Why?

I caught the travel bug a long time ago after reading stories about my grandfather and great-uncle, who, at the ages of 16 and 18, set out to travel and see the country.  Traveling hobo style by train, car (often hitch-hiking), and their own two feet, they made their way from South Carolina all the way to California, Alaska, and back.  They slept in barns, on trains, out in the open, and under an old car they bought.  Working odd-jobs to make ends meet, they worked at lumber mills and on several farms where they simply knocked on a farmer's door to see if he could host and feed them for a few days in exchange for work.  While I knew my grandfather, I was too young to ask him about his trip, but I'm willing to bet if I told him about my plans today, he'd say something trendy like, "Just Do It, dude."  My  parents, however, are a different story.  The other day my mom said something like, "Why not Georgia or North Carolina?  I bet those would be really nice this time of year."  Just kidding mom.

Several years ago, I made a list of goals of what I wanted to accomplish in the next five years.  After recently completing two of those goals (earning my MBA and winning the U.S. double-dutch championships...ok, not really, but I did become a licensed engineer) I've decided to temporarily postpone my career to pursue another goal: long-term travel and volunteer work in southeast Asia.  While I am nervous about leaving a great job with great people during the worst economy in 70 years, I am confident the experience will be worthwhile.

My grandfather and great-uncle's experience had to have been life changing.  I'm not married, I don't have kids, and I'm not getting any younger so to be cliche: there's no time like now. 

While I only plan on traveling for a little over 4 months, I'm sure it will bring a new perspective to my life and if not, well, at least I should come back with a good tan, good pictures, and even better stories. I do hope to meet new friends along the way, have new experiences, challenge myself, and give back some of the time that I am so extremely fortunate to have.

So why southeast Asia? My parents will probably never understand.  They even offered me money not to go to Asia.  "How about Europe or Australia?", they said.  I admit, I do get a lot of weird looks when I tell people about my plans and I guess they deserve an explanation, so here it is:

I want to go somewhere that:

1.) Is far enough away that I may never have the chance or time to visit again.  I figure I can see Europe when I'm old.
2.) Has tons of outdoor activities I enjoy like diving, surfing, fishing, hiking, and elephant riding.
3.) Has insanely beautiful and varied scenery.
4.) Has a completely different culture.
5.) Allows me to travel long-term without bankrupting me.

After I get back from the trip, I plan on checking off another one of my goals, which is to live somewhere completely different than good ole South Carolina.  While I do love Charleston and most parts of SC, I think it's time to try something different.  So, I'm moving to Colorado and hoping to put some roots down in either Denver or Boulder (Sorry, Kailey, I know you're anti-The People's Republic of Boulder).  And now you hopefully know why.