Why Candy?
Posted in Candy, Pre-trip by Malena on January 8th, 2008 11:22 pm

Almost three full years of saving, planning, and dreaming have passed since I first decided to travel long-term. That’s a lot of time spent reading books, perusing blogs, or examining maps, for those keeping track. My plans have changed countless times, starting with a three year trip featuring an overland journey through West Africa and a ride on the Trans-Siberian to the more modest eighteen month adventure I’m planning today (alas, with no stops planned in the former Soviet Union or Africa.) Those three years included promotions, break-ups, cross-country moves, career changes, new relationships, and even a trip to Turkey to spice things up.

Still Life with Gummy Bears
Still Life with Gummy Bears
Through it all, I’ve known that at some point, I was going to leave, to travel, to take off for parts unknown and just keep going. Tamales in Mexico, pad thai in Thailand, sushi in Japan, and pretty much everything in India (except maybe the meat!) keep me from spending too much money on food right now. My plans to learn to surf, to try my hand at scuba diving, to swim with dolphins or just lounge on a beach somewhere sustain me through the New England winter. Even less exciting activities like learning Spanish, working on my writing, or trying and draw the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat (even though my drawing sucks) are so much more alluring when done in the backdrop of Guatemala or Cambodia.

Nerds - I love them!
Nerds - I love them!
I’ve always struggled with deciding where to go. The world is big and 18 months really isn’t that much time. What regions of the world should I focus on, and what activities and locations should I aim for? What do you actually DO when you quit your job for that long? How could I stay intellectually satisfied and ensure that my trip had a focus and some meaning for me? What excuse could I use so people actually read this blog? I had some trouble with this, until the answer came to me in an epiphany over dinner one summer night. Obviously - candy! I love the stuff, eat way too much of it (I’m sure my dentist would agree!) and can talk about it forever. Some of my most vivid memories involve it, and the thought of eating all sorts of different candy around the world, and documenting it, and researching and reading about candy… let’s just say it’s the perfect topic for me.

Cat eyes the candy...
Cat eyes the candy...
Recently, I got some exciting news: I was selected for the “A Map for Saturday” contest for free round-the-world trip tickets. I’m thrilled, obviously for the free tickets (Yayyyyy!!!) but also for the validation this gives the trip. Now I’m not just some crazy person wrecking her life to go travel - at least I hope not! With the extra money I gain from the tickets, I’m hoping to be able to go that extra step in finding cool candy-related places to visit (including adding Japan and some of the candy-centric European countries to my route.)

I will be confused, frustrated, sick, lonely, dirty, cold, and bored some of the time. I’ll be grossed out by some of the food, tired of the long bus rides, and angry at the constant begging and harassment in some of the places I’ll be visiting. I’m sure I won’t even like some of the candy (blech at black licorice and coconut.) I can’t wait.

Mexican Preparation »

01
Kurt
posting from United States
January 12th, 2008 2:00 pm

Hey, is this the new site or the old one? It looks OK now. [But the color of comment text is kind of light…]

02
Malena
posting from United States
January 12th, 2008 2:16 pm

Yes, this is the new one - I spent all Friday night fixing it. The image plugin I hacked to pieces is still broken though :(

And yeah, I think the comment text is broken - also it didn’t display the US flag like it’s supposed to! So much more to do…

03
Peter
posting from United States
January 13th, 2008 9:08 am

This website looks wonderful! I truly hope that everybody gets on board and this becomes a global phenomenon.

04
Athropos
posting from Canada
January 23rd, 2008 6:27 pm

I want some gummy bears so bad!

Great website by the way. Hope you enjoy the trip of your life =D

05
Malena
posting from United States
January 23rd, 2008 6:59 pm

Heck no, there will be more like this later! Thanks :)

06
Quita
posting from United States
January 26th, 2008 9:58 am

As a once webbie designer - this site is great! Cool trip!

07
Malena
posting from United States
January 26th, 2008 10:41 am

Thanks! There’s a tiny little problem with the headers I still need to get straightened out, but I’m pretty happy with it right now :)

08
Quita
posting from United States
February 1st, 2008 6:18 pm

You might be ineresed in the movie, Caramel. See: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0201/p12s02-almo.html

09
Lynn Shuster
posting from United States
February 14th, 2008 3:19 pm

I was given some jalapeno candies over Christmas….hot but very good when eaten with a snickerdoodle cookie.
This sounds like a blast!!!

10
Mindy Field
posting from United States
February 23rd, 2008 9:16 pm

Wow! From swallowing gobs of bubble gum and chewing handfuls of hard candy in our kitchen, to traveling the world to do a far more exciting and glorified version of the same! I am so happy to see you have stuck with what you love! I look forward to reading about your journey :) By the way, if you haven’t already read “Candy Freak” it is an awesome book.

11
Malena
posting from United States
February 23rd, 2008 9:35 pm

Mindy!!!! I am so glad you found this website, I was trying to get in touch with you but your cell phone didn’t work…

I love Candy Freak - it’s definitely an inspiration. Awesome book. I love going to Cracker Barrel and getting the random local candy now (the Abba Zabba is amazing!)

Anyways glad to hear from you :D

12
Iman
posting from Australia
March 16th, 2008 10:24 pm

Great site some thing very intresting to know.
Cheers Iman

13
Jean Shuster
posting from United States
March 28th, 2008 12:58 pm

Sounds like you’re having a great trip! Wish I could be with you. Can you take your other grandmother to Central and South America with you? We love you and watch your back!

14
Malena
posting from Mexico
March 31st, 2008 8:34 pm

Thanks for the nice comments everyone! Grandma, don’t worry, I’m totally safe! Well, 95% safe. Well, safe in everything except I forgot to put sunscreen on today. I won’t make that mistake again, trust me!

15
Grandma & Grandpa
posting from United States
April 11th, 2008 12:21 pm

Grandpa says it’s okay to eat crickets if you’re sure they won’t kill you. I’m not sure how you determine that but…… if they are chocolate covered then they might just be good.
Love and hugs!

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