Pre-sailing party - Airlie Beach, Australia
In 14 months of traveling the world, I received 17 dares. Family, friends, former coworkers, and plenty of readers I've never met were happy to challenge me to step even further outside of my comfort zone than simply putting myself in the middle of a new country or culture. As a result, I had a lot of interesting experiences, and garnered a few odd stories to tell.
Did I finish with a winning percentage?
YES! I completed 13 of the 17 dares, or 76%.
My Successes
- Picking my nose in front of Auckland, New Zealand's sky tower
- Tons of single, young women with their hands on my shoulder (most profitable)
- Getting a shot with 6+ women with their hands on me at once
- Eating a burger with the lot in Australia
- Getting monkeys to climb on me in Bali
- A photo op with Thai ladyboys
- Riding a scooter down a really crowded street (meant for China, completed in Bangkok)
- Eating spicy Vindaloo (meant for India, completed in Bangkok)
- Go to an underground Muay Thai fight in Thailand
- Eat dog (meant for Vietnam, completed in Cambodia)
- Take a Muay Thai boxing class in Thailand
- Cage dive with Great White Sharks in South Africa
- Eat Skop (sheep's head) in South Africa
Delicious dog meat - Battambang, Cambodia
My Failures
- Get a photo with a topless girl on the beach
- Eat scorpion or fried pigeon head (in China)
- Get a tattoo
- Ride the roof of a train (in India)
A BIG thanks to everyone who participated by sending me a dare. I really appreciated the payments which helped to defer the associated costs, or buy me a dinner and a night's rest!
You can access the full write-up for each dare, along with photos and/or video by going to the Dare Me page. And since I have yet to return to the USA, I remain open to any dares which would apply here in Medellin or Colombia.
Monkeying around - Bali, Indonesia
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours.
- World Nomads for travel insurance.
- Hostelworld for booking hostels.
- Rail Europe for train passes.
Shelley
Friday 6th of June 2014
Linked here from my travel blog success lesson. I might try this with a poll, though I may end up eating scorpion pizza :P
Dave
Saturday 7th of June 2014
Hi Shelley, thanks for stopping by Go Backpacking too :)
Adam
Monday 29th of April 2013
Great Idea for some great stories to share over a cold beer, I hope to steal your idea for a future adventure, hope you don't mind Great blog and keep living the dream
Hotels Sydney
Thursday 28th of October 2010
I can't imagine myself eating a dog meat. But hey, kudos on these achievements. So adventurous!
Dave
Friday 24th of April 2009
Those thin white strips were somthing called young banana. It didn't really taste like banana, but I liked it. They were cold and crunchy so it was a nice additive to the dog meat. Eventually, I was just dipping the crunchy banana and mint in the sauce and eating it, leaving the dog completely aside!
Dave
Friday 24th of April 2009
Those thin white strips were somthing called young banana. It didn't really taste like banana, but I liked it. They were cold and crunchy so it was a nice additive to the dog meat. Eventually, I was just dipping the crunchy banana and mint in the sauce and eating it, leaving the dog completely aside!