May 2018
Today begins the greatest adventure of my life, and it has been a pretty great life so far. From the horse country of Monkton Maryland, to the many tastes of New Orleans, and the sun of San Diego. We are so fortunate to live in such a big beautiful world and I hope you enjoy seeing some more of it with me.
One of the goals of this blog is to not only keep you updated on my travels but also to inspire you to live the life you want to live. We have one shot at this life, go for it! Situations can change rapidly. If you want something, do it now. With strategy and discipline you can do anything you want in this world. It has never been easier to get around. Speaking to people in distant lands and flying through the sky at ludacris speeds was literally god status not that long ago.
By design, much of my trip is unplanned. Here is what is planned. Fly from the States to Germany to drop my luggage off at The International School Stuttgart, where I will begin working on July 2. After a splendid 18 hours in Germany, go to Singapore. This is perhaps the part of my trip I most excited about. Singapore is an incredible city-state. Despite its small size, it is a powerful world economic player. Much of the success of Singapore comes from its Sovereign Wealth Fund. What this means is that a portion of government money is invested, instead of spent. Singapore began doing this in 1981 and now has over $600 Billion in assets, including Real Estate. This helps make the little island a big-time player. (FYI, I can help you to become a part owner and investor of Commercial Real Estate assets.)
For the first two weeks of my trip I am flying solo. After a few days in Singapore, I will work my way up through Malaysia and into Thailand. During this 10-day period I am hoping to meet up with other people doing the same thing as me and adventure with them. On May 30th I will be on Koh Phangon Island for the full moon party. This is a total tourist move, but it looks like a pretty epic beach party.
After full moon party, I head up to Bangkok to meet up with my cousin, Webb Campbell, and sister, Chelsea. It will be really nice to have such fun and smart family members to travel with. Webb just graduated from St. Lawrence and starts his job with EBay in San Jose this August. Chelsea is studying interior design at SCAD, the nation’s top program, and has been doing some pretty incredible projects. I never knew my sister was so incredibly talented.
The three of us will work our way through Thailand, into the Temple Region of Cambodia, and wrap up our Southeast Asia trip in South Vietnam. The Temple Region of Cambodia is another part of this trip I am particularly excited about. Angkor Wat is the world’s largest religious monument, spanning over 400 acres. It was built in the 12th century by over 1,000,000 men and 50,000 elephants.
From Asia, Webb and I will go to Greece and Chelsea back to school. We will spend of few days in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, then go to Santorini and Mykonos. I was planning to spend the whole 6 weeks of prework travel in Southeast Asia, I am so glad Webb talked me into some time in Greece. He did not have to try too hard.
With a backpack and hockey bag, I am straight-up giddy to begin this adventure. I hope you find some pleasure in following along. Please reach out if you have any thoughts, feelings, or suggestions. I would love to go more in-depth with you and hopefully discuss your next adventure. If you are okay with living simply, travel is very affordable and one of the best things you will do with your time.
Wish you well.
Colin