He had it all: a luxury car, a large home, a loving family, a successful career and enough money to buy virtually anything. But what he didn't have was something no amount of money could buy—some peace of mind.

"I was experiencing a lot of stress from my practice and from being a perfectionist," Augustine says. "Bottom line was, I was burnt out. I was obsessed with unrelenting ambitions and became a recluse. I didn't want to be around people, so I spent a lot of time in the backyard."

But it took a seemingly painful situation to bring Augustine the happiness he'd been looking for.

In 1987, something happened to the then 37-year-old Italian that changed his life forever and for the better. While vacationing in Maui, he threw out his back—slipped a disc, to be exact—during a workout. As a result, he experienced tremendous pain in his leg and other areas. This, ironically, was the remedy to his stressful job. After seeing a specialist and receiving physical therapy, Augustine decided the only way to recover was to take a vacation, so he took a monthlong sabbatical to India.

"It was the first time in a long time that I actually had peace in my life, and I savored every moment of it," Augustine says. "I became a simple person. Like a computer whose hard drive had just been cleaned out, I felt renewed."

Little did he realize the sabbatical would eventually lead to his worldly quest for happiness. After experiencing another injury a year later, Augustine decided to quit his practice altogether and get rid of some of his properties. He took up a new hobby—meditation and taking annual pilgrimages to foreign countries in search of spiritual enlightenment. So far, he's traveled to Germany, where he participated in the demolition celebration of the Berlin Wall; he found himself in dancing with the Masai warriors in Kenya; and sat inside the Vatican attending Mass conducted by Pope John Paul II.

But none of his past trips could compare with what he and his son, Jason, a senior at Santa Clara University and a Saratoga High School graduate, experienced in their most recent trip to Southeast Asia. From the end of January to the end of February, the two trekked through Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Vietnam with only two pieces of luggage each and open minds.

On Jan. 22, the two arrived in Bangkok during two significant events—the beginning of the New Year and the height of the Hong Kong chicken flu panic.

"It felt surreal," Augustine says. "On the front page of the newspaper was a picture of a family eating pizza on New Year's instead of the traditional chicken dish. Not only that, but all the KFCs were empty. It was kind of funny."

And, although there was a photo of a government official eating chicken in the paper, claiming it was safe to eat, Augustine says he remembers seeing all of the chicken dishes crossed out in the restaurant menus, upon recommendation from a hotel association.

Despite the scare, Augustine and Jason did eat a few chicken dishes.

"We were a bit cautious," Jason admits. "It was everywhere in the news. But luckily, we didn't have any problems. We were fine. For the most part, we had fish and seafood."

During the approximately 10-day stay in Thailand, the Augustines visited close to 25 Buddhist temples, all ornately decorated with jewels and stone carvings of mythical creatures, and made offerings to the monks.

"We bought them platters of fruits, pastries and vegetables. In exchange, they blessed us in three different languages and with holy water," Augustine says. "It's interesting because they could only eat before 11 a.m. That was their only meal. They weren't allowed to store their leftovers. They had to give it away."

Though in a foreign country, Augustine was somewhat familiar with Buddhist practices. He hadn't visited temples often, since there are not many in Saratoga, but he had found other ways to reach spiritual enlightenment.

Meditation, in particular, became a large part of his daily life after he quit his practice at the age of 39. Switching gears from his fast-paced lifestyle, which he became used to growing up in the streets of New Jersey, to a more relaxed atmosphere, Augustine found himself meditating twice a day in addition to attending meditation classes.

It was difficult in the beginning, he says, "since the mind has a tendency to wander," but his yoga exercises helped him develop patience.

With meditation on his side, Augustine says he was able to overcome a lot of negative events in his life. For instance, he says he couldn't have cared less when more than a quarter million dollars worth of items—jewelry, Rolex watches and gold coins—were stolen from his home. The only thing that concerned him was his family's safety.

"I actually felt lighter and more liberated," he says. "Those things had no significance to me or to anyone. They're just objects."

Spiritual growth was one major aspect of the trip, but both travelers say there were other highlights as well, one of which was the Thai massages.

"I could get used to it really fast," Jason says.

For the equivalent of U.S. $10, they got an hourlong, fully clothed traditional massage. First, they had their feet washed. Then, they were positioned in different yoga-like positions with the masseuses' hands and feet on their bodies.

"It was the best massage I've ever had," Augustine says.

Moving on to different experiences, they took a boat ride to a place called Karen, one of the few Christian villages left in the predominantly Buddhist country. There, they encountered a 200-pound python, which they had wrapped around their necks for five minutes.

"It was a bit disconcerting having this heavy creature on me," says Augustine, who had close encounters with cobras during his previous journeys to India. "I kept thinking, 'What if it squeezes me?' "

Jason says he was scared for his dad because the python kept going towards his face.

But the tour guide assured the two that they would not be harmed by the python, considering that it had already been fed its one live chicken a week.

"It's ironic how they feed the snake live chicken, despite the whole chicken flu virus going on," Jason says.

Next up, they climbed a 10-foot ladder onto an elephant's back for a 2¹/2-hour ride through the jungle.

"It was a relaxing ride actually, and the scenery was so amazing," Augustine says. "It felt like I was being rocked in a cradle, although there were times when I felt like I was going to fall off. There are no seat belts on these things, you know."

It was Jason who got the most out of the ride. Trading places with the tour guide, Jason had the opportunity to take charge of the steering wheel, or the bamboo stick. The stick was used to guide the elephant.

The Augustines' stay in Thailand was almost like luxury compared to what was in store for them in destinations to come.

In a relaxed state, they headed to Cambodia and continued their spiritual quest. Again, they visited several temples, including those in the caves of Angkor Wat, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and paid homage to the monks.

"There was a certain rawness to it," Augustine says. "It reminded me of a scene taken out of an Indiana Jones movie."

What they saw and experienced in other parts of Cambodia was completely opposite from what they saw in Thailand.

"There's definitely a more solemn feel," Augustine says.

For the first time, they participated in a Buddhist memorial service for those who died of complications from AIDS in a place called Phnom Phen under the direction of Beth Goldring, a Buddhist nun whom Augustine knew from his younger years. She ran the Cambodian AIDS Project.

"We walked in circles in front of the shrine three times and recited the names of those lost," Augustine says. "Everything was done in threes."

Although it was a somber experience, Augustine says he felt privileged to take part in something so sacred.

"It added to my learning curve," he says. "It made me realize the fragility of life and to appreciate what I have."

The experience was profound, even for Augustine, a former volunteer with various local medical organizations, who has worked with AIDS patients and has seen the effects of the disease on its victims.

They also toured the killing fields of Pol Pot's Khmer Rhouge regime—including a high school that the Communist leader converted into a detention and torture chamber.

"It was a numbing experience," Jason remembers. "I've seen it on videos at school, but it was different seeing it right in front of you."

What they saw were human skulls stacked atop one another in a glass tower, piles of clothing remnants that were stripped from dead bodies buried in the earth, photographs of beatings, and plaques that described how some had their heads banged on a tree.

"It was unsettling to see," Augustine says. "I really felt the presence of these people who were killed. It was tough to see, but I think we have to bear witness to these kinds of things at one point or another."

The scene was almost incomprehensible to Augustine, who once spent evenings after school drinking, taking drugs and getting into trouble with his gang. In fact, it was his tough-guy image that almost got him killed one night. Both drunk, he and his friend were playing whiffle ball on the street when they were accosted by two Puerto Rican males, who had knives in their hands. Augustine was stabbed in the abdomen after swinging a bat at one of the guys, who had a knife against his friend's neck.

"While being taken to the hospital, I had my first out-of-body experience," Augustine says. "It was weird. I could see myself berating myself. From then on, I told myself it was time to change."

Change is what needs to happen on the streets of Cambodia, they found. What they saw revealed to them the hardships Cambodians endure day to day.

"There were a lot of what seemed like floating villages next to the rivers. Some had schools, churches and boat-like shacks," Jason recalls. "There were people washing clothes on the river, people urinating in the streets, people fishing for a living, kids selling fruit and people walking around without shoes or sandals."

Throughout their weeklong visit to Cambodia, they were bombarded with people on the street soliciting money and selling trinkets.

Augustine recalls a particular incident when he was accosted by someone on the street. He says, "I came across this young woman who had a grotesque appearance. She had her hand out and her palm up. My instinct was to turn away because I felt so uncomfortable, but something made me turn around. After talking to one of her friends, I found out she was burned. I gave her money."

Augustine says there was something about her that touched him.

"There was a legitimacy to her begging," he explains. "In spite of her sufferings, she was able to smile. She suffered—that's what makes it legitimate."

So did the many others who came up to them showing missing limbs, a result of the land mines that were planted under Pol Pot's command during the war.

They spent the last week of their journey getting familiar with the Vietnamese culture. They traveled to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly called Saigon), Danang and Hanoi.

"One feels a sense of triumph after managing to cross the street in a city of 7 million people that boasts 3 million motorbikes," Augustine writes in his journal. "This is an amazing culture, with intriguing people bursting with energy and drive."

With so many bikers going every which way, Augustine admits he was afraid to cross the street.

"We felt so silly," he says. "People were looking and laughing at us. But we figured out the system. You have to walk slowly and walk together. The bikers will go around you."

After conquering the streets, they visited Thich Vien Dinh, the head monk of the Giac Hoa Buddhist Temple in Ho Chi Minh City. Dinh, who happened to be the older brother of Augustine's Realtor, is under house arrest for refusing to join the state-sanctioned Unified Buddhist Church. According to Augustine, their visit aroused suspicion in the pagoda. After he made a donation and left, his Realtor called him and asked him if he was OK and if he was detained. Apparently, Dinh had been interrogated for an hour after the visit.

"I think I was being followed," Augustine says. "I saw someone who looked like someone in the pagoda in the hotel I was staying at. I guess the government thought the monk was collaborating with the CIA."

Passing through rice paddies where farmers were wearing conical hats and open markets where women were selling pork instead of the regular chicken, Augustine and his son traveled to an area known as the Hanoi Hilton. They saw the prison camp where Sen. John McCain and other Americans were imprisoned during the Vietnam War.

"We saw McCain's old uniform, his books, his shoes and the kitchen utensils he used," Jason says. "It was all stored in a glass cage. It was pretty cool."

The father and son's monthlong trip together was more than about bonding, they say. It was about seeing how other people around the world lived and learning to appreciate what they had. They befriended a huge python, rode on an elephant's back, visited exotic beaches and met new people, but there is a deeper and more meaningful significance to their trip.

"Seeing all the suffering in the world just reminds us to open our eyes and live life to the fullest and to not take anything for granted," Augustine says.

"In America, we worry about trivial things. God forbid that we leave a lousy tip in a restaurant or something, but in Cambodia or Thailand or Vietnam, even $1 can make such a difference."

For Jason, the trip was an eye-opener.

"It was a wake-up call for me," he says. "It made me really realize how lucky I am."

As for Augustine himself, he says he has no regrets about leaving his practice 15 years ago.

"It was the best decision I ever made," he says. "I haven't looked back, not even once."