Vagabonding begins!

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.

[read on]

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 ... [Continue reading this entry]

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 ... [Continue reading this entry]

Yes, I live in a strange town. But no matter what the occasion or festival, when something interesting finally happens in Lexington, I grab my camera and go. I don't know the historic reasons behind it (something ... [Continue reading this entry]

My back yard I'm not cut out for cold weather. If I was, I'd probably be living in Alaska tomorrow. Instead, my joints stiffen, my sinuses ache, and my skin cracks....not to mention my sanity. The ... [Continue reading this entry]

OK....I promise...no more pictures of Cloud Gate! [I hate putting these obnoxious copyright watermarks on my pictures, I don't even mind if people steal them, it is an attempt to stop people from hotlinking them directly from my ... [Continue reading this entry]

These guys are going to be sweating in a couple of months After walking back to my train from one of the most interesting (and potentially disastrous) interviews of my life, I still couldn't help ... [Continue reading this entry]

My favorite city! I was consciously aware of my red cheeks and wet nose. It was about 40F degrees and I could have been walking in a wind tunnel. After a good six block walk, I arrived ... [Continue reading this entry]