Kathmandu, Nepal

Life returns to normal a day after the elections. Crowded streets, beggars, taxis whirl about, all back to work. Hari makes it in from Germany. We have about a week here til we head south to the clinic.

Thamel- Kathmandu, Nepal

Drifting high above this dirty ole town, not a single car is moving down the road. Floating down everyones afoot. National elections are today and the Maoist have instilled a Banda, a strike, or more rightly a lock down of commerce. Scared young lads, in ill fitting helmets and old carbines scan the alleys for anything out of the ordinary. We roll in to Thamel. After an hour, walking about, taking it all in, a quiet calm sets in. I really missed this place.

Bangkok, Thailand

Back in Bangkok, on the mad search for cheap airfare to Nepal. Its kind of wierd, I have to sort out and plan the rest of my trip. Any changing now cost real money. The entire trip has been nice so far. I just got back some film shot with the ole panoramic and Holga- things look great. I am about to hook back up with the Big Bag of medical supplies I ditched in Bangkok with my friend Moncheri. Its massive, an Army Duffle bag full of medical kit, school supplies, etc -all donated by Shelia P. and her friends at the ER in Charleston, SC to be given to the Clinic Nepal. Looks like Brian and Milla are going with me to Nepal, ditching Thailand to teach English in Nepal at Hari's school. They will have fun. Nepal's elections are tomorrow, I am curious of the outcome. Hopefully peace will be eventually be restored. I guess I'll see soon enough.

Krabi, Thailand

After a ferry ride, and a 4 hour crammed bus in which I shared a seat with a kid and a chicken, we make it into Krabi-Town. The last 8 kms, we decided to walk just to spite the taxi hawkers. Ha. I am carrying way too much stuff- will at some point ditch all computer gear. The next day we rented a new set of Hogs and blew up the coast. This pace is pretty amazing, not much on the beach front, but the seascape is surrounded by these massive rock monolifts. A few wrongs turns, here and there, we covered about 35 kms. For James Bond fans, this is the locale of "The Man with the Golden Gun". There is a constant haze, which makes shooting somewhat difficult. After a few days checking out the different beaches, I get a little restless. We hopped on the same shitty bus North to Bangkok. Same-Same is the way around here, doesn't matter if you pay top price, or dirt cheap for a third class ticket- that Ole VIP Bus and cheap bus is always one in the same - Same Same.

So here I am, there's three of us, crammed into two seats. This dude leans over- "Never get off the Bus man, Never get off the bus". Ha- Never get off the bus- that's for god damn right. Unless you're willing to go all the way. Kurtz got off the bus, and he split with the whole god damn program. And here I am.....There's a sort of trance state you put yourself in when your ride sucks. Music helps, if its too loud, ear plugs are the answer. Have water, keep your kit close, it'll walk. You let nothing affect you, never look where you are going,I follow the power lines, if there are any. You speak and understand no language, mental clicks of the shutter. Try not to numb your senses cause when you're jolted back to earth, you will most likely need them. Just be.

Arrived in Bangkok at 5 am.

After a week of Koh Phang nan lovin- Bailey leaves- his trip is over. Over the past week we blazed a few trails on the bikes, some epic hikes, and especially nice some epic beach sessions. A black moon party came and went. Ole Bailey looked like Georgie Jung from the movie "Blow" - tan, aviators, and an unbuttoned shirt- "One for the Road man!" ha ha, he left in a back of a pick up, in a cloud of dirty hippies, and stoned Euros- the vacation was good for the ole boy.

Milla, Brian, and I tire of the scene at the "Sun View" bungalows, sad folks who have seen "The Beach" one too many times. I don't think some of these cats ever left the common area- too hip, tied to the loaded friesbee and the handrolls. We hop on the Hogs and tear into Thong Sala (Dodge City) to buy a one way south to Krabi. News from Nepal gets worse by the day. Riots in Kathmandu. The West calls the King a bully, I can't wait to get the real story. I'll be there in a week or two.

Ko Phang nan, Thailand

The trip to Ko Phang nan involves a crazy night bus south, then a 4 hour boat over. About a 17 hour trip total, at the end of which you are needing nothing but nice banana shake, and a cool place under a Palm tree. Situated in the Gulf of Thailand, this bustling little tourist island drums up visions of tropical paradise- blue/green waters, drooping palm trees, and old thai folks lay about. If you want to party, its only a 45 min. sketchy taxi ride to the far side of the island- home of the full moon parties, Haad Ren. Our location is a chill ideal. Over the past few days we bound across the island on our Hogs. These little red mopeds, like a geriatric version Easy Rider.