A Young Boy's Closure Over one year later and the remnants of the tsunami still are touching the lives of its victims. I found it odd when I was once again invited to attend a funeral (Buddhist style) for Kai's mother. Her remains had finally been matched through DNA to Kai and his father. In January 0f 2005 I visited the Wat (Temple) Yan Yeaw in Takuapa to photograph where the victims' bodies were being kept. I walked around the temple grounds with my friends Christine Creel and Terry Snipe (may he rest in peace) appearing as though we were part [View Full Entry]

---

---

When Two Worlds Collide Today was special. But let me go back a bit, first. In November I was honored to meet Peter Gliechmann of Germany, a tall, robust and rough-cut man of his forties and an appetite to match. The near death story he shares of clinging to a taught cable in the tsunami catastrophe and barely surviving is a story no grandpa could tell his grandchildren without complete intense stares into the eyes of the storyteller. Unbelievable, yet true. His wife, Angelika, was also clinging for her life somewhere in the torrent waters and when rescued she would stay [View Full Entry]

---

---

Lately I've been placing some photos that may not really show what's going on here, so this time I'll be more candid. Maybe this time you can see what I'm doing here besides getting lots of sunshine and meeting lots of friends. The Bangkok temple group photo was taken about three weeks ago when I was asked by Airline Ambassadors International (AAI) to be their Project Manager on a proposal by the temple to build a small trade school within the compound. About ten students from disadvantaged backgrounds will attend a 3-4 month school to learn electrical skills, electronics repair and [View Full Entry]

---

---

Airline Ambassadors International (AAI at www.airlineamb.org) has funded the construction of a new home for a woman I met two weeks ago. I don't build homes; I build playgrounds. But this woman is special. She was a tsunami victim and escaped with her life and the lives of all her family. She lost her hospitality job (the hotel was demolished by the wave) and was forced to sell noodles from her motorbike to earn a living until the hotel could be rebuilt. She has returned to her former job, now making 9,000 baht ($225 USD) per month...to support her two children [View Full Entry]

---

---

Every thirty days I have to make a Visa Run, where I have to find the nearest border of Thailand and exit the country, so I can turn around a get a new visa. The 3-hour drive up to Ranong, Thailand and then a 40 minute longtail boat ride across the strait and I'm in Burma. Once again. This time I met with my Burmese friend by accident as he was now dressed in an official uniform. He could legally waltz me around his shanty town and give me a tour. With me is Evelyn Rodriguez of San Jose, CA, a [View Full Entry]

---

---

In light of all that has been going on here with playgrounds, tsunami relief, orphanages, and traveling to villages spread out along the main roadway, I do find some time to enjoy myself. But even that becomes part of the overall picture here in Thailand. I have found that even my new friends are connected to my personal pilgrimage here. The first photo of the large group of people are the wonderful people of the tsunami refugee camp that was set up here just a week after the tsunami. Funded by the Duang Prateep Foundation in Bangkok, it has dwindled from [View Full Entry]

---

---

My day was to be a full plate. And it seemed to have turned out that way. In the late morning I received a call from Gyll, my Australian friend, to inform me of a ceremony at the Buddhist temple (a ‘wat’ in Thai) and that perhaps I would be interested in coming to photograph the scene. As it turns out, I was to witness the transition of the Buddhist men from student to monk. I don’t claim to know much about the Buddhist culture nor can I write about it with any sense of expertise. But one thing is for [View Full Entry]

---

---

An early rise in the morning and off I was to make my first visa run to Myanmar (Burma). Visas in Thailand need to be renewed every 30 days to avoid steep fines. My two friends, Hayden and Cynthia, had made this trip once before, so having them as companions was a true asset. The road from Khao Lak to Ranong, Thailand is about 180 kilometers (112 miles) and the road is no different than any other road here: two lanes and filled with scooters and slow-moving trucks. As we set off on our day trip, the light traffic allowed us [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ban Lut is a newly constructed housing camp for displaced victims of the tsunami. After doing some other tasks to get ready for the team to arrive to construct the playground at the Ban Nok Na school, I was called by the director of the Ban Muang refugee camp and asked if I would help them by driving a few people to the local market to pick up some supplies for the new daycare center being organized at the Ban Lut village camp. Rotjana, the director of the camp, has started another daycare center in a one-room building where younger children [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well, I finally made it to my final destination: Khao Lak. This small community just meters from the turquoise Andaman Sea is struggling to get back on its feet after the tsunami. My original visit here just a few weeks following the devastating wave (and subsequent trip in September) has given me a chance to rate their progress. Most of what you see from the main highway (country road to you Westerners) is still in a bit of disarray. It’s quite apparent that the work continues, as roads are repaired, storefronts cleaned up and filled with new merchandise and the hustle [View Full Entry]

---

---