What do you think?

I’ll see you out there…!

Remember bounce houses, couch forts and tree houses? Those were the days when we had no inhibitions. When we just did whatever we wanted to to do. Now we grow up, become adults and it suddenly becomes “uncool” or “inappropriate” to do those things anymore.

I say, forgetaboutit.

I decided to return to my childhood at The Valley of the Waves, a water park at The Palace of the Lost City Hotel in South Africa. They had these giant inflatable hamster balls. Take a look in this YouTube video.

So it turns out that hamster balls are tougher than they look. And 5 minutes is plenty of time. I was exhausted after 2 and a half. But it was worth every rand to roll around and laugh incessantly. You can laugh some more at some of my Facebook Photos in the ball.

Today’s Lesson: It’s okay to do something childish. Who cares, really? So do something childish. Kids have all the fun. Adults should too. Comment with your most childish adventure.

I’ll see you out there!…Or in there

adventureswithben.com is supported by The City Scramble. If you'd like to race, click on the image to register.

With the official start of our blogging assignment underway, we took an opportunity to provide some background on who we were to hopefully attract more voters who may have just started to follow the competition. A family photo album was the medium.

I’ll see you out there…!

Join the Facebook Fan Page here.

*****

Hey Explorers,

Chances are if you are reading this on Sunday we are on the plane flying from Orlando, to New York, to Tokyo and landing in Bangkok. From door to door it’s about a 29 hour flight. Yikes! Many of you readers have been following us along since the beginning, while we know many of you may be joining us for the first time today! We thought we would take this time to share with you more about who we are.

We each grew up in Massachusetts. Ben in Fall River and Somerset and Brian in Groton. Our families still reside there today. In 2005 we moved to Orlando, Florida to pursue employment opportunities. Ben graduated with undergraduate an graduate degrees in Communication from Fitchburg State College and Suffolk University respectively. Brian from Northeastern University with an M.S in Physical Therapy.

We met each other in 2003 and together share a passion for travel. Our one and only goal is to inspire you to travel to Thailand and add Pattaya to your itinerary.

In the past few months Ben has been managing the social media component of the competition while Brian takes care of the itinerary details. When they are not competing, Brian plays in a softball league in Orlando. His team does fairly well and they have competing in tournament all over the U.S.

Ben on the other hand avoids sports like the plague! He writes a small travelblog in his spare time. Experience is the best teacher. He’s learned so much from this competition he can’t wait to resume and try out what he’s learned. Every Saturday night we play in a bowling league. It gets us out of the house and brings us closer together.

While we’re flying, you may want to catch up on some of our previous blog posts. You may also enjoy this slideshow we put together with some of our favorite photos from our family. We hope you enjoy.

We’ve worked hard to make it to the finals. We’re thankful to everyone, our friends, family, fans and followers who voted during the semi-finals and helped us make it to this milestone. We’re proud to represent Massachusetts, Florida and the United States. If you enjoy following our adventures please support us and vote for Pattaya by registering and clicking the link above. You can vote every 24 hours until January 8th.

In addition to our blog you can follow our adventures on Facebook and Twitter. Our social media links are listed on the right.

We’ll see you out there!

In an effort to reach out to new voters and new ways of promotion, I partnered with my friend Kyle Berner, CEO of Feelgoodz Flip Flops. His sells flip flops made in Thailand. We bought some, packed them in our suitcase and brought them with us. We promoted him, he promoted us. I don’t know how many voters or press that got us, but his flops are really comfortable. You should definitely check them out!

If you liked today’s post, there’s lots more on Facebook. Become a fan of adventureswithben.com here.

I’ll see you out there!

*****

Hey Explorers,

With just a few days before our Sunday departure we’re starting our pre-flight checks. One of them includes packing our bags. There are a few things that we always bring with us whenever we travel overseas. Check out our newest video to find out what they are…

That was our short list. Ben likes to bring some of his favorite snacks from America like Oreo’s and Cheez-Its. Brian ensures that they have entertainment by bringing movies to enjoy on their computer on the flight. The backpacks they bring have traveled to Europe and Africa and are excited to add the continent of Asia. We’re also bringing and empty suitcase to load up with gifts. There are a few other random things we have packed that you might enjoy. We’ll show you those later.

Our newest inclusion to our travels are Feelgoodz flip flops. They have a great story to them. They have an even greater back story! Almost 10 years ago Ben met the CEO of Feelgoodz during a summer job. He wasn’t a CEO yet, just an ice cream scooper and Ben was a restaurant attendant. The two of them become good friends. Over the years, as their paths parted and each pursued other interests they remained in touch. Ben found a career in Florida and Kyle wound up teaching English in Thailand. His passion for the country resulted in a marvelous idea – flip flops.

Flash forward to today, Kyle manages a growing retail business selling flip flops made in Thailand and Ben won a trip to the country. What better way to celebrate than to support his friend by buying his flops? If you want to learn more about Ben’s friend Kyle and his flip flops visit Feelgoodz.com. Oh and a correction from the video, Feelgoodz is working with TransFair USA for certification. It hasn’t happened yet, but check out the website for the other great initiatives this socially responsible company has.

Anyway, we’d like to know, what are your packing essentials? Leave a comment below.

If you’re a new reader, you may want to visit some of our recent posts for some fun stories. You should also vote for Pattaya. After a simple registration, you can vote every 24 hours. Click on the “Vote For Them” link at the top of the page.

AND…If you haven’t asked us a question about Thailand there’s still time. Watch the details in this video from an earlier post.

We’ll see you out there!

On a long car ride from Orlando to Miami, we got the idea to try pronouncing some funny Thai phrases we read in our phrasebook. Meant purely as a comedy piece, it became quite popular.

Enjoy.

If you liked today’s post, there’s lots more on Facebook. Become a fan of adventureswithben.com here.

*****

Hey Explorers,

As promised from yesterday’s post we are ready to debut our adventures in learning to speak Thai. But before we show you the video, we should share a few caveats.

To date, our world travels together have taken us to Europe and Africa. Our studies in school helped prepare us for speaking in France and South Africans speak English. We’ve been lucky so far. We are confident that we’ll be able to communicate just fine in Thailand, but whenever you travel, where ever you go, it’s polite and respectful to learn a few words in the local tongue.

Therefore, we purchased a Thai Phrasebook not too long ago and found the opportunity to practice on our road trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. As we discovered (and as you will soon too), this book of ours has some pretty bizarre expressions translated. Many of the phrases in the book we would probably never need to know. We thought they were funny enough that we had to capture them on video and share them with you.

Our pronounciation is horrible. Please forgive us. We have never heard Thai spoken before. We don’t know what the accents sound like. We can’t read your letters. We don’t know how to interpret the changes in the tone of our voice. The book was on sale. It looked cute, with it being small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. We will learn, but we need your patience. You’ll see what we mean in this YouTube Video.

What can we say at this point? It was our first attempt at speaking Thai. We have one more week to learn. If we haven’t mastered it by then, we’ll follow the best advice offered in this little book of ours…point to the phrase and show it to the person we’re speaking to AND laugh at your mistakes.

We hope you enjoyed laughing along with us. When we touchdown in Pattaya feel free to teach us a few of your favorite expressions. You can also share them here by adding a comment to this blog post.

Before you go, there is only one more day left to choose which optional activities we should see in Pattaya. Participate in the poll by clicking here.

You can also play our guessing game. What will our itinerary in Pattaya be? Watch our YouTube video here to find out.

We’ll see you out there! (dee-o pop gan mai)

Earlier this week I debated whether or not I should Bungee Jump from the Victoria Falls Bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Watch this YouTube video to see how I answered the question…

Can you believe it? I did it!!!

I was jumper number 22 for the day at 69 Kilograms.

Falling from 111 Meters

Bungee Jumping had been on My Adventure List for the longest time. And when given the opportunity here in Africa, I couldn’t pass it up. There are lots of places around the world to do it, but with the backdrop of Victoria Falls as you plummet, there’s truly no other place in the world that could be better.

This was one of the scariest moments in my life. It took me the entire day to build up the courage. I was jumping alone, so there was little support or encouragement to coach me through it – making it even tougher. While I was visiting Vic Falls on the Zambian side, I ran into a school group with some students who wanted to jump, but their chaperones wouldn’t allow them. So this jump, was in part, a tribute to them. The adventurous spirit lives in each of us, we just need a little push. Thank you to my friends on twitter, the Indian Tour Group and those American Students I ran into that helped me through the decision-making process

And with that push I was hurtling down to the ground. While the Victoria Falls Bridge is not the tallest Bungee Jump in the world, it’s higher than most. What must have been around 5 seconds, was nothing but acceleration. You couldn’t feel any tension letting you know you were strapped to something. Pure free fall. Pure terror.

WIth the Zambezi River coming closer, you snap back up, bounce up and down and dangle while waiting for your rescue.

What I Learned

We only live once. When our time is up, our time is up. Seize the day, Just do it, Carpe Diem, Live with no regrets, whatever cliche you want. We could all use a little adventure in our lives.

I took a risk and conquered my fear. I’ve lived to tell the tale and have no regrets. This is a memory and story that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. Despite the excuses, despite the fear of the unknown, despite being alone I did it. And you can to.

What’s your biggest fear? And what are you going to do about it?

You can find some of my Vic Falls Bungee Jump photos on my Facebook Fan Page.

I’ll see you out there…! But not with a cord strapped to my ankles.

The Essentials

For More Information: I couldn’t find any official site for the Bungee Jump Outfitter, Big Air, but check out this comprehensive tour operator’s website with all the details you need. You may want to book ahead during busy season. I walked right up.

Attraction Costs: It was $110 for the Bungee Jump. If you want to add on a bungee swing and zipline it’s a substantial savings if you do all three at once. The Bungee Jump was all I needed. The DVD and Photo CD cost me an additional $45 – a very steep price for a few snapshots and video. I was traveling alone so no one could record my jump. If you have a travel partner, have them take photos on rapid shutter mode, and buy the DVD. It’s filmed from 2 different angles, a nice touch.

How to get there: You can’t miss it. As you approach the Victoria Falls Bridge from the Zambian side, you’ll see the steps leading up to the registration desk. You may find lots of people on the side of the road asking you if you’re going to Bungee Jump. Not sure if they get a commission, just trying to make conversation or scamming you. Whatever the reason, you don’t need their services to register.

Suggested Time to Experience Fully: 5 seconds for the fall, 5 minutes waiting upside-down to be hoisted back up. Enjoy the view

Best Time to Visit: As soon as you find the courage to sign the paperwork. The longer you wait, the harder the decision will be. Once you pay your money, there are no refunds. So throw down your cash and jump.

Ben Recommends: Every traveler to Victoria Falls should do this, especially if you’ve never bungee jumped. If you opt out, you’ll regret it as soon as you return home. Stare fear in the face and jump.

This adventure to Victoria Falls was sponsored by Chanters Lodge, Livingstone. Considering a trip to Livingstone? Click the photo to book your accommodation at Chanters Lodge.