As our grandiose trip is coming to an end, I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on life in general, lessons learned, lifestyles experienced and the importance of happiness. I would be lying to you if I said that I was able to resolve all the questions I had going in however I did learn some extremely important lessons along the way. I found Africa teaching me the importance of life and happiness, health and family, and gratitude and friendship. The Middle East threw me a curve ball and taught me more about language, politics, world views, religion, and hospitality than I ever thought possible. India taught me the importance of tradition, family, culture, and acceptance and SE Asia has brought in the ideas of innovation, appreciation of life, relaxation, meditation and health and well-being.

I thought I’d walk away from my experience traveling the world knowing more, conquering more, accepting more, and having answers to everything in life but instead I come back with more questions than before I left. Why are groups of starving people still donning smiles and waving to me as I pass them in my big governmental SUV? Why do people in poverty not work longer hours so that they may begin saving money to help their family out of this impoverished state of living? Why do some people support wars against countries that challenge their beliefs, when they can easily accept me and my differing values? Why do cities and countries not work towards more developed and less harsh systems for technology, transport, building, energy, etc? Why do so many people die each year from diseases like malaria when it costs close to nothing to get tested and cured? Why, why why???

That’s when it hit me like a heavy weight. It’s a mindset that people all over the world have adjusted to. Why be angry and hungry when you can be happy and hungry. Why kill yourself working when you could enjoy the time you have with your family instead? Why change what already works. Why buck the cycle of life. I have punished myself ever since graduating from university because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t know what would make me happy and while my heart lead me one way, my mind would refuse to let it run. The one thing I’ve realized is that Americans in general are so focused on materialistic goods that we can never be truly satisfied because we won’t allow ourselves to create a healthier mindset. Societal norms tell us that we must have a certain salary, accommodated by a posh office, a fancy car, a beautiful house with a white picket fence and high-end designer goods. Yes, I agree, it’s healthy to have giant ambition but at what cost? It’s ironic actually. In Africa, I told a young local guy where I was from, and he said: “America! Where you can be anything you want to be and dreams really do come true.” Yes this is true to an extent but at what cost? People will never have enough material goods, because as we acquire more, the standard of what is acceptable rises to even greater heights, making us strive for something that will never satisfy our basic human instincts.

I’ve recently realized that I’ve been looking in all of the wrong places to find some of the answers to my personal questions. Diverse people around the world have taught me that all it really takes is a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and family and friends to make me happy. Everything beyond that will compliment the basics, not overrule them. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about mindset.

Hoi An is known for two things: custom tailored clothing and cooking classes (an excellent combination if you ask me). Chris was concerned that I’d over indulge in the clothing, so to “distract” me, he searched around for a cooking classes that we’d both enjoy. After checking out a few of the hundreds offered, we committed to a class that seemed to offer the most variety, flexibility, and friendly service (after all, that’s what all Americans look for isn’t it?).

We started the day meeting the chef over coffee. We looked over the menu and talked about what dishes would be best to prepare. After some debate, we decided on the following:

• Banana flower salad
• Fresh spring rolls
• Banh xeo (Vietnamese pancakes)
• Grilled fish in banana leaf

Then the chef surprised us each with traditional Vietnamese hats to wear to the market. The first phase of the class was visiting the local market to identify and purchase the ingredients we needed. Our first stop, the veggie section, was filled with women donning their silk pajamas and traditional hats crammed behind their baskets overflowing with red chilies, fresh morning glory, garlic, aubergine, carrots, etc. There were tomatoes stacked neatly in piles, purple onions flowering the walkways, and bright green bean sprouts scattered between several different tables. The chef pointed out the vegetables specific to Vietnam and bought the ones we would be using in our food later that morning.

The fruit section was filled with the standards: apples, mangos, bananas, oranges and more, but one local fruit, the dragonfruit, always caught my eye (if only it taste as good as it looked).

Next, we snaked our way through the small aisles fighting the bustling local crowd to the fish. It was right along the river, but being out in the open didn’t help whisk away the hot, muggy, fishy smell. There were large fish and small fish, live fish and dead fish, there were fish that were being filleted and even fish being ground into fish cakes. We picked our cuttle fish quickly and kept moving (trying to dodge the fish guts on the ground with our sandals).

Finally to the meat market, where in addition to the standard cuts of raw meat (not refrigerated of course), we found live chickens in their cages, full size pigs waiting to be slaughtered, and numerous other animal parts including hooves, ears, intestines and brains. It had less of a smell than the fish market, but seeing the pigs squealing as they were being pulled from their pen by their hind legs didn’t make me feel any better. Finally, we stopped to pick up a few lovely smelling spices on our way out of the market.

We headed back to the restaurant where we were given our chef jackets and hats. We worked our way through the process of making each dish. First chopping and slicing the ingredients, then mixing the sauces, filleted the meat and finally preparing the dishes. To top it off, we were even taught a few tips on food presentation. By noon, we had successfully prepared 4 beautiful dishes each! And of course we saved the best part for last… sitting down and enjoy our freshly prepared Vietnamese meal!

If you’re interested in any of the recipes, feel free to email us at contact[at]withoutaguide[dot]com and we’d be more than happy to send them to you!

As you all know, we’ve been traveling now for over 5 months now. There are days where I feel like leaving it all behind and getting back to a comfortable routine and my productive day to day life. After several “insane” moments along the journey, I’ve taken time to think about the things I’ve done to stay sane along our travels. The following are things that every long term traveler should consider (they have definitely helped me along the way):

1. Take time apart from your travel buddy. Whether it’s just for a few hours or several days, it is a necessity.
2. Reward yourself when you feel the world is getting the best of you. Stay at a place with a hot shower or take yourself out to a nice dinner. Trust me, it’s worth the money once in a while.
3. Take care of yourself. If you feel you need to a good rest after sleepless nights on the trains and buses, then make a point to not set your alarm. Even take a sleeping aid if you can’t get good rest on your own.
4. Stay connected to things that interest you physically, mentally and emotionally. Always have a hobby that you can turn to even if it seems completely bogus at times.
5. Learn. Learn. Learn. There are so many cultural experiences available to anyone who’s interested. Learning about different countries and their customs provide a whole new appreciation for things that may have not have made sense before.
6. Talk with other travelers and locals. It’s extremely easy to make friends, get travel tips and find local hidden gems. Even better, it keeps you entertained from someone other than your travel mate.
7. Be adventuresome. I know it’s easy to fall into a routine and it’s often uncomfortable to break old habits. However it’s definitely worth breaking outside the norm and do something new, like white water rafting or shooting an AK-47. These are the experiences you’ll never regret. They are the memories that fill your trip with excitement.
8. Create “you” time. Whether it’s reading a book, watching the sunset, or journaling, be sure you have time to relax for you and you only.
9. Learn to accept everything for what it is. It may not be logical or reasonable to you, but it works for other people. All you can do is embrace it and smile through gritted teeth.
10. Have fun. The minute you’re no longer enjoying your travels you need to change it up or head home. It’s that simple.

While we do not have white fluffy snow on the ground, Christmas carolers approaching our door, or a fireplace with stockings hung, we are blessed to be spending the holidays with Chris’s family in Mumbai, India. Our time in India thus far has been a unique and eye-opening experience which makes us appreciate everything we have in America even more. With that said, we have had a wonderful time together and we are hoping the same for all of you. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays during this wonderful season. May you enjoy the holiday cheer, the gifts of life, the joys of peace, and quality time with family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HANUKKAH! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Sent with love,
Chris and Amy

It has been our great joy to stay connected with family and friends along our journey. We are grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives, supporting us, keeping us connected with news and current events and enjoying our stories and photos from our site. There are a few people who have specifically ensured our blog’s successes through their generous donations. We would like to recognize the following people for their contributions:

• John and Herwanna Sayre: Chris’ grandparents, our first contributors and frequent world travelers. Enjoy Mexico!
• Don and Barb Hutchins: Chris’ parents and huge supporters of our around-the-world trip. So excited to be spending the holidays with you all in India!
• Tom and Karen Fox: Amy’s parents, also #1 supporters of our travels. Can’t wait to see you all in Thailand in February!
• Aaron and Ali Sayre: Chris’ cousins and great friends. They’re among our most avid readers!
• Susan Athey: A faculty member at Colorado State University and one of Chris’s former advisors who has done a great job of keeping in touch with the College of Business Alumni.
• Roger Karam: Chris’ former boss and good friend. We hope to see you in Lebanon!
• Kari and Tuire: Great friends of ours from Finland who we met traveling in 2007. We miss you two greatly!
• Andy Jimenez: Amy’s boss in San Francisco. He’s CEO of Evolve Discovery and he’ll blow you away with his industry insight!
• Jeremy Behling: Amy’s sister’s boyfriend and pseudo-family member who’s been like a brother to Amy.
• Matt Van Horn: Chris and Amy’s good friend from San Francisco, who with his girlfriend Lauren were among the first to welcome us when we moved to SF. (They also just took a trip to the Middle East and gave us some great tips!)

THANK YOU all for your kindness and generosity. We are extremely fortunate to have amazing friends and family and we look forward to bringing you many more interesting travel tidbits, stories and photos.

All the Best,

Chris and Amy

1. Connectivity in several of the countries we will be exploring is quite expensive (especially for uploading photos)
2. To assist us in covering the costs of our domain, equipment and website/video hosting (for all you techies out there)
3. You’ll get a sweet gift in return… details below…
4. We will commit our time to meeting locals, learning cultures / customs and share everything with you
5. 10% of all proceeds will be donated to a local charity or cause

Donations of all amounts are greatly appreciated! You are what makes it possible for us to maintain this website and share our amazing adventure. Should you donate at least one of the following amounts, you can expect to receive:

• $10.00 or more: A personalized photo postcard from our current location
• $25.00 or more: The above plus recognition on our blogroll and a personalized thank you on our website
• $50.00 or more: The above plus a local gift from our travels

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