A Special Thanks to all my Readers

I've had a few people snooping around the blog here wondering if I was still alive, so I though I would make a quick post. I'm still trying to settle in and figure out where I belong, but I just wanted to take a moment and say a special thank you to all those readers who have come along for the ride in both the digital world, and a few in person. I would certainly not be alive today if it had not been for many of you who have encouraged and followed me along the way. So, without further ado, a heartfelt thanks goes out to all my friends, family and readers in the following countries. The order is simply by number of visitors and readers. Nothing personal. I appreciate each and every one of you.

United States
Thailand
Spain
United Kingdom
Germany
Switzerland
Japan
Australia
Sweden
Hong Kong
Singapore
Taiwan
Vietnam
Brazil
Russian Federation
Finland
Malaysia
Philippines
Bahrain
Mexico
France

It would not have been possible without you. It's been quite a ride, and it's not over yet.

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Red Shirts Revisited (Video)

I talked to an old friend today who reminded me of some events from over a year ago. It was in regards to the red shirt riots in Chiang Mai, Thailand following the attempted overthrow of the government by the UDD. I wrote about this back in May 2010 when it first happened (original article). I remember being there in the thick of it after most of the smoke had cleared. I contacted another friend of mine as I remembered that he was even closer to the action and got some great photos. He sent me a link to a video he made with his photos. I used to live literally right around the corner from where all this took place. It was a spooky few days with fires, explosions, riots, military in the streets, and city wide curfews. Thanks to my buddy Mick who was brave enough to get into the middle of it all and get some amazing photos. Below is the video and photo compilation with an appropriate soundtrack from the Rolling Stones.

Thinking About the Future

I look at the road I've traveled in the past two years, and also the road ahead. Both seem equally as fraught with danger and hardship. Coming back to America has proved to be as difficult if not more so than my adjustment to living life on the run as an illegal immigrant and migrant worker in Thailand. As strange as it may sound, I had accepted that role, and had done what I could to make the best of it. As I begin to get my senses back here and overcome the culture shock and travel fatigue, my mind often turns to the memories of the last two years and how seemingly incredible and far away they are now.

I have done a great deal of writing over the past two years. Some of it has ended up here in the blog. Some of it is saved in digital files online. And, even more still is on paper as I often was only able to scribble down notes as I lived and worked in some of the most remote and dangerous conditions. I've now had a few days to look at some of these and realized that it is quite a story. I compiled most of these together and have begun piecing and tying them together in a timeline format.

For every post I made here on the blog there are at least three more stories and experiences that I never had time to relay. I had even given up on blogging for a long period of time until my arrest and court case started back in March. There are portions of the the story and my experiences that I believe do need to be told. There are others yet that I probably will never speak or write about again as long as I live. Having personally and first hand witnessed the world that very few ever see, I feel that some of these do need to be told. In the time I spent there, I saw the absolute beauty and kindness that the culture has to offer. In contrast, I also witnessed first hand and up close the darker side of the third and developing world. Organized crime, government corruption, human trafficking, prostitution, migrant worker exploitation, prisons, the aftermath of civil war, and how people just keep moving along despite the greatest of odds.

Now that I have finally made it back to the states, I literally don't have a penny to my name. However, I do have something much more valuable. I have this story to tell. I have put a great deal of work in recent days into compiling my notes, fragments and fully written pieces. To my surprise, it currently totals over 60,000 words already. I am seriously considering formatting and finishing it into a full manuscript. I expect that if completed it will easily top 100,000 words. I paid dearly for these experiences with blood, sweat, bone, and tears. Some of which will be forever etched on my body and mind. My only hope is that I might be able to put them to paper and pass them on. As I fought my way through the last two years, there was one thing that kept me going. That one thing was that I had not yet told the incredible story of where I had been and what I had done and seen. This thought kept me from doing the unspeakable on many an occasion when things seemed the darkest.

It seems that the time may have come to finally tell the story. It's all I have, so I might as well make good use of it. Let me know your thought and ideas as I further explore this possibility. I have plenty of time to write at the moment, and have been averaging 2,000 to 4,000 words a day as I do my best to document the strange journey that I have been on.

As always, take care of yourselves and each other.

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Another Week on the Road

It's been a long week and I've managed to go about another 600 miles. I had the intention of closing the blog for a few days while I did some organizing, archiving, and cleaning. That never happened and I ended up back on the road before I had the chance to put it back online again.

Nevada was clearly not agreeing with me, and it was definitely time to go. After two years bouncing around in third world countries, the great state of Nevada seemed like a post apocalyptic disaster zone. I certainly hoped that the rest of the country wasn't this way. As with every country there are going to be poor and desperate people somewhere. Being one of those people myself, I had become accustomed to a certain code of honor when it came to the treatment of those around you. That code was virtually non existent in what I saw once I got back to the states. People seemed just as likely to beat or rob each other as they were to offer each other a helping hand. Now I remembered why everyone here feels the need own a gun. An unpleasant feeling.

So, it was time to hit the road once again. I made my way out of Nevada and east into Utah. From there I travelled north until I started meeting people who seemed to be a little less "freakish" and showed a little compassion for each other. There have still been plenty of interesting characters along the way, but much less dangerous ones. I am now visiting an old friend near the Utah/Idaho border and trying to recover once again. I am getting ready to put in a little work to help repay him for his kindness and try to pay forward some of the good karma I received on this last leg of the journey.

Once again, I keep creeping a little closer to where I came from, and I'll have to decide soon whether or not I can dive back in, keep moving, or just lay low. Tough choices, and I'm sure some of you may be hearing from me soon as contact becomes a little easier to make. For the time being, I am safe, can think through my options, and hopefully come to a workable solution. I had to do the same thing two years ago under similar circumstances, but on the other side of the planet. Now, it's back to square one on this side again.

All the best to everyone out there on both sides of the planet. Be good to yourselves and most of all each other. I'll report more as soon as I am able.