K.I.D. Collective

Beau and Meggan of the World Effect aren’t new to this blog. I’ve posted about them here, here and even here. Meggan and I’ve known one another for 13 years and were immediate friends when we met. She’s like the sister I never had. Over the years we’ve argued, bickered and had more fun than two friends should be allowed. So when it came time for another ‘day in the life’ series, I felt like Meg and Beau would be the perfect finale to wrap up the year AND decade.

While this post won’t give you links to eat, drink or shop, what I hope it will do is encourage you to get out there and explore or even take a few photos. You never know, you might have that budding photographer within you. Meg and Beau started traveling back in April and haven’t been back to the United States since. Each day is different because they rarely stay in a location longer than a week, sometimes just a day. During their year long expedition they have encountered some incredible things all cataloged on their travel blog, the World Effect. Most recently they posted about Mount Everest but they also have posts on their 2 week ride along the Trans Mongolian, the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda and Machu Picchu to name some of my favorites. They are due back to Colorado this Spring, if they don’t change their minds to stay longer. If you have a second, drop by their blog, check out their photos and wish them a Merry Christmas. Thanks you two for sharing your day and Happy Holidays!

7:45 AM
Beau:  Beep…Beep…Sweet, my Ecuadorian watch still works.  I think I will keep my eyes closed for a little bit longer.

8:00 AM
Beau:  Well Meggan isn’t moving.  I guess I have to get up first.  Shower time.
Meggan:  Beau’s up.  I have 15 more minutes to sleep.

8:20 AM
Beau: I need to do wash. I guess I will wear what doesn’t smell. Meggan is still in bed. Typical.
Meggan:  I have to get up. Beau is pacing. What country are we in anyways? Asian decor? Huh? Oh Thailand!

8:25 AM Beau:  Coffee… I need coffee.  I boil the water and then boil it again.  Just in case.  Instant coffee, what swill.  I guess it will have to work.  I power up the laptop and search for directions to the Vietnam Embassy.

8:50 AM
Beau:  Are you ready yet Meggan?  Ready now?  Ok, ready?  Why are you just standing there staring at your bag?
Meggan:  I hate my clothes! Maybe if I stare at my bag long enough an outfit will pop out at me.  I wish I had my cute little black dress from Anthropology with me.  Why didn’t I pack that?  Ok I have to pick something.  What doesn’t smell?

9:20 AM
Meggan: Ready to leave. Beau found a great website with directions describing every step you need to take, including pictures of signage and landmarks to look for on your way there.  I love the world wide web!  Off to the skytrain.

10:00 AM
Meggan: We found the embassy and it was relatively easy with the great directions.  Beau and I fill out our required documents and wait in line.  After standing in line for 20 minutes we find out we need more money.  Off to find a 7-11. They always have ATMs and they seem to be located a block and half away in every direction here in Thailand.

10:35 AM
Beau: After waiting in line again we pay for our visas and intrust them with our passports.  The clerk gives us a piece of paper and says “you come back monday”.  Ok.

12:00 PM
Meggan: Exploring the streets has made us hungry.  We head to a recommendation from my mom, Cabbages and Condoms.  The restaurant is decorated with mannequins covered in condoms and slogans for safe sex.  After our phad thai, they give us two condoms. It beats after dinner mints I guess.  This is a restaurant with a mission.  The restaurant’s proceeds go to a population and community development program that helps educate on safe sex, AIDs awareness, and birth control.

1:30 PM
Meggan: On the way back to the hotel, we stop at the third 7-11 we passed.  We load up on water.  I also grab some thai design magazines.  Yes, I won’t be able to read them but there are several great furniture and interior mood shots.

1:45 PM
Beau:  Time for me to shut down the grid.  I plug in our power strip and start charging our video camera battery, DSLR camera batteries, and both our laptops… the hotel lights dimmed and flickered.  I am send off a few emails to set up meetings with artisans.  Then I continue with my editing of the trans-mongolian video, downloading photos and writing a post.
Meggan:  Work time!  I start downloading my photos and write a post.  I sneak a look at facebook and my favorite design blogs every once in a while.  Then I move onto sketching some concepts.

7:00 PM
We can’t ignore our bellies any longer.  So we head to the Suan Lum Night Market for dinner.  We jump on two trains to get to the market and exit the train station right at the entrance of the market.  We begin to wandering through the maze of battery operated flashing t-shirts, globe shaped christmas lights, jewelry and fake purses and are surprised to find some cute shops.  There are several individually owned stalls with fashion boutique concepts and artisan furniture.  We were happy to see some stalls with personality and unique identities.

8:30 PM
Meggan: After being distracted by all the shopping, we make our way to the food section of the market.  Actually I should say beer garden with open food stalls.  There are too many options, we ended up picking the busiest stall.  Busiest always means freshest.  Beau got squid and chili curry and I got fried prawns.  After eating we decided it would be nice to relax, thai market style.

9:15 PM
Meggan: Beau and I indulged with a neck, shoulder and back massage for $8/hr.  Heaven!  Then we decided to be daring and throw away our concerns for hygiene.  We went to Dr. Fish to have little fish nibble at our feet.  I wish I could explain what it felt like.  All I can say is that it felt weird and I had a strange fear that i might accidentally crush one of the fish.  No fish were injured in this activity.

10:30 PM
Fully relaxed we hopped back on the trains and headed home (the hotel).

11:30ish PM
We fall asleep watching a bootlegged copy of Che we bought in Kathmandu for a $1.

2:00 AM
Meggan:  What country are we in?

Tags: inspiration