Vagabonding begins!

Geez….this blog went from being the “life is good” blog to the disaster blog!

10K people dead in Chengdu, China. I spent 2 weeks there back in November, and still have a couple of nice friends there that I have not been able to get in contact with since. I got to know the guest house owner and some of the workers at Sims and wonder how his brand new building survived.

It is scary stuff knowing that people you were clinking glasses with a few months ago might be under a pile of rubble at the moment.

I have to give the Myanmar regime (Junta) in Burma credit….every time I start to think that they couldn’t get more blatantly, disgustingly evil, they find a way to prove me wrong.

If you didn’t hear, the recent cyclone that hit Myanmar has killed an estimated 60,000….most of which are still lying around contaminating the remaining food and water. Educated men are guessing that 100K people will be dead in a month because of no clean food/water.

The US and UN have both sent people and supplies - crates of high energy “biscuits” that allow people enough calories to survive on a couple a day….like something from Star Trek. So what did the regime do? They seized the supplies!

They took the loot, turned around the aid workers (by saying that the paperwork for their visas didn’t come through!!), and pretty much said “we’ve got it covered from here…but send more goodies”. You’ve got to be kidding. Every leader in the world knows that these bastards intend to distribute the food only to government/military and their families first. Meanwhile, the average person in Myanmar is screwed.

These lying sacks of shite have done it before, so the world responded by haulting planeloads of food - after all, why give high-tech food supplies to Myanmar’s 500,000 strong standing army? They maintain the largest and most brutal army in Southeast Asia, and even have some love from China - frightening.

Somehow, we’ve got to get these guys out of there. That is exactly why I just launched the site http://www.peacbookings.com. The money goes to raise awareness and to put pressure on our political leaders to keep Burma in the spotlight. I know it isn’t much, but its better than nothing.

My home in suburbia before selling it to travel

I went on one of my usual, periodic neighborhood walks last night to get away from the laptop and to get some circulation flowing in my numb bottom. The walks give me a much needed chance to be on my own away from electronics, and more importantly, a chance to think.

This particular walk stands out in my mind enough to write about. As I made my way up a nearby street, a gray haired man was taking out his garbage. In the dim yellow light of the streetlights, I could see that he was looking at me quite closely. Even once he got back inside, he stood staring at me from behind a glass door, frozen in place, watching stone-faced in a way that almost seemed hostile. He didn’t even flinch when I threw a friendly wave.

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True story. Inspiring. Great directing. Slightly depressing…..but a must-see for vagabonding types.

Go get this movie….!

(and thanks to Amanda for the suggestion)

When I close my eyes at night, I see them.

They are always there, with their nervous ears, flaring nostrils, and taunting me with yellow teeth. Some people see dead people, I see….

Horses.

I have just spent the last 5 days photographing the Kentucky Rolex 3-day event (only 3 days, my ass!), a big to-do in the equine business where the best riders in the world come compete in dressage and cross country jumping. The winner gets a watch (guess what brand) and $80K - not bad for 3 days worth of work.

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About a month ago I was talking to a friend about being in Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand in 2006 and meeting some of the Burmese refugees that had fled the violent Myanmar regime. One of the few that spoke English told me about his buddy, a farmer, that had stepped on a land mine while plowing his field on his own land. It took his leg off, so he approached the government for help.

It turns out, the government actually FINED him for destroying government property (the mine!) and since he had no money, took his farm away from him. He fled the country with nothing, on a wooden leg, to come work on the mountain roads in Thailand.

What bastards. The scary part is that Myanmar currently has the largest standing armies in the world (400,000 strong), and most dangerous in Southeast Asia. They also enjoy the full support of China, even scarier. The regime is even notorious for taking underaged girls and forcing them into “service” as sex slaves for the army officers.

I came across AVAAZ.org a while back when a friend sent me the Tibet petition. They have done an incredible job of rounding up 1.5 million signatures, putting some heat on China to start talks in Tibet, and bringing attention to that part of the world. They also have a campaign to help bring visibility to how nasty the Myanmar regime is in Burma. You can donate if you want, but at least go sign their petition.

I don’t have money to donate, but I decided to flex my computer nerd muscles and construct a website to help. I just launched www.peacebookings.com which basically uses link commissions like other sites, but instead I am tracking this site separately and will be donating the money to AVAAZ.

So if you need to book hotels, flights, rental cars, or buy Lonely Planets - do it through these links! It doesn’t change the price for you, and diverts several dollars from every sale to a good cause through AVAAZ. You will find all the big name travel sites like Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, etc….but rather than typing them in, pass through PeaceBookings.com first. Cheers!

A bridge near Lijiang, China

I used to actually abhor the stack of magazines sitting in my room queued for me to read when I returned home from a trip.

The mountainous pile, composed of freebies, trade journals, and three different flavors of National Geographic (Adventure, Travel, and the original) would sit on my desk for months, quietly outdating, making the transition from enjoyable to burden.

That wasn’t the case with the latest National Geographic, which is completely dedicated to China. The feelings that the photos (especially of Yunnan) give me are indescribable - and the articles are just as pleasing. So many things in this issue have taken me back to my recent 3 months in China and expanded the things that I learned about the country and the massive changes going on there.

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Always bet on the Irish horses!

My hometown of Lexington, KY is touted as being the “horse capital of the world”

I’m sure that some European countries and even cities in the US don’t agree, and I’m not sure who took it upon themselves to count all of the horses, but this time of year it seems rather true. Horse racing is in full swing, I will be out photographing the Kentucky Rolex (horse jumping) this week, and then coming soon is the Derby.

The Spring horse racing session is on at Keeneland so I got out in the drizzly weather to take a look. It is difficult to get good pictures this time of year because it is either raining or getting ready to rain and the sky glows a nuclear white thanks to the sunshine trying to burn a hole through the rampant humidity.

The horse races are a big part of local culture though, and as someone told me a long time ago, always go where the action is.

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This pretty well sums up my current situation.

Only….more accurately, it should show a picture of the dog trying to chew through its neck to get the collar off.

Thanks Troy!

A crazy, busy Khao San Road in Bangkok.

Every traveler has either done it or seen it.

The single traveler, or couple, shoulders sagging under the weight of an overpacked rucksack, an extra pair of boots tied on to the exterior waving around like something a gypsy would pack, an expression of completely lost on their faces, and always it seems…

A Lonely Planet guidebook in hand.

I’ll admit, I use Lonely Planet when I travel. On this past trip to China, I actually duct taped the entire book making it look like some worn out journal rather than what it was. I did this partially because I heard rumors that the LP was banned at some border crossings in China due to content about Tibet, and partially because frankly, I almost feel embarrassed when I get busted looking at it.

This news flash from Reuters confirms what most travel writers have known for a long time anyway - much of the content in these books is pulled from the author’s backside.

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