended up meeting a bunch of friends from the Fraser and Whitsunday’s trips, so the X Base hostel at Magnetic Island felt like a home away from home. I was also pretty fired up

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1114767085896685292005-04-18T02:30:00.000-07:002005-04-29T02:31:25.900-07:00

There are two things every Australian will tell you to do on East Coast: Fraser Island and the Whitsunday’s. I resisted buying a Lonely Planet because I'm cheap and I wanted to try traveling guide-less, so I bought my six day package without having a clue what to expect. As I listened to the Fraser Island safety orientation with my seventeen co-travelers I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1114766459095092382005-04-11T02:19:00.000-07:002005-04-29T02:20:59.096-07:00

After my first day at the feedlot, Sam and I headed out to watch the Warwick rugby team take on their local rivals. If you've ever seen rugby on TV, you know how brutal that sport is. Wow. Sitting on the sideline with all the retired rugby Dad's, I felt just like was sitting on the sidelines of a Ukiah High School football game, except they drink beer and barbeque steaks on the Australian

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1114766179536310622005-04-09T02:14:00.000-07:002005-04-29T03:35:45.426-07:00

When I spoke with Sam's Mom Wendy on the phone from Brisbane, I knew right away that my time in Warwick would be a blast. Wendy sounded just like one of the heroines in a John Wayne western...strong, joyful, intelligent, and overwhelmingly loving. She had never met me before, but as soon as she realized who I wa,s I instantly felt like I was talking to my Mom. Maybe it's because her son's name is

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1114393828220858592005-04-06T18:41:00.000-07:002005-04-24T18:51:10.813-07:00

Everyone and their sister told me Byron Bay would be amazing, and they were all right. The memories of my sardine impersonation on the way up the coast faded as soon as I checked in to the Arts Factory. I've stayed at plenty of backpacker joints in the last two years, but this place was ridiculous. I felt like I had stepped into a 60's hippy time warp. I actually stood out as unique because I was

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1114393225764184872005-04-02T18:33:00.000-08:002005-04-24T18:41:22.376-07:00

I woke up early inside the Manly Street backpackers expecting to spend a couple hours on the internet before grabbing the ferry to the Greyhound bus station. About five minutes after logging on, that plan was out the window. If you've checked out the pictures from my whitewater rafting ride through Laos, you know that I met Jenni and Becky, two super fun, super cool Ozzie girls from the northern

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1112332803307048492005-03-31T20:40:00.000-08:002005-03-31T21:23:21.316-08:00

Do you remember my great buddy Peter Stanley? He's the guy I lived across the street from in San Diego, met in Iringa, Tanzania, and partied with in Bangkok, Thailand. As it turns out, Peter's brother Jeff is a full time musician in Australia, and fortunately for me, Jeff was performing live last night for 30 minutes during an open mic night in downtown Sydney. Perfect! I got a chance to hang

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1112242880528260022005-03-30T20:14:00.000-08:002005-03-30T20:21:20.530-08:00

One of the things I realized in the Immigration Museum was that Australia was full of white people that spoke English. That seems like a simple observation, but I didn't realize how accustomed I had become to speaking to non-native English speakers. Asia had taught me to speak slowly and clearly, and 48 hours after entering Australia I was back to mumbling, running my words together, and

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1112242460251716642005-03-25T20:06:00.000-08:002005-03-30T20:14:20.253-08:00

When I stepped off the plane in Melbourne, I was back to my normal planning mode. I had no maps, no reservations, no guide books, and no idea where I was going to sleep that night. All four hostels I tried to book with the night before were full, so I was prepared to sleep in a random bus station somewhere. Fortunately, the world was conspiring for me and trusty "Tilda from St. Kilda" was

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1112241809575134642005-03-22T19:59:00.000-08:002005-03-30T20:03:29.580-08:00

My original plan was to spend a month or two in Indonesia, but the big picture tends to change when your direction and itinerary changes by the hour. It's all good though, because I managed to explore Singapore for a couple days on my way south, and skipping Indo left me a lot to look forward to for my next trip. The free internet kiosks in Singapore Airport made a positive impression right

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1112241576117338672005-03-19T19:51:00.000-08:002005-03-30T19:59:36.120-08:00

Over the past two weeks my Mom and I hung out in the tattooed tourist mecca of Koh Sarn road, enjoyed massages in three cities, trekked with hill tribes, and enjoyed six different types of seafood on the beaches of Koh Samet. Even though the activities helped us create excellent memories, I have a feeling we could have had just as much fun sitting on the sidewalk talking for two weeks. I'll

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1110369794462150582005-03-08T03:36:00.000-08:002005-03-17T04:25:55.080-08:00

Less than 72 hours ago I picked up Susan King (AKA: My Mom) at the Bangkok International Airport. Since that magical moment, my Mom and I have been packing 36 hours of life into every 24 hour day, and considering she's been sleeping since 12PM (It's now 7PM) I think the jetlag may have caught up with her. She slipped right into veteran travel mode during her first two days in Bangkok though, so I

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105102059464248042005-01-07T04:40:00.000-08:002005-01-07T04:47:39.463-08:00

It's 7:43PM on January 7th, and my great buddy Mike Winstead from San Diego shows up at the Bangkok International Airport in less than six hours. Hell yeah! I have about fifty pages of stories to share with you from Thailand, but I have a feeling those may have to wait until Mike flies out in late January. We haven't planned anything for sure, but I have a strange feeling we won't be visiting

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1122915053017690552004-12-31T09:49:00.000-08:002005-08-01T09:50:53.026-07:00

You would laugh if you watched me trying to fold my preying mantis body into the sardine seats of a typical Thai tourist bus. Every shift of position yielded five to ten seconds of comfort before my contorted joints and twisted muscles began to spasm. I did manage to drift in and out of consciousness, so by the time my night bus from Chang Mai shuttered into Bangkok at 5:15AM, my mind was stuck

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1112243752263170492004-12-29T20:34:00.000-08:002005-03-30T20:35:52.266-08:00

A couple minutes after posting my "Safe in the Mountains" blog entry, a thought forced its way into my mind. What was I doing "safe in the mountains" when thousands of people were toiling away to save the tsunami victims less a thousand kilometers from me? Several of my friends and family who had e-mailed to make sure I wasn't on the west coast talked about how much they wished they could hop a

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1104232959588407102004-12-28T02:54:00.000-08:002004-12-28T15:56:40.353-08:00

It's been a pretty crazy, scary, tragic, week hasn't it? Thank you to everyone who's e-mailed me to make sure I wasn't on the west coast of Thailand, thank you to Shannon Ledford for telling my family I was in the mountains, and thank you to my little sister Shaun for slapping me around for not telling everyone I was OK. I'm fine, but that in itself is an interesting story. I was in Koh Samui on

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1111847804190942722004-12-25T06:31:00.000-08:002005-03-26T06:38:19.363-08:00

On the night bus to the northern mountain town of Chang Mai I finished a book called "Forget You Had a Daughter" by an English girl who did seven years in Thai and English prisons for trying to smuggle a tiny amount of heroine out of the country. I hate everything associated with the poison of the drug industry, but it does seem a bit extreme that dealing any type of drugs in Thailand results in

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1111834122542185332004-12-20T02:47:00.000-08:002005-03-26T06:26:19.720-08:00

Before leaving Bangkok for Chang Mai, I saw "How to Lose a Man in Ten Days" in one of the hundreds of restaurants showing pirated DVD's. I know, I know, the title just SCREAMS chick-flick, but the banana shakes were flowing so I just went with it. The movie was a crack up, but one message stuck out for me. The leading man and woman in the story both have incredible jobs. They had all the money

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1111834687445306052004-12-15T02:48:00.000-08:002005-03-26T06:26:45.376-08:00

After two weeks of soaking up the island lifestyle and pounding away on my grad school applications, I bid farewell to Samui and headed back to Bangkok to meet up with my African travel partner and amazing friend, Shannon Ledford. Shannon had been studying massage, spirituality, and international business for six months in Southeast Asia, and our conversations during the 24 hours we spent

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1111393033798024082004-12-10T00:15:00.000-08:002005-03-21T00:17:13.806-08:00

Koh Samui lived up to every tropical island fantasy I ever dreamed up. I woke up each morning to watch the sun rise over the ocean, siloetting the fisherman pulling in their catch on the horizon. I went for runs at sunset, dodging palm trees and tiny sand crabs all the way down the beach. I enjoyed my $3 shark, prawn, and fresh fish dinners while reclining against triangular Asian cushions

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1111388640643115222004-12-05T23:01:00.000-08:002005-03-20T23:04:00.646-08:00

During my two weeks in Koh Samui, I thrived on being alone. Traveling with friends is wonderful, but there is something strange, scary, and amazing about spending time on your own. Being alone gives you a full license to be completely self centered in a good way. You're not worrying about whether someone else is having a good time. When you want to talk, you talk. When you want to be silent,

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1111387826236023922004-12-01T22:46:00.000-08:002005-03-20T22:57:19.326-08:00

It took my eyes, ears, and lungs a couple days to adjust to Bangkok's assault on the senses, but after almost a week of inhaling pad thai, multi-colored curries, falafel, and sticky rice with mango I was afraid I might not ever leave. Just as I was settling into my new gluttonous life, I received an e-mail from my trekking brother Krishna Nepali (aka Bradley). After Heidi and I left Krishna in

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1108629162102504462004-11-26T00:31:00.000-08:002005-02-17T00:34:11.313-08:00

On the 11th and final day of our Annapurna trek the Himalayan sky opened up and unleashed its wrath upon us. The raindrops came so thick and heavy that we had no time to think about pain shooting up through our legs. Even with the weather to motivate us, our tattered bodies managed to stretch a four hour hike into an eight hour endurance trek. When I finally climbed up the main road at the Naya

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105089743053085612004-11-20T01:20:00.000-08:002005-01-07T01:22:23.053-08:00

As we first broke into the ring of peaks surrounding the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) none of us could say a word. Mother Nature had blessed us with a crystal clear morning and the detail shining through thin air was almost too much for our eyes to absorb. Our finish line enthusiasm helped us make great time, and when we stopped for lunch at the Macchapuchre Base Camp (MBC) we were only two hours

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105086688808744362004-11-18T01:28:00.000-08:002005-01-07T00:31:28.806-08:00

I realized after eleven hours on the trail to Chomrong that it was a mistake to believe the trek from Tatopani to Ghoropani was the toughest leg of the trip. It's all about expectations. From then on I focused on believing each day would be harder than the last, and if it wasn't, it was a pleasant surprise to be enjoyed at the end of the day. So many mental games, so little time. We reached the

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105071548484065262004-11-16T20:18:00.000-08:002005-01-06T20:19:35.436-08:00

We began the fourth day of the trek with eager anticipation. The walk to Tatopani would take less than six hours and there was a soothing riverside hot spring waiting for us at the end of the trail. The Chicago girls from Muktinath told us that the Maoists had held up the entire town of Tatopani while they were there, so our guards were up as we attached the tiny hillside village. We passed a few

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105064640609717432004-11-14T18:22:00.000-08:002005-01-06T18:24:00.610-08:00

Although he had been in Nepal for less than a week, Brad was quickly mastering the Nepali language. Much to the amusement of the locals, he began introducing himself as “Krishna Nepali” and memorized two Nepalese folk songs that were popular with the porters on the trail. It had never even occurred to me how valuable it might be to learn the songs of the country I'm traveling in, but it's a

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105025505437043102004-11-13T07:23:00.000-08:002005-01-06T07:31:45.436-08:00

When the three of us arrived back at our hostel, we were surprised to find two sisters from Chicago lighting up the dining call with their thick mid-western/Canadian accents. Considering all the State Department warnings about Nepal, it was a pleasant surprise to see so many Americans crossing the border. We walked in a Polish guy telling the girls and his wife out a guy who was grinding his

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105011940674968712004-11-11T03:43:00.000-08:002005-01-06T17:43:38.006-08:00

After nine hours on the road and two hours on the side of the road, our beat up bus finally dragged its leaky body into the Pokhara bus station. Pokhara was surrounded by military checkpoints just like Kathmandu, and we passed two gun turrets and miles of barbed wire en route to our hotel. One half of my mind kept asking “What the hell are you doing here?” and the other half of my mind kept

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1105001893289377402004-11-08T01:57:00.000-08:002005-01-06T00:58:13.290-08:00

After passing through five heavily armed military checkpoints, our jeep pulled into the Thamel district of downtown Kathmandu. At first glace Thamel appeared to be packed with tourists, but eventually we learned that the Nepalese tourism industry is down over 60% due to Maoist activity and government safety warnings. This means that the same amount of beggars and touts have half as many targets

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1104988528385069892004-11-05T21:14:00.000-08:002005-01-05T21:15:28.386-08:00

We visited at least one monastery every day on our way to the Everest Base Camp, and we all tried hard not to let the repetition dull our appreciation for the beauty of Tibet's religious history. In the front cover of my journal I've written "Never lose the wonder" because I don't ever want the amazing to become ordinary. In fact, I'm now trying to find a little more amazing inside the ordinary

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1104988017429012362004-11-03T21:06:00.000-08:002005-01-05T21:06:57.430-08:00

Considering we were supposed to leave at 7AM, by 7:30AM we started wondering if we'd been duped. The night before we had inspected the vehicle, and I was so stoked that it was a Landcruiser (Younger cousin of the Beast I drove through Africa) that I completely lost my ability to objectively evaluate whether this car would really get us across the roof of the world. We didn't even have them

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1103037901303992702004-11-01T07:23:00.000-08:002004-12-14T07:25:01.303-08:00

Before leaving for the border, my new friends and I managed to fit in two more breathtaking monasteries. Sera monastery is one of the most active in Tibet, but the main attraction is "The Debates". The monks debate in every monastery, but Sera's confrontations are the biggest and the best. As I settled in to the debating courtyard, I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure if there would be two

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1103037795295761452004-10-30T07:21:00.000-07:002004-12-14T07:25:44.570-08:00

In-between several monastery tours, Katherine, Michele, and I decided to team up a Swedish-American girl named Rose for the five day 4WD trek to the Nepalese border. The day after we finalized our date of departure, we took Katherine to the hospital. Altitude sickness is a scary thing, especially when you realize it could kill you. A traveler from Katherine’s hostel told us that the last person

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1102950458843188932004-10-29T06:56:00.000-07:002004-12-14T07:26:23.816-08:00

An hour after our flight to Tibet left the Chengdu airport, I finally pulled my nose out of my book long to enough to notice that the leather-faced Tibetan man next to was squirming to look past me out the window. After five minutes of using grunts, hand signals, and translator books to communicate, I learned that this was the first flight of my seat-mate's life. I immediately traded seats with

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1102397480425918472004-10-27T21:29:00.000-07:002004-12-06T21:37:38.780-08:00

As I settled into my "Hard" sleeper, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. After the floor-sleeping trials of the trip to Shanghai, my hard sleeper felt like a five star Sheraton. The other five bunks were full of Tibetan Buddhists en route to their monasteries west of Chengdu. They didn't speak Mandarin or English, so all we could do was smile and nod at each other. Even so, I immediately got a

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1102226140911025042004-10-22T21:53:00.000-07:002004-12-04T22:00:53.366-08:00

After a full day cruising the rice paddies, I stopped by the office of my "Fly by night" travel agent for the fifth time to see if she had my train ticket to Shanghai yet. Nope. "The ticket delivery guy must have gotten in an accident". Sure. Since I already had plans for Shanghai the following night, I got my money back and decided to roll the dice at the train station. After an hour-long bus

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1101890992488291582004-10-20T01:41:00.002-07:002004-12-14T21:01:51.570-08:00

Scott and I boarded the 6AM bus with bugers still blurring our eyesight. Unfortunately, we were still able to see FOUR TO SIX FOOT SURFABLE WAVES out the window of the bus about an hour north of Sanya...exactly where we had told our mini-bus driver to go two days before. We rode the next few hours in silence, but the smiles returned once we realized that our late surf-spot find just gave us one

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1101547717357179842004-10-15T01:24:00.000-07:002004-12-01T01:13:40.660-08:00

When Scott and I first started discussing a rendezvous in China, we tossed around hundreds of different travel options. With less than a week of free time we knew we would have to move quickly, but neither of us wanted a schedule that was too restrictive. After about twenty e-mails we decided to just blow off over-planning and go with the flow. This was an excellent choice. A couple days before

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1099832639773501002004-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:002004-11-07T05:12:51.853-08:00

During the days I spent locked in the internet mega-plexes of downtown Guangzhou, I got to practice my patience with the smoking majority of China. Within minutes of sitting down at a computer, the cloud of cancer would surround me, seeping into my clothes and staining my lungs. When I was well rested I would just feel sorry for them. It is as if the entire nation has been duped into thinking

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1099832277036496762004-10-04T04:40:00.000-07:002004-11-07T04:57:57.036-08:00

On my last day in Quzhou I had the unique opportunity to watch someone sift through my trash. Everyone from my complex dumps their trash into street dumpsters that are accessible to everyone on a "First come, first serve" basis. As I waited for my taxi I was humbled to watch a Chinese junk merchant try on the ripped pants I'd thrown away and take a bite out of the week-old biscuits I'd tossed

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1099107496504197032004-09-29T20:36:00.000-07:002004-11-04T22:14:18.860-08:00

During my last week in Quzhou, I was invited to a teacher's "Singles Party". Since most of the Chinese teachers work 10+ hours a day for six to seven days a week, the schools do what they can to help their young instructors find a potential husband or wife. Q1 teamed up with another high school to put on the event, and while my co-teachers made fun of the idea, they still packed into the dance

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1098642354439514842004-09-25T11:25:00.000-07:002004-11-04T22:34:14.296-08:00

If you're ever having a self esteem problem, just come teach in Quzhou for awhile and you'll leave on cloud nine. Walking from my office to my classroom every day reminded me of what Julia Roberts must go through when she goes to the grocery store. "Wow!" "So tall!" "Oooooooo!" rung out in every hallway. The kids would follow me from class to class and hover around my desk before I went home. I

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1098642270031506372004-09-20T11:23:00.000-07:002004-11-04T22:40:20.030-08:00

When I wasn't teaching or playing hoops, I got the chance to peek into the daily life of the average Chinese citizen. Like most Chinese employers, Q1 includes housing and food in their compensation packages. Almost all the teachers live, eat, and play together. After the first week it felt like I was living the first day of the rest of my life. I had a home, a good job, free health care from the

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1098642202646691342004-09-17T11:23:00.000-07:002004-11-04T23:00:11.896-08:00

When I hailed a taxi on my first day at "Work", I had no idea how to pronounce the name of the school, so I just pointed to the Chinese characters Martin had scribbled in my notebook the night before. Learning to properly pronounce Mandarin has been much harder than I expected. "Zh" is pronounced like a "J", "X" is pronounced like "Sh", "Z" is pronounced like "Ds" and that's just the beginning.

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1098642124669872132004-09-15T11:20:00.000-07:002004-11-04T23:08:59.226-08:00

In early 1997, my Mom's brother Terry and his wife Diane adopted my cousin Emily (Her Chinese name is Xinyu) from a Chinese government facility in Hangzhou, China. Xinyu had been abandoned in the town of Quzhou, and raised by foster families and a government orphanage for four years before she was adopted. After deciding to travel through China, and hearing that my Aunt and Uncle didn't get a

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1098641357959413142004-09-13T11:08:00.000-07:002004-11-04T22:26:08.393-08:00

As many of you have noticed, this blog fell severely behind after I left Sri Lanka. A combination of sickness, chaos, procrastination, and internet censoring by the Chinese government all contributed to this delay, but I am committed to catching up. Since I am most inspired to write about what's happening now, I'm going to start in the present and work backwards. To those of you still checking

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1094008829526405312004-07-23T20:19:00.000-07:002004-09-13T04:19:49.543-07:00

Over 20 years of war have distracted the Sri Lankan government from spending much on infrastructure improvements, so to get to Arugam Bay we had to choose between a two and a half day trip on public transportation or a six hour drive in an overpriced cab. I think I should start buying cabs in Sri Lanka. Luckily our excitement about Arugam Bay helped us forget about getting gouged. The first

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1094008732913506172004-07-21T20:18:00.000-07:002004-09-13T04:34:29.616-07:00

The next morning, after spending a whole $1.50 to stuff both our faces with "Idli" rice pancakes and spicy sauce, we boarded a train that felt like it was riding on pogo sticks instead of wheels. I bounced so high one time my head hit the luggage racks. Five hours later, as we pulled into the central-Sri Lankan town of Kandy, I was two inches shorter and a whole lot more appreciative of the

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1094008631890396882004-07-19T20:15:00.000-07:002004-09-13T04:35:50.286-07:00

There's something exciting about flying, and our trip to Sri Lanka did now dissapoint. Just take a look at a jet engine next time you're at the airport. Pure elegant genius. Maybe it's just the engineer in me, but I still get excited about riding through the air inside a big hunk of steel. As cowardly as it sounds, I did think twice about jumping on a plane sponsored by a country that still

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1092648262865733552004-07-17T02:21:00.000-07:002004-08-16T07:08:05.723-07:00

The next day Paul and I woke up with no hard plans, but a slight inkling about flying to Sri Lanka. A couple weeks earlier we'd crossed paths with two English medical students en route to an internship on the tiny teardrop-shaped island, and visions of tropical beaches had been dancing in our minds ever since. I'm not sure if the recent political drama or my childhood memories of Marco Polo were

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1091890938976329372004-07-15T08:00:00.000-07:002004-08-07T08:13:57.986-07:00

With a population of 6.4 million, it's own language, and India's second biggest film industry, Chennai is the main hub for commerce on the southeastern coast. Unfortunately, all Paul and I cared about was finding the "Spotless" rooms described in the Lonely Planet and planting our faces in "Spotless" pillows. The insect hordes of Puri must not like the smog, because our room lived up to our high

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1091890272866902722004-07-13T07:36:00.000-07:002004-08-07T07:57:29.606-07:00

If you happen to look at a map of India this week, take a quick peek at how far Puri is from Chennai. This is something Paul and I should have studied a little harder. We'd heard other traveler’s claim it was a 19-hour train trip, but for some reason that information didn't really sink in. It's a good thing we didn't get our hopes up, since the trip ended up taking TWENTY-FOUR hours! Falling

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1090342397043152042004-07-11T09:51:00.000-07:002004-07-22T01:29:52.066-07:00

There are some days that I miss the freedom of the Land Cruiser Shannon and I had in Africa, but there is something really relaxing about letting someone else do all the driving. We fell asleep in Calcutta and woke up in Puri. You gotta love the efficiency. Before Paul and I passed out on our favorite plywood plank beds, we had the chance to discuss Indian culture with a great local family. We

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1090341566455417072004-07-09T09:25:00.000-07:002004-07-22T01:40:02.490-07:00

When we weren't working, Paul and I found plenty of attractions to keep us busy in Calcutta. Kiki left us to travel down the East coast right before we started volunteering, so we filled the co-traveler void with a wide assortment of Australian, French, Spanish, and American volunteers. We've become fairly addicted to stepping out onto the sidewalk with no real plan and just going with whatever

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1089907088171340772004-07-07T08:51:00.000-07:002004-07-15T08:58:08.173-07:00

Nabo Jibon…I know I will never forget that name, or the short six days I spent gaining perspective there. So many thoughts are rushing through my mind. I'm not sure where to start. Maybe it would be best to begin with a rundown of our typical activities. Our days with Mother Teresa fell into a comfortable routine rather quickly. After mass, breakfast, and bus mania, we were on the job a

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088931417536372482004-07-03T01:49:00.000-07:002004-07-04T01:56:57.536-07:00

Since it was our first day on the job, Paul and I were anxious to be on time. We arrived at the Motherhouse at 5:45AM and took our places in the main hall. All of the volunteers are invited to take mass with the Sisters from 6AM to 7AM before having breakfast together and heading out to one of the six main volunteering facilities. Paul isn't Catholic either, but we both find that sitting in

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088930940003100742004-07-01T01:31:00.000-07:002004-07-04T01:49:00.003-07:00

The next morning we decided to charge the India Museum and dig into the history of the nation we were just beginning to explore. At the gate we were slightly frustrated to learn tourists pay FIFTEEN TIMES as much as locals. I guess it's worth it if it gets more young Indians interested in science and history. It was probably a mistake to hit the British Museum first since I'm sure the East

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088870783401253692004-06-28T09:05:00.000-07:002004-07-03T09:06:23.400-07:00

As Kiki, Paul, and I rode through the manic streets of Varanasi en route to the train station, I felt like I was waking up from a dream. There were days in Varanasi when I felt like I had fallen into the movie "12 Monkeys" and there were moments when I felt as though I was on the brink of sanity. We arrived at the station about two hours early, and in the silence my mind began to clear. I

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088869801738693612004-06-26T08:48:00.000-07:002004-07-03T08:50:01.736-07:00

Once the afternoon's experiences settled in, Paul and I wandered down the main Dasaswamedh ghat to see where all the music was coming from. What we came across was the perfect finish to a spiritually potent day. The “Pujo” ceremony takes place every evening in Varanasi as the final step in the burial process. Five "Brahmin" (Holy men) conduct a mystical ceremony consisting of a mix of chanting,

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088869015602933022004-06-24T08:35:00.000-07:002004-07-03T08:36:55.603-07:00

During the train ride to Varanasi, Paul and I learned that we can sleep ANYWHERE! The combination of three-foot-high sleeping spaces, bodies packed in like sardines, screaming kids, beggars at every stop, and circulation fans with airplane engines didn't faze us a bit. We were out in seconds. Around five AM some dude in an army uniform carrying a huge WWII gun woke me up to fill out a "Customer

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088760813939605592004-06-23T02:25:00.000-07:002004-07-02T02:33:33.940-07:00

After sleeping with about ten little six-legged friends in each of our beds, Paul and I were up early and anxious to say goodbye to Agra. We greeted the morning by knocking out our pushups and inhaling a couple boiled eggs and some toast. Staying healthy and in shape was a challenge in Africa, but I think Paul and I may have found the perfect solution. A couple nights ago that we realized we

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088604654505347692004-06-22T06:22:00.000-07:002004-07-02T02:23:12.030-07:00

On our way back from the Taj, Paul and I stopped by some random rooftop cafe to take one last try at non-vegetarian fare. It took our jaws about ten minutes per bite to gnaw through the grizzled mutton, not to mention the whole place smelled of rotting flesh. As our last mouthful gurgled down to contaminate our bowels, Paul and I agreed it was time to hop on the vegetarian bandwagon for the

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088511238500086032004-06-21T05:12:00.000-07:002004-06-29T05:15:18.416-07:00

The next morning we were up at 4:30AM packing up for our 6AM train. As I opened the hotel door, I realized how good we really had it. Three of the hotel staff were laid on the marble floors, sleeping on towels. One of them had to move his head so we could open our door all the way. Just when we started to think we had it bad... Since most of our friends with Indian travel experience had

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088510416366468902004-06-19T04:41:00.000-07:002004-06-29T05:14:21.746-07:00

As Paul and I hopped on the Tube to Heathrow International Airport, we kept shaking our heads and telling each other "We're going to India". It just sounded cool to say it. The flight was PACKED, yet all the Indians we met were extremely friendly. The consistent message was "No pork, no beef, and NO STREET FOOD". While doing some last minute research on the plane, I came across this quote in

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088509243917890942004-06-18T04:36:00.000-07:002004-06-29T04:40:43.916-07:00

On my last night in London, Rebecca Fawcett, (The sister of Amalia Fawcett, who Shannon & I met in Iringa, Tanzania) took me out for a 1st-world farewell dinner. I met up with Rebecca on my way home from Africa last March, and I was definitely looking forward to finishing our conversation. Rebecca packed full of the passion & energy of a New Zealander, so I had to make sure I ate me Wheaties

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088320496271429422004-06-17T23:41:00.000-07:002004-06-28T00:30:11.750-07:00

As my train pulled into Waterloo station, my stomach was full of nervous excitement. Even though Paul and I had spoken several times via e-mail, I hadn't seen the guy since he came down to the beach volleyball bash in San Diego. What if I couldn't find him or the hostel? What if we didn't get along on the road? What if STA Travel didn't have our tickets? All irrational fears, but they still

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088315694845020062004-06-16T22:51:00.000-07:002004-06-26T22:55:39.396-07:00

Now that I had a clear bill of health, I was chomping at the bit to get the real “Adventure” started. Paul and I would be boarding flight to India is less than 48 hours and it still hadn't sunk in. My first night back in London I managed to hook up with Fiona, a great girl that Shannon and I met while hiking in the Drakensburg Mountains of South Africa. Fiona has a giggly, positive, pioneering

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088312319849815272004-06-16T21:56:00.000-07:002004-06-26T22:50:03.693-07:00

As I checked back into my favorite dungeon hostel in Dublin, my attention shifted to my knee. A couple days before I left the States I had developed a strange mystery pain in my left knee. I thought it might have been due to sleeping with my legs hanging too far off the end of my Mom's spare bed, but it had gotten steadily worse over the past five days and I was starting to get worried. My

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088255529015365592004-06-15T18:10:00.000-07:002004-06-26T22:49:13.836-07:00

On my way back to Dublin, I got a little more of a chance to process my time in Letterkenny. D.H. Lawrence wrote that "Every year you pass an anniversary unaware: the anniversary of your own death". I've pondered death several times over the past two years, no so much in a morbid way, but more in a curious way. I know it's coming, it's just a matter of when. I wonder what it will be like? I

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1087831992754216552004-06-15T08:19:00.000-07:002004-06-26T22:47:55.686-07:00

As we pulled up to the curb at SFO something felt a little different. I had been here before, yet this time I was filled with a different kind of excitement. I think the trip to Africa gave me goosebumps partly because it was so phenomonally new and foreign. This time I was less excited about just "Taking off" from my life and more excited about the specific destinations. As I was sitting in

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1087487750392609342004-06-14T08:41:00.000-07:002004-06-26T22:48:25.193-07:00

Three months is a ridiculously time between blog entries, so I'm going to go extremely short on detail for now and hopefully fill in the gaps as time permits. After leaving Johannesburg I stopped off in London and had an incredible time with my two queens of the UK, Fiona (From the ankle-inflicted hike through the South African Drakensburg mountains) and Rebecca (The little sister of our

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1088936928061089032004-03-13T02:12:00.000-08:002004-07-04T03:39:40.036-07:00

On the plane ride home after over nine months in Europe and Africa, I decided to sit down and summarize what I learned while I was on road. I originally compiled this list as a letter to myself, so it's full of unreferenced quotes and off the wall ideas. Enjoy... CHOOSING HAPPINESS: No matter where you go, there you are. There is no way to run away from yourself. If you're unhappy, you're

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1078245420916712912004-02-20T08:37:00.000-08:002004-03-02T08:39:49.153-08:00

1/28/04 to 2/20/04: I savored my day and a half in Nelspruit because I knew things were going to get hectic in Johannesburg. At the last minute I opted to give the Beast a facelift in Pretoria rather than Johannesburg, since our insurance company’s main office was right down the street from one of the hostel’s in Pretoria. The saga of the accident had caused plenty of headaches during the past

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1078244794649014782004-01-27T08:21:00.000-08:002004-03-02T08:28:42.686-08:00

1/21/04 to 1/27/04: Tearing myself away from Bamboozi’s wasn’t easy, but I knew getting the Cruiser ready for sale was going to be challenge, so I bid farewell to my favorite stop of the trip and headed for Maputo. It had been almost six weeks since I’d seen a city with more than six paved roads, so my expectations of Maputo were pretty low. As I descended into the brown air surrounding

Sam Reid and Emily Puetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119640634248813745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413185.post-1078151121110527922004-01-20T06:14:00.000-08:002004-03-02T08:29:35.763-08:00

1/17/04 to 1/20/04: In retrospect, I am very grateful that I hit Vilanculos first, because it served as the perfect buildup for Tofo Beach. With an Australian couple I picked up at Blue Waters playing copilot, we braved another six hours of roller coaster roads before winding our way through the swaying coastal palms towards “Bamboozi’s” beachfront hostel. We spotted a handwritten sign

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