The Flip Side Of Kashmir

Hong Kong is about as opposite as you can get from the small towns in the north of India. These are seething, noisy streets that are brightly lit and resplendent with the smell of commerce. This hits you in the face here even harder than the humidity does.

Within the neon glitter, you feel a long way from anything resembling remoteness. And you can barely continue a singular thought for more than 30 seconds before being interrupted by some kind of craziness. A bit different from the silent solitude of the mountain lands.

But there are mountains here, that's the ironic thing. See that crazy skyscraper to the right of the photo? That's the Hong Kong International Finance Center, Hong Kong's tallest building. At 1335 feet, it's the seventh largest building in the world. And there's an even taller one under construction right nearby.

Someone stop this crazy merry-go-round -- I wanna get off.
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Are You Sure About This?

"Skydiving, huh? Wow. I mean, if you want to do it, go ahead. But it sounds pretty scary. Hope you've given enough thought to the possibility that the parachute might have been worn out from the nibbles of a thousand unseen moths. And that it might fail you right at the moment you pull the ripcord. and that you'll go hurtling toward the ground at like 188 miles per hour."

"On the other hand, you might have an amazing experience that will forever change your life in ways you couldn't have imagined. Until you took your life in your hands."

"Wait, actually, can I come with you?"
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Bad Place To Wake Sleeping Dogs

The northern Indian city of Leh is a winding maze of alleys; the narrow, dimly kind that stray dogs like hanging out in. I found that out the hard way one afternoon when I stumbled into -- and woke up -- a group of sleeping stray dogs, which immediately gave chase.

These tenacious dogs chased me through the dusty streets of Leh for a good 45 minutes, and every time I found a good hiding spot, they'd sniff me out right away. They were good, these dogs. It wasn't long before I became exhausted by all the running -- the town lies at an elevation of 11,500 feet.

During the chase, however, I got a pretty good view of Leh, which has a deliciously medieval type of feel to it. And eventually, I managed to escape the dogs by hiding out in a giant monastery on a hill overlooking the town. I ended up staying for six days, although five of those days I stayed because the damn dogs were waiting outside for me.
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"It's Us Against The World"

In the smoky fray of a Bangkok rush hour, Tim and Tina walk along one of the city's busiest roads, on their way to do a little grocery shopping with their son, D.J.

It's a grim task, navigating the crazy streets of the Thai capital, but the young family has the kind of steely resolve that's useful in these situations.

Why are they walking? It's not because they can't afford a car. Both Tim and Tina have well paying jobs, and could easily buy whatever vehicle they wanted. But they're trying to make a point by not being just another car-bound family slogging their way through Bangkok traffic in little air condition prisons. A point that, at this very moment, seems to be a bit hard-learned.

Bangkok's just tough that way. The heat and traffic jams and overall noise and chaos often combine to create a mind-blowing cocktail of sensory overload. But if you're able to learn to deal with it, and get through it, it kind of makes you a tougher person. If that's true, then little D.J. is going to be one tough little fellow -- just like his mom and dad.
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"I don't care about getting the record, I just want to STOP"

Honey. Sweetie. Darling. I realize how much this dancing competition means to you. Really, I do. It's just that my feet are ACHING, and my head is SPINNING, we've been dancing for over four days now, and I'm basically about to pass out from exhaustion. Can we please stop dancing now?

OK, I admit, the dancing was pretty fun at first. All the people gathered round to watch us. All their cheers. The TV cameras. But sweetness, that was about 100 hours ago, and I've got some major blisters going on here, and not all of them are on my feet. So can we please stop dancing?

The worst part is, we're still only a little over halfway to the record. That couple from Mongolia who danced for 188 hours and 34 minutes back in 1964, I don't know what got into them. I bet they were on something. Although, they probably didn't drug test world record dance candidates back then, so who knows?
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Beginning To See The Light

Yuming had been hauling sacks of vegetables to sell the village market ever since she was a teenager, and now, at age 47, this task had become earth shatteringly mundane. In fact, sometimes Yuming would get so bored with her daily labors that she'd head down to a quiet spot alongside the canal and just scream, loudly and with surprising volume, into the empty waters. Sometimes, she had a hard time stopping.

But on this day, Yuming has been struck with a sudden jolt of self-awareness. "There are other things I could be doing," she thought to herself. It may seem like an elementary observation, one that most people have on a fairly regular basis, but for Yuming, this was a breakthrough of epic proportions.

So as the morning light bathed Yuming's face, she resolved to change her mode of employment, giving up vegetable sales in favor of a career in fishing. She'd long envied the local fishermen as they came off the boats at the end of the day, hauling baskets of wriggling fish, so she figured this would be a good new direction for her to take in life.
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Forecast: Scattered Snow Flurries

According to NASA, the Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling in the Martian atmosphere, about 2.5 miles above the Red Planet's surface. Even though the flakes aren't reaching the ground, the find adds another piece of evidence to the notion that Mars once harbored liquid water, and perhaps even life forms of some sort.

The discovery came as a surprise to some scientists, but not to UFO hunters and conspiracy theorists who believe intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. Yes, even within the political sphere.

We are living in strange times. I mean, next thing you know, some random governor of some far flung U.S. state will be chosen to run for vice president -- despite having an appalling lack of foreign policy experience -- and possibly end up a heartbeat away from the presidency. Stranger things have happened!

To round out this bizarre scenario, she'll be an accomplished hunter who's able to field dress a moose -- and will publicize this ability as if it somehow makes her more fit to help lead a country of 300 million people.
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What Is UP With the Large Hadron Collider?

Wow, look at this! The Large Hadron Collider has been taken offline until March or April at the earliest. Looks like they had some sort of electrical malfunction that caused a helium leak, or something like that. Hmm, I guess $9 billion doesn't go as far as it used to.

OK, so call me a conspiracy theorist, but I'm pretty sure this explanation is a smokescreen for what really happened -- a mini black hole generated by the LHC. Or, it's possible that a few scientists got sucked into a worm hole and are, at this very moment, running for their lives from a pack of hungry -- and decidedly non-herbivorous -- dinosaurs.

All I know is that this LHC really scares the hell out of me.
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No, Really, This Is Edible

Behold the durian, a legendary fruit throughout much of Asia -- and in some circles, legendary for all the wrong reasons.

Those spikes that cover the skin of a durian are just as menacing as they look. These aren't the wimpy, soft type of spikes that bend when you touch them. No sir, these spikes are hard as nails, and will puncture your skin in a millisecond, if you're somehow in a mood to test their sharpness by placing your hand upon them. But that would be pretty stupid, like trying to French kiss a cobra.

Durian have actually been used as a weapon on many occasions. Not just for the spikes, mind you, but also because durian is one of the foulest smelling fruits on the planet. Cracking open a durian reveals a wealth of yellow, fleshy fruit, with a creamy consistency that its lovers can't get enough of, but which is gag-inducing to just about everyone else.

The durian eating experience is the ultimate paradox, because it actually tastes good, but carries with it an indescribable stench. So much so, in fact, that durian is banned in hotels across Asia, as well as by most airlines.
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How Many Monks Does It Take...?

OK, so it's that time of year again, when the outside of the monastery gets so dirty that we have to drag out the ladder and get to cleaning the facade of our home. But when did this ladder get so heavy? Seems like it was lighter last year.

In any event, it's great that the new kid volunteered to be the one to climb up and scrub away the dirt and grime that has accumulated over the past year. Because none of us old guys want any part of that ladder. Mainly because that ladder is too freaking high, and once you get to the top, the thing wobbles like a teenager's commitment to chastity.

But someone's gotta do the job, so here's to hoping that the kid doesn't fall, like that one guy did a few years back. If we weren't there to catch him, the vultures would probably still be feasting on his bones!
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In Your Face Festivity

What is it about balloons that make them so appropriate for parties? And why do people like them so damn much?

Is it the colors? The sometimes funny shapes? Whatever the reason, I frankly find it disgusting that human beings can be attracted and amused by something so base and simplistic as a balloon. Are we still so freaking primitive as to be shamelessly transfixed by bright, colorful objects? Seriously.

Humans have for centuries been steadily making advancements in art, literature, scientific exploration... and yet, when we see a bunch of balloons, we're somehow reduced to children, giggling and watching as they go by. That's the kind of stuff that makes me worry about the future.
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Like Potato Chips With Wings

Fried crickets aren't as bitter tasting as one might think. In fact, properly seasoned, these insects are actually pretty tasty, and they're a popular snack sold by street vendors all over Thailand.

Never mind the rumors that abound that these crickets are harvested en masse with the help of DDT. Because once you put one of these crunchy critters in your mouth, there's no going back. Meaning, they're so addictive, you can't eat just one. Kind of like potato chips, but with wings.
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These Shoes Ain't Made For Walkin'

Riding public buses in Bangkok affords one the opportunity to soak in the city in its rawest form. That means hearing the roar of the bus engine, feeling the heat and sweat and hearing the exasperated groans of your fellow passengers, and experiencing a sort of collective resignation to being stuck in such an uncomfortable situation.

And, on occasion, it also enables the rider to observe things that they might not normally pay attention to -- like what kinds of footwear people are sporting.

These passengers' footwear are clearly designed for the short haul, and also reflect the fact that it's just so gosh darn hot in Bangkok. Flip-flops are common in the Thai capital, especially during the rainy season when floods are pretty much a daily occurrence, and the sounds they make are something that visitors remember and identify with their time in Thailand.

But what's up with the shoe on the left side of the photo? That certainly doesn't look like a very comfortable footwear experience.
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Hold On Tight!

Ooooh boy this is going to be a scary motorbike ride, I can just feel it. And even though I'm just a three year old little boy, I want my daddy to go really fast! And, as soon as the light turns green, we're going to!

You see, my mom's late for work, and the only way for dad to get her to work on time is to weave back and forth between cars in Bangkok's morning rush hour traffic jams. It actually makes me dizzy, but that's OK, because I think it's fun. And my hair blows around and gets messed up too.

After my dad drops mom off at work, he'll take me to pre-school. I like pre-school a lot, and I spend the whole day there playing with other kids and learning about stuff. I like all the teachers there. Well, except Mr. Somchai, because he never smiles, and he doesn't seem to bathe much either.

Well, the light just turned green, and my dad just told me to hold on tight, so that's what I'm going to do. I always do what mom and dad say, because when I don't, they don't let me have desserts!
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My Baby's Going To Be President

Every parent-to-be wants the best for their child. Well, I'm stepping that up a little bit: I want my baby to be president. President of what, I'm not quite sure. But definitely someone important; someone who brings meetings to order, and without whom things simply wouldn't get done.

Yes, that's right, you heard me -- PRESIDENT. It's a bold ambition, but why not? What am I supposed to do, sit here, in the last couple of months before my child is born, and hope for anything less than the best? I'm aiming high with my hopes, and my baby's going to rock the world, just you watch.

And so I'm performing this little ceremony here at the temple, to make some merit and hopefully ensure that my vision becomes reality. It's the least I can do for the kid who's going to change my world in ways I haven't yet even begun to imagine.
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Can You Believe That Bullshit?

Did you hear about the stunt that Old Lady Zhang pulled the other day at the fruit market? Apparently she fondled all the mangos in the entire place in her search for the ripest, juciest ones. The only problem was, she squeezed them so hard that many of them burst!

From what I hear, she ruined a couple hundred perfectly good ones. And mango juice was running all over the place, covering the fruit stalls with stickiness and making them veritable fly magnets.

The fruit sellers at the market were understandably upset. I heard that one of the guys called Old Lady Zhang an annoying, high maintenance bitch! Well, she didn't take too kindly to that, and word has it that she immediately turned to a cart full of watermelons and kicked it over! Can you believe the gall? Who does she think she is, some kind of freaking blue blood?
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Good Thing We Brought These Blankets

I'm happy to have jobs doing road repairs, but man, what kind of bad karma did I have in the past life to get sent to work at Khardung La, the world's highest motorable highway? At 17,500 feet, the air is thin up here, and it ain't exactly balmy either. And this is in the middle of August!

I must have done some seriously bad stuff in my previous life. Maybe I was a serial killer or something. Or a Neo-conservative.

Still, working in such an inhospitable place does toughen me up, which is a good thing, because when I head back down to sea level, I can basically kick anyone's ass in a fight. I just wear them out physically and mentally. Not that I go around looking to fight, but hey, sometimes the fight comes to me.

Speaking of fighting, I'm actually fighting to breathe right now. Does anyone know where a guy can get some hot cocoa around here?
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Hazardous Place For Nesting

Viking Cave on Thailand's Phi Phi Island is home to thousands upon thousands of nests of the cave swift, a bird whose nest is actually edible. It's the main ingredient in Bird's Nest Soup, a dish that inspires shockwaves of gustatory delight all across Asia, and is one of the more expensive delicacies on the planet.

That's why the bird's nests of Viking Cave are under 24-hour watch from local security guards, some of whom are believed to be packing heat. It's an odd juxtaposition to consider in such a peaceful, visually beautiful place, where the loudest sound one hears in the lapping of the waves against the limestone cliffs.

If it weren't for the waves, one might be able to hear the tinny shrieks of 300,000 cave swifts asking "Who the F--- stole my nest again?"
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Pluto Is Still Pretty Upset

Pluto -- the celestial body, not the cartoon dog -- is still pretty upset about losing its planetary status a couple of years ago. If you didn't hear about this, Pluto, which since its discovery in 1930 had been considered the smallest and most distant planet in our solar system, in 2006 was reclassified as a 'dwarf planet', a new category that includes similarly-sized bodies like Eris and Ceres.

Not surprisingly, being relegated was pretty upsetting to Pluto, as well as to Charon, its moon, both of which had grown accustomed to their planetary status, mainly because it gave them access to the best parties. And to be frank, Pluto and Charon's melancholy still hasn't subsided, although the heavy drinking and compensatory late night carousing have tapered off.

To help forget the pain, Pluto and Charon are actually planning on taking a pottery class, and they've even been entertaining the idea of doing a little traveling -- perhaps to Earth, in order to exact some revenge on the astronomers responsible for the demotion.
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Searching For Meaning

This is a face that has never not known a world of instant communication, that has never not known email, or the Worldwide Web, or an existence that doesn't include being able to pick up the phone and have a pizza delivered to your place in less than 15 minutes.

But the thing about kids is that they're always inquisitive, and long before the Internet arrived, they were making the best out of their situations, finding intrigue in the most mundane things.

For proof of this, you really don't have to look any further that the phenomenon that happens when a kid gets a gift, plays with it for 15 minutes, and ultimately ends up spending more time playing with the box, or whatever packaging comes with it. This is insight into the human mind, and a wonderful window into our tendency to always -- always -- look for meaning in the most ordinary things.
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I Have Something To Tell You...

Hey, I bet you're wondering why I've asked you to meet me way out here in the middle of nowhere. Well, it's because I have to tell you something, and I didn't want to say it in front of everyone else.

I'm going to leave the village and start a new life in the city. I know, I know, it sounds like a rash decision, one that I might later regret. But frankly, I'm kind of bored up here, there just isn't enough going on to satisfy me. And there's a whole big world out there that I'd like to catch a glimpse of.

What's that? I've been watching too many Hollywood movies? OK, fair enough, you may be right. But it's more than that, it's about me wanting to learn more about myself, and while it's peaceful up here in the Himalaya, I want to challenge myself more, and the city sounds like just the place to make that happen. Wish me luck!
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Landing At LAX

Runway 24R and 24L at Los Angeles International Airport are actually two of the most frequently filmed airport runways in the world. This is due to fact that there's a public park less than a football field away from where the runways begin, which allows people to stand and gawk as giant aircraft go screaming overhead. So next time you're watching a movie or TV show which includes a landing scene, it was probably filmed right in this little park.

It's a pretty humbling experience when you see a 747 materialize in the distance, growing slowly larger and larger as it approached the runway, until it eventually fills your entire field of vision, not to mention your ears. After the WOOSH of its passing, the next sound you hear is the squeal of the dozen tires that a 747 needs to cushion its 100 ton bulk.
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Dreaming Of The Grandkids

Meet Mei Ling, a 57 year old seller of notebooks and other stationary items. She's been playing her wares on the streets of Shanghai for the past 17 years, and has made a pretty decent living from her toils. The job isn't exactly exciting, but Mei Ling does enjoy watching people, and there are no shortage of those in the teeming markets of China's most commercially crazy city.

Right now, though, Mei Ling is taking a little sidewalk siesta. She's actually recoveing from what ended up being a pretty late night. Her daughter is in town from Shanxi province, and brought the 2 year old grandkids for a visit. Those little devils crawled all over Mei Ling's house, and she found herself continually running after them to avoid different disasters, particularly ones involving her treasured China collection.

That's tiring work, and is a big reason why Mei Ling is snoozing. But she does adore her grandkids, and hopes her daughter stays in town a while.
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You Want A Piece Of Me?

Wait, am I understanding you correctly? You want to fight me? You want a piece of this?

You CANNOT be serious. I beg you to reconsider. You have absolutely no idea how badly you would get beaten in such a scenario. All's I know is that you are asking for trouble, and if you really want it, I will be happy to oblige.

What would happen, you ask? First I would peck you with my razor sharp beak. I actually file it every night before I go to sleep. Then I would stomp the hell out of you with my scaly claws. These puppies are pretty rough, like sandpaper! Sharp, too.

Anyway, are you sure you want this? If so, let's do this! I'm so down for it. Right now!
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Rainy Strolling

It's a Thursday afternoon at the Shwedagon Temple in Yangon, Burma, and the skies have just opened up, drenching the devout with buckets of rain that even super strength umbrellas can't stop. But no one really minds, since they're strolling in one of the most ornate, colorful -- and for Buddhists, most sacred -- temples in the world.

Just Minutes From The Glitz

This little patch of developing suburban joy is situated east of Las Vegas, Nevada. It probably has a name, since it's far enough away to not be part of the city, but I just shot this from a plane, so don't hassle me, man.

It must be strange to live here, just far enough away from the big neon glitter of Vegas to not have to participate, yet close enough to sense its throbbing Hedonism. It looks like there's one big road, the rest are itty bitty little roads that have more tumbleweeds than cars.

Some gamblers who've had some moderate success at the tables might even keep a condo here, just so they can catch a breather from time to time. Y'know, to get away from the glitz.

Careful Dude, She Might Notice You're Staring

Wenyan had been watching the young lady selling trinkets in the little waterside market for weeks, but had yet to muster the courage to say hi. That wasn't unusual for Wenyan, because even though he'd already reached 34 years of age, he still hadn't... y'know. Why not? Because he basically had no game. Zero.

Wenyan is, however, very skilled in the art of staring. He's pictured here staring down at the pretty girl, completely unaware that this kind of behavior freaks girls out. And that this is true in China, and pretty much anywhere.

In fact, once Wenyan's friends told him that girls equate such behavior with freaky stalkers they hear about pretty much daily on the 11 o'clock news, he decided to take a different approach: He joined an online dating service.

But after a couple of weeks, Wenyan realized that his one true love was right there beneath the bridge. So he stopped staring, and started talking, and despite his lack of game, she ended up falling for him. I wonder, though, if she just wanted to get this freaky guy to stop staring at her from above?

Heidelberg Man's Old Stomping Grounds

This alley in the old town of Heidelberg, Germany, looks like a quiet, unassuming place where nothing much going on. OK, maybe that's true now. But between 400,000 and 500,000 years ago, a Neanderthal called Homo heidelbergensis, also known as "Heidelberg Man", roamed this region.

Heidelberg Man came to light in October 1907, when a worker digging a hole found a piece of fossilized jawbone in the dirt, which was later confirmed to be that of Homo heidelbergensis. That remained his name for several years, until one night, the ghost of Homo heidelbergensis visited a professor at Heidelberg University and begged him to petition for a name change.

These days, Heidelberg Man keeps a low profile. You might see him darting furtively between buildings at night, but he's had his time in the spotlight, and prefers to avoid it.

"Three More Trips To Go"

Anil and the boys had been hauling away dirt all afternoon in the 100 degree heat of a Calcutta summer, and by his estimates, they had about three more cartloads to go before the job would be finished.

It was dirty work (obviously), and after three months, Anil was getting sick of it. But with all the construction going on, piles of excavated dirt were appearing all over the city, and companies kept calling Anil and asking him to move it. At least the money wasn't bad... wait, actually, it was bad -- a paltry few rupees a day.

Anil was bored with the work, but he had a plan to save up and one day buy an air conditioned cart to haul away the loose dirt. "Yes, that would make the work a bit more bearable," Anil thought to himself. "Maybe I could even get these guys to push the cart, and I could read while they worked."

Car Stereos Are Way Too Loud Today

Well, there goes another one of those damn noisy cars again, with the vibrating bass that you can hear from 5 blocks away. Who needs to listen to their music that loud? I can't imagine that these kids are going to have any eardrums left by the time they're 30.

Why does everything these days seem to be trending toward louder, more obnoxious, and more annoying to us old folks? Are kids just trying to annoy the hell out of us? If so, it's working really well.

I'll tell you, if I ever get my hands on one of those young kids, I'll... well, I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be pretty bad.

I Am So Not Giving You A Ride

Oh, look, it's a tourist! Wow, you came all the way up here in the mountains -- must have been a bumpy trip. I hear those Land Rover seats are a real pain in the ass, no pun intended.

Wait, what's that? You've always wanted to ride a camel? Well, forget about it pal. Too bad.

First of all, I'm on break. Second, I don't give rides to tourists -- it's in my contract. Just ask my handler. He's the guy selling bags of pine cones, which happen to be my favorite food.

I'm not in the mood to go traipsing around the dunes with some brain dead idiot on my back taking photos, so he can show all his friends back home how cool Jammu & Kashmir was, and how he rode a camel.

Go ahead and buy me a bag of pine cones though -- I'll eat 'em right up. However, just be aware that your gesture will in no way help convince me to give you a ride. I might spit on you though -- hey, that'd be something to tell the guys about, wouldn't it?

The Godfather Of All Hangovers

Godfather is one of the few beers available in Jammu & Kashmir, the northern most state of India. And even if you don't like beer, it's so "super strong" and "high powered" that you won't notice what it tastes like after just a few sips.

Note that the label says this bottle was brewed in July 2004 and is 'good' until January 2005. Pretty short shelf life, huh -- wonder why that is?

It's unclear who the guy on the label is meant to be, but it looks like he's having a pretty good time, so I guess that's reassuring. However, after drinking a few bottles myself, I'd have to say that this guy might not be smiling the morning after.

"This Traffic Is Getting On My Nerves"

"This is ridiculous. I'm pretty used to being stuck in traffic jams in the Pahar Ganj district of Delhi, India, but today, it seems even busier than usual. What's really annoying is that no one has hired me in more than an hour!

Why is that, I wonder? Is there something wrong with my rickshaw? It's got a nice new seat, I just replaced it a couple of months ago. So what gives?

In any event, I've about had it with these people wandering aimlessly into the street right in front of me. I'm going to ring my bicycle bell so loudly at the next person who does that! Damn, I really need to find a new line of work.

Off The Wall

Hi, I'm an alleyway in Amsterdam, and I just got spray painted -- again -- by some young punks who stumbled out of a nearby coffee shop and decided to let loose with some mindless scribblings. And this cartoon face reflects my own feelings about the situation.

Now, I'm no crotchety old alley -- I actually like graffiti, provided it's tastefully executed and serves a purpose. But lately, all these kids can do is just write their names, or spray paint cartoon 'thought bubbles' with nothing meaningful inside them. And to me, that's just a reflection of the dumbing down of the global society that's all too apparent these days.

I remember back in the day, when I first came into being as an alleyway. Kids back then would spray paint their graffiti thoughtfully and carefully, and it always had a message. Never would you see some moron spray painting his name -- the other artists wouldn't allow it.

I remember one time many years ago, Vinny Van Gogh himself came down and painted an early rendition of 'The Starry Night' on one of my walls. That was cool. I wish the kids these days could bring that kind of passion to their work.

Ice Cream Related Tantrum

Zihao had been having a pretty good day for an 18 month old. He'd been on his best behavior, only throwing one tantrum earlier that day, which his mother admitted was way less intense than usual.

But around 2 p.m., as Zihao and his mom were strolling along The Bund in Shanghai, Zihao spotted an approaching ice cream vendor and demanded -- in a shrieking high pitched tone -- that his hunger for sweets be satisfied.

The problem was, he hadn't eaten lunch yet. His mom had fed Zihao a late breakfast, and they'd gone out immediately after his nap. So when the ice cream man came, Zihao's mom refused to buy him the frozen treasure he'd requested. Unsurprisingly, this led to an epic tantrum.

Watching The Procession Of Life

This golden Buddha isn't the biggest Buddha at the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. Actually, he's not even close. Last time I checked, he was 437th.

But no matter, because this golden Buddha has one of the best vantage points at the Sule Pagoda, which is situated right in the busy center of the city and gets a constant stream of foot traffic. From this position, the golden Buddha likes to sit and watch the people walking round the circular path of the temple, stopping sometimes to shower him with praise and devotion. Not bad work, if you can get it.

Dueing much of the year, at about 4 p.m. each afternoon, dark clouds gather above the city and the skies explode with torrential rain, lightning, and soul-gripping thunderclaps. But the golden Buddha is never phased by any of this. He likes to sit there and watch the chaos and take it all in, because it's all part of the deal.

And after some time, the rains stop, and the people come back, and the cycle begins again.

Labor Of Love

Baozhai, a 34 year old boat taxi driver, was one of the few women plying the waters of Zhou Zhuang, a small water village on the outskirts of Suzhou, China. That's because the local boat taxi ranks were, like many things in China, dominated by men, and that had been the case for hundreds of years.

As a child, Baozhai developed a borderline pathological interest in boats, and by age 16, had begun hanging out by the docks of the town looking for chances to work as a boat taxi driver. But the drivers laughed at her, and refused to give her a shot, even as they taught the tricks of the trade to local boys her age.

So Baizhai resolved to take matters into her own hands. One day, when a fisherman was on lunch break, she snuck onto his parked boat, cut the lines, and headed off to pick up some passengers. She figured she'd borrow the fisherman's boat, make a few passenger runs, and be back before he realized it was missing.

In the end, Baozhai ended up being faster than any of the other boat drivers, and she made a tidy sum in the 30 min the boat's owner was away. When he came back, Baozhai confessed to her misdeed and showed him the money. A huge smile crossed his face. It turned out that he was sick of the boat taxi trade and was looking to get out.

And that's how Baozhai became a taxi boat driver, doing what she loves best.

Dog Days Of Summer

Think summer is hot where you live? Try hanging out in Thailand in April, which is the hottest time of the year in the capital, Bangkok. Of course, the term 'summer' is a relative one in Thailand, where even in the cool season, temperatures are often in the low 90s F.

Chalermchai, a 38 year old factory worker who lives on the outskirts of Bangkok, seems to be enjoying the April heat (he's the guy passed out with his mouth open).

Not long after this photo was taken, some of Chalermchai's friends played a really nasty trick on him and spooned a bunch of Nescafe instant coffee into his mouth while he was still asleep. It took about 10 seconds for him to wake up, and for the next several minutes he spat and cursed and vowed to exact revenge.

Time To Go Home

At 18 months, Asha's patience was less than fully developed, you might say. So although she'd enjoyed riding on her father's shoulders the past few hours, taking in the sights of the street festival, Asha was starting to get a bit tired.

And when you're 18 months old, getting tired isn't a gradual process: It comes on like an approaching 747, only the effects can sometimes manifest themselves in louder fashion.

Fortunately, Asha's dad could sense the signs and knew it was time to start heading home for dinner, and then bedtime.

The Incomparable Starkness Of Trees

Why is it that everyone likes taking photos of trees? Part of it probably has to do with how the branches look like tentacles reaching out into the sky, reaching blindly into the unknown. Some people probably draw parallels between tree branches and the seemingly random twists and turns of life itself.

Or, maybe part of trees' allure to photographers is the way branches look like roads, and represent, in a symbolic way, all the infinite number of possibilities there are in everyday life. That could be it, too.

Generally speaking, dead trees, and trees that have shed their leaves for the winter, are way more photogenic and picturesque than live ones. That's another strange paradox related to trees.

You'd think that at their leafiest, trees would be perfect symbols of health and robustness, and they are, because without them, life would never have evolved beyond slimy lizards crawling out of the primordial oceans.

But somehow, the naked tree, framed against the sky, is far more of a poignant symbol.

Calling All Polar Bears

There's something about waking up and looking down from a position 40,000 feet above the west coast of Greenland, with a clear view of the entire landscape, that makes you realize how being in an airplane is very similar to space travel.

OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, since 747s can only fly between 8 and 9 miles above the Earth's surface, and the atmosphere extends to about 100 miles high. But this could just as easily be a view of Saturn's moon Titan, or Jupiter's moon Europa, both of which have been compared to Earth in terms of being rocky, icebound worlds that may have one day harbored life forms of some sort.



This is a photo taken about 20 minutes later, where we'd reached the end of Greenland's land mass and entered Baffin Bay, at about 62 degrees north latitude. That's not steam, it's where the warmer water is welling up beneath the ice and apparently creating breaks in the ice. The water here is probably around 30 degrees or so, and the cold air mass coming off Greenland, the world's largest island, is probably in the -30 to -40 range, which explains why this looks like a large hot tub.

I wonder if any members of any Polar Bear Clubs around the world have ever taken a dip in these waters?

What Are You Laughing At?

Max is a 3 year old herring with big eyes and funky teeth, and he's just been caught by some fisherman off the coast of China, and been brought to a fish market in Shanghai.

Max is still alive, which is surprising, as he's been out of water for over 2 hours. But Max comes from a long line of hearty fish, and he reckons he's still got a couple more hours before everything fades to black.

Max is actually pretending to be dead in this photo, and he's wearing that goofy smile in order to further that illusion. (Man, that Max sure does have some seriously funky teeth, he looks like a poster fish for the Invisalign company!

Max knows that if he even flinches or shows any sign of life, he'll be clubbed by one of the fish processing guys. And Max is saving the last bits of his strength so that he can be in a position to bite off one of his oppressors' fingers, or maybe 2 or 3 if he's lucky.

You see, Max was pretty happy before he got swept up in the fishermens' net. And while Max realizes that as a fish, he probably shouldn't be able to engage in any sort of cognitive analysis of his situation, he isn't ready to ditch his free will and become part of the food chain just yet. Unh-uh, not without a fight.

Max is a firm believer in the old saying, "He who laughs last laughs best", and I can almost hear him chuckling to himself as he prepares to relieve a fish processing guy of one of his fingers.

What's Behind The Door

Doors are kind of funny. Everyone's got 'em. Doors to your houses. Bathroom doors. Car doors. That Doors album that has been stored away collecting dust in your garage for the past 18 years. And, of course, the locked doors in some peoples' pathetically closed minds.

Some doors, when you look at them, seem to taunt you and dare you to wonder about what's on the other side. These doors seem to say, "Yeah, I know you want to know, and believe me, there is some really cool shit on the other side. But no, you can't see it. Now get out."

Other doors are more kindly and benevolent. These doors seem to say, "Don't worry about it, there's nothing interesting on the other side, you can come see for yourself if you want, but I don't want to get your hopes up."

Still other doors play somewhere in the middle, acting all coquettish in their attempts to catch the eye, but in the end, leaving it up to the viewer to imagine what's inside, and making no attempt to sway the viewer either way. In fact, these doors don't say anything at all, they just stand there silently, leaving the viewer to ponder their next move.

Merit Maker Or Bird Lover?

The concept of merit-making is a prevalent one in Buddhist societies, with the main idea being that if you do something nice for another living creature, that kindness will come back to you. Other cultures have different terms for it, and this concept can often be seen when people perform small, ritualistic acts of kindness for animals.

Yangon, the capital and largest city of Myanmar (also known as Rangoon, Burma), is a slightly dingy city with a subdued, melancholy air to it. This is surprising, because unlike other Asian cities, Yangon is full of greenery, with trees, bushes, and grass springing up just about everywhere you look.

Amidst the grime, citizens have to look for creative ways to brighten up their moods, and many have found that purchasing bird seed from roadside vendors and feeding the city's large pigeon population is one way to achieve this.



Pigeons aren't the most popular creatures in the world; in fact, they probably rank just a few notches above rats in the minds of most people, and they've even been referred to as 'rats with wings'. But that doesn't seem to matter to this woman, who appears deeply engrossed in her task of offering some small comfort to her winged friends. Is she making merit, or simply a bird lover?

It would actually be quite funny to see peoples' reaction if someone were to try this in downtown New York. Just imagine a New York cop's reaction to someone throwing birdseed to a gathering group of pigeons. It'd be something like "Whadya think you're doing, this ain't Disney World, now get the hell out of here!"

Moon Temple

Taking photos of the moon is mostly an exercise in futility, and a great example of how the human eye can catch sights far more crisply and accurately than any camera ever will.

Shooting the moon is even more difficult because the damn thing is 240,000 miles away and is moving quickly through space, which means it jumps around the camera viewfinder, especially if you're trying to zoom in on it. This squirrelishness suggests that maybe the moon doesn't want itself to be photographed, and prefers to retain an air of mystery.

This shot was taken just after sunset in Jaisalmer, India, a small city in the desert of western India that sits about 50 miles from the border with Pakistan, and can't be reached without a long, exhausting car or train ride. The moon was rising over this temple in the way it has for centuries, and as I aimed my camera, I could almost hear the moon taunting me and saying, "Yeah, go ahead, try and shoot me, but you KNOW the snapshot won't come close to depicting the actual scene."

And, if the moon saw this photo, it would probably shrug and say "Hey, not bad, but it doesn't even come close to capturing my sublime magnificence -- and you know it."

Taking A Breather

Tuesday morning started out pretty quietly for Sanjay, a 26 year old taxi driver in Calcutta, India. A few short range pickups, a trip to the airport, but otherwise, pretty quiet. But around noon, that changed in a big way.

As Sanjay pulled up to a market, he noticed a commotion just outside the entrance. Several people were assisting a young woman and leading her to the street. Sanjay immediately realized what was going on -- she was pregnant. Very pregnant, in fact, according to the people who were screaming and shouting into Sanjay's window and urging him to rush her to the hospital. The only problem was, the woman hadn't been loaded into the car yet.

Always cool under pressure, Sanjay got out and helped the woman into the car, and jumped behind the wheel. The nearest hospital was 25 minutes away, but Sanjay knew of a shortcut through a nearby series of alleys. And it was the right time of day -- no traffic.

The woman wailed as Sanjay's cab bumped and lurched its way through Calcutta's pothole scarred streets, and it was obvious she was in the later stages of labor. Just as her cries reached the level of screams, Sanjay pulled up to the emergency room entrance, and a group of nurses whisked the woman away to an operating room.

It was a pretty intense half hour, and afterward, Sanjay's heart was still racing. He decided to hang out and catch his breath before continuing his shift. "Never a dull moment in this line of work," Sanjay thought to himself, and chuckled.

San Francisco: Night And Day

The southern San Francisco skyline is a sweeping panorama of hotels, apartment buildings, bay views, and, on clear days, a glimpse of the mountains that frame Silicon Valley, some 50 miles away. It's a side of the city that's often overlooked because it lacks the high profile sights for which San Francisco is known, but the southern view crackles with its own energy and motion.

It's quite relaxing to spend a few hours watching planes approaching and departing from San Francisco International Airport, which is about 6 miles south of the city. The only drawback is the jealousy one feels as they think about the passengers on those planes, being ferried to exotic, faraway lands.

Don't Monkey With My Monkey

SITTING MONKEY: "How many times do I have to warn you? You know how tequila affects you, and frankly, you shouldn't have taken all those shots. I'm sorry you're in pain right now, but I have to say, you kind of deserve it!"

RECLINING MONKEY: "Wow, thanks, that's very helpful, I feel better already."

SITTING MONKEY: Well, you embarrassed the hell out of me last night, and I'm pretty pissed off about it. Do you remember wearing the lampshade? And doing that dumb little dance? I mean, come on, that's a trick from the 1950s, and not very original. People were laughing, but not laughing with you, but rather, AT you.

RECLINING MONKEY: Oh, please stop, my head is POUNDING, and you're making it worse.

SITTING MONKEY: Yeah, well I hope it pounds, maybe you'll think twice next time about getting into a tequila shot contest with the boys.

RECLINING MONKEY: There won't BE a next time -- I'm never drinking tequila again!

The Dancing Eyes Of Mischief

It was a favorite childhood game of Ping's: She'd ask someone to take her photo and then, at the last moment, run away giggling. And as a result, in the digital cameras of many of Ping's family and friends, there were partial images of her very similar to this one.

Ping was a big fan of the Peanuts comics, and she equated the photo game with the old football game in which Lucy would pull the ball away just as Charlie Brown was about to kick it. Ping didn't know what a football was, because they didn't play it in Thailand, but she did love the expression on Charlie Brown's face when he realized he'd been had, again.

Later, Ping would grow up to become a fashion model, and she learned very quickly that professional photographers didn't like to play this game. But from time to time, Ping would still giggle and run away during photo shoots, and photographers would sigh with resignation and wait for her to come back. They put up with her games because Ping was one of the most charismatic models in Thailand, with intangibles that quickly catapulted her to international fame.

Surfing Life's Uncertainties

Zhao had had a busy afternoon as a crew member aboard the Harbor Princess, a 112-foot ferry boat that transported passengers between Hong Kong and Lantau island. That morning, a typhoon had passed by to the south, several hundreds miles away, but close enough to cause a pretty sizable chop that rocked the boat had several passengers heading for the rail. And then, the customary late afternoon summer thunderstorm had kicked the water up even more.

Even Zhao, who'd been working on ships for more than two decades, started feeling the effects of the large, ocean sized swell. So after his last run to Lantau, he decided to stop by his favorite crab restaurant and have a relaxing dinner before heading back to the city. But halfway through the meal, Zhao's attention drifted over to a nearby television weather report. Another typhoon was on the way, only this one was headed straight for Hong Kong. It wasn't due to hit until evening, but Zhao had a feeling the next day's ferry trips would be rough ones.

"Why didn't I just get a cushy office job like my mother always advised me to do?" Zhao thought to himself as he finished eating and hurriedly prepared to head back to his flat in Hong Kong.

When Mount St. Helens Blew Her Top

Mount St. Helens, a large volcano located about 100 miles south of Seattle, Washington, was in a bad mood on the morning of May 18, 1980. I mean, worse than normal, even. Perhaps it had something to do with the weather that day, which was gorgeous in a way that only springtime in the Cascades can pull off. Many people, when they're in a bad mood, don't want to see sunshine, daffodils, and bunny rabbits, and the same goes for large volcanoes.

Actually, Mount St. Helens' rage had been building steadily for weeks, in the form of hot magma welling up underneath its surface. And at 8:32 am that day, an earthquake occurred on Mount St. Helens that caused a huge slab of the mountain to slide away, exposing the molten rock and causing a cataclysmic explosion that blew away the top 2300 feet of the formerly 9500 foot peak.

BOOM. It was the first time she'd blown her top since the 1850s, and it was a doozy. A massive plume of volcanic ash was catapulted tens of thousands of feet into the air, later falling on 11 neighboring states. 57 people were killed. The area around Mount St. Helens was stripped bare by lava flows and poisonous volcanic mudslides. All the animals that hadn't listened to their inner sense about the catastrophe that was about to happen also perished.

But looking at Mount St. Helens today, she looks pretty peaceful. Sure, she lost her head, but that's to be expected from time to time with people, and also with volcanoes. Yep, she looks pretty calm these days, although there was a small eruptive episode a few years back. Nothing major, mind you, just a few steam plumes that brought the CNN crews in for a few days.

You have to wonder, has Mount St. Helens matured and learned from her mistakes? Or, have the authorities been keeping her on a steady dose of "Volcano Prozac" to prevent a recurrence?

End Of A Very Long Day

It was a Friday in April 1998, the kind of day Somchai never thought would come to an end. But as the sun sunk low against the Bangkok skyline, and took on a striking shade of orange, Somchai reveled in the fact that he'd survived another day in what was easily the toughest job he'd ever had.

As a worker with Ital-Thai, organizers of the Bangkok Skytrain elevated railway system, Somchai was used to putting in the kind of long days that drain a man of not only his strength, but also his senses. The workday began long before dawn, at 4 am, but considering the sweltering daytime heat that beats down on the Thai capital with all the mercy of a drill instructor, nary a complaint was ever heard from the workers regarding the early start time.

The task of building the Bangkok Skytrain system was hugely complex, not to mention dangerous. In its early phases, workers were charged with digging holes and then sinking huge concrete pillars into the median strip of several Bangkok roadways, risking life and limb as traffic charged impatiently by on both sides. Then, workers had to position into place gigantic concrete slabs that would serve as the train tracks.

This photo was taken just as Somchai and his crew had painstakingly maneuvered the final concrete slab into place, with one guy barely escaping with his thumbs intact. The tracks were complete. Next lay the equally huge task of building the railway stations. But for now, the entire focus of Somchai's being was on a cold beer and some roast chicken and sticky rice.

The Very Definition Of Remote

When I think about remote places, I usually focus on those little corners of the world that are tucked away, hidden from view, and a huge pain in the ass to get to. After all, those are what makes a place 'remote'.

Ladakh in the northernmost Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, definitely qualifies as remote. It's a land of high altitude desert valleys, sand dunes, green oases, and narrow, terrifying roads, all fringed by 25,000+ foot peaks. Getting there is no picnic, but it's well worth the effort once you get up there and starting drinking in the otherworldly landscapes, as well as the deep hypnotic blue of a sky that sits above the pollution and haze.

There are hundreds of Buddhist temples in Ladakh, maybe even thousands if you count historical ones that are now little more than ruins. Some of these temples are perched in the most precarious of places, like the one in this photo, which sits atop a foothill of a gigantic mountain. You can't help but think that this must have been planned out so that those who studied there would have no external distractions.

And you know what? That strategy has probably worked out pretty well for several hundred years - even Starbucks has yet to open up shop here.

Goa's River Princess

One of the stranger sights for visitors to Goa, India, is the sight of the River Princess, a cargo ship that ran aground in a storm in June 2000 and has been sitting -- and rusting away -- a few hundred yards offshore ever since.

What to do with the stricken vessel has been a political football in Goa, and several governments have tried unsuccessfully for years to have the ship removed. The task has been complicated by the fact that soon after the accident, local authorities drilled a huge hole in the side of the ship to keep it from drifting into local shipping lanes. The presence of the ship has led to widespread beach erosion that has sullied what is otherwise a lovely stretch of the Indian coastline.



However, workers have been reportedly working on the ship day and night for the past several months, judging from the din of banging and steel shredding to which the local community has been subjected. However, it's unclear if they're attempting to make the ship seaworthy again so it can be towed away, or simply cutting it up into pieces for scrap. The latter scenario carries with it no small amount of environmental risk, and there's no guarantee the ship, after being subjected to the elements for nearly 8 years, will stay in one piece if attempts are made to tow it away.

Either way, the day that the River Princess finally leaves the Goan coast will likely be made a local holiday, commemorated by locals with the mother of all celebrations.

The Mighty Mekong

From its upper reaches in Tibet, the Mekong River winds its way in serpentine fashion down the foothills of the Himalaya and across the plains of Southeast Asia. The river gets wider and muddier in its southern parts, and for hundreds of miles, it forms a natural border between Laos and Thailand.

Despite the Mekong's status as one of the most recognizable river names, it's actually only the 11th longest in the world. Still, the Mekong is a mighty force and one that sustains the lives of tens of millions of people who live along its banks.

The river is also home to the Mekong Giant Catfish, an absolute monster of a fish that has held a prominent place in local folklore for centuries. In June 2005, a 9 foot Mekong catfish weighing nearly 650 pounds was pulled from the water by a team of fisherman.

This photo was taken from a 747 about 35,000 feet above the Mekong, where it divides Savannaket, Laos from Mukdahan, Thailand. (Thailand is to the left of the river and Laos is to the right)

The river is huge here, more than a mile wide, and its gets even larger during the latter stages of the rainy season, when the downpours are so intense you can feel them in your soul. A bit further south, where the Mekong River enters Cambodia, the river drops more than 50 feet at the Khon Phapeng Waterfall, also known as the Niagara Falls of Asia.

Destiny In The Printed Page

Confronted with a a delay such as the type that occurs while waiting for a bus or a train, some people will sit and stare into space, or fidget, or yawn and gaze at their watch as if more than a few seconds have passed since the last glance. But Sue would always relish a good delay, because it gave her time to dive deeper into whatever book she happened to be reading that day.

The ability to concentrate in environments where noise and clatter reign is not built into everyone, but it can be developed, most often by reading, and sometimes by meditating. Sue, an only child, had been around books all her life growing up in Thailand, and she had no problem staying focused on the plot. Now a teenager, Sue had developed into a voracious reader, and unlike some other teenagers, the reading materials she tackled weren't limited to comic books.

Sue's pictured here reading a Thai translation of Les Jeux Sont Faits, Jean-Paul Sartre's existential masterpiece which tells the story of a pair of a man and woman who are killed by people close to them, and discover in the afterlife that they were pre-destined to be soul mates. They are brought back to life and given 24 hours to fall in love, but they end up spending that time trying to right the wrongs of their previous lives, and in the end, they die again, without even hooking up.

Sartre's main theme in all of his books is that destiny wins out over everything else in life, and that we're all bound by the choices we make. As Sue glanced up from her book at the people rushing by at the bus station, lost in their own little worlds, she felt a rush of happiness that her destiny lay in the printed page.

Funky Monks

I met these guys in October 1998 during a trip to Vientiane, Laos. They were novice Buddhist monks doing their religious studies at a local Buddhist temple. But they were also teenagers, which meant that when we started chatting, most of them had decidedly non-religious questions to ask me. Fortunately, the Laotian language is very similar to Thai, so I was able to get most of what they were saying.

There were a few themes within the dozens of questions with which they peppered me, including: How much did a pair of Levis 501 jeans cost (this was 1998, when 501s were all the rage in Asia); did I like Michael Jackson (he was actually still big in Asia in 1998); and what were American girls like. We talked for a while in the humid mid-morning, and after some time, a bell sounded at a nearby temple building, and the monks shuffled off to afternoon classes.

For the record, I told them that Michael Jackson's Thriller album was one of the first I ever bought, and in the early 1980s was a must-have for any kid's music collection. But I also expressed my bewilderment with whatever happened to Michael that made him stop making good music, an observation that the monks didn't seem to understand.

Keep in mind that this was way before 24-7 news channels emerged and began casting their hyperfocus toward the downfall of stars' once-great careers. Still, what the hell ever did happen to Michael Jackson to make him start acting so strangely? I guess you could fill books trying to come up with an answer to that one.

On The Edge Of Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand is big. No surprises here, since it is, after all, the capital. But just a decade ago, the outer fringes of the city were remote farmland, and when inbound travelers saw signs like this one, they usually figured that maybe someone had screwed up and put the welcome sign in the wrong spot, or that maybe some prankster college kids had moved the sign as part of some initiation ritual. Because it sure didn't feel like you'd actually entered the city.

This sign in located in Bang Na, a suburb on the eastern fringes of Bangkok that's situated along the main highway to Thailand's eastern seaboard. Bang Na is not notable for much, other than being the home to The Nation, one of Thailand's two English language daily newspapers. The Nation is known for taking more extreme views on political issues than its older and more government-connected counterpart, the Bangkok Post.

In May 1992, when government troops fired on protesting students and killed dozens (a true death toll has never been established), the Nation actually printed stories about the tragedy on its front page, while the Bangkok Post ran blank news holes. Still, the Bangkok Post remains the more well respected of the two publications.

Mugging For The Camera In Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, despite its tranquil setting along the banks of the Mekong River, is a pretty heavy place, although it's not a dangerous place -- that is, if you're not engaged in one of the various illicit industries that thrive there.

There's a general emptiness in Phnom Penh, and the echoes of all the evil and tragic things that happened in and around the Cambodian capital continue to make it one of the most surreal places on Earth.

One thing that's not surreal about Phnom Penh, though, is the fact that kids there have discovered the magic of digital photography. I was walking around one evening taking some photos when a group of these energetic little scamps came running up and started jumping around and striking poses. So I spent the better part of an hour taking shots of the kids and then turning the camera screen around to let them have a look.



I don't profess to know what the lives of Cambodians are like today. I do know they're better now than they've been any time in the last 40 years or so, but it's still a very poor country where life is tough, especially for kids. So anything that makes kids smile like this, in a country that's been knocked down and beaten up the way Cambodia has, is a great thing to behold.

It's hard to believe that not so long ago, people had to wait to see the images they'd shot, and weren't able to immediately light up kids (and adults') faces with digital photos. It's an obvious observation, but one that bears repeating: Digital photography has not only changed the way people capture images, it also adds immeasurably to the travel experience.

The real killer app for travelers will be the widespread ability to print out pics and give them to the folks you're shooting.

The Slow Road Home

Hong Kong island is a bustling hive of activity pretty much all the time. But it's especially busy around dawn and dusk, when people flood in and out to work and hopefully accumulate enough wealth to be able to maintain the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed in one of the world's most expensive cities.

So at the end of the day, there's a subdued, exhausted atmosphere on the ferries that transport commuters to the outskirts of the city. Some people sleep, although that's not always possible, as the harbor can sometimes be pretty choppy. Other people tap absentmindedly at their Blackberries and other mobile devices, either because they're addicted to email, or didn't have the time to communicate during the hectic workday.

But once the sun dips behind Lantau Island, seen here in the background, the pace of life in Hong Kong slows ever so slightly, and people who've managed to save a bit of energy during the workday venture out for dinner or a drink, to get themselves in the right mental state to do it all over again the next day.

Ruminations On The Modern World

"It's been one hell of a long day. So long, in fact, that I can't remember what I had for breakfast. Actually, it's been a pretty long life, too. I'm old enough to remember when the Earth had a second moon, a time in which there were only a few Starbucks coffee shops sprinkled across the landscape, as opposed to being on every single damn street corner as they are today. Why on Earth they've proliferated like that I'll never understand. Who needs to be that awake all the time?"

"Like many older folks, the modern world often freaks me out and leaves me speechless. It's the excesses that I see on a daily basis that really confuse me. I read the papers, and I fancy myself to be pretty aware of current events. But then I see some souped-up hot rod car go zooming by, with crazy techno music that I feel in my bones more than I actually 'hear', and I wonder where peoples' priorities are these days."

"Me, I was never much for the loud music and the all night drinkathons. OK, maybe for a couple of years when I was in college, but that was a long time ago. Now I prefer to analyze things; to watch life's every movement, paying attention to the dynamics and interrelationships that underpin all things."

"And, I often find that applying that level of focus to today's world makes me wants to shrug my shoulders, throw my hands up in the air, and get a drink."

"Oh Come On, You CAN'T Be Serious"

Wait a minute, am I hearing this correctly? Your mother is coming to stay with us for six weeks? Do you remember what happened last time she stayed with us, and how incredibly high maintenance she was? Her constant nagging about the house being dirty? And her trying to indoctrinate our children with her evangelical relgious views? Does any of that ring a bell?

I'd just like to remind you that it took me 3 months to recover emotionally from that experience. Needless to say, it's something I'd like to NOT have the misfortune of having to deal with again. So you get on the horn right now and call her and let her know that six weeks just isn't going to fit with our schedules. You tell her that we're really sorry and all that, but it's just not going to happen. Heck, I'm not even sure if I can deal with her for six HOURS, let along six weeks.

She can stay ONE week - and that's my final offer.

Sydney Skyline

The Sydney Tower is the largest structure in Australia's second largest city, and as one might expect, there's a pretty amazing view from the top. On a clear day you can take in the entire 360 degree panorama, from Sydney Mascot Airport in the south, to Darling Harbor, and the Harbor Bridge. This photo is of the eastern sweep of Sydney, pointing out toward Bondi Beach, and to where the harbor meets the wilds of the Pacific Ocean.

Contemplating The Journey

It was getting on toward late afternoon, and Ali wanted his passengers to get on board so the trip could commence. But apparently, some people were buying supplies at a nearby store, and were overcharged by the shopkeeper, and an argument broke out, then a scuffle, and before long, it turned into a full-on melee.

"This is actually pretty entertaining," Ali thought to himself, with a smile creasing a face full of road-induced wrinkles. He watched the brouhaha for a while, and then got fed up, and started honking the horn -- which was loud enough to wake the dead -- to warn his passengers that he'd be leaving soon, and they'd better get on board, otherwise, they'd be stuck in this boring little hell hole of a town.

It would be a 12 hour journey to Calcutta, and Ali expected it to be a rough trip. There'd been reports of banditry on some of the village roads north of the city, and encountering some local thugs wasn't a pleasant thought.

Phnom Penh's Independence Monument

The Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is a quiet place by night, where locals hang out and chat and watch traffic move slowly around a dusty roundabout. Despite its location, the monument is actually a relatively peaceful place, and people often congregate to talk about mundane things, like how damn hot the weather is.

Built in 1958, the monument commemorates Cambodia's indpendence from France, and is designed in the form of a lotus-shaped stupa, the likes of which can be found all over the Angkor Wat region. It's a little slice of ancient architecture that sits smack dab in the middle of a city, and serves as a welcome landmark for anyone trying to navigate what it a pretty confusing city in which to walk around, at least if you're a tourist.

Ode To The #48 Bus in Bangkok

One of my favorite memories of Bangkok is of riding the #48 city bus and risking life and limb as the bus careened violently along its route. The drivers, who always seemed to be complete nutcases who enjoyed bouncing their passengers into a semi-concussed mental state, often slammed into potholes without even the faintest kiss of the brakes.

The 48's route begins at the market in Minburi, which in the early 1990s was on the outskirts of Bangkok, but today is much less remote. From there, the 48 would wind its way down Sukapiban 3 Road, a fairly straight two lane thoroughfare that crossed several small canals, and into central Bangkok. At these crossings, there would be small, slightly elevated bridges, which the drivers would use as a sort of ramp.

If you were sitting all the way in the back of the bus, as I often did, you'd be catapulted into the roof, which was all great fun. The noise, the heat, and the air rushing in from the cracked or broken windows all contributed mightily to my apprecation of the bus, which was especially fitting for my most nihilistic moods.

The bus itself, from a mechanical standpoint, was in shambles, with the engine being the only component that seemed healthy enough to make the trip. The effect of sitting in these hulking boxes of rusted metal as they zoomed around the city was that of being trapped in a cargo container as it bobbed its way along the waves of the Pacific Ocean. During a typhoon.

But in retrospect, riding the #48 was a lot of fun, and even educational, in the sense that it taught me how to dance with danger without peeing my pants.

San Francisco At Twilight

Downtown San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks, one of the great vantage points in the entire Bay Area, in my opinion looks its best at dusk in early October. That's when the region has about a month of the type of perfect weather that makes people spring out of bed on Monday mornings, and even somehow manages to quiet the road rage of city drivers, if only for a brief, delicous moment in time.

From this perspective, taking in the sweeping view, it's hard not to think about all the people down there, busily moving from place to place, trying to make some sense of it all. And all the worker ants, eagerly scrimping and saving for a day in the future when all this effort won't be necessary, and when (they hope) life will resemble a day at the beach. And, of course, all the deviant ants who occupy their time trying to screw the other ants out of their honestly earned gains.

Ah yes, the little details to be seen within one of these picturesque landscape photos.

"These Stacks Of Boxes Are Like Wasted Days"

"Man, it's so freaking hot, and this work is about as fun as getting a root canal. I've about had it with this box stacking BS. And to make matters worse, lately I've started realizing how these stacks of flattened cardboard remind me of all the hours and days I've wasted doing nothing to make my dreams come true."

"I'd love to settle down in the south of Thailand, buy a bar on the beach, and just hang out and relax for the rest of my days. It'd be great just to chill out and chat with the tourists passing through, and just smile and nod my head with agreement every time they gush with excitement about how great Thailand is, and how beautiful the beaches are."

"But the reality is, life in Bangkok is expensive, and my salary sucks, which means I haven't been able to save jack shit when it comes to money. I've been looking for a second job, but the economy isn't exactly roaring along right now, and besides, I'm always pretty tired after spending the day collecting these damn cardboard boxes and stacking them in this truck."

"That's what these stacks mean to me: All the days piling up, one after the other, creating heavy cardboard pillars that hold my soul down like an anchor."

A New Approach To Airport Noise Pollution

People all over the world who have the misfortune of living near airports have had to deal with noise pollution for decades. It's a real problem with no easy solution, although some cities have had some success in calming citizens' anger by regularly changing aircraft takeoff and approach patterns.

Now a group of about 100 citizens living near Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, who've been suffering from what they claim are unacceptable noise levels since the facility opened in September 2006, are mad as hell, and they're not gonna take it anymore.

They insist that when the airport was being built, city officials pledged to buy their homes, but have yet to follow through on their promises. So, the citizens are giving the city until the end of the month to pay up; otherwise, they'll disrupt air traffic by launching large helium filled balloons and small homemade rockets into the path of approaching and departing planes.

No, seriously. And according to the Bangkok Post, citizens recently launched about 100 balloons into the sky, causing airport officials to divert incoming aircraft for about two hours. Local law enforcement have sent letters to the citizens warning them not to follow through on their threats, but haven't yet made any arrests for these statements, which could, in some countries, be interpreted as terroristic threats.

Communities from Anchorage to Zanibar that are affected by airport noise are following this story closely, and there's anecdotal evidence that worldwide helium balloon sales have seen a recent spike as a result of the intrigue around this story.

(Actually, helium prices are approaching all times highs not for this reason, but in large part because it's used to cool MRI machines, according to a recent report in Scientific American.)

LINK: Residents Near Bangkok Airport Make A Threat

"To Sleep, Perchance To Dream..."

It had been a hell of a day, and Srinivas was taking a well deserved siesta. Not only was Calcutta a steaming furnace of humidity that day, but he'd also had to deal with several very high maintenance passengers, including an elderly woman who, for some reason, picked that day to go grocery shopping her daughter's wedding, and set what Srinivas was sure had to be some sort of record for most things bought in a single day.

It was almost as if she'd gone through the market and chosen only the heaviest items, and it was Srinivas who ended up loading most of them onto, and off of the bike. And to make matters worse, the woman didn't even invite Srinivas to the wedding!

But now, at least, was a time of momentary peace, and Srinivas was deep in a dream. In the dream, Srinivas was a fisherman living on an island in the Lakshadweep chain, and his days were a lot less trying than the one's he'd been encountering in real life as of later. The reverie was so intense and satisfying that Srinivas didn't even wake up when a pack of street dogs got into a snarling brawl right nearby.

Hong Kong Mid-Autumn Festival

One of China's oldest celebrations, the Mid-Autumn Festival dates back to the ancient Xia Dynasty (2100 B.C.-1600 B.C.). That's a long time ago, and it's likely that the number of channels on cable television was very limited at that time.

As part of the event, also known as the Moon Cake Festival, the Chinese build and set up large, brightly lit lanterns in parks and public spaces, like the one pictured here, which was about 20 feet tall. In Hong Kong's Victoria Park, where I spent an evening strolling around with throngs of relaxed, happy people, there are hundreds of these lanterns dotting the landscape.

It's easy to fall right into their pace, and you almost forget about the busy, honking city that lies right outside the park boundaries. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival will take place on September 14.

Paris Nights In March 1986

It was March 1986, and I was on a high school trip to France. This is the view from the hotel room in Paris that I shared with my friends Mike and BHD. We'd all spent the past couple of weeks in the Alsace region in northeastern France, near the German and Swiss borders. It was there that we each lived with a French family and attended classes at the local school. And at the end of the 3 week trip, we spent a couple of days in Paris.

Our French teacher told us at the beginning of the trip that she was going to treat us the same as French adults treated kids our age (I was 16 at the time). That meant we were permitted to drink, provided we kept our heads and didn't do things that teenagers usually do after drinking a few (or several) alcoholic beverages. "Just don't do anything stupid," I recall her telling us.

I don't remember the name of the hotel. But every night, Mike, BHD and I would buy a bottle of wine, a pack of Gauloises, and hang out by the window and watch the Parisian nightlife go zooming by on the street below. One night, we discovered that the bathroom had rolls and rolls of pink tissue paper, and so we began wadding it up into balls, adding water, and tossing the sopping pink projectiles out on the window.



This, we soon discovered, was great fun. There weren't many pedestrians, so we started aiming at passing cars. The cars weren't going fast, so they were easy to hit. Especially Citroens -- the bulk of this obtusely designed vehicle made it almost impossible NOT to hit.

Since we did all this under cover of the darkness, no one ever figured out what we were doing. If they had, I'm pretty sure our teacher wouldn't have been too happy about it. But she never found out. I hope she's not reading this.

Anyway, after a while, we called some other classmates who were also staying in the hotel and they brought some more wine and joined us. We ended up staying up for hours every night doing this, but took great care not to make too much noise. Each time our projectiles would land on a car, we'd hear a very satisfying "SPLAT" from down below.

The next morning, as we boarded the bus to take us to the airport, the street in front of the hotel was so covered with pink paper blobs that you could barely see anything else. But somehow, none of the people passing by seemed to notice.

Ancient Route To Kashgar

At 17,582 feet, Khardung La is one of the world's highest motorable roadways. It's located about 37 km north of the town of Leh (11,975 feet) in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, and takes about 3 hours to reach by car. The first 25 km or so consists of paved switchbacks that wind their way up the steep mountainside, and then the road pretty much turns into a pitted, gravely moonscape.

This two lane roadway usually has enough space for about 1.5 cars, and very few of the hairpin turns during the ascent have a guardrail. This means that most of the time you're looking down from the edge of the roadway thousands of feet to the valley floor -- except if you're lucky and fog or snow obscures the view.

The pass, even in August, when this photo was taken, is a hit or miss proposition: It can be snowy one day, and crystal clear the next. On clear days, looking north toward the mountains of the Karokoram Range, it's easy to put oneself in the shoes of the Silk Road traders who brought their heavily laden camels and horses over this route on their way to the central Asian bazaar town of Kashgar.

The Security Of Parental Protection

"I'm not really sure what to make of this... is that a camera? I don't even know what a camera is, but I probably don't like it. Therefore, I'm going to err on the side of caution here, and huddle up under the protection of my mom's skirt."

This is an older photo, taken in 1990 in Yunnan, a province in southern China that borders on Burma, Laos, and Vietnam. I was walking through a market in the Xishuangbanna autonomous region, home of the Dai ethnic minority, and the place was bustling with the energy of mid-afternoon commerce.

So, when this little guy saw me, he was pretty freaked out, and hid behind his mother, who was selling Dai handicrafts. I also hadn't shaved in a week, so that could have contributed to his reaction.

At the time, not many Western tourists traveled to Yunnan, mainly because getting there involved a series of agonizing bus rides on crumbling, terrifying roads that wind their way along steep mountain ravines and through dense jungle foliage.

I would describe it as the kind of bus trip that you look back on years later with fondness because it was such an incredible adventure. However, while you're on that bus, and it's careening down tiny little roads, all you can think about is how the wreckage will be discovered after you crash, and whether vultures will be involved.

This photo was taken with a Kodak Instamatic camera that used 110mm film, and is one of those shots that proves the point that you don't need a great camera to take a memorable image.

Votre Attention S'il Vous Plait?

Well, um, OK... I guess that *does* get my attention. And I think it probably would have succeeded in doing so even without the word 'attention'. Funny how guns can do that. Actually, it's only funny in a very dark, depressing way.

I do appreciate the randomness of this creative bit of graffiti, though. I saw it spraypainted on a concrete pillar in a Bangkok elevated railway station. What really odd is that while there are gun shops all over Bangkok, including dozens in the Chinatown section of the city, gun-related crimes are relatively rare in Thailand. Certainly not anywhere near those of pretty much any American city.

It's anyone's guess as to what statement the artist was trying to make. But I doubt it would have been as noticeable if they'd chosen to use another image, like a cartoon skunk or a creepy looking lizard.

Momentary Reflection

It was the rainy season in Vientiane, Laos, and three friends headed out into the surprisingly cool afternoon to the local market, where they planned to stock up on food. Along the way, they walked by Pha That Luang (Great Stupa), the 16th century Buddhist stupa that commands the northeastern skyline of the Laotian capital.

As they passed by, the women thought to themselves about the hundreds of times they'd seen the Great Stupa, and how each time has been quite a powerful experience. And how this monument, which has stood in this spot for centuries, is more than just a national symbol, but something that makes them stop and think about things other than the world immediately in front of them.

This realization, they thought to themselves, was a pretty powerful thing, mainly because it lifted them up and distracted them from the grind of their day to day lives.

Then the wind kicked up, and there was thunder heard in the distance. The women looked at each other, and someone might have said "Looks like rain". And they all knew it was time to be getting on to the market.

Full Throttle Scenes

A quick video that starts out in a 747 at 40,000 feet over the South China Sea; then switches to a harrowing mountain road (with no guardrail) in Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of India; highlights a Golden Retriever's passion for tennis balls; and then offers quick shots of Hong Kong skyscrapers and the San Francisco Bay.

Urban Rabbit Sighting

San Francisco's not a mega-city on par with the likes of Los Angeles or New York, but the downtown area, with its glass and steel monuments to capitalism, does have a pretty intensely urban feel. And that's why you don't often see wildlife in this part of town.

But a few years ago, this rabbit was observed hanging out at the park next to the baseball stadium, and appeared to be unphased by the presence of the people around him, many of whom expressed their amazement at this remarkable juxtaposition of the natural and modern worlds.

After a while, the rabbit slowly moved off in the direction of the parking lot next to the stadium, and a few minutes later, faded into the late afternoon shadows.

"I Can't Believe She Dumped Me"

I can't believe this. I just got totally dumped, and if you want to know the truth, I'm pretty upset about it.

I know I wasn't the greatest boyfriend, and I realize that I forgot her birthday a couple times... OK, the last four years in a row. And that I'm not the most romantic guy on the planet, and that I sometimes would fall asleep while she was talking to me. But I always thought she'd see through that kinda of stuff and would see me for who I am, and appreciate the complexities and subtle nuances of me. Guess she didn't.

Oh man, this one hurts. I mean, ouch. Never saw it coming. This hurts even more than that time in middle school, when I got dumped at the school dance on Valentine's Day. How was I supposed to know it wasn't OK for me to dance with other girls? Is there some kind of Love Handbook that I was supposed to have memorized?

Anyway, I guess I should probably try to be a better guy next time.

On The Ground In Reykjavik, Iceland

I've always had an interest in remote, cold, windswept places, and for that reason, I've always been pretty fascinated with Iceland. In 1986, when I took a flight to Paris on Icelandic Air, we had a stopover at Keflavik Airport, situated about 50 km southwest of Iceland´s capital, Reykjavik.

At that time, not many travelers visited Iceland, but today, the country has a booming tourist industry. And that's not surprising since there's so much to do there: volcanic hot springs, amazing landscapes, mountains, drinking with friendly people. I look forward to going back there someday and seeing the country outside of the airport's boundaries.

My visions of Iceland has been shaped by watching Icelandic films, and one of my favorites is Reykjavik 101, which is based on a book of the same name by Hallgrímur Helgasonthe. It's the story of Hlynur, a comically lazy young man who lives with his mom and generally treats the world as a minor obstacle to his own day-to-day pleasure. Hlynur's mom is a lesbian, and her partner, Lola, is a sultry Spanish dance expert who somehow made her way to Iceland to teach. Hlynur ends up falling for Lola, and they have a drunken roll in the hay, but Lola's dedicated to her relationship with the mom.

At the end of the film, it is revealed that Lola is pregnant, and the implication is that it's Hlynur's baby. This realization finally spurs Hlynur to start living an adult-style life instead of sleepwalking through it in a fog like a lazy, petulant teenager who sees no future for himself or the world.

"Damn, Wish I'd Brought An Umbrella"

The Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh is a sleepy, tropical town, except when there's a thunderstorm going on. Then it's full of loud crashing thunder and intense downpours. And sometimes, the torrential rains catch people unawares.

But if you consider watching thunderstorms to be a hobby, Phnom Penh is a place you'll never forget. The heat is oppressive, even in the so-called 'cool' season, but it's the humidity that really cranks things up and stokes the sky with massive, billowy cumulus clouds. Around 3 or 4 p.m., these clouds tower 30,000 feet or more above the city, blotting out the sun and developing ominous shades of gray in their lower reaches.

Around Phnom Penh, some citizens can be seen rushing around to get home before the rains begin. Others show no fear of the rain, and amble along the streets without a care in the world. But they know it's coming.

Then, usually between 4 and 5 p.m., the skies open, and the rain starts beating down with biblical intensity. The heaviest rain lasts about an hour, maybe two, and then tapers off. In the rainy season though, the rains often continue throughout the night.

When Nature Blows Her Top, Big Lakes Often Result

Lake Toba sits smack dab in the middle of northern Sumatra, the crescent shaped Indonesian island that is almost perfectly chopped in half by the equator. Lake Toba is the world's largest volcanic lake, and about 70,000 years ago, was the site of what some scientists believe to have been the largest volcanic eruption on Earth in the last 25 million years.

Put it this way: The blast blanketed the entire third of the Earth with ash, and in one spot in central India, several thousand miles away, the ash has been recorded within the local geological strata as nearly 20 feet deep. That's almost as long as a first down!

Sumatra is one of those places that I started wanting to see as soon I got my first globe when I was 8 years old. It was the very definition of exotic, even to the primitive, reptilian brain of an 8 year old. And in 1993, I traveled to Sumatra, fulfilling my reptilian dream.

Lake Toba isn't an easy place to get to, but in my opinion, a big part of what makes the world's truly unique and special places burn brightly in the memories of those who've endured the hassle and danger of actually going there is the huge pain in the ass that you remember later.

The journey to Lake Toba began with a bothersome 5 hour ferry ride across the Strait Of Malacca from Penang, Malaysia to Medan in Sumatra. What made the boat trip stressful wasn't necessarily the constant stream of seasick passengers heading to the rail to be sick, but the fact that we were traveling through some of the most pirate infested waters on Earth. OK, that part was pretty cool, in retrospect.

After reaching Medan, I boarded a very shabby looking bus, with seats that looked like they'd been designed for a cub scout troop. For the next 4 hours, I watched my life flash before my eyes during a violently bumpy, careening journey that I was sure was going to end with chunks of me, in various sizes and shapes, littering the roadway and later being eaten by animals from the jungle that hung down on each side of the road.



But finally, I reached Lake Toba, and took a boat to Samosir Island (above), a large island that lies in the middle of the lake, and which was created by magma welling up under the lake to create solid land. Thankfully, though, I didn't encounter any magma during the week I spent in this extremely relaxing place. Incidentally, at the top of the mountain that dominates Samosir Island is ANOTHER LAKE. No, I'm not kidding.

Like all of the world's volcanic lakes, Lake Toba is DEEP -- up to 1665 feet (505 meters) in places. Its waters are extremely clear, and full of colorful freshwater tropical fish.

I stayed in a traditional house in the style of the Batak people who inhabit the Lake Toba region. The house was right on the water, and each evening, I'd sit out with the Indonesian guy who owned the place, and his Dutch girlfriend, and watch the thunderclouds roll in. We witnessed some pretty mind blowing tropical thunderstorms there. The kind I knew I'd be telling people about -- whether they wanted to hear about it or not -- several years later.

Disarming Smile

The Jama Masjid in Delhi, India, is one of the largest mosques in the country, and definitely one of the most impressive sights in the city. Comissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and finished in 1656, the mosque's central courtyard (pictured here) holds more than 25,000 people.

I spent an afternoon walking around the Jama Masjid, and while it was an interesting experience, I have to admit that it wasn't the friendliest place I'd ever been. In fact, I was followed around for most of the time by a large group of angry looking young men, who weren't looking like the local welcoming committee.

I did have a tour guide, a very friendly older gentleman, who from time to time would stop, turn, and cast a glare at the kids. While this caused them to shrink back temporarily, the teenagers still wore menacing expressions of the sort that suggested they'd be interested in using me as a pinata.

This little girl was one of the few smiling faces I saw inside the mosque. And that smile of hers lit up the courtyard like a huge bundle of roman candles. Washed away all the animosity I'd felt during the day. Her doll was cute too, although a bit on the shy side.

I snapped this photo and then watched her and some other kids running around the courtyard, laughing and chasing pigeons.

Another One Rides The Bus

This is the bus ticket for the late night Bangkok bus line that runs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. This 5 baht ticket -- about 16 cents -- is one of the cheapest ways of getting from one end of the sprawling Thai capital to the other. However, one must also factor in a considerable amount of danger due to the frayed nerves of many of the drivers, and the tenuous grip on reality that they sometimes exhibit.

In any event, riding the bus in Bangkok can be an interesting way to see the city and spend some time trapped in a large, sweltering cargo container with wheels, and get the really unique chance to rub shoulders (literally) with a few hundred Bangkok residents, many of whom may look at you with bewilderment and wonder why the hell you decided to embark.



While this ticket may appear to be nothing more than a jumble of numbers and Thai text, some imaginative citizens have been known to collect bus ticket stubs and use them to come up with lottery numbers. This is just one of many anecdotal tidbits of information that illustrates why Thailand is one of the most unique places on Earth.

And also, why the country is so freaking exciting.

Jailbreak (a.k.a. The Last Day Of School)

Who doesn't remember the unrivaled bliss of the last day of classes? After being cooped up in stuffy classrooms for months, forced to drag yourself from class to mind-numbing class, and getting sent to the headmaster's office dozens of times by power-drunk teachers, there's something truly divine about hearing that final bell ring and seeing the school doors swing open.

And then you smell the early summer air and anything -- anything -- seems possible. Some kids even break into a sprint, just in case the school's powers-that-be decide to change their minds and extend the semester for another couple of weeks.

Of course, once you become a teenager, and life starts slapping you in the face like a freshly caught barracuda, the last day of school doesn't seem quite as special. That's because now you've got to find a job, and that makes you have to wake up early, and after a few months... you find yourself longing for the relative lack of responsibility that school represents.

Just another one of life's cycles, I guess.

Appeasing The Shadow Side

Evidence of the Thai peoples' strong belief in the spirit world can be observed in places one might expect, as well as random spots, like this impromptu offering left by the roadside in central Bangkok. It appears to consist of incense sticks, perhaps a bit of whiskey, and a small Thai dessert.

Even passing Bangkok street dogs seem to realize this these offerings aren't to be disturbed. OK, that's not true: Most street dogs would wolf down the entire offering, even the whiskey.

It's a peaceful little scene, but one that belies the fact that cars and trucks are zooming noisily by just a few feet away, belching and honking and doing their damnedest to destroy every shred of concentration and contemplation a Bangkok pedestrian might be able to muster.

Thais believe that guardian spirits oversee buildings and certain outdoor spaces, and the proper protocol for ensuring they're kept happy is to offer them small gifts on a regular basis. This is particularly true for business owners, who believe the spirits residing nearby must be placated if the venture is to have any chance of succeeding. That's why it's likely this offering was made by a nearby noodle soup or roast chicken seller plying their wares in the late afternoon sunlight.

Keeping The Peace With Grilled Corn

Zhong Wei is a security guard who managed a guard station on the Simatai portion of the Great Wall Of China, which happens to be one of the steepest, most visually striking, and downright dangerous parts of the ancient structure. It's about a 2 hour bus ride from China's capital, Beijing.

The Great Wall stretches more than 6500 kilometers (4000 miles) from the seaside town of Shanhaiguan in the east, to the desert town of Jiayuguan in the west. All along its length are regularly spaced guard stations where Chinese Empire sentries used to keep an eye out for Mongol invaders and beat back their advances, sometimes showering their foes with boiling oil and/or chopping off the hands of those who succeeded in clawing their way to the top of the wall.

Today, guards are still positioned at the stations, but in the absence of enemy invaders, they're able to focus on other, less violent activities -- like cooking corn on the cob over a fire and sharing it with tourists. In the summertime, when the heat and humidity builds, Zhong Wei often brings a bucket of ice cold beers to his post and sells them to very grateful hikers passing through his station.

Frankly, there isn't much excitement along this part of the Great Wall nowadays, but that's OK with Zhong Wei. In his opinion, grilling corn and talking with tourists is far more redeeming than chopping off the hands of enemy invaders.

"Ready For My Close-Up"

One of the great pleasures of hiking in and around the hills of Ladakh, India, is keeping an eye out for colorful reptiles that seem occupy every nook and cranny. This inquisitive lizard actually followed me for a while as I hiked up to the Shanti Stupa in the Kashmiri capital of Leh, darting in between the boulders alongside the trail like a hummingbird with scales.

After several attempts, I was finally able to get this lizard to pose for a photo. Then it wriggled through a crack between two rocks and vanished. I dunno, I think there may have been something in the lizard's contract about not posing for more than one photo. Just another sign of the litigious times we're living in.

"Whoa, That's One Thick Earlobe!"

It was one of those arbitrary changes many folks decide to make in their lives once the new year arrives. But Sam was hell bent on shaking things up in a life he often described as "mind numbingly boring", so he decided to get his ear pierced.

The only problem was, Sam's ear is of an unusual thickness, according to the earring salesperson in this photo. She actually told Sam that she'd need to use a drill bit to get through his earlobe, in a departure from the conventional piercing method. But he was OK with that. And about five minutes after this photo was taken, Sam had himself a pretty sweet faux diamond earring.

Sam told me later that although the pain of the piercing procedure was intense, the impact of his fashion statement had far reaching effects that more than compensated for the temporary misery.

"That Trip to the Planetarium Has Me Questioning EVERYTHING"

Somchai is a 64 year old dried squid seller who plies his wares on the streets Bangkok, Thailand, moving from neighborhood to neighborhood on his trusty (and rusty) bicycle, which has an attached squid drying rack. Earlier today, Somchai was bored, so he decided to take a break and spend a few hours at the Bangkok Planetarium.

Somchai had heard from a friend that this was an interesting way to spend an afternoon, but he had no idea just how much the experience was going to rock his world.

What really blew Somchai's mind was when he learned that the Andromeda Galaxy, the most distant object visible with the naked eye, is 2.5 million light years away. And that Andromeda is the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way, and that Andromeda is just one of countless galaxies in a universe so big that no matter how hard we try to estimate its size, it doesn't matter because it's continually expanding.

After leaving the planetarium, Somchai very slowly walked over to his squid bike, and headed back out into the afternoon heat.

A Little Bit Of Everything

Sometimes, staying awake on long flights pays off in the form of eye-popping photos. I took this one during a flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco. I'm pretty sure it was someplace over Utah, but given that it's such an otherworldly landscape, this photo might as well have been taken on Jupiter's moon Europa. They did find some traces of ancient water there, didn't they?

This photo grabs me for many reasons: it shows mountains and flatlands, green areas and desert, a vast expanse of blue water, and best of all, the curvature of the Earth and the deep, deep blue of the upper atmosphere.

Oftentimes when I'm on a cross country flight, it's either cloudy, or dark, or I'm preoccupied with thinking about some of the inane things that my mind drifts to from time to time when confronted with several hours of captivity. This time, though, I drank it all in.

The Baby Boss Of Darjeeling

I'm pretty sure Darjeeling, India, has a mayor, governor, sheriff, or some other authority figure. However, the *real* leader of Darjeeling, at least as far as I could see, was this little girl.

She patrolled the alleyways of the town, making sure law and order was upheld, and that no one stepped out of line. Sure, she's cute as all get out, but if someone did start trouble... woo, boy, I can't imagine what the consequences would have been, so impressive was her air of authority.



No doubt, this little bundle of joy is an enforcer with backbone, who isn't afraid to voice her opinions. After I'd snapped a few photos, she gave me a look that seemed to say, "OK, show's over pal, better get moving now! This town ain't big enough for the two of us. Don't MAKE me come up there!"

Golden Gate Monks

GUY WITH THE CAMERA: Wow, what an incredible spot for a photo! I'd heard the Marin headlands just above the Golden Gate bridge offered great views, but this is off the charts. The Golden Gate bridge is right behind you, and you can also see downtown San Francisco.

GUY POSING: Seriously, will you please shut up and take the damn photo? It's windy up here, and I actually forgot to wear underwear, so there's no telling what could happen if it starts gusting.

By the way, do these sunglasses look cool on me, or are they too dorky? This is a money shot and I don't want to screw it up. I hope they make me look like the Terminator -- the guys back home at the monastery would LOVE that!

GUY WITH THE CAMERA: The sunglasses look fine, but you should probably get rid of that ugly blue bag, it looks like you're carrying a purse, bro!

GIRL WANDERING IN BETWEEN: This is superboring. I mean, the view is nice and all, but there are no other kids around, and these guys are being SUCH divas about taking this photo. I hope we can leave soon.

"OK, Is There A Bathroom Around Here?"

Oh man, this is really a bad situation! I mean, I know I'm supposed to stand guard here in Tiananmen Square, and I'm supposed to not even flinch for hours and hours, but I had a double-foam-Mochachino from Starbucks just before starting my shift, and I really gotta pee! It's still 4 hours until I get off from work, and just between you and me, I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it.

How horrible it would be to be the first People's Liberation Army solider to pee his pants while standing guard in Tiananmen Square - the guys would never let me hear the end of it!

I wonder, does that tour bus parked behind me in the background have a bathroom? Oh man, if it did, that would be so awesome. Or, maybe I could just find a spot between those two parked cars. Do you think anyone would notice if I just ran over there and relieved myself? I mean, it's not like there are enemy troops lined up on the other side of the street, waiting for me to leave my post so they can take over Tiananmen Square!

I've heard in America, workers get to take breaks during the day, during which they can actually leave their posts and go do things they want to do, like go to the bathroom, smoke cigarettes, and read magazines. Y'know, America is kind of a meddling pain in the ass to my government sometimes, but I have to admit, having a break during my workday would be profound and meaningful.

Finding Wisdom In Unexpected Places

This just in from the Department Of Randomly Encountered Truisms: Money is bad, and getting too hitched to the notion of having it isn't good either. Now, I don't usually adjust the way I live my life based on the graffiti I see in my daily perambulations, but this message painted on an air compressor sitting in front of a roadside shop in Laos did give me pause. Made me think about stuff, too.

This compressor had apparently had a lot of experience with people getting too worked up over money. It used to work at a gas station just outside of Vientiane, Laos, and for a good many years, its services were provided for free by its owner. And everyone in the surrounding area was happy to have it as an option for filling their car tires and soccer balls.

But later, the owner decided to start charging people a small fee for using the compressor. And within a short space of time, the owner had made a fairly large sum of money, and started spending it on frivolous things, like a Ferrari made of Swiss chocolate, and a gigantic glass sculpture of a dung beetle. Before long, the owner went bankrupt, and was forced to sell all his belongings, including the compressor. A cautionary tale, to be sure.

These days the compressor sits along the roadside in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, silently offering this poignant nugget of wisdom to passersby.

Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008

Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealander who in 1953 became the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest, passed away Thursday at the age of 88.

Hillary, the son of a beekeeper, reached the 29,035 foot summit of Everest along with the Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953. After returning from the summit, Hillary reportedly had this to say to his old friend George Lowe, who had climbed up to the Everest base camp to meet him. "Well George, we finally knocked the bastard off."

Hillary - or 'Ed', as he preferred to be called - was a fantastic human being who lived a life defined by courage and the spirit of determination. Throughout his life, Hillary remained committed to improving the lives of the Nepalese people, traveling to the country more than 120 times and raising funds for education and environmental conservation efforts.

But what I like most about him is that he always remained humble and self-effacing, often describing himself as just an average New Zealander with ordinary abilities. But the fact remains that many climbers who have attempted to climb Everest since Hillary, even with the benefits of superior technology, never made it back from their expeditions.

This was a man whose physical and mental strength and adventurous spirit appear to have been matched only by the size of his heart.

R.I.P. Sir Ed.

When The Camera's Eye Is On You

In life, when the camera's red light goes on, and all eyes turn to you, how will you react? Some kids will bust out their best Kung Fu moves, some will flex their muscles in shows of improvised bravado, and others, overcome by the absurdity of it all, will just laugh. Which one will you be?

Asking Mr. Tough Guy For Directions

ME:"Excuse me sir, but my friend and I seem to be lost. Can you tell me how to get to Calcutta?"



MR. TOUGH GUY:"Sure, no problem, it's really not that far at all. Just go that way (in the direction I'm pointing) about 5 kilometers, and hang a right, go about 1 kilometer, and there's a bridge that crosses the river there that will take you right to downtown."

ME:"OK, great, thanks for your help. By the way, can you help me and my friend settle a bet? What is the fastest land mammal? I say it's the leopard, but my friend here insists it's the cheetah. What say you?



MR. TOUGH GUY:"Are you messin' with me, son? I suggest you and your friend get the hell out of here before I do something rash. Don't make me haul you out of that car!"

Which Way To the Scowling Contest?

It had been a pretty tough afternoon for Mrs. Chung and her daughter Xiao Lei. The pair had spent the last several hours shopping in the department stores of Beijing, and the hours of walking through the cavernous monuments to materialism had begun to take their toll on both of them.

First, Xiao Lei threw a screeching tantrum outside a department store in the Wangfujing district of the city after being denied an ice cream cone. Then, Mrs. Chung had gotten into a heated argument with a shopkeeper while haggling over the price of a dress she'd taken a fancy to. Then, to cap things off, a truck drove by and splashed both Mrs. Chung and her daughter with filthy gutter water from a recent thunderstorm.

But then their fortunes took a turn for the better. First, Mrs. Chung found a store that was selling these amazing red t-shirts with Snoopy and Woodstock on the front, and bought one. Then, Mrs. Chung saw a poster from a local television station announcing a unique kind of contest, in which the child with the most angry scowl would get to appear in an upcoming television commercial.

As Mrs. Chung looked at her still seething daughter, she decided to enroll her in the contest. "I'm gonna teach you how to make lemonade from lemons, girl!" said Mrs. Chung.

George Plots His Escape

George had been putting on air of resigned acceptance for several weeks, and to the casual observer, probably appeared to be just another pampered cat content with being bandied about town in his little cat carrier. But simmering tension had been building inside of George for weeks, and on this day, George's anger had finally reaching its boiling point.

"Enough is enough, this ain't no place for a cat like me," George whispered to himself through clenched teeth. "I am getting the hell out of this shoebox."

As the time drew near for George to make his escape, he began silently reviewing and rehearsing his plan, taking into account all the things that could go wrong. He'd been gnawing away at the the latch on the door of his portable feline prison for several months, taking care to conceal the signs of his painstaking work from his owner. And now, George was just one good bite from freedom.

After so many months of captivity, the prospect of escaping was delicious to George. Oh, the thought of roaming free through a fish market and loitering around the butchering table!

Right after I took this photo, George made his move, escaped from the carrier, leapt onto the sidewalk, quickly glanced left and right, and then, for a split second, stopped to glare at his owner in the haughty way that only cats can pull off. George then quickly disappeared down a narrow alley, smiling to himself over a plan that had been executed to perfection.