180 Days in Asia

BOMBS and gunfire at Bangkok Airport SHUT it DOWN

b_ray — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

I am OK. I am at a hotel and safe. My return flight home...cancelled! I may be here for a while as the protestors have taken over the Int. airport. They have exchanged gunfire and many explosions have occurred at both airports injuring many. There is no end in sight. They say they will not move until the PM resigns. Many thousands of protestors say, THIS IS THE FINAL BATTLE. They will hold their ground. No one in or out by air. They have full control of the Airport including the flight center control tower. The Military says they will ask that all departing tourists be permitted to return home. They also are saying that Bangkok Thailand will be under a state of military emergency law quickly if this continues.

Anything is possible. I may be able to get a boat to Hong Kong????? I am trying now. We will see.. There has to be a way outa here. If that does not work, I may have to go by bus to Cambodia or Vietnam and then fly to Hong Kong.... there are always options.

OK, gotta get back to it... and I will if possible keep all of you informed asap.

Party is Over

b_ray — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Well, it has been fun and rewarding. I am flying home home home. I will be there in the USVI.. on the 27th nov...Wo Sun and Sand and WATER, my boat and my Kitty cat and friends... Whew 6 months of travel is way to much in case you are thinking otherwise. Hummm ok mabey not. So, recapping, where did I go?

Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Nepal... thats it. I did fly over: Burma, India and oh yeas, Earth. It was so beautiful to see and experience all of it to say the least. I have so many pictures to share with my friends when I return home, they too will be amazed. The vast differences in cultures, religion, scenery and politics is unbelievable.

The earth is so beautiful and the people are truly not that much different basically. So many kind and considerate people, um ok the bad ones are out there too but so is life. OK, enough said, it is my last day in Bangkok before I head home.....busy busy busy.....see ya on the road to ???? OH, To all those hreat people/fellow travelers I met on my journey..... It was my pleasure to meet you and share our time together, stay in touch.... it is a small world and friends are forever in our hearts and reach. See ya!

Gallery: Nepal

b_ray — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:33:00 GMT

180 days in Asia trip

Gallery: Vietnam

b_ray — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:32:00 GMT

180 days in Asia trip

Gallery: Laos

b_ray — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:30:00 GMT

180 days in Asia trip

Gallery: Cambodia

b_ray — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:27:00 GMT

180 days in Asia trip

Gallery: Bangkok

b_ray — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:43:00 GMT

Photos of visited areas

Kathmandu NEPAL

b_ray — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:52:00 GMT

UPDATE: Watch MY NEW movie release on YouTube : Conquest of Earth

Well, we made the trip ok to Kathmandu Nepal. We had lunch and are staying at the Kathmandu Guesthouse where the Beatles and others have stayed over the famous years..... wow is this place cool! Well we crashed and burned after the flight.... I still feel the altitude, hummmmm I wonder why? hehe it is kinda high up here......in Kathmandu.... so what to do now? We are going to have a looksee around the hood for a few days and wait for our minds to catch up with our bodies....hummmmmm

I will have a lot of photos..... I already have over 1K in 2 months from SE Asia and hope to start posting some soon.... so thanks for tuning in and keep looking for new postings/photos very soon......

Hey all! I'm back. Whew. Well to start with the photos will not be displayed here on this site as they automatically resize them before upload. I will let you know where to see them soon.

SOoooo. Gann and I both have been exploring Kathmandu. I rented a room as a home base. Yes, tv,computer and I have a balcony onto Darbar square. I am on the corner of Darbar square and "FREAK STREET". Kathmandu is so big....wow and almost a million people. The ancient Temples are amazing and emcompass the entire Darbar square area. See Google earth for Kathmandu and you can see pics of the areas (not mine yet) but I will be submitting some to google earth. I have met many local folks and have made many friends. Gann headed out for other areas of Nepal and I am still here waiting to get into Tibet. China should be opening up the borders again very soon as they closed them for the olympics.

The south side of Nepal in India is major flooding and millions are displaced. I will be going to India in early november.

There are festivals going on now for this month in Kathmandu. Traditional costumes and music, drums at 7am... ummmm good morning! There is a peace here that is shared by all. The power goes out a lot (routiine) and now due to the floods even more often about 16 hours a week now. So what so bad about candlelight dinners?

Oh, the rain,, the monsoons are here too and we have been lucky. As I walk the streets I see masks everywhere in shops and street stalls. OK, ya got me. I am studying them. They come various mountain tribes in Nepal, China and India. I am impressed to say the least. Oh yeas, they are manufactured for tourism. Well, not all of them are, some are for real and very old. I have done my homework. The sizes vary as most of the ancient ones are face sized but a few are huge about 4 feet tall. I am working on a catalog/ photos and history of all the ancient masks by country/areas.

It is raining this morning so I am enjoying a hot coffee in my room and writing this to you. I will find a place to post my pictures and let you know asap. Sorry for the delay. OK, I will see ya'll soon right back here with more so be good and be kind.

Hi all, it is friday 9/19 and it is a beautiful day in Nepal. I have been ill this week with food poisoning.....mannnn it hurt bad too. I hear it does not happen often here in Nepal as it does in other countries of asia but it does sometimes and it did to me. 0 energry and well I'll skip the painful details. What I would give for a cheeseburger from Paradise! I do miss them and yeas charlie my hot dogs! OH, if anyone wants some asian masks or anything, just email me and I can arrange it with shipping but do it quickly. I will be traveling again soon. Soooo anyway everything else is going well and I am having a great time in Nepal. I have met and made new friends from all over the world. Fellow Travelers and explorers of earth..... do come to Kathmandu as it is amazing. Oh, it is festival time in Kathmandu and it is awsome to say the least. Check it all out on Google earth. They have pics also. I hope to be adding pics also to google earth. So thats it for now so be cool and be good, the power that be is watching and takin notes.

UPDATE

OK, here we go.... the festival ended before it started. The Moaist government refused to pay for the festival event (they are communist and do not believe in GOD nor do they promote the Hindu religion). So as a result the demonstrations began immediately on the scene after the living GODDESS was boarded into her chariot for the parade. As the officials attempted to move the chariot they were threatened by immediate death (swords and knives) if they attempted to move forward. It was then that they all attempted to resolve the problem in a private meeting. This did not accomplish anything so a demonstration began immediately. After a few hours it got out of hand and as 10K people were there the police called for assistance and well it was impossible to count them. This was a provocation to the people. Thus it began slowly to esculate into a massive confrontation between them all. It was sad to watch. The chanting, yelling and cries of hopelessness filled the dark night air with hate and despise for the government but the police were to take the brunt of the incident. All night long it lasted. I and all tourist were told to saty in our hotels until notified (for our safety). As morning arrived we were allowed to leave the hotel for breakfast closeby. I was returning to my hotel and observed all the vendors on the square packing up at about noon. The the crowds really arrived in masses. After much chanting and screaming at the police to leave (they refused) the fights began with the police being the target. The police responded with night clubs. The crowd rushed to the ticket offices for Durbar square and began kicking them and beating them with stones. eventually as the police stood by watching the people tore down the booths, drug them to the corner area and burned them. Thats when the police interviened again and the fights were on. It was horrible to watch the beatings by the police and the people smashing the police with bricks, rocks and anything they could, even signs out front of businesses. I had been video taping the whole incident from my hotel balcony. I got hit twice by flying bricks (nothing serious) and kept taping. It was unbelievable. Many people were injured by the police and visa versa. Now I know what they meaqn when they say....I witness news in the making. I do. It is about 3:30pm now and the police have control somewhat. Whew. I fear the worse has yet to come. The people are fighting the government (communist) for their religious and civil rights and they will no longer succumb to a Moaist communistic government or religious harrassment. It will esculate even more now I am afraid to say but it is inevitable. Stay tuned for more later for more BREAKING NEWS.

09/24/08 Wed UPDate

Well, things have happened since the last update for sure. A meeting took place to resolve the issues that started this event. The problem was....the Maoist government met the with local (KMD) moaist group. They did not invite ther Nepalis whom it concerned. Doh...so the problems continued. From this point on I am not sure what was decided or done except that the police were still everywhere trying to maintain peaceful conduct. It is wednesday am now and all seems to be getting back to a routine for the Napoli people. I have not witnessed any further violence in the last two days. whew. I am still amazed that there has not been any news (BBC or CNN Asia)on this story. It is a new world when the free press is controled and censored. The Nepal newspapers and TV did cover the incidents. Nothng outside Nepal was made. Hummm.

Well I guess this is just the way it is now.

It is wednesday and raining. I have sought out the travel agencies for a short trip to China/TIBET and discovered new rules and policies....now tourists can only fly there and return by tourist cars for a whopping $2K us. WOOOO ok forget it. I will just go on across India. OK, thats it for now so be cool and good until the next blog entry.

Sat 09/27/08 Update

Well its a beautiful day in Kathmandu! The riots are over but the strikes are continuing. The strikes are not related to the Riot event. The strikes are because the government has ordered the closing of all resturants at 9pm and the bars at 11pm. How can anyone party? Doh! well the government says it will prevent crime. The losses of income are irrelvant for the businesses or VAT. Ah yeas BBC came and did a story on the strikes and not a word of the riots....go figure. Way to go BBC. At least they showed up which is more than CNN did.

Gee I just heard on the news...CNN doh! In INDIA it is now against the law.....to smoke in public. They were not specific as to what you smoke. Humm, I guess it is open to smoker intrepretation. hehe. OK fine.

Soooooooo....guess smoking causes all that smog and polution in India. Welcome to the new world order on Earth. That should certainly clean the air out just like it has in the USA. We will see how this flys with the people there, soon I am sure.

10/05/08 Sun

Hi all! Thanks for tuning back in. Well I have been to most of the temples now and festivals..... nice. OH, THE RIOTS ARE OVER AND THE STRIKES TOO. For now anyway. All is good here in Kathmandu and I had some free time soI finally finished part one of my new movie. It is titled "Conquest of Earth" so feel free to watch it and my Morphman series. Well it is time for Bfast and then shopping till I drop.....literally. SO I go now and say adew until we meet again.....here.

Ok ya'll I got places to go and

things to see....SEA-y soon

With love from Kathmandu

BRay

BIG Surpriseeeee

b_ray — Fri, 8 Aug 2008 18:34:00 GMT

Hello all! Hey thanks for tuning in again.... Well, all things considered for the Far East at the moment..... we; Gann and I decided to goto Mt. Everest in Nepal and hopefully Tibet as well then India in a few months..Sooooooooo we are departing today Friday 8-8-08 to Kathmandu, Nepal!!!! We are both looking forward to the trip except the time to get there... We fly from Saigon friday at 8pm to Bangkok and have a 12 hour layover then on to Kathmandu tomorrow. We should be there for Lunch!

GoooooOOD BYEeeeee VIETNAM!!!!!

Hey it was real! Or was it a dream? I cant remember....hehe Soooooooo

off we go into the unknown to Mt. Everest, well, probably we will only get to the base camp.....DoH! I think you need a spacesuit to get all the way up to 32K feet? I wonder if they have a lift? oh well we can hike it or take a camel? They say it is about 3 weeks hike up to the base camp. I dunno.......wo mannnnnnn somebody call me a helicopter.......hehe

OK, Siagon....is a crazy crowded place now but it is so cool to visit...ok three days was enough. Were gone on da big bird

PSSSS send money.......we gonna need it in about 4 months.....hehe

Bye for now all

With love to all from ASIA or um as some say the FAR EAST

I will add to this journal under NEPAL on arrival.

India India Indiaaaaa here we come

b_ray — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 23:01:00 GMT

Well Vietnam was an experience...uh to say the least, good and bad. humm Anyway, I studied many art forms new to me at many studios and even made some masks from the materials used. It was very fun learning from the masters. PS, If anyone sees Charlie of Skinny Legs...tell him I have found him 14 willing and available wives..they are in the post, hehe..

Now it is time to head to India. I am meeting Gann Brewer in HCM City (Saigon) tomorrow evening and we will be panning our trip and route to get to India ASAP. We are aware of all the bombings there and are making plans to avoid any problem areas. Anyway, we will be traveling by motorcycles so we can move quickly as needed and enjoy the country side views. OK, it is august and hotter than a place called hell but then it is cooler in the early am isn't it. We will let you know asap what plans we make for the trip. Things are happening quickly here now and there are bombings all over Asia so let it be known; we come in peace guys!

See ya'll soon!

VIETNAM

b_ray — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 13:30:00 GMT

OK, I made it to the city of Hue in Vietnam. It is a beautiful city on the coast of the South China sea. There is much to see and do such as the ancient Citidel; wow! Huge cannot describe it. The night life is extremely colorful with all the lights. I am not sure how long I will be here but there is much to see and it is a very comfortable relaxing place. There is not much crazy traffic as in Saigon or Hanoi. Hummm. People arew very friendly and helpful but english is spoken choppy and fast. what what, I say. hehe this is nice. ahhh! The river runs through the city to the ocesn and has many floating resturants and boats....hummm no sailboats....doh! OK, off for lunch and a walk on the river.....ahhhhhhhhhh. see ya soon

Aug 1 2008 .......

I am now headed for Saigon or as it is known today Ho Chi Mein City. There I am meeting Gann Brewer as he arrives from the states. We plan on heading to India, Nepal and perhaps Tibet/China. We plan to buy motorcycles and drive ourselves across the Indian Nation. It appears to be the safest way especially at the moment and will give us time to savor the beauty of the Asian continent. I will be posting all further information and stories under the new title of India. .....Thanks for tuning in and following the trip, I hope it is not too short of stories as the computers here so far are very old and worn, not to mention slow.... see ya soon!

LOAS

b_ray — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:24:00 GMT

Well, after some time in Cambodia I headed for the border town of Strung Treng. I met an Austrailian couple (university students) on the bus there. After sspending the night there we caught the bus for Loas. The bus dropped us off on the Mekong river so we could catch a small boat over to the big island of Don Khong. This is the 4000 islands of southern Laos...wo! I quickly lost count as the river rose daily due to the major storm (tyfune) that hit the asian east coast the week before. We rented a small boat and headed for the waterfalls/rapids. They were nice but not as large as we were told. A few days around the islands and then we were off by bus to Pakse. Pakse is the second largest city in Laos. The Bolivan Plateau has tribal peoples and the women have tattooed faces.....oooook..... a now lost art form. A few days there was enough and we all headed for the border of Vietnam by bus. The trip lasted 19 hours. It was a small bus and overpacked as well no air-conditioning. It was miserable as we made only quick toilet stops, no meals/drinks.....arrrrrrgh! No english either. We arrived at the border on the Loas side at 3 am but the border personnell opened up at 7am. Then the utter caos began. Woooooooo it was confusing and frustrating and took forever but we managed to survive the ordeal. Then we pated for the Vietnam side......much less problematic and organized but the crowd was pushy and folks cutting in line....hummmm I sent many back to the end of the line with sign language and fire in my eyes and voice. They got the message. hehe It was then that we realized we were finally in Vietnam and had to go for 2 more hours on the bus to Hue, Vietnam. Hue is a beautiful city on the S. China sea and a very peaceful place. See ya there......

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

b_ray — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:09:00 GMT

10 june 2008 Tuesday

Wow, after a 6 hour bus ride from Seim Reep I arrived on the bus and was expecting a tuk tuk from the Sunday guesthouse to meet me and take me there. they were not there. I was amazed and pissed. i waited and waited and then just caught another tuk tuk to the OKAY guesthouse. It was also listed in the lonely planet book as nice. Snooze you lose, guys! Will; they ever learn when someone makes reservations and you agree to pick them up at the bus and take them to their guesthouse....BE THERE!

Anyway, I got a room and then had a very nice meal at trhe okay resturant. I was done for the day.

11 June 2008 Wednesday

Phnom Penh is a city on the Mekong river. The next morning I had breakfast and took off in a tuk tuk with the same driver that had originally picked me up at the bus station. We did as city tour and then headed for a secret place. It was where the four rivers meet. There is an island there, well for now anyway as the rains have been slow to come but as they do come it will be covered with water. The height of the river swells enourmously I am told. It was a great view and there were many small Vietnamese boats and camp on the shore. I asked my tuk tuk driver (Sophie) was this a normal tourist site, he said I was the first. I asked why? He said they had never considered it important enough....humm I did. I said to him that he should do this short trip with a boat ride around the island. He also thought yes a good idea. So, I was drafted, to make it happen for future visits by tourists. I agreed to help. I had time. The day was over and I returned to Okay guesthouse for dinner and a movie.

12 June 08 Thursday

The next morning I arose early and headed for a cup of coffee and then was off on my tuk tuk (Sophie) to the Vietnam Embassy to obtain a visa for 3 months multiple entry/exit. Wooooooo $90 us. ow!! Man I don't want to buy the country.....doh! OK dine, I will pick up my visa tomorrow at 10am. Then, I realized just how hard it was to read my maps and book maps, I needed a magnifing glass.... yeah right, I will just run down to 7-11....not. OK I thought......ah so an optomitrist! Yea.. I found one but he had no clue or english but with great difficulty I finally got one....wo what a deal to endure. OK, we stopped and had a coffee and wrote out the plans for his new tour and discused his business end of it. He had much to do to arrange the boats and all and then we could make it an offical tour by their standards and rules. It was goodso far. We will continue when he gets all the arrasngements made officially. I will translate for him to english for the tourists and make his advertising flyers for the guesthouses. I am volunteering to do this.

OK, time for breakfast. Mummmmm good. Then I went across the street to use the internet....and here I am. So I will write more soon.....ok

29 June 08 Sunday

Well, it has been 3 weeks in this area of southern Cambodia and I have to say it has been interesting to say the least. I have many photos and stories, which would take too long to state here. Soooo, now I am departing for NE Cambodia. A (bus is 10 hours) day or so there and then to the border of Laos. I will take a slow boat from there to Pakse in Laos and visit the ancient tribes whose women still use tattoos all over their faces..... wooooooooo hummmm I also understand that they have some of the best mountain grown coffee in the world in Laos.... I might just have to try them all.... hehe From there I am not sure yet but will end up in Hanoi Vietnam soon after that 2 weeks or so. Well thats about it for now so see ya next in LAOS... thanks for tuning in!

Cambodia

b_ray — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 18:02:00 GMT

04/June/2008 Wednesday

I arrived in Seim Reep and located a guesthouse to stay in. My Tuk-Tuk driver whom had picked me up on arrival to the city and I arranged for my 3 day visit of the Temples of Angkor. I rested on Wednesday and then on thursday we departed at 5am. No coffee......woooo Ok I got a cup on arrival and watched the sunrise over Argkor Wat...very nice! After that temple we were on the road again stopping at every temple for me to visit/climb.... There were soooooooo many. We arrived back at the guesthouse at 5pm. I was beat buddy to say the least. The next morning we departed at 9am (Fri) after breakfast/coffee. Ahhh much better. There were only 4 smaller temples to visit although they were much much taller pyramids..... the steps had to be taken standing sideways up and down.....argh! After the third temple I stopped for lunch and met a few young local girls and chatted about life and one of them was 21 and single so I told her I had a friend named Charlie who was seeking a beautiful wife......hehe Anyway she said for him to come and take her away.....haha. I then departed for the last temple of the day. It was big and tall too. The one just before was like in the movie the Fifth Element. A center body (temple) surrounded b 4 pools of water which represented the elements of life: earth, wind, fire and water.....wooooo so cool! Ok, on saturday we depart at 8am for a long ride of 37km to the last two temples. I am doing more than Indiana Jones would do... hehe

5-7 june 2008 Thursday - Saturday

OK, this is what I came to see! Angkor Wat Temples... I was excited! I had a tuk tuk for three days as I had bought a 3 days pass. ($40us) and I was off to see the ancient places of Angkor.

The first day (thu) was a long one but so rewarding and a whole...lotta walking and climbing the steps up and down. My eyes hurt as well. It was so amazing and just unbelievable,,,wow!

The second day (Fri) was much better (for me)WHEW. It was also great and amazing. I saw elephants and monkeys and birds and lizards and fish and oh yeas the temples too.

The third day (sat) was the best! We drove 37km north to one temple and it was truly WOW, I climbed all the way up to the top and looked over the entrire country side.

We then went to the last temple back to town and then about 17km east. It also was great and had many statues.

Saturday I rested....whew I was sore and tired. My skinny legs had survived Angkor.

Sunday I just kicked around town during the day and then that night i went to a dinner theatre for a fantastic ancient dance performance. The show was amazing and the dinner was all you can eat (not carry) darn.. It was traditional foods and so much that I could have eaten for a week and not tried everything.

OK, Time to rest and digest on monday. I booked a room in Phnom Penh and departed on the bus Tuesday 9:30 am. See ya in Phnom Penh!

Bangkok Live at 5

b_ray — Sat, 31 May 2008 13:11:00 GMT

...28 May, 08 I Arrived in Bangkok

Hello all! I am alive and well in Bangkok. The trip was to say the least a real hard voyage. I have recooperated now and spent two days seeing all the temples. I was riding on a tuk tuk (3 wheel scooter) and my driver was named Joe...go figure...Hey Joe where ya goin with that tuk tuk? I was completely lost but he wasn't. I a staying off of Khao sarn Rd and paying about $10 a day for room and meals. Humm still somewhat expensive for the area. Three meals a day and drinks...ok water, coffees. Well check out the pics and keep in touch with a comment on this site..I am now planning a trip soon to Cambodia,,,, stay tuned next week.

...Tuesday 3 June 08

I arose early with the sun.. I headed for the showers and then to breakfast..I was ready. I checked out of the Mini-House Guesthouse and walked to the corner with my back pack and guitar fighting off the taxi drivers...(no meter). Once on the corner I got a metered taxi to the main bus station and then got a ticket for Aranya-Prathet on the border of Cambodia. We arrived at 2pm (41/2 hours). I met this thai lady on the bus and we had a quick lunch together at the station and then caught a tuk tuk to a guest house (doh for me) she departed for the market. Whew I was tired and the heavy monsoon rains were headed for us within minutes. I grabbed a coffee and headed for my room. The rains passed after an hour or so and I headed for the I-net shop...wala. Tomorrow I go to the border and into Cambodia to see the Angor Temples at Seim Reep for about one week and then to Phnom Penh and I will probably be there for 1-2 weeks for obtaining many visas. Sooo I will write again from there. See yall soon......

With love from Asia