Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

August 29th, 2009 | By Lee | 28 Comments »

I just went to North Korea. Yup, I did. It still sounds weird to say it as North Korea or as they like to call it, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has redefined the term rogue. Their isolationist stance toward most of the world, their controversial nuclear weapons program, missile testing that has struck fear in the hearts of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo has made the DPRK the most mysterious and unpredictable country on Earth. Recent headlines have been about generally bad things including the recent imprisonment of two American journalists along with the aforementioned missile testing, poor relations with their Southern neighbors and most other countries as well, along with being part of the infamous “Axis of Evil”. However, a funny thing happened to me when I was there; it was one of the most fascinating places I have ever been to, good or bad, and I really liked it.
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Four Days in Tibet

August 26th, 2009 | By Lee | 2 Comments »

“Go to Tibet and see many places, as much as you can; then tell the world”
~His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Tibet is a land that has inspired wonder and existed with an aura of mystery for centuries. It has piqued the imagination of many Westerners as little was known about this remote Shangri La until the late 1980’s. To this day, most people do not understand the plight of the Tibetan people through the last half of the second millennium and today the Tibet that greets visitors is far different than what his holiness left 50 years ago. Tibet is still a mesmerizing place to see and gives views that are as good as anywhere and the people still greet you with a smile but you know that under the surface there is something that is not said that wants to come out. However, the silent pleas go unheard and we carry on with our trips and take advantage of a great land that is going through an identity crisis.
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Beijing to Lhasa By Train

August 23rd, 2009 | By Lee | 10 Comments »

Inaugurated in 2006, one of the worlds great train journeys, the Beijing to Lhasa train opened with much fanfare and eagerness. This engineering marvel through the Tibetan Plateau topping out at an altitude of 5072 meters took decades with the difficult conditions at such high altitudes and cold temperatures. However, against the wishes of many Tibetans the train did open and brought with it a horde of new tourists, both Western and mainly Chinese. However, all of the Chinese are not tourists and the train, as they say, arrives full and leaves half empty because of the many Chinese immigrants arriving in search of work and money. They have actually grown the country so that the Chinese contingent outnumbers the Tibetans in their own land, but perhaps that what Beijing had in mind all along.
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Mongolian Barbecue

August 20th, 2009 | By Lee | 2 Comments »

If you were to mix up dramatic landscapes of empty deserts, rolling green hills that look like putting greens running up a mountain, snow capped peaks and sparkling lakes-you would have the start of a place like Mongolia. Throw in a few felt yurts of the nomad people, Buddhist temples, ruins, great wildlife, warm hospitality and the cry of an eagle. Top it off with a timeless conqueror that started with nothing and ended up changing the course of history then you would have Mongolia. However, if Chinggis Khaan were to see the hordes of SUV’s plying down Peace Avenue along with Manhattan style cocktail bars, legions of cell phone users and eco yurts-he may just turn green with envy…or roll over in his grave-I’m not sure.
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Boppin Around Borneo

July 13th, 2009 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

All of my life I have had visions of Borneo being this outlandish and exotic place where it’s just thick jungle and some people don’t come back alive as the cannibals will get them. Perhaps naïve from when I was a kid but even after the first “Survivor” was filmed there; it had to be pretty remote, wild and untamed. The reality is far different than what I was expecting however. Borneo does have jungles and beautiful rivers and rainforests and orangutans do still live there and they do have those longhouses. But it also has top notch Asian cities that are very clean, fun and dare I say, fairly cosmopolitan. This is modern day Borneo, an island divided in four and claimed by three sovereign nations but it still does manage to cast a spell over a newbie like myself and leave you wanting a little more.
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Sweating around Southeast Asia

July 11th, 2009 | By Lee | 5 Comments »

Bangkok is the center of the sweltering Southeast Asia universe and all roads lead to Bangkok. However, the roads leading from Bangkok go to some pretty cool places. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go to the Thai beaches this trip and it killed me because I was in Thailand during the full moon and was unable to get down to Ko Phangan for the legendary full moon party. Don’t feel too bad for me as I have been before and will hopefully go again sometime but it let me have time to check out the capital cities of Vientiane, Yangon and Kuala Lumpur. Here is a brief write-up on each of them.
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Bangkok Dangerous

July 10th, 2009 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

Alas, I am back in Southeast Asia, one of the worlds great areas to travel and one of my favorite places to be. I have been pretty busy and moving around a lot which is why I haven’t posted recently as keeping up a blog is a lot of work and finding the time can be tough. Also, sometimes you run into holidays and visa delays which can seemingly take days to work themselves out. As is always the case in the developing world, you can’t be in too much of a rush because you will inevitably have something go very wrong and keep you grounded for a few days. Southeast Asia is certainly no exception but believe me there are far worse places to be stuck, no matter where you are and especially Bangkok, Thailand!
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Bhutan: The Land of the Thunder Dragon

July 5th, 2009 | By Lee | 8 Comments »

Bhutan is awesome. There is no other place I have been that is like it. In fact, there is nothing really comparable to Bhutan in many ways. The country is so remote and isolated from the rest of the world that only a select few people actually get to visit the country. There is a tariff of $200 a day per person to visit and your visa and tour have to be set up well in advance. The country is so beautiful with rolling green hills and huge snow capped peaks surrounding the valleys that only a few people actually live within. The country is so clean and quiet that you’d never know you were in South Asia. The streets are clean and the air is even cleaner. It is a real bastion of light and calm in a volatile region surrounded by the goliaths of China and India on either side. Bhutan is one of the best places I have visited and I feel very privileged to be one of the few that have been there.
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The Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal

July 2nd, 2009 | By Lee | 8 Comments »

Nepal is in many ways a dream destination. It has everything you could ask for and for half the price that’d you’d expect to pay. The world’s only Hindu Kingdom is sort of a subcontinent in and of itself. Its terrain ranges from sea level and searing heat to the absolute top of the world in Mt. Everest and several other 8000 meter plus peaks where the temperatures can get colder than anywhere else on earth. You can do treks from one day to one month and see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. The thing they say about Nepal is that when you arrive here you start planning your next trip here. I laughed when someone said that but being here only an hour makes you wish you had more time and gets you thinking on your next trip. This is truly Gods country and with only five days here I have had only a sniff of what Nepal has to offer and cannot wait to come back.
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Trapped in Turkmenistan

July 24th, 2008 | By Lee | 5 Comments »

I really appreciate all the emails from everyone and I am fine, I promise. It’s nice to know so many people are reading my site and following my trip. I know I haven’t responded to emails, facebooks or posted in a few days but that is because the government of Turkmenistan censors and blocks all Internet access in their country. It is virtually impossible for a foreigner to use the Internet and impossible to check email or use any site that has a log-in that’s in English. Lets just say it was annoying and frustrating. I am now safely in Iran and will be here for a few nights and then home Saturday. The most unfortunate thing about the Turkmen censorship nonsense is that it spoiled a great time and a beautiful country.
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