For those 30,000 of you who speak Aka, you already know a Bai (pronounced “by”) is a natural forest clearing where animals come to socialize, eat, drink, and get minerals from the muddy pools while avoiding crocs. Essentially it’s the Applebees of the jungle. The concentration of wildlife in bais make them a great place for … More Sitting on the dock of a Bai
Since our last post, Congo: Are we crazy?, we have returned from what felt like one of the most remote places in the world (maybe it is). We emerged from the jungle – bruised, bitten, soggy, and scraped – but happy, feeling good, and awed by the wildlife of Nouable Ndoki. It was refreshing to be totally disconnected … More Welcome to the jungle
When we tell people about our trip, the conversation rarely makes it past our second destination – Congo. The reactions generally fall into three categories. 1. They’ve never heard of it – so why would anyone go there. 2. Those who know of it are shocked by our hubris – the heart of darkness, blood … More Congo: Are we crazy?
19:00 (hour 0) arrival in Dubai. It is hot beyond words (110F) and not a dry heat (lows of 98F at night). On the drive to the hotel we can barely see the Burj Khalifa through a shimmering haze of dust. We make it to our hotel, where we eat, drink, and walk around feeling … More 31 hours in a dusty heat cauldron
Over the last 6 years, I (Jesse) have amassed a small fortune in illiquid and inflation prone currency – airline miles – nearly 700,000 of them, the vast majority earned through my work travels. Granted, not Clooney numbers, but I have basically flown to visit the moon and back 1.5 times, or circled the globe … More Up in the air
Yup, we are going to try to circumnavigate the globe without checking any bags.
The biggest problem is that we are going to multiple different environments: we will be visting very hot places (Dubai), trekking in high altitude coldness (Kilimanjaro, India), lazing on beaches (Indonesia, Tonga), and being fancy in cities (Hong Kong, Singapore) … More how to pack for 60 days in one carry-on bag
These things don’t happen overnight.
There has been a significant preamble up to this undertaking. The potential energy captured over the last few months, maybe years, decades even, will soon be released in a kinetic burst … as we empty our pockets, clear security, wait patiently for our group number, and eventually trudge aboard that CRJ-700 to Dulles. … More How did we get here?
round the world in sixty days 