Top 10 Travel To Do's for 2005

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada (January 13) - With our sincere apologies to David Letterman, and a nod to our fascination with annual lists, the following are the Top 10 Travel To Do's for 2005:

10. Take in a concert at the recently refurbished La Scala Opera House, Milan, Italy.
9. Take the train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg to Moscow.
8. Mix your travels with doing some good for those in need this year.
7. Attend the Sacred Music Festival, Fez, Morocco.
6. Trek to Angel Falls though the Grand Sabana in Venezuela.
5. Spend the night in a traditional Japanese ryokan in Kyoto, Japan.
4. Take an afternoon sipping mint tea in the Istanbul Grand Bazaar, Turkey.
3. Take a photo safari to the Rajasthan province of India.
2. Visit at least one of the Seven Wonders of the World this year!

...And the Number One Top Travel To Do for 2005?

1. Take A Blind Date With The World and enter GreatEscape2005:
The Global Scavenger Hunt!

And speaking of our collective fantasy about traveling around-the- world exploring the far-flung corners of the earth: The Global Scavenger Hunt's 3rd annual travel adventure competition may be your passport to make your dreams come true and possibly win $100,000!

You might also be checking off several of the Top 10 Travel To Do's for 2005 while you're at it!

Beginning April 15th, 2005, and over the next three weeks, 50 intrepid global adventurers will take an incredible Blind Date With The World (travelers won't know their destinations until they're onboard a 747 over the International Dateline) and visit at least 10 countries on 4 continents in the annual travel competition that will crown "The World's Greatest Travelers" in New York City on May 8th. They'll be traveling from Los Angeles to New York - the long way!

Outside magazine calls The Global Scavenger Hunt "...one of the most amazing trips in the world!" NPR's "Savvy Traveler" host Dianna Nyad, thinks that GreatEscape "...is just such a great idea!" And nationally syndicated Pierre Wolf of "Pack Your Bags," agrees saying that the competition is "The most remarkable travel adventure I've ever heard of...truly, a one of a kind global event. This is what travel should be all about!" So far, travelers from 30 countries have applied to join the adventure.

"It is like Survivor, The Amazing Race, and the Eco-Challenge all rolled into one except with much more cultural interaction," is how one previous competitor, Marvin S. of Canada, explained his participation in the last global competition that combines the style of the 19th Century Grand Tours with the jet-setter reality of 21st Century travel. But the Amazing Race and Survivor reality shows are strictly for amateur wannabes and armchair voyeurs. This real world travel adventure is for the truly travel savvy among us who crave authentic adventure, genuine exotic travel, intimate cultural immersions, real competition and world-class fun.

Sure it took Magellan over three years to do it and Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg character 80-days to do it. Amelia Earhart would have made it in about 45 days. It takes the Space Station just 38 minutes to do it. And it will take those traveling in GreatEscape2005 just 23 days to do it. The "it" they share, is circumnavigating the globe!

And by the time one daring Team (2 travelers per Team) competing in annual The Global Scavenger Hunt finish the hundreds of exotic cultural scavenges and crosses the finish line, all 25 Teams will have collectively walked, bicycled, flown, boated and ridden camels, elephants, ox-carts, tuk-tuked and rickshaws, over a million miles! But there are more than clues to uncover and $100,000 in prizes to win. There are lives to be changed.

The Indiana Jones and Jane's competing in the annual travel adventure is helping to raise funds toward a $1million goal for humanitarian groups like: Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, CARE, Mercy Corps International, Heifer Project, International Special Olympics, Global Green, Habitat for Humanity International and the World Monuments Fund.

"Our cultural immersion will move Teams away from having their noses stuck in guidebooks and get them engaged in the human connection of travel," says William D. Chalmers, travel book author and the event organizer, "It's from those personal interactions and intimate experiences that we grow. That's what GreatEscape2005 is all about: having our travelers trust strangers in strange lands."

"Some have called our annual event the 'Olympics of Travel', some refer to it as 'A Blind Date with the World' because our travelers won't have any foreknowledge as to where they're going until they're onboard a 747 bound for parts unknown, some have even called it a 'Magical Mystery Tour'. I liked that one," continues Chalmers.

"The Global Scavenger Hunt annual expedition has certainly captured the attention of some of the world's best travelers and that's what we created this truly international travel adventure competition." And Chalmers, as the winner of a previous around-the-world race, organizing this annual travel competition has become a dream come true. "I would love to participate, but setting up this annual event is equally challenging. We're attracting world-class contestants."
National Geographic Adventure magazine recently knighted Chalmers the "world's greatest traveler." (April 2002)

Travelers are asked to either raise or pay at least $7,900 to the GreatEscape Foundation to enter the Spring 2005 event. Fees include all international airfare, 23-days in first class hotels and about 40% of meals. (Portions of the fee may be tax-deductible and travelers are asked to please consult their tax advisor.) All interested travelers should contact the GreatEscape Foundation at 310.281.7809 or visit the world famous commercial-free travel website at http://www.GlobalScavengerHunt.com.

Truly the "Olympics of travel adventure," like 1930's anthropologist- adventurers hot on the path of the Holy Grail, Teams will earn points by completing a series of cultural-oriented scavenges in each of the 10 exotic international destinations. A true cultural immersion, the event is designed to be a rally rather than a flat out race to test the wildly diverse Teams ability to combat not only jetlag, but language difficulties, Team dynamics, cultural differences, the inevitable logistical snafus and the ever present heat of competition.

Participants of the first event enjoyed the thrill of the competition, the mystery aspect, the cultural immersion, the food and the hotels.

Here's what a few competitors said of their experience competing in The Global Scavenger Hunt travel adventure:

Randy H. of California: "A cross between Abercrombie & Kent and Lonely Planet!...and I am richer for the experiences!"

Victoria R. of New York: "...the concept of not knowing my destinations was a wonderful experience, and finding random items in markets all over the world was one of my favorite parts of the scavenger hunt. My charade skills have been fine-tuned!"

Couch potatoes need not apply. This real world travel adventure competition is only for the hardiest and most travel savvy Type-A globetrotters. GreatEscape2005: The Global Scavenger Hunt is for those who crave authentic adventure, genuine exotic travel, real competition and world-class fun. Travelers and adventurers participating in GreatEscape2005 will be limited to using public transportation only while solving clues in country. Sample GreatEscape2005 scavenges could
include:

* Ride a four-legged beast around one of the Seven Wonders of the World wearing a traditional Arab galabyia and headdress purchased in Khan al-Khalili. (Shop in Cairo's ancient Grand Bazaar before riding a camel at the Pyramids.)

* At this World Heritage Site there are over 50 temples, visit the one where rodents roam freely and explain why? (In Kathmandu visit the sacred Hiranya Varna Mahabihar aka Rat Temple, where the living guardian of Vishnu lives and is guarded by the holy rodents.)

* Sing "Feelings" at a Ginza district karaoke bar with at least four other local patrons. (Tune up your pipes with new friends in glitzy
Tokyo!)

* In the 'City of Waters,' partake in a traditional Turkish delight.
(Take a bath in a public bathhouse.)

* Find Juliet's balcony and steal a kiss. (In Verona, Italy find romance!)

"Public transportation makes a foreign environment seem, well, more foreign!" continues Chalmers, "The Teams will get more than some snapshots, a sunburn and souvenirs, they'll replenish their memory banks with exciting and exotic experiences. I suspect, like the Eco- Challenge for physically fit marathon trekkers, that GreatEscape2005 will be the ultimate cocktail hour competition among travelers. More than just a travel and competition however, Teams will be helping to raise a million dollar goal for some wonderful humanitarian organizations."
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For additional press-related information, including: obtaining travel photos, Press Kits, e-Press Kits, a video news release (VNR), information about covering the event, setting up interviews with past and future contestants and/or the events organizer, or any other media- related questions, please contact:

Contact:
Pamela L. Finmark
GreatEscape Foundation
310.281.7809
PLF@GlobalScavengerHunt.com
513 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 364
Santa Monica, CA 90401 - USA
www.GlobalScavengerHunt.com