Pre-sailing party - Airlie Beach, Australia
In 14 months of traveling the world, I received 17 dares. Family, friends, former coworkers, and plenty of readers I’ve never met were happy to challenge me to step even further outside of my comfort zone than simply putting myself in the middle of a new country or culture. As a result, I had a lot of interesting experiences, and garnered a few odd stories to tell.
Did I finish with a winning percentage?
YES! I completed 13 of the 17 dares, or 76%.
My Successes
- Picking my nose in front of Auckland, New Zealand’s sky tower
- Tons of single, young women with their hands on my shoulder (most profitable)
- Getting a shot with 6+ women with their hands on me at once
- Eating a burger with the lot in Australia
- Getting monkeys to climb on me in Bali
- A photo op with Thai ladyboys
- Riding a scooter down a really crowded street (meant for China, completed in Bangkok)
- Eating spicy Vindaloo (meant for India, completed in Bangkok)
- Go to an underground Muay Thai fight in Thailand
- Eat dog (meant for Vietnam, completed in Cambodia)
- Take a Muay Thai boxing class in Thailand
- Cage dive with Great White Sharks in South Africa
- Eat Skop (sheep’s head) in South Africa
Delicious dog meat - Battambang, Cambodia
My Failures
- Get a photo with a topless girl on the beach
- Eat scorpion or fried pigeon head (in China)
- Get a tattoo
- Ride the roof of a train (in India)
A BIG thanks to everyone who participated by sending me a dare. I really appreciated the payments which helped to defer the associated costs, or buy me a dinner and a night’s rest!
You can access the full write-up for each dare, along with photos and/or video by going to the Dare Me page. And since I have yet to return to the USA, I remain open to any dares which would apply here in Medellin or Colombia.
Monkeying around - Bali, Indonesia
About the Author:
Dave is the author of 1526 posts on Go Backpacking.
Dave (Editor-in-Chief) blogged his way around the world from 2007-2009, and then started Travel Blog Success to teach others how to do the same. When not writing, he can be found salsa dancing in Medellin. Follow him on Twitter @rtwdave or look for him on Google+
The Travel Blog Success community offers practical resources and personal support to help you build a better travel blog.
Whether you treat blogging as a hobby, or dream of building a location independent business, you'll learn what's required to create a name for yourself in the online travel world.
Benefits of Joining:
- Personal support from Dave, including site critiques and tips on negotiating advertising deals.
- Ability to learn from others' mistakes, and save yourself time, energy and money.
- Chance to network with other travel bloggers of all levels, from around the world.
9 Comments
Awesome post, Dave. You sure are an adventurous guy.
Awesome post, Dave. You sure are an adventurous guy.
Hey Nate, thanks for checking out my blog!
Hey Nate, thanks for checking out my blog!
What is that white thing on top of the veggies on your food photo? They look like snake’s skins to me.
What is that white thing on top of the veggies on your food photo? They look like snake’s skins to me.
Those thin white strips were somthing called young banana. It didn’t really taste like banana, but I liked it. They were cold and crunchy so it was a nice additive to the dog meat. Eventually, I was just dipping the crunchy banana and mint in the sauce and eating it, leaving the dog completely aside!
Those thin white strips were somthing called young banana. It didn’t really taste like banana, but I liked it. They were cold and crunchy so it was a nice additive to the dog meat. Eventually, I was just dipping the crunchy banana and mint in the sauce and eating it, leaving the dog completely aside!
I can’t imagine myself eating a dog meat. But hey, kudos on these achievements. So adventurous!