Travel

2012-01-20T03:59:00.000-08:00

VIETNAM
Oh, What a County!

(Taken with my IPad on the isle of Phu Quoc)

Over the holidays, I wanted to travel to the far ends of the Earth to get away. I wanted to visit a place that had natural beauty, friendly people, nice beaches and was inexpensive. Vietnam fit the bill. It was the best vacation I have had in an extremely long time.

A vacation is not just about the get-away, but about a state of mind as well. The best vacations come across as a period-piece movie where one completely loses oneself in the story. It is only when the credits begin to fly across the screen and the theater lights flood-on that reality is snatched from the hands of darkness. Vietnam did this for me.

I am not going to fill this space with what I did in Vietnam. Go to www.lonelyplanet.com and find out all you want about the nation; rather I want to talk about what makes a really good vacation.

When you can walk around barefoot - even when you are going to dinner - that's a good vacation;
When you don't have a clue what day/date it is - that's a good vacation;
When you can start drinking at 10 a.m. in the morning with absolutely no shame - that's a good vacation;
When you make fast friends from around the world - who have no interest in discussing religion, politics or the Kardashians - that's a good vacation;
When you eat all you like, but still lose weight because you are moving around so much - that's a damn good vacation;
When everything is so cheap, you have zero concern about how much/little money you are spending - that's a good vacation;
When you don't go near a computer for any reason on the planet - that's a good vacation;
When the smell of the water and the sound of the ocean is the last thing you experience at night and the first thing you experience in the morning - that's a good vacation;
When you have been gone SOOOOOOO long that the thought of going back to work doesn't bother you - ladies and gentlemen, then that's a good vacation.

Fly to southeast Asia. It is the last place in the world where you can experience all of this cheaply...and that is changing as we speak. Go have yourself a good vacation.

2011-09-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

My Baggage

Me and My Baggage

While working in Seoul, South Korea, I decided to take a little
holiday to Thailand. Thailand is relaxed, inexpensive and extremely
friendly. While I found Bangkok a fascinating city and bustling with culture and excitement, I decided to head north, to Chang Mai, and do a trek, on an elephant no less, up to the border of Burma.

We hiked, we trekked, we road on elephants, slept in bungalows and had an amazing meal cooked in bamboo (chicken, rice and lemon grass.) Even saw an elephant slip and fall with two Brits upon it.

Leaving the jungle, we trekked to the edge of town and came upon a leather salesman. He had great wares. Indeed, there was one bag that caught my eye, but I was running out of cash and I don't like to be abroad with just a few dollars in my pocket.... so I saw this bag. More affordable and reaching out to me; I had to have it and I got it.

It was all shiny and new when I got it, naturally. Now, it looks tried and tested. It has traveled throughout southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. Indeed, it is headed to Kenya and Tanzania this coming weekend.

Most people comment upon it. The majority like it - some, including a niece of mine - think it is time for me to move on to something more sophisticated. I even promised it to a friend of mine if he got accepted into law school. He got accepted...I am simply going to have to find him something else while I am in Nairobi or in Stone Town in Zanzibar.

All of us have some item like this. I only hope me and my bag have many more journeys to go.

Who are the real animals?

2011-06-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

I am fascinated by animals. Like everyone, the more exotic, the greater the fascination. It has been said we know more about the moon than we do the depths of the oceans. It’s true. If you have seen the BBC’s Planet Earth documentary – or, moreover, the BBC’s Blue Planet documentary where they spend years exploring the bottom of the oceans, then you know how fantastic animals are.

I was a member of National Geographic for years. I have seen all the animal shows, documentaries and magazines that continually tell us that man is bad for animals and that you are more likely to die from a lightening strike or slipping on a marble than you would a shark attack or snake bite.

Which begs the question: Why is every cover of National Geographic featuring sharks leaping out of the ocean trying to kill something? Why a coiled snake ready to strike and poison something? Why an alligator or crocodile chasing a man with mouth wide open?

The truth is, unless you step on it, a snake most likely is going to run from you. If you have ever been in the wild with lions, then you know they are – without question, the laziest damn animals on the planet. You would have to walk up and slap a lion in its damn face to get its attention. They are generally trying to run from the sun and nap all day. Alligators, in some cases cross the line, but generally are more in our line of fire than we are theirs.

So why do all the animal advocates tell us we are a bigger threat to these animals but only show broadcasts and magazines of them ready to kill us? Is it to justify animal researchers who weigh 250 pounds jumping on the backs of alligators? Researchers who pull sharks out the water for 15 minutes at a time to mess with them? Or people who take a lion cub for a year or so and treat it like a kitten – until it is too much to handle – then release it in the wild…basically defenseless?

If a researcher says they are “tagging” an animal, we all sit back and say nothing. Tagging it is obviously justified. If they are measuring a shark that is about to suffocate, then that is okay; because they are researchers… Any damn person can declare themselves a researcher. They physically jump on the animals…manhandle these animals…and, honestly, hurt these animals all the time. Yet, if they say it is science, we just sit and watch it on TV and say it is okay.

It’s not.

They’ve gone too far. This is not for science; it is for ratings and profits. Don’t fall for it. Let’s figure out a way to put a stop to it.

Goodbye Bose Headphones

2011-05-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

Once again an item from my luggage was robbed by airport baggage staff. This happens all over the world in certan nations, and to most people, but we are too quiet about it. We shake our heads and let it go. It doesn't have to happen and it needs to stop. I will be making a formal complaint over and over again until I feel the airline really gets the message. This doesn't have to happen and we need to make it stop.