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Birthday Wish List

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Testing videos on an iPhone

The Facts: It's September 25th. It's my birthday. I'm a Libra.

Thoughtful dares (with much appreciated rewards) would make my day so far from home. To all my family, friends, former coworkers, and readers everywhere, now is your chance to speak up!

If you're having trouble thinking of something entertaining (relevant, funny, weird, embarrassing, or just plain gross), check out the dares I've completed or still have pending. And here's my personal travel wish list for the remainder of my time abroad:

  • Laos – see what the fuss is about, rock-climbing, river tubing
  • Northern Thailand – cooking class, short jungle trek
  • South Africa – show up at Warren's (Koh Phangan) door in Cape Town for a locals' perspective, cage dive with Great White's, safari to see the Big 5, survive Johannesburg, contemplate further overland travel (Mozambique anyone?)
  • Ethiopia – I don't know why, but it appeals to me
  • Egypt – Cairo, The Great Pyramids, Sphinx, sailing down the Nile, lots of old stuff I'm sure is cool, riding a camel, not getting kidnapped and held for ransom
  • Jordan – photo-op with Petra (preferably Nemcova, but I'll settle for the archaeological site)
  • Italy – stand on the Grand Canal in Venice 10 years after I first fell in love with the city, eat pizza and gelato, drink copious amounts of (cheap if necessary) red wine
  • Switzerland – mountains, lakes, cleanliness, order, meeting Swiss Miss, chocolate, and the couches of the people I met in Pokhara
  • Germany – Berlin, beer, and more couches
  • Holland – go on a bicycle ride with Gela, my one and only trekking buddy from Nepal
  • Belgium – chocolate
  • Paris – more couches, Jim Morrison's grave, the catacombs, delicious food
  • London – English-speaking couches (or floor space if I see Adam from Hong Kong), attend an English Premier League soccer match (preferably involving Chelsea, Arsenal, or Man United)
  • Brazil – Rio, beaches with cool names like Copacabana and Ipanema, drinking caparinhas, samba lessons, Carnival, trekking in the Amazon, Sao Paulo, meeting my future wife :)
  • Bolivia – salt flats, mountains, who knows – it's cheap and politically unstable
  • Peru – trekking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu
  • Colombia – hang out in cool, scary sounding (but now relatively safe though yet to become touristy) cities like Bogotá, Medellin, Cartagena, exploring the countryside while avoiding narco-terrorists
  • Panama – swinging in a hammock on Bocas del Toro (islands), A man a plan a canal Panama (living the palindrome!)
  • California – Los Angeles, Take the “OC” tour which I'm sure exists by now, Beverly Hills 90210, San Diego to see my good friend Bob
  • Colorado – tap the Rockies
  • Florida – gettin' jiggy wit it in Miami, eat a Cuban sandwich in Little Havana, hang out at my parent's condo near Tampa Bay
  • Canada – Montreal…Canadian couches (my favorite, though I'm not sure I'm invited yet)
  • New York City – come full circle by visiting my friend Kai at his office, backpack having been around the world and back

I admit after 10 months, it looks ambitious in list form, but that's why I need your support!

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Comments

  1. Happy Birthday, Dave. I have no dares in mind, but here’s wishing you a great day today and a great rest of the trip (which you already are having so far) :grin:

  2. Happy Birthday, Dave. I have no dares in mind, but here’s wishing you a great day today and a great rest of the trip (which you already are having so far) :grin:

  3. Hi Dave, I don’t have any dares either, just wishing you a wonderful happy birthday. I really enjoy your blog and look forward to reading it everyday.

  4. Hi Dave, I don’t have any dares either, just wishing you a wonderful happy birthday. I really enjoy your blog and look forward to reading it everyday.

  5. Happy Birthday!!! :razz: Good luck with that list.. it sounds so exciting and I would love to continue to be able to follow along on all those adventures. I’m working on thinking of a dare……………

  6. Happy Birthday!!! :razz: Good luck with that list.. it sounds so exciting and I would love to continue to be able to follow along on all those adventures. I’m working on thinking of a dare……………

  7. Hey Dave, Happy birthday!

    Don’t miss out on San Francisco when you’re in California – it’s the coolest city in the States!

    • I need to give San Fran another shot. I spent a 4-day weekend there awhile ago, but it was rainy, and I didn’t get too far off Haight Street where I was staying.

  8. Hey Dave, Happy birthday!

    Don’t miss out on San Francisco when you’re in California – it’s the coolest city in the States!

    • I need to give San Fran another shot. I spent a 4-day weekend there awhile ago, but it was rainy, and I didn’t get too far off Haight Street where I was staying.

  9. :smile: Happy b-day Dave no dare as of yet been reading every day busy with the new kid. The family has had a stomach virus over the past week fun stuff!! I say head to Egypt except for the heat I think it would make a great stop!!! Take care great pictures as always!!!

  10. :smile: Happy b-day Dave no dare as of yet been reading every day busy with the new kid. The family has had a stomach virus over the past week fun stuff!! I say head to Egypt except for the heat I think it would make a great stop!!! Take care great pictures as always!!!

  11. Hey man Happy Bday and I have been enjoying your blog very much. I live in Manhattan, so be sure to drop me a line when you make it back to New York and maybe we can meet-up for drinks..

    -G

  12. Hey man Happy Bday and I have been enjoying your blog very much. I live in Manhattan, so be sure to drop me a line when you make it back to New York and maybe we can meet-up for drinks..

    -G

  13. Yo Dave, Auschwitz is in Poland, but i think u should hit up eastern europe. get a flight upto beijing then train it accross into mongolia into Russia and descend into eastern europe, western europe and africa. Have a great brithday man!

    • I was so embarrassed, I removed Auschwitz from being listed with Germany. Not sure I’ll make it to Poland so perhaps it’ll have to wait.

  14. Yo Dave, Auschwitz is in Poland, but i think u should hit up eastern europe. get a flight upto beijing then train it accross into mongolia into Russia and descend into eastern europe, western europe and africa. Have a great brithday man!

    • I was so embarrassed, I removed Auschwitz from being listed with Germany. Not sure I’ll make it to Poland so perhaps it’ll have to wait.