Do It Like The Locals
Nico & Hannah Joined: January 14th 2008
Logged in: January 14th 2012
Logged in: January 14th 2012
"Who lives sees much, who travels sees more."
And so we begin our journey to see/live/feel/taste what exists in this world of ours. Away from our home, without our jobs, and with our friends and family in our hearts but beyond our grasp, we aspire to step outside our comfort zones and immerse ourselves in new cultures and experiences... and to do it like the locals!!
Read on for a chronicle of our adventures...
Travel Blog Posts
050 - USA - San Diego The End: Back to Americana Check out the pictures from our final leg of the trip: Family photos from the West Coast. Click here. What a time to be back. Coming home to Americana after 14 months of traveling the world is like jumping into a lake of ice water: it’s a shock to the system. Add to that, a bearish economy, a dry job market, and significant losses to once booming investments, and it’s like jumping into a lake of ice water with a lead weight anchored to your feet! Lucky for me, I found a job immediately. Monday morning, at work, staring at my computer monitor, a new job, a new company, but eerily the same. Did I ever leave? Was it all just a dream? No time ... read more
Tulips with Mt. Hood in the background
049 - USA - Washington Family photos from the West Coast 04/18/09 - 04/22/09 Here are the photos from the final leg of our trip... driving down the west coast of the country.... read more
Glacier National Park
048 - USA - Montana Closing the circle in Montana 04/09/09 - 04/18/09 Life comes in circles. Montana marked the closure of three highly personal phases of our trip and of our lives. To begin with, this was Hannah’s first time back in her native state as a visiting adult (she flew back a couple of years ago for a funeral but didn’t spend significant time there). This was also the first time we were able to see our dear friend Leslie Morningstar since the tragic events that brought us together in Cambodia. Finally, besides visiting a few friends and family on the way back to San Diego, this was the end of our trip. No more traveling, no more Do It Like The Locals, time to settle down… well, almost! The Original Hannah Montana As ... read more
Niagara Falls at night with Hannah in the foreground
047 - USA - New York 03/25/09 - 04/09/09 New York: A city, a mountain house, and a waterfall New York is one of those truly unique places in the world. The City radiates energy, sometimes good, other times not, that grabs you the moment you step onto that grate-filled sidewalk and get brushed between a high-heeled power suit and an off-duty Pakistani cabbie. Your neck creaks and your eyes absorb the concrete stimulation, while your stomach and $30 drop as you pay for those two martinis at the hidden neighborhood watering hole. It's exhilarating, it's intoxicating, and it's the reason many call New York City the capital of the world! As if that weren't enough, New York state offers you green rural areas, mountainous villages, an international border with Mounties on the other side, and ... read more
We made it to Graceland!
For all you Elvis fans, here's to Taking Care of Business in Graceland! Enjoy the pics!... read more
At Graceland with quintessential Elvis sunglasses and sideburns
046 - USA - Memphis 03/23/09 - 03/25/09 “I'm going to Graceland... Graceland... Memphis, Tennessee...” -Paul Simon Ever wonder how we chose the destinations for our round-the-world trip? It wasn't a scientific process but we did have some selection criteria. First, we wanted to go to places that we've never visited before (except for Greece which was our halfway 'recharge' point). So, as cool as Aussies are, I've been there, so Oz was out and Indonesia in. Next, we chose places that we'd rather not go with a family in tow... so New Zealand out, India in. We didn't want any English speaking countries... the United Kingdom out, Ethiopia in. Finally, if there ever was a time to travel to quote 'dangerous' destinations, now was it. Virgin Islands out, Middle East in! Unfortunately, all that selection ... read more
Levi, Mandy, and Hannah
045 - USA - Colorado 03/20/09 - 03/23/09 Brother Levi in Colorado Springs Coming back to the States after 13 months of global travel injected some serious patriotism back in us (especially Hannah!). Waiting for our luggage at LAX I saw an older Hispanic lady struggling with her jumbo-bags. Speaking in Spanish, I offered her a hand... then I thought, wait a minute, I bet she speaks English! In fact, everyone here speaks English! I can read the road signs, order food from a menu without being lost with 40% of the choices, and bus numbers aren't in Arabic! Woo-hoo, it's good to be back! It's not just the language, we have things pretty good here. Things have set prices, the roads are the easiest to drive in the world, and we've got less corruption than ... read more
Machu Picchu in the fog
044 - Peru - Cusco 03/01/09 - 03/13/09 Tourist ready Peru Visiting Machu Picchu is like visiting the pyramids of Egypt or the Acropolis of Athens: hordes of tourists flock the grounds snapping photos, listening to their private tour guide explain the area in their native tongue, while screaming kids and old folks with canes hobble around distracting you from the sites. Still, you gotta do it. It's big, it's impressive, and it's possibly the destination spot for all of South America. After over a year of traveling with a 'Do It Like The Locals' credo, Peru was a tough country to swallow. On one hand it's very tourist ready: lot's of facilities, well documented attractions, and English spoken pretty much everywhere. On the other hand, it's not very friendly towards backpackers or visitors that don't ... read more
The girls at Hogar Penny
Here are some photos of the amazing children of Oruro. They are primarily of the girls from the Hogar Penny (orphanage for girls) and the underprivileged children at the comedor (soup kitchen) we volunteered at.... read more
Climbing up Mt. Hannahl!!
Here are some fun photos from the Salar de Uyuni. All the photos are 100% original, undoctored, and Photoshop-free!!... read more
