The Power of Suggestion

The itching started in Bangkok. I needed a haircut so I stepped into one of the salons in the Khao San Road backpacker district and followed the girl to the back of the shop to get my hair shampooed. When I walked back to the front of the shop two of the stylists were curled up on a sofa next to the entrance, one with her head in the lap of the other, who was slowly picking through the hair of her fellow worker. Oh my God! Lice, I thought. I can’t believe they allow their employees to do this in full view of the customers. My scalp starting itching that afternoon but I knew it was all in my head (pun intended).

More...

Barbara Weibel, Contest, 01/25/2008

I along with my fiancé and my parents went to visit the Rockhouse Hotel in Negril, Jamaica this past March. One of the most memorable moments from our trip was when my father decided to jump off the 30 foot bridge outside his villa into the Caribbean Ocean. Unfortunately for my father, not only did the camera not work properly to document his jump, but he made the mistake of going head first into the water. This lead to him landing flat on his stomach and his belly flop could be heard throughout the property. The Jamaicans in the glass bottom boat below also witnessed the whole event and said, "Ouch mon, you have to go feet first." Then my father had to swim all the way around to the ladder in his painful state. We had to throw him a floaty because he was afraid he wouldn't make it.

More...

May Chau, Contest, 01/18/2008

Who Needs Romance When You Have Fun???

Boyfriend and I recently got married. ( I guess that makes him more along the lines of husband, doesn’t it? lol) I know that honeymoon’s are supposed to be ultra romantic and super lovey dovey, but ours was just super FUN! And who says that fun can’t be romantic too? Well some people might, but they just suck. Ha!

Our trip to St Lucia was by far the most memorable trip we’ve ever taken together! While we were there, we made so many new friends that we still keep in touch with to this day. And it’s with these friends that we had all of these incredible experiences! We danced on top of pools, had Japanese cuisine overlooking the ocean that was crashing into the rocks below, drank saki bombs until we couldn’t see straight, snorkeled with hundreds of tiny jellyfish (yes, they stung… a lot and often!), rode atv’s over rocks and in sand dunes, did the limbo under a pole that was ON FIRE, sang awful and completely out of tune karaoke in the piano bar, hiked to a live volcano that stunk something fierce but was still so amazing, ate incredible food, rode in a helicopter over the island (where I was sure we were going to crash and die), hiked to a waterfall that just comes out of nowhere in the middle of these amazing botanical gardens, traveled to the “pitons” (these 2 volcanic mountains that literally spring up out of the water and are the local attraction on the island), met the locals and learned of their culture and background, realized that since banana’s grew everywhere on the island- they were in everything (including every blended drink), participated in the funniest talent show ever, competed in a beer chugging contest while riding ON a catamaran, kayacked around part of the island, fell in love with soka music, went windsurfing, went intertubing (and did I mention that boyfriend BROKE the intertube??? Well, he did. How embarrassing..), got an amazing couples massage while overlooking the ocean during sunset, shot pool, saw sea turtles!!! SEA TURTLES PEOPLE!!!!, went swimming, lounged around and took about a million and a half pictures!!!

More...

Jennster, Contest, 01/18/2008

Our glasses clinked to our first vacation as a couple. Sitting at the airport bar, I couldn’t help but wonder: would we survive, not to mention, enjoy six days alone with eachother? We were still eyeing each other suspiciously at the boarding gate when to my shock …..“I’m sorry. This flight is closed.” Survive? I fumed. We couldn’t even make our flight; And we were only 30 yards from the boarding gate! It was a rough start, but two planes, a train, and a ferry ride later—not to mention a few gin and tonics—we were finally standing at the base of a 2000-meter volcano.

More...

Alison Ogden, Contest, 01/18/2008

A Glimpse of Grenada

The edges of their machetes gleamed as the blades swiftly passed across the patches of afternoon sunlight, punching through the dense canopy of Caribbean vegetation above. Several men were leading us deeper into the jungle, all carrying razor-sharp cutlasses, as they're known in this particular region of the world. They knew the area well, and if things went awry, there'd be no escaping them--and no one to hear our screams.

In late-January I'd become a crewmember aboard the 20-meter sailing yacht, Odessa, during her final days of dry-dock at the Port of Spain, in Trinidad. Although I had no sailing experience, it's quite simple for an outgoing traveler to pick up a free ride through the Caribbean, or along the coast of the Americas--something people pay thousands of U.S. dollars to experience. Many captains are simply seeking conversational company, an extra pair of hands and eyes, or a new recipe for the galley. This is how I found myself on the island of Grenada, that memorable Valentine's Day in 2006.

More...

Craig Heimburger, Contest, 01/10/2008