photos [View Full Entry]

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The moment many of you have been waiting for has arrived; the final blog. Fear not, I shall limit sappy reflections and life lessons. Those can be reserved for 'in person' moments that will hopefully come soon. This is just a recap on the last two weeks. From the top: Great Britain: I started in Edinburgh and although I may share tendencies with Sick Boy (a penchant for BB guns and bleached hair), I chose life and therefore no trains were spotted. In a rental hoopty I made a long overdue Braveheart pilgrimage on a three day drive through the Scottish [View Full Entry]

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During the "Indian Summer", the Himalayan foothills offer an escape from the sweltering plains below. After the scorching deserts of Rajasthan, climbing to cooler climates became a priority. Bear in mind that the “foothills” of the Himalaya are often taller than the Colorado Rockies. En route from Delhi I spent time in Punjab, another of India's "mini-countries". Over a millennium ago, invaders from Afghanistan left their mark and seed throughout the region, creating a unique mix of blood, religion, cuisine, music and language that defines the Punjabi people today. Punjab [View Full Entry]

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After Kathmandu was Nepal's Chitwan National Park. As the revolution stripped King Gyanendra of powers, I was the benefactor of continued royal treatment by hospitable Nepalese that were glad to again have visitors. The highlight of Chitwan was parading through jungles and crocodile infested rivers on the back of my own elephant. Things got exciting when dumbo had a turf scuffle with some rhinos and did some classic elephant screaming and violent gesturing. Nepal passed without trouble, although I saw more guns, patrolling groups of soldiers and razor wire than ever before. Hopefully the [View Full Entry]

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Over the last few weeks I've covered the distance between Hanoi and Kathmandu through China and Tibet. These areas are some of the most remote and harsh places on the planet and are naturally fraught with stories to tell; I'll try to keep it note-like and contained. Essentially the route passed through three culturally and geographically distinct regions: China, Tibet and into Nepal. China: Getting to Tibet entailed crossing the Yunnan province in southwest China. I found China surprisingly easy and enjoyable travel. After months of hawking and gawking in Indochina, it felt great [View Full Entry]

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I am not a coffee drinker. Vietnamese coffee is industrial strength and I drank one today, bringing my lifetime total coffee consumption to about nine. If I seem aggressive, cynical and insensitive, it is probably the excess dopamine pulsing through my system. I just saw my mom off for home. That woman rocks. She came all the way to the other side of the planet to see her baby and she gave him the TLC he's been missing for the last year; 4 star hotels, banana splits, beach resorts, good back scratches - she even sowed my favorite shirt when it [View Full Entry]

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I have come to believe the collective national pastime for aging women in Laos is to aimlessly wander mountain roads with large bundles of firewood strapped to their backs. These women roam everywhere with scarved heads and weathered faces, occasionally giving me a 6-tooth grin as I pass by, whether I am traveling on a bus or whizzing by standing on the rear bumper of a truck. Whenever on the go, my transport weaved on tiny mountain roads to dodge these women, as well as herds of boney cattle and enormous water buffalo being prodded along by switch-wielding villagers. I rarely [View Full Entry]

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One can only pray that Cambodia’s darkest hour has come to pass and that the hope adorning the faces of a new generation is indicative of the country’s will as a whole. My impressions of this place are contradictory. Cambodia is tragic, haunting and eerie; so much so that I was subject to nightmares in my first nights here. Yet I find the simplicity and hope that defines the Khmer people beautiful and touching. The lingering tragedy is everywhere. In the streets I have been swarmed and pawed at by beggars with missing limbs taken by war and mines, many of [View Full Entry]

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Occasionally we experience defining moments that permanently alter our frame of reference. I recently visited a refugee camp on the Myanmar border. The moment was inescapably heavy, but I was somewhat sheltered under an umbrella of sad beauty and kindness by some new friends. The Thai border bares multiple indicators of the human tragedy currently being manufactured by the tyrannical Burmese regime. After the customary arduous medley of transportation to the Mae Hong Son Province, I arrived at the Ban Kwai/Tractor Section 19 refugee settlement on the back of a dirt bike. The indicators [View Full Entry]

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The last few weeks I've been getting around Malaysia and Thailand with a touch of culture shock and some Indiana Jones style adventure that I'll try to sum up. After a stay in Singapore I got out to Borneo where I met up with the Brenster and we set a course for the tiny Islamic Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; where it hit me that I was now living in Islamic society with conservative social codes based on the Koran. Going through customs they searched my bag for alcohol, which is illegal. It was fascinating to get into some Islamic countries given [View Full Entry]

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