So fun here.
The major highlight of my visit to Bangkok was the Thai New Year SONGKRAN FESTIVAL. We were fortunate enough to be able to plan this trip coinciding with this festival. Songkran is a new year celebration. The underlying significance of Songkran is the process of cleansing and purification - the purging of all ills misfortune and evil and starting the new year fresh with all that is good and pure. Water is symbolic of the cleansing process and signifies purity. With that said....the entire city turns into one giant water fight!! It's an incredibly fun time (Check out this you tube VIDEO CLIP). People will seize any opportunity to soak a passer by using anything from a squirt gun, to a garden hose, to a topped off bucket of water! I was even thrown into a water fountain.
[Cheat Photo] I wish I had better photos of HONG KONG. Just so damn cool.
This was definitely an interesting experience as it had to be done illegally. U.S. Citizens are not allowed to travel to Cuba legally, and I would say it's not nearly as easy as people make it seem (most who've never been). Of course we all know that you must hop from another country and not allow for your passport to be stamped, but still...I was able to convince the custom officials in both Cuba and the Dominican Republic to allow me into both countries without officially documenting my arrival.; and this without being able to speak ANY Spanish! It was a bit hairy at first, but I was able to pull it off. At one time Cuba may have been one of the most beautiful places in the world, but what I witnessed was complete desperation. THE U.S. EMBARGO (1962) has really affected this country. The city of Havana is totally crumbling and its people are struggling. One of the more visible manifestations of the embargo is the low number of modern automobiles on the streets. Instead Cubans have made of virtue out of the necessity of keeping pre-1960 american automobiles in running order, making Cuba a haven for 1950s vintage american cars. It was a total time warp seeing all those old 50s cars around. Under the communist government, its citizens are not allowed to own an automobile. A citizen must 'apply' for the use of one and many of these vehicles have been in the family for years and years and are held together anyway possible. Pretty cool riding around in an original 1955 taxi though! Cubans weren't even allowed private cell phones or computers until 2008. 5 years after my visit!
During my stay in the D.R., I stood at Columbus' remains, saw the first know world map and printing press with a nice snorkel/dive trip out to CATALINA ISLAND. I also had the experience of eating raw octopus and wild goat. This journey took up out to San Pedro (approx 2hrs out of Santo Domingo) where we were welcomed into a private residence for a family gathering and dinner. We paid 2 teenage kids off the street to drive us out on this 2hr trip. They also joined us for dinner.
A pure over the top adult party...nothing more. FANTASY FEST is an annual celebration held in Key West, Florida each October and is often referred to as the "Adult Mardi Gras". Lots of painted and naked people with plenty of festivities like the main parade, homemade bikini contests and the obligatory wet t-shirt contests to keep you entertained. It was also my first experience in a "clothing optional" bar....interesting experience for sure. My. This was my 2nd visit to KEY WEST making the flight from Miami. My first visit was by car across the 7 MILE BRIDGE. It's a beautiful drive and it's great to make it once or twice, but it can certainly be alot of extra work with heavy traffic. Also included was the typical stop at the SOUTHERN MOST POINT OF THE UNITED STATES. The Sounthern most point is just 90 miles from Cuba.
While my albums are focused mostly on international travel, I've also traveled through just 39% of the United States. Definitely some work to do here. I've visited states...Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
Just a few shitty pictures of Ground Zero and Central Park.
An excursion out to Betty's Hope Slave Plantation, St. John's Cathedral, and to Devils Bridge.
A visit to CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas. Spent most of the time in town, but certainly managed some beach time with a snorkeling trip out to St. John.
CULEBRA is located about 19 miles east of Puerto Rico and 8 miles north of VIEQUES, and is the smallest of the inhabited SPANISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. The island is 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. We traveled to Culebra by boat from FAJARDO, Puerto Rico.
The Caribbean National forest, known as EL YUNQUE, is located in the rugged Sierra De Luquillio, 40km southeast of San Juan. Gets its name from an Indian spirit, Yuquive, which means "forest of clouds"; including a mountain that dominates the 28,000 acre of tropical forest. Originally set aside in 1876 by the Spanish crown, the forest represents one of the oldest reserves in the Western Hemisphere, with over 240 species of trees and plants. (26 species are found nowhere else)
This was really cool. HALEAKALA is a volcanic peak that rises from sea level to over 10, 000 ft. in just 38 miles. The cloud line hovers around 4,000 to 8,000 ft. and before the sun began to rise the surrounding sky was pitch black. I found myself watching the sunrise on top of a volcanic crater 10,000 ft. above the south pacific. Being so far away from city lights the sky was pitch black with only the stars. As the sun began to rise the sky turned just 3 colors, black as night, the sun's orange glow on the horizon separating the night from the day. This sunrise above the cloud line is something I'll never forget.
3 visits to HAWAII. Twice to the island of MAUI and once to KAUI. This visit on Maui included the Haleakala Summit and the ROAD TO HANA completing a 3/4 circle's drive around the island.
A visit to San Diego staying on the boardwalk in MISSION BEACH.
Just a trip out for New Years Eve. Bourbon Streey had all of the elements MARDI GRAS is known for and such a fun, famous part of the the country. THE FRENCH QUARTER. BOURBON STREET LIVE WEBCAM!
The first one. My first International trip. Well....if Mexico counts. We were pretty young during our trip here and the time was spent just mostly partying around Mazatlan and spending time at the pools with cocktails.
I took a flight out of Seattle to New York, to help move Mark Johnson's band MILKTOAST out to Seattle. During my visit, my time was mostly spent upstate in the Dryden, Cortland and Ithaca areas. Milktoast played their last show at the Haunt in Ithaca. ITHACORE! Once the road trip started, I was pretty much sleeping on drum cases or sometimes the sidewalks. We pulled into Grand Forks ND for a few days so I could visit a few friends and have some fun.. Milktoast was able to set up and play a party at a local bands rehearsal space. Milktoast was obviously not their favorite band.
*Additional content compiled for personl reference only.
