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.

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)

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 ... [Continue reading this entry]

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 ... [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]

Well, the finalists for the Anthony Bourdain show have been announced....and not surprisingly, my video is not among them. [sniff sniff] I knew the instant that I pushed the upload button on my sample video that i might as well ... [Continue reading this entry]

The craziest travel moments photo contest is over, here are the 5 winners of a $40 Amazon card: There were lots of funny pictures towards the end, but I could only pick 5. I plan to do another contest in ... [Continue reading this entry]

The afternoon sun was too much for my dreams. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, climbed out of bed, and before my groggy brain could formulate the first constructive thought, it hit me like a bullet. "This isn't Singapore" Today would ... [Continue reading this entry]